Sew Fun 2 Quilt: Antwerp, Belgium

Antwerp was another of our favorite cities, which we visited on Day 6. It is one of the world's major seaports and its unique atmosphere comes from the contrasts between old and new, commerce and art.

We went on a walking tour of the city in the morning and a tasting tour in the afternoon! Antwerp is renowned for two of life's great indulgences: diamonds and chocolate! We didn't buy any diamonds but we did indulge in the chocolate 😋

We really enjoyed the architecture of the old buildings, as you can see by the pictures we took!

Before we left, my friend Michelle told us about the movie "The Dog of Flanders", about Nello and Patrasche. It's a great movie and I'm glad we watched it before we left, so we would understand that statue of Nello and Patrasche pictured below. Apparently there is a book too and it sounds like the movie ends happier than the book.

We got to tour the Cathedral of Our Lady, the largest church in Belgium and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It contains four masterpieces by 17th-century baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens, who lived in Antwerp. All of the paintings in this church were amazing.

Small scale model of the Cathedral

Statue of Peter Paul Rubens,

with the Cathedral in the background.

OK.... the tasting tour was phenomenal! We ate these crispy Belgian waffles dusted with powdered sugar and pralines from a delicious chocolate shop.

Fun fact: Belgium produces 220,000 tons of chocolate a year - the most delicious chocolate I've ever tasted too :)

We passed on the liquor tasting here....

And we didn't try three of the famous beers here....

But we did eat Belgian fries and drink a delicious soda here. The Belgians claim to have invented "French Fries" so they call them Belgian Fries, or Frites. They are double fried, so extra crispy and served with mayonnaise - oh so good.