Depart Hotel 6:30 am > Train Avignon Centre to Avignon TGV station 6:44 am > TGV Avignon to Brussels departed 7:15 am.
Note: This distance between Avignon and Brussels is approximately the same distance as from Sydney to Melbourne. The train trip takes 5 hours. The flight time, allowing for to & from airport, is 5 hours. I would much rather take the train. We need a super-fast train in Australia!
After arriving in Brussels and navigating the public transport system, we had lunch with our lovely friends at their home, then headed out to explore the city.
The Cathedral of St Michael & St Gudula was breathtaking and I particularly like the statue of St Gudula. I think she is beautiful.
The city is nice but I find it a bit drab and pokey. The paving is cobblestone, like Edinburgh, so one has to watch where one is stepping. We took respite from a short period of rain by wandering through the ornate Galeries Royale shopping arcade, then had a small afternoon beer at Brasserie Le Lombard. They had about 15 Belgian beers to choose from.
Dinner with friends at La Maison des Gourmands and ate the classic Belgian dish ‘Moules Frites’ (Mussels and chips). This was the biggest pot of mussels I’ve ever seen… I think they were reproducing in the bottom of the pot as I ate. The night was fun and it was great to catch up with friends I worked with in Smith Square during the Br&#*t saga!
