Greetings, I'm back home and back on the List. Four weeks of traveling in northern Europe was an experience that I won't soon forget, though some details may get mixed up in my mind as time goes on. I kept a journal each day for a reference.
I flew in and out of Amsterdam. When I landed (and finally found the right baggage terminal with my suitcase), I got on the next train to Brussels but got off briefly in Antwerp. The lace collection at the St Carrolus Borromeus Church is only shown on Wednesdays, and this was Wednesday afternoon....my only chance, despite jet lag. A taxi was the quickest way to get to the church since is was already 2:00 and the display closed at 4:00. The ladies in the main church, who collect the entrance fee, kindly kept my suitcase for me so I wouldn't have to carry it upstairs. The display is not huge -- contained in one medium sized room in display cabinets, up two flights of stairs. However it is all very old and well marked, if you can read Flemish. One lady could speak some English so she showed me each piece and explained what she knew about each one. Then I went back around the room looking at each piece again, carefully. They also had a display case of postcards and a book of patterns from the laces (Onder de loep, by Nora Andries -- which I already have so was not tempted to buy it.) In the future they would like to do another book of more of the patterns but it's not in the near future. The first book is still available at this time. There were two ladies making lace while they watched the room. After a good look at the lace, and buying some of their postcards, I found my way back down the stairs and through the church to the front desk. When I asked for a taxi, the lady said NO. Take the tram. It's cheaper and goes right by the train station. She led me outside to a spot on the street and gave me the tram number. She gave me the wrong price (probably more for strangers than for locals), and the wrong stop to get off, but I made it anyway. An hour later I was climbing the narrowest hotel stairs that I have ever seen and getting settled in Brussels. I had been up for 26 hours at that point so needed food and sleep. A stroll down the next street yielded a restaurant that was Near Eastern/Italian, run by a Spanish man. It was a large menu with reasonable prices...and the chef was excellent. I got my dinner 'take away' to eat in my room, My view looked out on back yards and roofs of neighboring buildings. Not very exciting but no one could look in my window. Later in the night, it rained. Thus ended Day One. One lace collection, and lots of stairs. Alice in Oregon - To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
