Going Home For A Visit 2023.

On the 23rd of April we got up early, ate breakfast in the hotel and finished off the packing. I still had no confirmation email about assisted boarding for Peter, so I was praying everything would work out all right.

Peter managed to walk to the far end of the station, then I left him on a chair and went to the help point where I pressed the button for assistance. I was asked to select a language then put on to someone who spoke English. He just wanted to know if I had booked help and the name of the person I had booked it for. Fortunately I didn't need any reference number or anything. He told me to stay where I was and he would send someone with a wheelchair.

A short time later a young woman arrived pushing a wheelchair. I got Peter inside it and we headed to the platform. The young woman was friendly and chatty. She asked about our holiday and whether we liked Belgium or not. At first I said we had liked everything, but then I added that we had not liked getting on their trains and that their trains were no good for people with disabilities. The young woman accepted this at first, then she said: "Actually the trains start in Amsterdam. It's all the Dutch's fault." I don't know why but I found that really funny.

When the train came in, it was a more modern one than the one we had had before. The young woman and another member of staff helped Peter on and a passenger standing nearby offered to put my case on for us. The train was very crowded. We had to sit on pulldown seats in the corridor. Peter sat next to a British man and it turned out he was a teacher who had taught English in various different countries just like us. Small world! He was heading to Mechelen. At Mechelen even more people got on, plus a bike. I was beginning to worry about how we would get off. But when we arrived at our stop, once again people helped us. I steadied Peter and an American man took off our suitcase for us.

The person who had come to meet us had been given the wrong information. She had brought a ramp for a wheelchair, whereas what we needed was the actual wheelchair. She said she hadn't got a wheelchair for us and she didn't know what to do. Then another miracle, she saw an abandoned station wheelchair, just like I had in Heathrow. Thank you, God! She wheeled Peter through all the way to an assistance desk on the airport side.

We had someone else assist us to check in and that person got us priority check-in. I reminded the guy that checked us in that we were entitled to lounge passes and was so pleased when he sorted this out that I walked away without taking my rucksack. By this point I was the one pushing Peter. I had to place Peter somewhere and race back to check in to look for my bag. Fortunately it was still there.

In the lounge I poured myself a very large glass of pinot grigio. I felt I had earned it. The lounge was pleasant and had quite a bit of food on offer. We both ate a bit and drank a bit, then I wheeled Peter to the plane. I don't know whether or not I was supposed to, but I wheeled him right to the door of the plane.

Peter in the lounge in Brussels.

I had a chicken Thai curry and more wine on the flight. The food was actually reasonably tasty.

I watched 'Till' about the brutal lynching of a fifteen year old black boy in Mississippi in 1955. His murder played a huge role in the development of the Civil Rights Movement. I then watched 'Living' with Bill Nighy about a civil servant in the City of London who re-evaluates his life when he finds out he's dying. Both of these films were very sad, so I watched 'The Big Bang Theory ' after that to cheer myself up. I love 'The Big Bang Theory.'

When we arrived in Doha we had a different kind of help. Everyone else left the aircraft by going down steps, but we were put inside a sort of room that could be lowered to the ground like a lift.

Doha International Airport.

We asked to be taken to the Silver Lounge as we had around eight hours before our next flight. We were both really tired, but neither of us could sleep. There was a group of four men in the lounge talking really loudly, then one of them went to sleep and started snoring really loudly. Listening to him was torture.

Peter in the lounge in Doha.

I had asked for assisted boarding for Peter for the next flight and I reminded the staff on the desk as it neared boarding time. They were really busy and our help was so late arriving that he had to drive us really fast to the other end of the airport, shouting at people to get out of the way. When we finally arrived at the flight, it was announcing the final call for boarding. I think we were the last people on. I couldn't believe we had been eight hours early and still almost missed our connection.

I managed to get a little sleep on this flight, as I was so tired. When I wasn't sleeping, I watched more of 'The Big Bang Theory.'

I thought everything would be fine when we finally got back to Hong Kong, but although we got assistance through baggage reclaim and immigration, the helper wouldn't take us to the bus. He just kept saying there were no buses, which is nonsense.

Anyway we managed to walk to the bus with Peter holding on to the luggage trolley as if it were a walking aid. The bus to Discovery Bay from the airport used to be once every half hour, now it is just once an hour. Annoyingly we had just missed it. I was getting really irritable, because I was so tired.

When we finally made it home, we found our flat really smelly and covered in mould. I detest that smell, but was too exhausted to care. We both collapsed onto the bed.

I'm glad we went on holiday, though not much of it went to plan. We got to see friends and family we had not seen for almost four years. We have to have a serious think about what Peter can and cannot do on holiday in future, but we will just have to work round things to make it as easy for him as we can. Disturbingly both in the UK and in Belgium the excellent people who assisted us mentioned their jobs were under threat due to government cuts. If that turns out to be the case then so many people in Peter's position, will be denied the possibility of travel and it will be appalling.

Our flat is now cleanish and smelling a bit better and hopefully soon the jetlag will go.

Blossom in Antwerp City Park.

In our original plan, which went out the window weeks ago, we should have been going to Ghent today. For some reason I had got it into my head that I really wanted to see Ghent and at one point we nearly opted to stay there instead of Antwerp . However, it was not to be and I wasn't too disappointed as Antwerp was lovely. I could happily have spent more than two full days there.

On a rainy Saturday morning I decided to start by going back to Chinatown on the other side of the station. I had sort of been there while looking for our hotel on our first evening, but I felt that didn't really count, as I had focused on looking for our hotel to the exclusion of all else. As someone who has lived in Hong Kong since 1996, I feel pretty much obliged to check out Chinatowns when I come across them.

