When I was in Antwerp last February, it was hovering around freezing point and my hands were shaking every time I took them out of my gloves to take a picture. I’d blogged about viewing the museums and main sights then, so this time it’s just about hanging out in one of my favorite cities on a very helter skelter day weatherwise. The day starts out chilly yet sunny, then rainy, then hot and cloudy, then clear and breezy, all in the span of some 6 hours. I put on and remove my jacket so many times I don’t know if I’m coming or going.
The picture above is taken outside out Antwerp’s Gare Centrale. To the immediate right of the train station’s front entrance is the main gate to the zoo which I introduced you to yesterday. You can barely see that winged copper statute in both the picture above and below:
That large red carousel you see in front of the train station is a really cool merry-go-around called the Manège Carré Sénart, created by François Delarozière.
The moving parts (the seats) on the ride are all custom built in magical shapes of insects, buffalos, and fish…
The more I look, the more charming the ride becomes. It’s a lot like looking up at stars in a night sky; the longer you look the more you see. It’s theatrical and whimsical…stuff of childhood fantasies re-interpreted by adult minds and hands. This installation has traveled through Europe and will be in Antwerp through the end of August. If you are not lucky enough to see it in person, check out the fabulous website for Manège Carré.
Because the zoo runs along the side of this magnificent train station–in my opinion it’s one of the most brilliantly designed stations in the whole world–I am able to capture pictures like these:
And just when, after viewing a few animal exhibits, I start to tell myself that I could be standing in the middle of any zoo anywhere in the US, I look up to see this view beyond the picnic area and am reminded of Dorothy’s wide-eyed comment to Toto: We’re not in Kansas anymore:
And also, appropriately enough, lions and tigers and bears! Oh my!
By the way, I’d be remiss to not mention the baby elephant that’s been all the rage at the zoo:
She was born on May 17 in captivity after a 22-months gestation period…and here you thought 9 months were bad! This picture reminds me of how all first-time mothers look to me when you go near their newborns:
Tomorrow we observe the 2-legged wildlife in Antwerp.
Tags: Antwerp, francois delaroziere, Gare Centrale, Manege carre senart, train station, zoo
It’s not that I’m slacking off. Since a week ago I’ve logged in 6 different cities and taken a thousand photos. But it takes time to download and select the pics, upload them to my server, and then start blogging. This sleeping business is also really eating up my free time. Not that I’m complaining. Just want to let you know why the dates on some of my blog entries may not synch up with today’s date yet and especially to reassure my family that I’ve not fallen off the grid.
Anyway, in today’s entry I’m taking especially my younger readers to the zoo in Antwerp (tomorrow’s entry will be for the more adult readers). I think there are a few birds at this zoo indigenous to Belgium but most of the animals you see here can be found at your local zoo.
The first thing that greets me when I enter the zoo gate is a flamboyance of flamingos…
The caption at their cage says La vie en rose and I can’t think of a more fitting phrase in any other language than French to describe this very moment. Sometimes the fun of studying foreign languages is not in the convenience of communication but the eureka moment of conveying a sentiment in a way that only a certain language can. I’ll give you another example later.
So I can’t remember what this next animal is called but let’s just say these next two are same-same but different:
I have a weakness for birds:
And is this totally grossing you out, too? Yes, that’s a small chicken in the owl’s mouth:
Here, kitty kitty:
I’m as enthralled by these big cats as the rest of the crowd gathering around the cage, but it just feels wrong to have them confined like this. They pace back and forth in their small space…
I feel their restlessness and want to set them free, but like while I’m not anywhere near their reach. When I snap this expression on the face of their buddy chimp in another part of the zoo, I think his sigh sums it up for all the zoo animals…
…with the exception of this sea otter that’s the poster child for the Stockholm Syndrome:
If he’s not the perfectly well-adjusted captor…
…then it might be these guys:
Does anyone know where I can get this job:
I have a weakness for birds and a serious soft spot for penguins. Look at these two in a penguin time-out:
So here is my second example. In Vietnamese we have a word called đểu (if you look it up, the word is translated as vulgar or ill-bred but it’s not really how it’s used), and if you saw these penguins waddling around you’d know what I mean. Can’t think of an adjective in the English language that would come closer to describing these little guys.
Anyway, you didn’t think I could just open today’s entry with a teaser photo of my purse and not give you more fashion evidence, did you? Check out this video because I’ve always preached that purses, no matter how expensive, are meant to be used and enjoyed (but babied)–not just worshipped from a display case.
