Antwerp Day 3- Chocolate, churches and charity shops!

It's been a while since my last post on our Antwerp holiday!  I finally managed to get some photos copied across.

On our Monday in Antwerp, we woke up fairly late and after a lazy breakfast, had to hotfoot it across town on the Velo hire bikes to near the railway station. We had booked to go to Antwerp's Chocolate Museum. Having been to, and loved the Bruges Chocolate museum in 2019, I was excited for this one.

We arrived and put our bags in lockers.  They told us that the whole exhibit was Covid safe with nothing we needed to touch and was timed with all doors to sections so that people in groups didn't have to have any contact with other people. It was very clever.

The whole museum was really interesting with a detailed history of chocolate from bean to processing, to wrapping to all the different types and important Chocolatiers. It was hugely informative and fun to see.

One part of the exhibition showed you a vintage Belgium chocolatier and you got to hear from the woman who ran it (a reenaction)

One part showed some of the most iconic individual chocolates and their shapes in massive form

and introduced you to the great innovators in chocolate.  Here above is the Guylian shell.  Apparently, the most recent innovation was a truly new type of chocolate- Ruby Chocolate!

There were a few sections where you could see chocolatiers decorating and making chocolates.  There are opportunities to join demonstrations but sadly there were none when we were there which was sad as I ADORED this part of the Bruge chocolate museum!

This section here was where they introduced us to the ethical side of chocolate making and how the Chocolate Line is trying to support the communities who harvest and grow cocoa for them.

There were many 'instagram photo' type locations for you to take your picture.

As we progressed through, I became more and more disappointed at the lack of opportunities to TRY any chocolate.  At the Bruges one, there were chocolate button dispensers in various places.

 

It was only in the last room (before the shop), that we FINALLY got to try some chocolate. We were met by a lady who handed us a spoon each and showed us how to operate these melted chocolate machines.  They would dispense a sample of melted chocolate of all the different blends and combinations onto your spoon.  We started with those blends with a really large cocoa content and progressed to lots of different ones including the aforementioned ruby chocolate.

The warm liquid chocolate was delicious!!  We even managed a couple of samples of a few of them as the lady just left you to it!

We went into the shop where CBC chose some presents and some treats.

We then made a hasty stampede towards St Charles Borromeo church where I would be meeting one of my favourite Belgium blogger, the wonderful Ann!

We were pretty hungry and went into a nearby cafe where we ordered some food, hoping it would arrive quickly (which it didn't!).  Luckily, Ann was lovely enough to come and join us whilst we ate out lunch!

It was SOOOOO exciting to see Ann in real life after seeing her in beautiful pictures for so long! She is just as beautiful and stylish  in real life as she is in her photos!  She's also so incredibly kind and friendly! I've often been incredulous over Ann's writing- there is no way I could write in a language other than my native one in such an idiomatic way than Ann does and she is JUST the perfect person to chat to! It's so nice to be able to be able to natter and talk about those things you can't when typing.

Once we'd eaten our lunch, we headed to St Charles Borromeo- a well known Baroque church. It was built in the 1600's.  Sadly, the original 39 ceiling paintings by Rubens and lots of other works were destroyed, around about 100 years after it was built, in a fire.

It looks fairly undecorative from the outside, but the inside is WONDERFUL!

There is a wonderful Rubens altar painting.

The church is crammed full of things to look at- marblework, wood carvings, paintings and decorative floors. The organ is pretty exciting too!

There were confession booths here- so intricate!

After this, We headed off to......yes.....THINK TWICE!  For anyone who does not read Ann's blog, Think Twice is the most incredible Secondhand clothing chain in Belgium who have a very vast array of vintage clothes at reasonable prices.  They then have sale days where items get progressively cheaper until the final day where EVERYTHING is 1Euro! Ann is the Think Twice queen!

I was fortunate enough to be there with Ann on the penultimate 2 Euro day!  Because of Covid measures, we had to queue outside. At which point, CBC took himself off to go and seek a loo, which gave Ann and I an opportunity to have a proper chat which wouldn't bore him through not knowing all the things we were talking about!  Her we are in the T2 queue! You can see the T2 poster advertising the sale on the window!