Chinese people started coming to Antwerp after World War II. The Chinatown here received official status in 2001, making it the only official Chinatown in Belgium. The original Chinese immigrants made their living in Belgium by opening restaurants and take aways. As they got wealthier, they used some of their money to create temples, Chinese medicine establishments and martial arts schools. Personally I didn't see any temples. I saw an archway, known locally as the Pagodepoort, stone lions, supermarkets and restaurants. This Chinatown was small but definitely worth a look and it's right next to Centraal Station.

Chinatown through the archway.

Looking back the way Centraal Station is framed in the archway.

Buddha stretching.

Shops and bikes, Chinatown.

Chinese supermarket.

Stone lions guard the other end of the main street.

Stone lions.

As well as sightseeing, I had been sent out on an errand for Peter. I decided to look at a couple more sights before going back. Between the Chinatown and Antwerp Centraal Station there is the entrance to Antwerp's zoo. It's supposed to be very good, but I didn't go in. I did, however, take a photo of the camel statue on a rooftop, near the entrance.

Camel statue near the zoo.

Next I headed in the same direction as the historical centre, but turned off to the left well before reaching it. I had seen an interesting looking church on my walk home the day before, but hadn't gone to investigate it. I decided I would have a quick look. This church turned out to be the Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-van-Genadekerk, which means Our Lady of Grace Church. This church was built by the Jesuits in the sixteenth century and was consecrated in 1882. Nowadays this church is mainly used by Antwerp's Polish community. I couldn't look inside, as it was closed, but it was an impressive looking building.

Our Lady of Grace Church.

Doorway of Our Lady of Grace Church.

On the other side of the road from the church there were lots of trees with white blossom. I went to have a quick look. They were really very pretty.

Park with white blossom.

Park with white blossom.

Park with white blossom.

Park with white blossom.

The trees were next to an open air market, so I had a wander around there, too. There were clothes stalls, fruit and vegetable stalls, flower stalls, places to eat and drink. It was all quite busy.

Flower stalls.

Flower stalls.

Flower Stalls.

Fruit and Veg Stalls.

Fruit and Veg Stalls.

Fruit and Veg Stalls.

I suddenly realised I was on the street with the eagle and fish fountain that I had seen the day before. I was just walking past a fenced off building site when I heard someone say: "That's Rubens ' House." They were right. Behind the building site fence was Rubens'House - one of the most famous sights in Antwerp. It is being completely renovated and will be closed for a few years. It's definitely not looking its best at the moment.

Rubens' House.

Rubens' House.

I walked back to the hotel and spent some time with Peter then headed off out again. This time I had decided to go to the stadspark which was not far from where we were living. I chose to have a look here because it was near and I like parks, I didn't research it. If I had, I'd have found lots of reviews telling me not to bother going and that there was nothing to see here. As far as I am concerned, all these reviews were wrong. I thought it was a lovely park. It just shows you should always judge for yourself. We all like different things.

On the way to the Stadspark I passed a couple of interesting murals. One was of a horse; the other was of an ox. These were done by street artist Joachim. This area is the diamond district and Joachim was asked to paint something on the theme of diamonds. He felt like doing something a bit different and knowing that diamonds are another form of carbon, he decided to use charcoal as his medium and create art works inspired by cave paintings. I think they are rather nice.

Horse mural.

Ox mural.

The Stadspark, or City Park, is triangular in shape and occupies the site of an old fortress called Herentals. This fortress had a moat that now forms the ponds of the Stadspark. In 1867 German architect Édouard Keilig won a competition with his ideas for this park. He completed his design by 1869. The park contained walkways on the edge of the ponds, a metal suspension bridge and lots of monuments.

Selfie on the suspension bridge.

Suspension bridge.

Pond with yellow flowers.

Pond with suspension bridge in the distance.

Pond with reflections.

Pond and greenery.

Pond and greenery.

I found a lot of the park's monuments as I was wandering around. I'm not entirely sure what they all were. The first one I found was dedicated to a Belgian poet, Jan van Beers who lived from 1852 to 1927. He's known as van Beers the elder to distinguish him from his son, van Beers the younger, who was a famous painter.

Monument to Jan van Beers.

Monument to Jan van Beers.

There was a tall column with an image of Mercury on top. I had no idea what it was when I photographed it. It must be pretty controversial as it turned out to be celebrating King Leopold II and his annexation of the Congo. It dates from 1911. Many statues of Leopold II have been covered in red paint and some have been removed, as he was responsible for many atrocities in the Congo including forced labour and the amputation of the hands of men, women, and children who didn't work fast enough in extracting rubber.

The column dedicated to King Leopold II.

Close up of Mercury.

Nearby there is a sculpture called 'Girl with Kid' by French sculptor Marcel Courbier. This work comes from the French pavilion at the 1930 World Exhibition in Antwerp and was moved to the Sradspark in 1932.

Girl with Kid.

Girl with kid.

Next I found a memorial to those killed in the First World War. This was surrounded by daffodils.

First World War Memorial.

Not too far away I found 'Mother and Child' created by Goerges Minne to commemorate Queen Astrid, the wife of King Leopold III. She died in a car crash when she was just twenty-nine years old.

Mother and Child.

Then I came across a sculpture symbolising 'America'. At one time there were sculptures representing the other continents, too, but these have been lost over time.

America.

