From Paris to Belgium, Belgium Day 1: Liège

We got up early Friday morning and headed to the train station to go to Belgium. U's step count for the day was 23,700 with 70 flights of stairs.

Matthew, Me, Megan and U ready to catch the train to Brussels.

On the train to Brussels.

Once in Brussels, we dropped our bags at our hotel and hurried back to the train station to catch the 10 am train to Liège. Me understands the French better in Belgium. Don't know if it is because they speak slower or the dialect is different; maybe a bit of both. Interesting how that is.

They redid the train station in Liège and it is really nice. They must think so as well since they charge €1 to use the toilet!

Ah Liège! Comment tu me manques!

Me, Matthew and Megan with the train station in the background.

Matthew getting extra steps on the stairs.

Crossing the Meuse.

Megan, Me and Matthew on a bridge in Parc de Boverie.

Closer up.

We ate lunch in the park. It was a bit chilly. Megan said, "I'm not good at dealing with cold. I literally grew up in a desert."

There were lots of bunnies everywhere!

Walking the streets of Liège.

Nice mural.

Me and Matthew with Me's Liège apartment behind them. Yes, she lived on top of a mall and grocery store (Delhaize). It was interesting especially on Sundays when everything was closed so they would walk through an empty mall. We picked up some speculoos at Delhaize.

The street in front of the mall. Me definitely remembers the split sidewalk. So many memories!

We went to St. Bartholomew's Church which had been redone since our 2003 trip. The renovation work actually started in 1999 while Me lived here during her mission and lasted until 2006. We enjoyed walking around the church and hearing the organ.

Matthew, Me and Megan

Some of the original stonework.

The organ. There was a group of people up there playing. Besides religious music, we heard Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Wars and the beginning of Phantom of the Opera.

The baptismal font with the oxen at the base.

John the Baptist baptizing Jesus.

John the Baptist baptizing the neophytes.

John the Baptist preaching.

Baptism of a Greek philosopher.  The baptism of Cornelius the Centurion was also pictured.

U with the font, showing the baptism of Christ.

Megan, Me and Matthew outside the church.

The all-seeing eye above a doorway.

Me, Matthew and Megan at le Grand Escalier aka Montagne de Bueren.

Megan and Me on the way up.

View over the city.

Panoramic. I love the sheep grazing in the field.

St Bartholomew's

We walked around the Citadel a bit. It was initially built in the 1200s as a defense of the city.

This shell indicates that we were on a pilgrimage route.

We went to the Musée de la Vie Wallonne. There were lots of interesting exhibits on life, professions, etc, in the region.

Part of an old storm sewer system that runs into the basement of the museum.

Old tapestry

Pont by Emile Alexandre

Vallée de la Warche, vue sur Malmedy by André Blank

LEGOs!

They even had a guillotine!

Yikes!

They had a lot of posters for different events including these two from 1939.

We had frites and gaufres de Liège (fries and Liège waffles) for dinner.

Me, Megan and Matthew enjoying our fries.

Megan savoring her waffle.

Le Perron de Liège. We have a picture of this in our home.

We caught a train from Place St Lambert to the Guillemins station before connecting to Bruxelles. On the train back to Bruxelles, Matthew needed to go to the bathroom but the one in our car was broken. Matthew, the kid who loves standing between cars on the metro, was nervous and would not cross between train cars. Until he figured out is was the only option. Me asked if he trusted her and then led the way across the platform between train cars. We ended up going 2 cars one way and then 1 car the other way so we crossed a total of 6 times. By the end, he thought it was fun!

Once back in Brussels, we stopped by Le Grand Place. We also have a picture of this in our home.

Some pictures of our hotel room which was built in 1696 (the year after Louis XIV of France attacked and destroyed much of the city center of Brussels).

U and Me's bed.

The entry and bathroom area.

The loft with beds for Megan and Matthew.