Belgium

Now that we are in the month of October, I realise that the time has come for me to finish showing you my photos from the summer! We have just celebrated the festival of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the remaining days known as Chol HaMoed ("festival weekdays"). I have many pictures from the various wonderful day trips we made here in Israel, but first come the photos from back in August! And here's the thing. We didn't just visit England but managed to pop over to Belgium as well.
Some good friends who we knew in Israel and who now live in Brussels invited us to come and stay with them. As a family we love to travel and to see new places, so we jumped at the chance and hopped onto the Eurostar from London St Pancras.With only three days in Belgium our time was somewhat limited but we squeezed in as much as we could. Day one was spent exploring Brussels, and what a wonderful day it was. We walked and walked and walked, enjoying the stunning Gothic, Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture around us and popping in and out of all the exquisite chocolate shops dotted around the city. We tasted chocolate and learnt all about it's history at the quaint Museum of Cocoa and Chocolate. We looked round the huge complex of the European Parliament and, whilst the boys let off steam at a park near the the Royal Palace, I visited the The Musée Magritte Museum, honestly not one of my favourite artists nor am I even a great fan of the whole Surrealist movement, but felt I should take a look since we were in Magritte's country of birth. One cannot visit Brussels without stopping by the famous Manneken-Pis either, though he was somewhat smaller than we expected and my youngest son didn't think it so nice that we should all be watching whilst he was doing a wee!Our second day in Belgium saw us taking the train to the delightful city of Bruges. The main sights of the city are concentrated within a fairly small area which made it easy to explore and we thoroughly enjoyed seeing the city's age-old houses and picturesque bridges. Highlights included a climb to the top of the 272 ft 15th-century Belfry tower in the central Markt Square, which offered a stunning view over the city and the surrounding countryside, and a boat trip on the canals, where we were treated to some fantastic views of the city's historical buildings and monuments at water level. Once again my patient husband allowed me 'time out' to visit the Lace Centre in Peperstraat, a visitor centre dedicated to one of Bruges' most important industries, housed in restored 15th-century almshouses. The day ended with ice-creams for all and the purchase of one or two boxes of yummy Belgian chocolates to be enjoyed at a later date back in Israel.And finally, it was the last day of our Belgian visit and a much anticipated event lay in store for us. Some weeks before, whilst planning our trip, I had been delighted to discover that we were to be in Brussels just when the Grand' Place, the central square of Brussels, was to be covered in flowers. Every two years in August, an enormous "flower carpet" is set up in the square for a few days. A million colourful begonias are set up in patterns, and the display covers an area of some 2,000 square metres. The first flower carpet was made in 1971, and due to its popularity, the tradition continues.
This years design was a tribute to the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The 'eu' logo which appeared in the centre of the carpet was made up of two linked letters to express solidarity and harmonious relations between the Member States.
We purchased tickets to enter the Town Hall which overlooks the square and is itself quite an incredible building, and walked onto the balcony to get an overhead view of the flowers. It was a breathtaking experience. Something magical. Given the size of the carpet and the unique architectural framework that the Grand' Place provides, the flower carpet is considered to be one of the most spectacular flower displays seen in Europe today - and I was there to enjoy it.