Sleep7

Perfect sign.. both of us are vintage 1962!

A little free time and then the tour was over. We had the choice of going back to the ship or spending another 2 hours in Antwerp and then catching a shuttle back to the ship at 1:30. We chose to stay and explore Antwerp more.😊

Exit through the gift shop.. this 3D puzzle looks fun!

This is a controversial statue in the Cathedral.. the artist was recently convicted of sex abuse charges. They decided to keep it as the statue is about religion.. not the artist. Interesting.

A wonderful and timely sign in the cathedral.. true in every language.

He also explained all about the characteristics of Baroque paintings. They are very 3 dimensional and lifelike.. every one looks "ripped with muscles." Compare it to a pre-Baroque painting which looks very flat in comparison. Art History 101 learned on a three hour tour.😊

He took us into the cathedral. We learned what the sets a cathedral apart from the church? It's having a Bishop.

Our guide today was particularly fantastic! What a wealth of knowledge he had. And the sun even peek out before it started to pour.☀️

More Pixel camera magic! Now you see it.. now you don't.

A short bus ride from our ship to the starting point of the "Treasures of Antwerp" walking tour. There is truly beauty everywhere if you look. This is ornate metalwork on the industrial roof of open air cargo storage along the waterside.

👋Good morning old pals from the Viking board! We are just back from a 7 day "Tulip Time" river cruise and I'm working on my trip report about it right now.😊 Almost done.. up to day 5. Here is the link if anyone wants to sail along.🌷

Friday in Antwerp or Antwerps as Bram called it.😊 Almost there..

It seems like we have been on so many waterways on this cruise I couldn't keep track so I asked Bram to write them down for me. The Rhine Canal The Rhine The Meuse/Maas The Albert Canal The Schelde Is this a map of the rivers? Nope.. just a marble tile in our cabin bathroom. Sorry I recycled that joke from my last Avalon cruise blog.. just thought it was too funny to be used only once!🙃

Our walking tour ended on a very sweet note with a fresh hot waffle for everyone.😋

Other scenes from around Liege.. that's actually a patch of blue sky.👏 Somebody in the tourist bureau has a good sense of humor.😊

I had never heard of this HUGE stairway before I came to Leige.. 374 steps!

After a restroom break in the station (you need 50 cents to use.. keep that in mind if you are going) we then re boarded the buses to a different area of Liege to begin our walking tour. We just happened to come across a group of travel industry students who were shooting a movie and ask us if we would all be part of this scene.. the cameraman in on the right. Funny.🤩

Oh thanks so much bubbulz.. I'm so glad you are enjoying it! You will see many or all of the same sights. Enjoy every moment.. bon voyage!

Lunch and then onto Liege by bus. The ship sailed to Liege while were were on the tour and met the passengers there. We chose the included walking tour of Liege which started off at their very unique and beautiful train station.

And now for one of the highlights of this cruise for Sam.. besides spending the week with me of course! 😉 Directly across the bridge from where the ship was docked there was a huge supermarket in the basement of a shopping center. And in that supermarket was the LARGEST selection of Belgian beer we have EVER seen!!! A full aisle of every brand you have and haven't heard of.. WOW!! Sam found his fave which we rarely, if ever, see for sale anywhere. Our luggage just gained 10lbs.

Yay! Another lazy morning! Huy is just a little town so it was a pretty short walk around in the morning after a leisurely breakfast. In the rain of course.. A friend from home who is a huge traveler described the skies in that region in the spring as "50 shades of gray" and he was spot on! Right next to where the ship docked was a beautiful church.

Oh gosh.. Thursday already! Where has this week gone??

Back onto the ship after the tour and then set sail for Huy. This is something new since we last sailed on Avalon 7 years ago. When you leave the ship you scan your key card and when you get back on you scan it again to confirm you are back on board. Good system. 👍

Also sad to learn that the Germans and groups that sympathized with them dropped leaflets from the sky in Namur saying that the Allies did it on purpose. Something along the lines of that you can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.

Right next to the tower there was a building that still bore signs of heavy damage from World War II. We were sad to learn that the bombs were actually dropped by the Allies by mistake in August of 1944.