We finally made it into the shop!   We walked around and realised we were very compatible shopping partners, showing each other things we though the other would like and giggling about things!  The selection was really good! 

We both ended up making purchases- Ann one skirt and me, a couple of items to add to my previous purchases from an alternative T2 I'd visited the previous day (there are FOUR in Antwerp!)

I was really sad when we had to leave so I walked with Ann to meet Jos, her husband, who was coming to pick her up in the car.  It was really lovely to meet him too!

We'd had SUCH  a jolly, easy time and I felt SO privileged to be able to meet someone who has become a good friend via blogland over the past few years! The nice thing was that we ended up texting each other all through my visit (and beyond) and it made my holiday that bit extra special that I had a friend who I could share my adventures with, who knew exactly what and where I was talking about! Ann had already given me lots of brilliant suggestions for places to visit!

That evening, CBC and I headed out to dinner to a bistro near Volkstraat which served some traditional Belgian dishes and I took the opportunity to choose the dish Ann had mentioned to be earlier when we asked about traditional Belgian dishes. I THINK it was called Endives au Jambon. Apparently endives or chicory was dicovered by a Belgian farmer in 1830.

CBC and I are HUGE Chicory fans so I was gleeful to try it.

As you can see, I was served the most ENORMOUS portion- that's my hand right next to it! It was IMMENSE.

A thick layer of bechamel cheese sauce with ham rolls and lots of endives plus mashed potato.

I discovered, after wadingt through one half, that all the MASHED potato was on the side I left till last and I'd eaten all the endives and ham on the left so my meal ended up being rather heavy-going on the mash at the end but it was a GREAT choice.  CBC had the beef stew. Yes, he forgo his veggie ways to try it. When in Belgium....

It had been a rather wonderful day and I wondered what would be next?

Oh...you want to see my T2 purchases????

Well, as well as the two skirts I showed in previous posts (the red daisy one and the blue/purple stripy glittery one, plus a woven leather belt), I bought the above.

Most useful were the navy camisole and the corduroy rose skirt which I wore whilst there. I've now worn everything except the rainbow dress and the teal top!

Oh...and here's an unheard of photo of me trying CBC's cherry beer. I think it was a La Chouffe beer.

I LOATHE and DETEST beer.  Watch me drink it and see what true horror and abject disgust looks like (apparently it's hilarious) but CBC insisted I try this and it was pleasant! I even took an extra sip when he went to the loo!

Hope you are having a lovely day!

xx

An exciting Blogger meet up!

 I count myself as really lucky that I have been fortunate enough to meet up with quite a few of my blog friends in real life:

UK bloggers- Sophie and Hazel, who I've met a few times, Vix, Ellie, Melanie, Denise, Anna (technically international!), I even met Sharon on my way to work (I was crossing the road in front of her car and she stopped and called out to me!) 

American bloggers Lily and Lauren, who used to blog both studied in the UK for a short time so I got to meet them.

There are still lots of you that I would LOVE to meet but the one I most wanted to meet was Ang.  We've become friends in real life, Ang has been a kind and dear friend offering support to me through difficult times and a wonderful cosplay sewing darling, adapting various garments to me. If you don't read her blog, it is the most interesting, varied and educational blogs, as well as being full of heart.

Ang very recently suffered a loss when her cousin died and she went to help out her elderly auntie and nephew/cousin (help, I get confused with cousin relationships!).   

I asked Ang if she would like to meet up whilst she was with her auntie, as I was aware that she might want something nice to look forward to at a hard time, at the same time, not wanting to intrude or detract from the situation.

To my delight, she was really eager to meet up and then Tuesday night, we met!

We met up at the station.  I got late out of school because a parent was very late picking up their child from choir and then I had to move all the tables and chairs back  in the corridor as well as locate my coat and then hotfooted it to the station.  I was all hot as I lumbered down the stairs at the station at my destination to meet Ang.

It was SO exciting to meet her in real life and it felt entirely normal!  We had a massive hug and then headed to Costa to have a drink (and a sneaky After 8 Mint muffin!).

The hour and a half we had to chat before Costa closed was so lovely and went all too quickly. We chatted about lots of things and I felt so at ease and happy to finally meet my friend at last.  It was lovely to hear news about Auntie Peggy who I had met and to talk about lots of things in real life.