Next there was a bust of Everist Allewaert. He was a city alderman who brought in many reforms in education and greatly increased the number of schools, allowing more children to have the chance to learn. There are some children and their homework at the bottom of his monument.

Bust of Everist Allewaert.

Then the most noticeable and biggest monument of all - a huge war memorial commemorating the fallen Belgian soldiers of World War I and World War II. King Albert I is depicted on horseback and he is surrounded by groups of injured and dying soldiers and civilians. This monument dates from 1930 and originally represented those who lost their lives in World War I, but it has been extended and other memorials have been added to it, so it now also represents those who died in World War II, as well.

King Albert I surrounded by the horrors of war.

The Monument from another angle.

Casualties on the battlefield.

Close up of grieving family.

The final statue I found was of Louis Karel Major, a Belgian politician and trade unionist who lived from 1902 to 1985.

Louis Karel Major.

I loved that there was lots of blossom here: some pink and some white. I found this really beautiful.

Pink blossom drooping over the pond.

Pink blossom drooping over the pond.

White blossom by the pond.

White blossom by the pond.

There were lots of other lovely flowers as well as the blossom, including my favourite daffodils.

Daffodils.

Daffodils.

Lovely white flowers. This might be bridal wreath.

Lilac.

I hadn't intended to go straight back to the hotel from the Stadspark, but I discovered I had accidentally picked up Peter's phone when I had come out, so I needed to take it back to him. I walked back via another lovely church. This one turned out to be a Russian Orthodox church. It was once known as the Church of Saint Joseph, but is now known as the Church of the Nativity of Christ. Apparently there were several Russian churches in Antwerp from the 1920's to the 1970's, then there were none for several decades until this one opened in 2000.

Russian Orthodox church viewed from the park.

Russian Orthodox Church.

On my walk back I approached our hotel from a different angle and noticed there was a sign for a restaurant in a building near our hotel. I was delighted to see this, as it was close enough for Peter to be able to get to.

After returning Peter's phone, I headed back out into the rain again. This time I deliberately walked along the road running parallel to the train station where I had noticed lots of street art. I photographed these, then headed off into the Diamond Quarter.

Sunflowers.

Pouring Tea.

Hey girl, bon jour.

Red and Green.

Painter's Work Overall.

Bach in town.

I'm singing in the rain.

From here I took a stroll through a street lined with jewellers. Around five hundred years ago many Jewish people fled from England, Spain and Portugal and settled in Antwerp. They brought with them knowledge of the diamond trade. Over time Antwerp became known as the Diamond Capital of the World. At one point around eighty percent of the diamond traders here were Jewish. This is no longer the case. Thousands of Jews were deported to concentration camps during World War II, but many of the survivors came back and settled here once again. There are many synagogues and kosher restaurants in this area.

Diamond Shop with the reflection of the camel statue from the zoo in its window.

Yes, please. I'd be happy to take some of these home.

Diamonds, diamonds everywhere.

Members of Antwerp's Jewish community.

Members of Antwerp's Jewish community.

Sadly I didn't have enough money to shop here. I headed on to the botanic gardens. There's nothing like a good garden in the rain. Antwerp Botanical Gardens were at one time the herb and vegetable gardens of Saint Elisabeth Hospital that was located here. They were also used to teach would be apothecaries about herbs. The first building I saw here was rather like the gingerbread house in 'Hansel and Gretel '. It was created in 1866 by architect Pieter Dens as the gardener's lodge. Nowadays it is a Michelin starred restaurant called Het Gebaar. Apparently it is only open at lunch time and is famous for desserts. In front of it there is a statue of pharmacist and botanist Peeter Van Coudenberghe by sculptor Pierre-Joseph de Cuyper who lived from 1808 to 1883.

Het Gebaar and the statue of Peeter Van Coudenberghe.

A closer look at the statue.

Het Gebaar from another angle.

A little further on there is a strange statue of a man, who appropriately enough for a botanic gardens appears to be growing out of the soil. This statue is called 'Greening II' and was created by Monique Donckers. It is located next to a pond with a little waterfall. There are lots of brightly colored koi swimming in the pond.

Greening II by Monique Donckers and the pond.

A closer look at Greening II.

The Pond and waterfall.

I was distracted by a pathway through the woods which was brimming over with bluebells and the occasional white bell and pink bell. It was really beautiful and peaceful here.

Bluebells.

Bluebells.

Bluebells, whitebells and pinkbells.

I found some more gorgeous daffodils, lovely tulips and some blossom.

Daffodils.

Blossom.

Tulips.

Tulips.

There's a large building at the back of the gardens. I think it was part of the old hospital.

Hospital building behind the botanic gardens.

Flowers in front of the hospital building.

When I reached the greenhouses, I saw someone unlock the door and let three young girls in . He said the greenhouse had just closed but they could have five minutes. When I heard this, I rushed up behind them and got in for five minutes, too. There were some lovely orchids and cactuses inside.

Looking towards the green house.

Orchids in the hothouse.

Orchids in the greenhouse.

Hibiscus in the greenhouse.

Colourful tree outside the greenhouse.

When I got back outside, I had another walk around. A large group of girls had arrived and seemed to be blindfolding each other and trying to walk around the gardens before the others finished a count down. I don't really know why. Perhaps they were trying to learn what it was like to be blind.

It was raining more heavily, but I decided to have a quick look at St Andrew's, the last church in my booklet of five beautiful churches in walking distance from each other. I passed an interesting round building on the way. I believe this was once a market, but is currently the Bourla Theatre.

The Bourla Theatre.

The Bourla Theatre.

