13 May 2014

English Excursion


Rabbits.  Everywhere.  This is taken at a hotel in Peterborough, UK.

The next photos are of our little excursion to Cambridge - home of University of Cambridge.  


The university is in different locations throughout the city rather than one main campus.


This is the entrance to Christ's College and it opens up into . . .


this pretty courtyard.


The streets were lined with nice old buildings like this one.


Jim captured this bird in flight while documenting the perfectly blue sky - a rare occurrence in the UK!










Re-purposed church




We peeked inside what we thought was a chapel, but turns out it's a . . .


cafe.


This is King's College from a distance.


It was closed on the day we visited because of exams.






This whole area is for pedestrians and cyclists only which is really nice because the rest of the city has serious traffic problems.


King's College close up.








This is called the Corpus Clock outside Corpus Christi College, part of Cambridge University.  It was funded by Cambridge alumnus, John Taylor at a cost of one million pounds.


We enjoyed lunch at this little restaurant across the street from the Corpus Clock.








Jim took several photos of the head on this Guinness - it has a shamrock, but hard to capture in a picture.





The next day we visited London for an afternoon . . .


This is Covent Garden.


This is paella at Covent Garden.  Of course, we tried it.


We were so lucky.  Another beautiful day in England.


One of the many entertainment groups/individuals at Covent Garden.


Taken from Waterloo Bridge.


Street food.






This is the Olympic Stadium.  We stayed at a hotel just across the street from it.


Back in Hasselt celebrating Cinco de Mayo!

29 April 2014

Grey and gray

The Ikea ad below is running in Belgium and posters are displayed around Brussels.

Ironically, this year, Belgium has seen more sun than any year since records have been kept.  Normally, I couldn't agree more with Ikea, but not this year . . .

I'm just glad we were here to witness the best weather Belgium has ever seen!







24 April 2014

Holland Holiday

We met our friends Steve and Carole for a long weekend in the Netherlands.  We visited the city, the countryside, small towns and the coast!  



Here's a little video (with music :) of our trip . . .


16 April 2014

Abbaye de Villers


Last weekend when driving to the Hallerbos, we stopped over at this abbey.


The Abbey was established in 1146.


Construction began in the 13th century


and was finished before the end of that century.


The abbey's wealth diminished during the 17th and 18th centuries.


Guess they should have brewed more beer.


It was finally abandoned in 1796 


during the French Revolution.


In 1893, Belgium purchased the property.


It's now an official historic site.


According to their handout, extensive restoration has taken place.


And it's now home to these little mallards.


Abbaye de Villers
Villers-la-Ville, Belgium

14 April 2014

Bloemen

Everything is blooming here in Belgium!


This tulip tree is right around the corner from our house.


Just loaded with flowers.


This tree and a lot more like it line a street near our house.


Crabapple?


The orchards are also in full bloom right now.


Apple, cherry, pear . . .


This past weekend we took a drive to this forest.


It's covered in wild hyacinth, also known as bluebells.


The forest covers over 1,000 acres and was first mentioned in the year 686.  As with Belgium, it has changed hands a few times over the centuries.


The Spanish, the French, and the Dutch managed the forest.  Finally the Germans cut most of the trees during WWI.

After the war, it again became the possession of the Belgians and it was reforested in the 1930's and 40's.


For a few weeks each year it looks like a blue carpet.

Hallerbos
Halle, Belgium