Ang very kindly bought me along 2 beautiful pairs of earrings, one funky coffee mugs and then the best, a pair of Cybermen earrings from Doctor Who which belonged to Gill, Ang's recently deceased, lovely cousin, who also liked Doctor Who.  They were a really touching, sweet and very apt present from Julian, to say thank you to me for when I visited Peggy. I was so touched and of course, instantly donned them!  I gave Ang a jacket I'd found her in a charity shop that I thought was very her as well as returning a book to her she'd lent me!

Handily, Ang was going to take on another cosplay project for me so I bought it along to pass onto her.  She's already completed it so I hope to share it with you soon!

Funnily enough, we were both wearing Breton stripes and Seasalt raincoats (sadly, I WASN'T wearing my matching one to hers!) 

I was smiling from ear to ear all evening as I returned home and only regret that it was under sad circumstances that we got to meet. Definitely, my November highlight!

Thank you Ang, for taking the time to meet me and braving the wilds of East London at night to meet up!

xx

A shopping trip in Suffolk

Yesterday, I met up with my two blogging favourites, Sophie and Hazel for a charity shop trip and day out. This is the fourth time the three of us have done this together which is really nice.

I arrived at the station around 10.30am and Hazel and Sophie arrived in the car together and we walked into town.

Up first, we went for a cup of tea and cake but to our dismay, yet another lovely independent cafe that Hazel likes had closed down. We then tried for one of our other regular haunts but this one was full. Luckily, Sophie glanced round and noticed a place called Hullabaloo which was opposite which looked interesting. We headed in and indeed it was the type of quirky individual place it is always nice to visit- plant-based, eco-friendly, fun decor and interesting fare.
After this, Hazel led us through the meandering streets to find the first of the myriad charity shops in Ipswich. If you fancy doing the Chazzer tour, see Hazel's post here about where they are.

After a brief nip into Lush for me to check out the Deodorant and buy something and a nosy in Clarks at the boots (this Clarks was gorgeous!), we went to Arlington's for lunch.
We sat upstairs in the beautiful high-ceilinged room.  It was so quiet and peaceful and refined.

We all chose sandwiches- I had a roasted peppers, Olive tapenade, rocket, chick pea Granary one with Beetroot relish- it was gorgeous!

Here's a picture of me and Hazel as Sophie wasn't feeling like a photo so she took it for us.

After this, we continued the charity shop tour which was less fruitful for us than previous years but still successful and fun!

Alas, the hideous lime green dresses, that Hazel had promised us were still in one of the shops, had gone.

I also took advantage of the market in the town centre AND a vegetable shop for some purchases too.

Finally, we headed back to Hullabaloo for a final cup of tea/coffee and cake (Hazel and Sophie repeated their cake choices from the morning which proves how tasty they were- Sophie had Banana and fig I think and I joined Hazel with the Vegan Chocolate Beetroot cake.)

We all walked to the station and said our goodbyes. It was a delight to see them both and I am grateful for their friendship through this here old blog.

One highlight for me was an entire shelf of Agatha Christie paperbacks. If I could have, I would have!

So....what did I buy you want to know?

Well...

From the top going clockwise:

A brown corduroy waist coat- £1.50

White Stuff Orange floral shirt- £3.00

Bag of tomatoes: £1.00

6 peppers: £1.00

5 Gold Rings Christmas sweatshirt: £2.25

Falala Christmas t-shirt- £2.00

White Stuff Alphabet dress £4.00

Cavolo Nero Cabbage: £1.00

Purple Kale: £1.00

3 choir vocal scores:  50p

Lush Montelbano shampoo bar and tin: £1.00

The Psychology of Time travel: £1.00

Black vintage mac with tweed piping: £3.00

Total: £21.75.

Yes, that's right, I only bought one book!! What an utter surprise. The funny thing was, Sophie and Hazel bought quite a few books- I felt very well behaved!  

I was most pleased about the Cavolo Nero and Purple Kale as no where near me sells those loose, not in plastic- The greengrocers that I got those from was really wonderful! I WISH it were near me!

I look forward to our next excursion!