Saint Andrews Church dates from the sixteenth century. It is located in an area once known as the Parish of Misery, as it was populated by poor people. Unfortunately, it was closed for renovation and covered in scaffolding, so I couldn't go inside, which was a shame, as I had read there was a painting and sculpture of Mary Queen of Scots inside and wanted to see it. However, I just had a look at it from outside. There was an interesting statue next to it. I don't know what it is, but I think it represents the poor people who once lived here.

Saint Andrew's Church.

Statue by the church. I think she represents a poor person. This area was known as the area of misery and thirst.

At this point I headed home. I took Peter to the restaurant next door in the WTC Lindner Hotel. We had some local draft beers, satay, spring rolls, meat balls, salad and local cheeses. It was very pleasant. I checked my email, still no confirmation from the railway. I wondered what the next day would bring.

Peter and our food.

Enjoying a leffe.

Cheers!

De Koninck is the local beer.

City Street, Antwerp.

When we arrived in Brussels Zaventem Airport, Peter had assistance to get off the plane and was put into a wheelchair. When I retrieved our luggage, I found that one of its four wheels had broken off. I was quite mad, because it was brand new and although it was still moveable, it definitely didn't move as smoothly as it had before. I felt we had enough problems already without the bag adding more. Plus this is not the first time we have got on a plane with a good bag and got off with an unusable one. I can't remember where we were, but we once put a brand new bag on a plane and collected a bag whose front pocket looked like it had been slashed with a knife.

The young man pushing Peter in the wheelchair took us all the way to the train station and helped us buy tickets for Antwerp. He even put us on the correct platform for the next Antwerp train, then he left. Two men who were standing on the platform approached us and asked us if we would need help boarding the train. I accepted, because manoeuvring Peter and our big broken case was not easy. However, nothing prepared me for the horror that was the train. When it arrived, it had an incredibly narrow entrance and several steep steps up to it. The men helped Peter on and I tried to lift the case up onto the train, but when I raised it, I couldn't see what I was doing and ended up battering it into the step below the top one. The force with which I had swung it pushed me backwards and I lost my balance and almost ended up under the train. One of the helpful men rescued me and put the suitcase on for me. He said he was getting off at Antwerp and offered to help us off, too. We travelled three stops, passing through Mechelen and Antwerp Berchem before arriving at Antwerp Centraal Station. True to his word, the very friendly helpful man helped us get off the train. To be honest I don't know what we would have done without him.

I don't know why, but we had arrived in Antwerp without really preparing ourselves for the visit. We knew the hotel was near the station, but we did not know exactly where and we hadn't expected the station to be so big. In fact Antwerp Centraal is rather stunning. It is sometimes even described as a cathedral station because it is such an impressive building. Little did I know I would be spending so much time there.

Antwerp Centraal Station.

Antwerp Centraal Station.

Inside Antwerp Centraal Station.

Inside Antwerp Centraal Station.

Inside Antwerp Centraal Station.

We weren't worried about not knowing where the hotel was, as we thought we could just look it up, but unfortunately our data didn't work here, plus the free wifi was very weak and we couldn't get anything to load. I decided to leave Peter on a seat with the luggage and go and look for the hotel. I showed a lady the hotel address and asked where it was, she looked it up and unfortunately pointed out the wrong street. I followed the street that she had indicated right into Chinatown and beyond, but the hotel was nowhere to be seen, so I went into a different hotel, showed them the address and asked if they could tell me where it was. They kindly looked it up for me and sent me to the opposite end of the station where they said I should then go left. I retrieved Peter and the luggage and set off. These directions thankfully were correct and I found the Antwerp Ibis Budget Centraal Station exactly where I had been told it would be.

We checked in without any problems. We were both really tired and Peter didn't want to go out and wander around looking for somewhere to eat, actually neither did I, so I went to the Lidl supermarket next door and bought a baguette, cold meat and sliced cheese for dinner. Unfortunately there were no cold beers in Lidl, so I wandered back through the station looking for a shop that sold cold drinks, eventually I found a delicatessen and bought cold beers, cold coffees, cold diet pepsi and cold milk from there. I felt I had sufficient in the cold department.

That night I woke up in a cold sweat. Peter was lying next to me sound asleep and I woke him up and said: "You don't understand, I nearly fell under that train today. I can't do it. I can't manage to get you and the luggage on to the train on the way back. I just can't do it." He told me not to worry about it, it would be fixable somehow, but I lay awake for hours. When I did finally get to sleep, Peter suddenly woke me up to say he'd found a site online where we could book assisted train boarding for the way back. We tried to book it, but it wouldn't work and the website was a bit confusing to use. After that I couldn't get back to sleep.

In the morning we had a very good breakfast in the hotel with lots of excellent coffee, cereal, bread rolls, cold meat, cheese, boiled egg and fruit juice. Then I took Peter back to the room. After that I headed back to the station to try and sort out help for the return journey to the airport.

I wandered around trying to find a member of staff to tell me where I could book assisted boarding, but there didn't seem to be any members of staff around, so eventually I entered the ticket office. Some very helpful young men, pointed out that I needed to take a ticket number from the machine outside, so I went back out and got one. Belgian people do seem to be very kind.