Hence, wherever I go, my purses get to enjoy the same trip:
Tags: Antwerp zoo, Belgium, flamingos, penguins, purses, sea otter, Stockholm syndrome
So from London I transit to Brussels. I arrive in Belgium on the eve of their Fête Nationale or Independence Day (actually it’s July 21 but I’m late in posting this entry) and there’s a festive mood in the air. I land around 6:30 pm, which theoretically is the best time to acclimate myself to the local time zone. Because then I can grab a hot shower and late dinner and go to bed by midnight like the rest of the locals–well, the ones who aren’t carousing in the streets. That was the plan anyway. The reality is that at 2am I’m wide awake; never mind that I haven’t slept in over 24 hours…my internal clock tells me it’s 5pm and bright in LA right now. Isn’t it always 5pm somewhere though? I sort of want to get up and unpack the rest of my stuff but put a pillow over my head instead. It’s not 5pm here.
Of course everything but a few eateries are closed today for the holiday so I head out with my friends to the Grognon flea market in Namur. It’s like meshing a flea market and farmers market together and sprinkling the stands through the curvy streets and alleys of the old town center. So you will find stalls hawking Spiderman movie posters under a medieval tower, juxtaposed across from a charming cafe where people are dining al fresco. The sugary smell of beignets and gauffres waffles through the thick crowds on this sunny day. I’m somewhat half-awake (hence not too many pictures) so my first street meal of the day is a mango sorbet.
The picture above was taken after crossing that bridge; I am desperately looking for shade. With the ODJ photos snapped, we go to lunch.
It gets really warm by mid-afternoon so many of us take cover at a movie theater. I tell you, the world is the same everywhere. But I understand only about 58% of the new Harry Potter movie because they’re all speaking rapid French and I have my American ears on still. So during intermission (I know, strange, right? But what a great idea if you need a popcorn or bathroom break but don’t want to miss any of the movie) my listening comprehension is checked by my English-speaking friend. Let’s just say I don’t have a career in translation. He’s looking at me like we’re not even watching the same movie. Sheesh. I still think my interpretation is better than what’s actually going on up there on the big screen. It also explains why I was laughing when no one else was. Can’t take me anywhere.
After dinner we all end up at the foire, which is a fair. If you’ve been to the State Fair of Texas in Dallas, you probably wouldn’t get too excited over this one. It’s like comparing a sniffle to a sneeze. But I’m still down with it because I get to stuff my face with the croustillon (you can wikipedia this for pics), which is fried dough dipped in confectioner’s sugar. It’s not good for any of us to eat these things but going to the fair gives you permission to eat your way to a heart attack. I can always repent tomorrow.
I’ve spent so much time in Belgium at this blog that I have to be mindful about not sounding repetitive, so this weekend I’ll take you across international borders.
Tags: beignets, Belgium, Brussels, croustillon, fete nationale, foire, Grognon flea market, Namur
The question du jour is can fashion derail travel?
I joke that sooner or later seasoned travelers will show up at airports in nothing more than a bathrobe and flip flops just to clear security faster. Actually, I have my routine down pretty good and can have my laptop out, shoes off, and carry-on items laid out neatly in plastic trays in a matter of seconds. Blindfolded. My traveling outfit is also planned specifically to beat the metal detector’s nasty alarm. The faster I get out of the screening area, the sooner I can get out of the cattle call. It is a personal victory every time I clear security in under 3 minutes.
But on the outbound leg of this trip, I got nabbed at LAX, along with two other women who were also wearing patio dresses (maxi or floor length sundresses). There we were, all lined up to take turns getting patted down by the female guard. It was somewhat comical to me…were we in a lineup for committing a fashion crime? As comfortable as these knit dresses are for long flights, have they become the new public enemy in the world of travel?
The guard told me they’d all been trained to do a more thorough search for this fashion fad as they can’t tell what we might be hiding under our long dresses. And her more than cursory, hands-on search told me I’ll be saving my patio dresses for when I reach the destination from now on. True, the public frisking was unpleasant, but it was worse to not be able to eyeball my personal effects on the conveyor belt when she made me face the wall for the search.
So yes, fashion can derail travel. Fashion victims take heed: it wasn’t just in LA. I got nabbed transiting through Heathrow as well for the same reason. Except the true crime there was not having enough time to wander the designer duty-free shops at T-3.
Tags: Heathrow, maxi dress, patdown, patio dress
While you’re reading this entry, I am probably somewhere in the sky trying to get some shut eye. Hopefully I won’t have a stranger grabbing my arm for dear life like during the last transatlantic flight homeward bound. I try to reassure nervous passengers whenever possible (it actually distracts me from my own anxieties) (no, flying never gets any more fun no matter how many miles you log), but there’s something uneasy about a grown adult digging her sharp nails into your arm each time there’s a bit of turbulence.
See you from the road!
