Dendermonde to Antwerp ~ New Riding Strategy (Day 8, Part 1 of 3)

On our third day of riding we changed our strategy.  After the near collision on Tuesday, we decided we would be the last riders to get off the boat.  This was a winning strategy!  We arrived at the first suggested coffee stop as everyone else was finishing up.

 

 

From there our day followed a similar pattern.  We would ride along, enjoying the scenery, without the stress of riding close to others in our group.

 

This worked to our advantage when we got to the next stop -  the Wissekerke Castle.  There was a restaurant nearby and everyone was eating lunch there.  The castle wasn't open when we rolled in, but we learned that it would open in about 40 minutes.  We had a light snack, then watched everyone else ride away.  We had a delightful 45 minutes to ourselves.   We have tons of pictures so I'll do a separate post about the castle next.  The grounds were beautiful!

 

To get in to Antwerp we had to go through Saint Anna's Tunnel.  This is a historic pedestrian and bicycle tunnel connecting the city's historic center to the Linkeroever (Left Bank) district under the Scheldt River. Opened in 1933, it is famous for its 31-meter depth (100 foot), tiled 570-meter (about 1/3 of a mile) walkway, and original wooden escalators.  

 

 

We did not actually ride the escalator - there is also an elevator.  This was so crowded and a little crazy!  We didn't take any pictures, I was especially occupied with staying upright on my bike, but I found these pictures on the internet.  It was not this empty when we were there.  This is the tunnel under the river.

 

We rode a little further until we got to the city of Antwerp, one of the largest cities in Belgium with a population of over 550,000.  It was warm that day, but not as hot as the previous two days.  That didn't stop us from getting gelato!

 

Our boat hadn't arrived yet, so we leisurely wandered around Antwerp.  I bought this blouse.  It is so comfortable, I wish they'd had it in a couple more colors.

 

We found the Antwerp Grote Markt (Dutch for "Big Market" or "Great Market Square".)

 

 

We got a text message from Franklin that a particular chocolate shop was having a sale - buy one, get one free.  So of course we had to check it out.  Obviously, we did more than check it out...

 

We had a free evening in Antwerp and I'll share about that in a later post.

Solo in Brugge ~ Church of Our Lady, Shopping & Chocolate (Day 4, Part 1 of 2)

 

I'll give more details about Les' day tomorrow, but for now just know we didn't have a fight!  We knew we would be spending one day apart and we were both excited for our solo adventures. 

 

 

As with most big European cities, there was a large cathedral in Brugge.  The Church of Our Lady was built starting around 1270.  I've seen my share of churches, but this one has a sculpture created by Michelangelo.  The white marble sculpture of the Madonna and Child was created around 1504.  While Michelangelo was alive, the Madonna was the only sculpture to be taken out of Italy.  The sculpture was twice recovered after being looted by foreign occupiers—French revolutionaries around 1794 and Nazi Germans in 1944. 

 

 

As with all large cathedrals there are so many things to look at.  Painted graves:

 

 

 

 

Statues and artwork:

 

 

The Calling of Matthew, painted around 1604:

 

 

The Pulpit:

 

 

 

 

A crucifix.  I'm glad Jesus didn't stay on the cross!

 

 

 

 

I spent about an hour wandering the cathedral then took some shots outside as well.  The 379 foot tower remains the tallest structure in the city and the third tallest brickwork church tower in the world.

 

I then spent a few hours walking about Brugge.  SO MANY CHOCOLATE SHOPS!!

 

My plan was to do a little shopping.  We really didn't have room in our luggage for much, so I only bought socks for each of us!

 

Les had seen a hat the previous day that he really liked but didn't buy.  He said he would probably buy a cycling jersey, so it was either the hat or the jersey.  Later that day he sent me a text, "Can you go ahead and buy that cap for me? Don't know why it's OR."  Ha! 

 

I had lunch at some point, followed by...

 

 All in all, a delightful solo day!

Manila Shopping and Traveling to Mindanao (PI Trip ~ Day 3)

It was wonderful to wake up in Manila after about five hours of sleep!  Sis. White advised us to get the hotel breakfast and it was worth the money.  The coffee wasn't great and I ended up having hot chocolate for my second round.

 

My favorite traveling partner!

 

This was my second plate.  When I came to the table with it, Les said, "You got noodles."  I said, "No, it's pansit."  Les, "What's that?"  Me, "Noodles!"  Blame it on the jetlag 😂.

We all gathered in the hotel lobby at 10:00 and loaded back in the vans.

Manila traffic.  I was here for the first time over 40 years ago and this is one thing that has not changed!

 

The wiring is something else!

We had about three hours at the Mall of Asia and we did not waste a minute!  Les was determined to get some more barongs (Filipino dress shirts.)  He bought one five years ago and absolutely loves it.  He hit the jackpot and ended up with FOUR more! 

I bought two pairs of shoes.  It's so fun to go shoe shopping in the Philippines - they always have shoes in my size!

The lovely Sis. Luke!

Shopping mission accomplished, we grabbed a bite to eat, then loaded up for the trip back to the airport.  

It was a short 90 minute flight until we landed on Mindanao and were greeted by the wonderful Barrero family.  We loaded in to vans one more time (I think this was the fourth time since we landed) and drove to the beautiful campground.  Our room for the next few nights...

 

We enjoyed a wonderful meal together and then it was time for bed again!