Interiors

After doing a web search for blogger problems uploading pictures, we changed browsers to FireFox and we have pictures!!!! Lots of pictures. :) So, these are pictures of the interiors of different churches that we went to see while in Brussels and Brugges. Many of the churches were quite old and had started being build in 13-15th centuries. Many had also been added onto so there were a variety of styles within each church. The picture of with the purple curtain for the confessional is one of my favorites from the Brussels trip. I really like the way the light hits the confessional.



















The sculpture of Mary with Baby Jesus is Madonna by Michelangelo! It is at Our Lady's church. That church is the biggest in Brugges and is quite impressive. It also had an area where you could pay a couple Euros to see the crypts where some important people were buried in the the choir area. Apparently, the choir was the most prestigious place to be buried.

Adventures in dog sitting

Since Blogger or my Eircom "DSL" is being annoying and not uploading pictures for me, I can't post pictures from Brussels today (or last night). So, last weekend my friend M was stuck for a dogsitter so we offered to do it. Friday after work, I decided that M didn't live that far from work so I would walk. So, I started out walking carrying my heavy backpack. Well, I walked for a little while. Then I walked some more. And more.

After an hour, I was still walking and the sky looked ominous. I had a small Google map but where I was wasn't on the map. So I walked a bit more. Then, I decided that I should look at the map yet again. Then a woman with small children walked by and asked if I was lost. I said that I was and where I wanted to go. She proceeded to give me very detailed directions. After she gave me the directions the first time, she said to turn left and took my left arm to indicate "left." I know my left from my right! Anyway, she gave me the directions three more times and then must have decided that it seemed like I didn't understand because she told me that when I got to a certain point that I should ask for more directions.

So I start out on the new path. I walk a little ways and notice houses decorated in light blue and dark blue. I guessed that there was a match either on soon or recently. So, I kept walking and turned where I was supposed to. Then I walked a bit more, and more and more.

Then it started to rain! At least it was a pretty light rain, not lashing. So, I got to a major street and guessed that it was the one street that hadn't been labeled from the street I was originally on (which I was correct as I found out Sat.). So, after an hour and a half with aching back and shoulders, I arrive at M's house. I then go to her boyfriend's house to get the dogs and bring them back to her house.

Then the adventure began. The dogs are sort of house trained. They are used to being outside all day so when we had them inside, they had a few accidents. We got to clean them up. Also, the older puppy is used to sleeping on the bed. With two people on the bed, that doesn't work very well. She woke us up all night because a 50 pound dog kept getting on and off the bed!

On Sunday, we returned the dogs and then went back to our little kitties. Now I remember why I like kitties better. And why I don't really want a puppy. Older dogs are the way to go for me!

facades

This starts my "churches" series. As I mentioned before, we saw and toured lots of churches while in Brussels and Brugges. Originally, I was going to post pictures each church of interest but I decided to post by theme instead. So, here are some of the facades of the churches we saw.

Chocolate

Mmmm, chocolate, need I say more? We took a day trip to Brugges and they had chocolate mice. We didn't take any pictures of them but bought some. They were tasty. Shells seem to be a Brussels thing since they were pretty common. John took some of these pictures.

Protest

There was a peace protest in Brussels at the Opera building. It was a small protest saying that the Geneva Convention should be honored by Israel in their current fighting with Lebanon. Of course, there was also a plug for America to honor the Convention in general. I thought it was interesting that in the city that is the home of the UN and NATO the protest would be held at the Opera building.

Beer!

Belgium is a country of beer. Good beer. While there, we tried a variety of lambic and trappist beers. They had cherry, raspberry, and apricot beers. I tried the cherry and raspberry. They were more like a wine or cider than what I think of as beer. They were tasty, though. At one place near the Grand Place, we had their beer sampler. It is five different varieties and is served with Brie for you to cleanse your palate between tastes of the different types of beer. The place had pretty good food and waffles, also. It was fun to sit outside, drink the various beers and listen to others describe them. It was also fun to see other tourists’ reactions to our five small glasses of beer. The women tended to like the cherry (kriek) beers. One day, we sat across from two guys who were trying to analyze the different types. They decided that the kriek tasted like “some girly drink” and was therefore unsuitable for them.

Oh, obviously John took the ones of me. He also took the one of the beer sampler.











The Bier Temple was an interesting store. As you may guess by its name, it is a store full of beer. It has lots of different kinds and different glasses to drink the different kinds of beer.