Hope you are all well!

xx

A day in Oxford; blogger meet-up

Hello All,

I hope you are well.  I am fine and dandy despite some mean swollen tonsils for the past few days and having a serious case of 'Not getting to bed when I should do and not really doing anything useful in the time'.

However, I DID have a lovely time last Saturday.

I have been blog friends with the lovely, inspiring Lily Fang at Imperfect Idealist for quite a few years now and she is one of those wonderful writers who just exudes sensitive wisdom and insight despite her youthful age.  She's kind, clever and really generous and I have always enjoyed her writing.  And, she is also a musician! However, I never thought I'd get the opportunity to meet her until she said she was spending a semester studying at Oxford University at Hertfield college.  However, it somehow reached the last fortnight before Lily goes home to the US and we still hadn't met up!  So I arranged to go to Oxford to meet Lily last Saturday and she would spend a few hours showing me around and we could have a chat in real life! I also decided to combine it with a visit to my uni friend who lives in Wallingford which I could get a bus to later.

It's always so surreal to meet a blogger friend who you have only ever seen in photos online.  When I saw Lily at the station, it was so lovely to see her in real life. 

First, we walked from the staiton through the market near the bus station where they have a great vintage and food market. I was tempted to have a rummage through all the clothes there!

Then we headed to Lily's college library which non-students can't usually visit.  

This room is wonderful!  Lily, knowing my love of books, had arranged for us to see various book establishments! Wonderful!

 I went to a relatively modern University for my undergraduate and my post-graduate was also at a modern building so to see this made my heart  flutter and somewhat regret my choices. This is the type of environment I'd love to work in.

 It was hushed and beautiful.  Luckily, the slightly disapproving students who I tried not to make a sound around, didn't get cross with my excited whispers!

 Yes, I did indeed wear a book-print dress for visiting Oxford.

 And here is the lovely Lily!

 After that, we headed through the streets and saw the Bridge of Sighs. It is actually called Hertford Bridge and it links the two parts of Lily's college, Hertford. This features in Harry Potter.

 I asked if you could walk on it and Lily said we could as it is part of her college. Yay! Another 'not for the public' experience!

 Inside, it was still interesting although not quite as picturesque as the outside!

 Next, Lily had arranged a visit to the Bodleian library.  This also features in Harry Potter as the Restricted section of Hogwarts' Library.  Alas, photos are not allowed but it is utterly sublime! And ohh, to go and do work in there would be amazing!

 We were wondering how old the library was when we saw this chronology.

 I love these ceilings. I'm not sure what you call this type of ceiling work? Stucco?

 Hello again!

 This is another library building which is oh so picturesque.

 After that, we headed for Christ Church College. As there was a wedding ceremony in the Dining Hall, we had to wait a little longer.

 What a wealthy and opulent college it is. Such vast and imposing-looking structures!

 As we waited, we strolled along the Christ Church meadows. I loved seeing the various river-navigating crafts here.

 Finally, we were allowed into Christ Church's dining hall which, yes, you've guessed it, features in Harry Potter as the Hogwarts Dining hall. To eat in such a refectory every day is frankly astonishing! Is this anyone's Alma Mater?

 As it had been closed to the Public all morning, it was extremely busy so we were rather walked through on a conveyor belt.

 It was wonderful to finally figure out the differences between the American Educational system and the British one- I've been wondering for a while...

 Alas, at long last, it was time to part. We hurried back to the bus station to find the bus to Wallingford, only to find out you had to pick it up from outside Christ Church college!!! Typical.

My bus was there as we arrived so we had a hurried Goodbye.   Lily gave me a beautiful pencil brooch made out of recycled colouring pencils which she said reminded her of my Pencil hairclip.  It was lovely of her. To my shame, in my haste, general disorganisation and last minute nature, hadn't brought Lily anything with me although I had something I had thought though of her with but the thought hadn't gone beyond there in the general haste so I hope to send it (again, general disorganisation, haven't sent it yet and she goes on Monday!) 

It was really lovely to meet Lily at long last. She was as lovely and intelligent and kind as she is in her blog and the only other great fun thing would have been to play music together! Another time- I am sure she will be back as Europe is in her heart! My second international blogger meet-up was as lovely as the first one!

Thank you so much Lily.

Head over to Imperfect Idealist to meet Lily!

xx