After a very long wait, it was finally my turn. I told the girl what I had come for and she said: "There's a website. You have to do that yourself online." I think she expected me to leave, but I didn't. I told her we had tried that site, but it hadn't worked, so a bit reluctantly she agreed to help me. She opened up the site we had been on and started noting down Peter's details. When she had finished doing that and pressed complete, it flashed up lots of errors and wouldn't work. She tried again. It failed again. I was conscious that a rather large queue was forming behind me. "It's because you haven't got a Belgian address," the girl said after some time looking at her screen. She then called for her supervisor to find out what to do in such a situation. The supervisor told her she should use the address of the station as my home address. The girl re-entered all the information using the station address, but this time the internet went down and nothing would load. We both watched a circle turning around endlessly on her screen. She tried again - same problem. She got on the phone and after several tries booked me assistance verbally. She said it was all sorted out and that they'd send a confirmation email straight away. I thanked her and went back to the hotel. I checked my email when I got in. No confirmation email had arrived. I still wasn't sure if we would get help to get on the train. Peter told me to stop worrying. It would be all right, but I can't stop worrying, that's just not me.

It was time to look at something. I suggested taking transport to the city centre and putting Peter in a bar while I had a look around. He said he would rather rest, as he still didn't feel too great, so I went out on my own. I picked up a free map from the tourist office in the station. Yes, there again. It really did feel like my home address. I still didn't really know what I wanted to see, but I headed towards the historical centre of Antwerp, passing some beautiful buildings on the way.

Statue of David Teniers, a Flemish artist, on the way to the historical centre.

The Opera.

Statue of Flemish artist, Antoon Van Dyck.

Fishing Eagle Statue.

Blossom and cafe near this fountain.

Statue on front of building.

Statdsffestival Shopping Hall.

Bicycle.

City bikes.

Passing Bike tour.

Antwerp is a port city located on the River Scheldt. It is the capital city of the Flanders Region and has a population of around 500,000. Many people claim the city's name comes from an old legend. According to the legend there was once a terrifying giant called Antigoon who lived on the banks of the River Scheldt. If anyone ever tried to cross the river, Antigoon would demand they paid him a hefty toll. If they refused to pay, he would attack them with his sword, cut off one of their hands and throw it into the river. Eventually a brave young man called Silvius Brabo decided to fight the giant. There was a fierce battle between them, but Bravo finally emerged victorious. After he had killed him, Brabo cut off one of the giant's hands and threw it into the river. The name Antwerp comes from the Flemish word for hand, which is 'hand' and the verb 'werpen' which means to throw. Over time the name 'Handwerpen' became shortened to Antwerpen.

Eventually after a walk of around twenty minutes, I arrived in Groenplaats which means Green Place. Groenplaats is next to the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwekathedraal - the Cathedral of Our Lady. At one time this was the site of the cathedral's cemetery, which is why it is called Green Place but isn't particularly green. In the eighteenth century when Austria occupied Antwerp, Emperor Joseph II abolished cemeteries within the city walls and this area became a town square. In the centre of Groenplaats there is a statue of the famous Flemish painter, Peter Paul Rubens. He is a real hero in Antwerp. This statue was created by sculptor Willem Geefs and dates from 1843. The Hilton Hotel is located here and there are also several restaurants.

Groenplaats and the statue of Peter Paul Rubens.

Groenplaats.

The Hilton Hotel.

After a look around the Green Place, I headed to Handschoenenmarkt, the square at the front entrance of the Cathedral of Our Lady. In the sixteenth century, gloves and pelts were traded here. The Cathedral of Our Lady was begun in the fourteenth century and finished in 1518. Apparently it has three works by Rubens: 'The Descent from the Cross', 'The Elevation of the Cross' and 'The Assumption'. It is the tallest cathedral in the Low Countries. I didn't go inside. On the outside there is a rather interesting statue of workers building the cathedral. The cathedral doors are very ornate.

The Cathedral of Our Lady.

The cathedral door.

Pieter Appelmans Monument dedicated to cathedral architect Pieter Appelmans.

Pieter Appelmans Monument outside the cathedral.

Also in Handschoenenmarkt there is a marble statue of Nello and his dog Patrasche. This was sculpted by Batist Vermeulen. Nello and his dog Patrasche are characters from a story, 'A Dog of Flanders', written in 1872 by Ouida whose real name was Marie Louise de la Ramée. In the story Nello is an orphan boy who wants to be a painter. Nello greatly admires Rubens and wants to see his famous paintings inside The Cathedral of Our Lady, but he has no money to go inside. However, one Christmas Eve, Nello finds the doors of the cathedral open to everyone and goes inside. He sits unobserved with his dog beneath one of Rubens paintings, and they stay there all night, but sadly they both freeze to death. This story isn't well known in Belgium, but due to an anime television series aired in the 1970's the story is a huge success in South East Asia.

Statue of Nello and his dog Patrasche trying to keep warm under the cobblestones.

There's also a well on this square called The Well of Quintin Metsijs. Quintin Metsijs was a blacksmith who fell in love with a woman called Catherina Heyns. She was the daughter of an artist and her father wanted her to marry someone more important than a mere blacksmith. Instead of giving up, Quintin Metsijs decided to try and become a painter, too. One day he sneaked into Catherina's father's studio and painted a fly on a canvas he was about to use. The fly was so realistic looking that when he saw it, Catherina's father tried to swat it away. This made him realise that Quintin Metsijs was talented after all and he decided to agree to the marriage. Quintin Metsijs went on to became one of the founders of the Antwerp School of artists. The well has an inscription which reads: ': ‘Dese putkevie werd gesmeed door Quinten Matsijs. De liefde maeckte van den smidt eenen schilder.’ which means: "The ironwork for this well was forged by Quinten Metsys. Love makes the blacksmith a painter." There's also a famous lace shop on this square.

The Cathedral of Our Lady and The Well of Quintin Metsijs to the left of it.

Lace shop.

There are also shops and restaurants here.

Handschoenenmarkt.

Shop somewhere in the historical centre.

Shop somewhere in the historical centre.

Fridge magnets.

Al fresco dining somewhere in the historical centre.

From here I went to Grote Markt, Antwerp's main square. This square is home to Antwerp's city hall and to several guild halls. The Brabo Fountain is located in the middle of the square. It was in the process of being renovated during our visit. The city hall was completed in 1564 which was a time when trade in Antwerp was booming, unfortunately though, it was badly damaged in a fire twelve years later. The fire was started deliberately by Spanish soldiers who were plundering the city. The guild halls on Grote Markt mainly date from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The Brabo Fountain depicts the legend of Silvius Brabo throwing away the severed hand of the giant, Antigoon. The fountain was created by Jef Lambeaux in 1887.

Antwerp's City Hall.

The Brabo Fountain.

Guild Halls.

Guild Halls.

Grote Markt, looking back at the cathedral.

Street in the old historical centre with a statue of a girl throwing a rope.

City Square somewhere in the historical centre.

At this point I saw a sign for a nearby church called Saint Charles Borromeo's Church. I went to have a look. This was built between 1614 and 1621 for the Jesuit Order. At one time the ceiling of this church were decorated with thirty-nine paintings by Peter Paul Rubens, but sadly these were destroyed in a fire. I thought the church was beautiful, especially all the wood carvings inside it. Opposite the church is the old city library and in front of the library there's a statue of Flemish writer, Hendrick Conscience.

The facade of Saint Charles Borromeo's Church.

Closer view of Saint Charles Borromeo's Church.

Inside Saint Charles Borromeo's Church.

Inside Saint Charles Borromeo's Church.

Altar.

Painting of The Holy Family by Rubens.

Saint Francis Xavier.

Beautiful wood angels.

Beautiful wood carvings.

Beautiful Wood carvings.

Painting of Sant Anne and wood carvings.

Carved panels.

I lit a candle here and prayed I would be able to get Peter back home.

Madonna and child.

This art work is more modern.

Charles Borromeo's Statue.

Statue and candles.

Old City Library opposite the church.

I picked up a leaflet inside the church telling me that Saint Charles Borromeo's Church was one of four beautiful churches within easy walking distance of each other, so I decided to continue on to the next church on the list. This was Sint-Jacobskerk - the Church of Saint James. This gothic church was built between 1491 and 1656 by the Waghemakere family and Rombout Keldermans. It is built on the site of a former hostel for pilgrims to Santiago de Compostela. This church was intended to have a much taller tower but in the end this proved to be too expensive. Peter Paul Rubens' tomb is located in the eastern chapel of this church. I could not see all of the church, much of it was closed for restoration, but a life size replica of the interior of the church was hung over the area being restored. It was very skilfully done and from a distance looked completely real.

Sint-Jacobskerk exterior.

It's very peaceful inside.

Interior with light streaming in.

Christ on the cross.

Beautiful painting.

Painting.

Triptych.

Saint and painting.

Saint and candles.

Statue covered with pieces of tape. Not sure why.

After visiting this church, I visited one more before I became churched out. The third church I visited was the Church of Saint Paul. This is located near the River Scheldt in an area that used to be inhabited by fishermen. This church was built in the sixteenth century as a Dominican monastery. I entered the church next to the ruins of the old monastery. There Is a garden here with shrines based on those at Lourdes. There were also lots of bluebells here. This church has wonderful paintings and incredible wood carvings, but my favourite part was Calvary. This is a garden with more than sixty statues. It was built on the site of the monastery graveyard at a time when the Holy Land had become inaccessible due to advancing Ottoman troops. It was the idea of Dominicus van Ketwigh, an Antwerp Dominican, who wanted people to come there to experience the life story of Christ without having to endure the dangers of going to Jerusalem. It cost five euros to go inside this church.

Saint Paul's exterior.

Monastery ruins and shrine based on Lourdes.

Monastery ruins and shrine based on Lourdes.

Stations of the cross.

Interior.

Interior.

Interior.

Robes of Dominican Order.

Painting of a Dominican.

Carved pews.

Wood carvings.

Wood carvings.

Painting, carvings, lions.

Carved lions.

Painting of Christ being taken down from the cross.

Tapestry.

Angels and candle.

Exterior of Saint Paul's from Calvary.

Calvary.

Calvary.

Calvary.

Calvary.

Statue in Calvary.

When I left Saint Paul's, I headed towards the river. I came to two very impressive old buildings, but at the time did not know what they were. I now know that the largest one is the Antwerp Pilotage. Workers here were responsible for piloting and providing nautical services to ships at sea and on the River Scheldt. This building was designed by Hendrik Kennes and Ferdinand Truyman and was inaugurated in 1895. Apparently it is now being converted into a Flemish culinary centre. The building next to it was an old buoy warehouse where buoys were once maintained and repaired. On top of the pilotage there is another statue of Bravo throwing away the giant's severed hand.

Pilotage.

The pilotage and old buoy warehouse.

Looking back at the Pilotage and old buoy warehouse.

Close up of Bravo statue on the roof.

From here I walked along the river back towards the old historical centre. I passed a lovely sailing ship.

Beautiful Sailing ship.

Ship.

Looking back along the Waterfront.

Walking forward along the waterfront.

Eventually I came to Det Steen - Antwerp Castle. Apparently there have been fortified buildings on this site since around the year 650. The earliest ones were made of sandstone and were built to repel Viking raids. Over time these sandstone structures decayed, so stone buildings were constructed here instead. The name Det Steen is Dutch for 'the rock'. Initially it was a defensive structure, then it became the residence of the Márgrave de Antwerp, then it became a prison and then a naval museum. Nowadays it houses an exhibition called The Antwerp Story.

Statue next to the back of the Castle.

The back of the Castle.

Castle.

Crucifix at the castle

Crucifix at the Castle.

In the Castle Courtyard.

In front of the castle there is a statue of Lange Wapper. Lange Wapper was a normal sized man, but when he wandered the streets of Antwerp after nightfall and found anyone drunk or causing trouble, he grew and grew until he became a terrifying giant and scared them so much they would rush home terrified.

The front of the Castle.

Castle and Lange Wapper.

Lange Wapper and castle.

There's also a statue of a god called Semini above the main door of the castle. This is believed to be a fertility symbol and women used to come here to pray to get pregnant. That's not going to happen to me as I never even noticed it!! Though now I know where it is I can see its position on my pictures of the castle entranceway.

Just beyond the castle is The View - a big wheel you can step into to look at views over the city and river. Next to it there is a statue of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom.

Big wheel.

The big wheel.

Big wheel and Minerva statue.

Minerva statue.

Return to historical centre.

Statue and building.

Statue of a dock worker.

I phoned Peter to see if he wanted me to take him out to dinner. He didn't, so I bought quiche and burgers then headed back to the hotel.

Finally a blog where I scarcely took any photos.

We flew from Edinburgh to Heathrow Airport on the 18th of April and then took the hotel hoppa to the Ibis Budget Heathrow. We had originally intended to stay in the Ibis Budget Hounslow, but decided the hotel nearer the airport may be better for Peter.

Actually this Ibis Budget was more like a real Ibis than the budget version. Our room was quite big and reasonably comfortable. There was a restaurant in the hotel which was lucky, as there wasn't that much nearby, just a few convenience stores and, as I found out on our last morning, a Tesco Express. On our first night, we went to the hotel restaurant for dinner. Peter chose a tuna sandwich and I had chicken tikka masala. For dessert Peter had a vanilla ice cream and I had more beer!!! The vanilla ice cream took longer to come than the cooked part of the meal. The food was actually quite nice.

My chicken tikka masala.

Peter especially liked his vanilla ice cream.

We both slept well. Next day we were meeting up with our friend, Michael, and also meeting again with Peter's brother and his wife. Our original plans had been only to meet with Michael, but as we had failed to make it to Peter's brother's, he and his wife had hardly seen us, so it was good to see them again. All three of them took into account Peter's limited mobility and came to us.

Michael arrived first and we had a good chat in our hotel room before heading to the hotel restaurant for a drink.

Michael.

Peter and Michael.

Me and Michael.

Peter and I.

When Richard, Peter's brother, arrived, he wanted to take us somewhere else, but as it was happy hour - buy one get one- we ended up eating in the Ibis again. I didn't mind this at all. We've been doing quite enough moving around. As we are totally boring old farts, both Peter and I had exactly the same food as the day before.

Richard, Viv, Peter and I.

After everyone left, we just spent our time packing and getting ready to go. Next day we headed off to the airport to fly to Belgium. I had been worried about how to get Peter from the hotel hoppa bus stop to the plane, but to our amazement when we got off the bus, there was an abandoned airport wheelchair sitting at the bus-stop, so I got Peter into that . Thank you, God. It certainly felt like a miracle.

In Birmingham we had bought a much larger suitcase than we had travelled to Britain with. This was to allow us to do some shopping. Our new suitcase had four wheels, rather than the usual two. Managing the suitcase and Peter wasn't easy at first but then we discovered Peter could take full control of the suitcase while I pushed him. After that discovery we could move around really easily. I pushed him all the way to the assisted boarding area to get us help to get on the plane. We had both rather fallen in love with our new bag.

At assisted boarding, we were assigned someone to take us through to the departure gate. However, just as he was about to take us, he was called back and told he was to go with another helper who was new to the job and didn't know what to do. The new guy was assigned a rather strange woman. We were just about to go when she suddenly said she had not taken her medicine and refused to come without taking it. She promptly disappeared to the toilet, but never came back. Eventually, after around a ten to fifteen minute wait, the new guy was assigned to a different passenger. Everyone had given up on the one that disappeared. The new woman was a lot easier except that she had forgotten she had placed a liquid in her hand luggage and when we tried to pass through security, we had to wait till it was tested before we could go. This is the sort of thing I often do myself.

Anyway we got through in the end and finally boarded our plane for three nights in Belgium.

The Darn Walk along The Allan Water.

In our original plans we were going to Scotland, then England, then Belgium, then back to Hong Kong, but everything went pear shaped with Peter getting ill, so we missed our original transport to England, booked a return train ticket from Scotland to England, left some of our luggage in Scotland with Catherine, then went back to get it. This time the train journey was much more pleasant as Peter seemed in better health and I managed the odd shot out of the train window. I especially liked passing the yellow fields of rape seed.

Fields of rapeseed.

Fields of rapeseed.

I also managed to time it correctly to get the odd photo of Berwick on Tweed and a few of the passing countryside and livestock.

Peter on the train.

Sheep grazing.

Berwick on Tweed.

UK countryside.

I have to say the help we received at Birmingham New Street and Edinburgh Waverley with wheelchairs was excellent. I doubt Peter could have done the journey without it.

When we arrived back at Bridge of Allan, Catherine and Mark met us at the station and took us to their house. They had made a delicious Thai vegetable curry meal for me and sausage rolls for Peter, as his stomach is still a little bit dodgy. We were all delighted to see Peter eating relatively normally for a change.

Next day Catherine took Peter and I back to Bridge of Allan. Historically Bridge of Allan was a spa town built around the River Allan, which is a tributary of the River Forth. Famous people who used to come here to take the waters include Robert Louis Stevenson and Charles Dickens.

Sign for Bridge of Allan.

Our plan was we would take Peter to the superb Bridge of Allan Brewery and leave him with a drink while we went for an hour long walk. However, when we got there, we realized the Bridge of Allan Brewery was closed on Mondays and Wednesdays, so we went to the Westerton on the main street instead. We got Peter a seat, a cider, nuts and crisps.

Peter and I at the Bridge of Allan Brewery.

Catherine and Peter at the Bridge of Allan Brewery.

The Westerton.

Then Catherine and I went off to do the Darn Walk which goes along Allan Water between Bridge of Allan and Dunblane. We weren't going all the way to Dunblane. We were going half way then looping back.

The bridge that gives Bridge of Allan it's name

Weir behind the main bridge on Henderson Street.

To get to the start of the walk we walked along the main street, Henderson Road, then went up Blairforkie Drive on the east side of the bridge that gives the town its name.

Sign for the Darn Walk to Dunblane.

View from the start of the walk.

The Darn Walk follows an ancient pathway which has been in use for centuries, possibly even all the way back to the Roman occupation of Britain. For most of the way the walk runs along beside Allan Water. It's a very pleasant walk through woodland with the river gushing along below you.

The walk goes through forests.

Forest and river.

Raging waters.

The River Allan.

Allan Water.

Spring buds.

In some places everything around you is green as the trees are covered in moss.

Mossy Forest.

Mossy Forest.

Mossy Forest.

In other places it looks more autumnal or wintery.

Colourful forest.

It is a relatively easy walk though in places it can be quite muddy and thus a bit slippy.

Catherine and Mack negotiating the mud.

They made it.

Now the going is easier.

At one point we descended down some slippy stairs to a bridge that crosses over Cock's Burn. There are great views here over raging white water and tiny waterfalls.

Bridge over Cock's Burn.

Me crossing the bridge.

Small falls on the Cock's Burn.

Looking down the Cock's Burn.

The Cock's Burn.

Where the Cock's Burn joins Allan Water.

There was lots of lovely spring blossom all around. I'd imagine this walk would be quite different in different seasons of the year.

Blossom lined path.

Blossom.

Blossom.

Blossom.

After a short way we came to an interesting site. There's a cave next to the path which is believed to have been the inspiration for Ben Gunn's cave in the novel 'Treasure Island.' Apparently Robert Louis Stevenson often came to Bridge of Allan to take the waters and ease his ill health. One of his favourite things to do when he was here was to walk along the Darn Walk to Dunblane. Outside the cave there's a sign post giving information about the cave and a bench carved with parrots, a cross and skull bones and a treasure chest. It was lovely to come across such an unexpected gem here.

Cave sign.

Cave.

Bench.

Cave and bench.

As we were only doing half the walk and looping back to Bridge of Allan, we crossed a concrete bridge and walked back on the other side of the river.

Cross the concrete bridge to loop back.

Catherine and Mack.

Mack doesn't like mud.

At one point we came to a sandy area by the water. Catherine says Mack sometimes goes into the water here, but on this occasion he didn't.

Small sandy beach.

At one point we were right next to the railway line.

Railway.

Railway.

There was farmland and the Ochil Foothills off to one side of us.

The Ochil Foothills.

Continuing onwards we were soon back at Bridge of Allan. There were great views towards Stirling Castle and the Wallace Monument. We passed a house with a sign telling people to shut the gate or face a forty shilling fine.

Daffodil lined path .

Nearly back. We've reached some houses.

Coming back into Bridge of Allan.

Coming back into Bridge of Allan.

Back in Bridge of Allan.

Shut the gate sign.

Back in Bridge of Allan I joined Peter for a drink while Catherine did a bit of shopping.

That night we had homemade stuffed peppers, halloumi salad and roast potatoes. It was delicious. Peter opted for a Scotch pie instead again because of his dicky tummy.

Next day we were flying from Edinburgh Airport to Heathrow. I got up pretty early and was able to see a gorgeous, colourful woodpecker in the garden, plus of course the usual crowd of squirrels.

Woodpecker.

Woodpecker.

Squirrel.

After breakfast Mark took me with him to Stirling University to feed the ducks and swans. We saw a deer on the way. Catherine and I jokingly call Mark the swan whisperer, because he is always feeding them.

The swan whisperer strikes again.

Ducks and coot.

Ducks enjoying their breakfast.

Swan enjoying its breakfast.

Swan enjoying its breakfast.

Swan and coot.

Airthrey Loch.

Catherine and Mark took us to Stirling Bus Station to get the Megabus to Edinburgh Airport. It was very sad saying goodbye to them, as we don't know when we will all be together again.

The bus journey was very scenic as the bus went through lots of little villages. It also passed the kelpie statues in Falkirk which I was so impressed with I forgot to take a photo.

We got wheelchair service for Peter from directly next to the bus station. Again it was really good. We had a quick drink in Wetherspoons then boarded our plane. The journey was on time and was perfectly pleasant. I took the odd photograph out of the window.

At Heathrow we boarded a Hotel Hoppa and went to the Ibis Budget Hotel where we will stay for two nights.