Day Out

Today has been a pretty darn good day.

Kicked the day off with a trainer ride... Not ideal but better and smarter than riding on the icy roads. It is not terribly cold here (-2) but the roads are a mess. So trainer it was. Luckily the 90 minutes went by pretty much effortlessly thanks to a movie I had been saving for a while. I'm probably the last person to do so, but I finally watched In Bruges. Kind of strange to be in Belgium and watching this movie. Seems as though most people watch this movie before visiting Belgium. I haven't finished the movie yet, so I can fully comment on it - but I will say that it is a darn good little film. Makes me want to return to Bruges!

After a tasty lunch... I've discovered a new favorite. Now don't cringe - keep an open mind. In a bowl mix together: one can of tuna, one chopped avocado, one chopped tomato, and a couple spoonfuls of baba ganoush (eggplant spread). It tastes really quite good. Lots of healthy stuff going on as well. Protein from the tuna. Omegas from the tuna and avocado. Vitamins from the tomato. Even better - toast two pieces of Belgian bread, place a piece of extra old Gouda on the toast - dump tuna mixture on cheese (on the toast) and place other piece of cheese and toast on top. Voila - a healthy and filling sandwich.

Marc dropped me off at the train station in Arschott where I hopped a train and landed in Leuven a mere 10 minutes later. Love train travel. So much easier than driving to Leuven and fighting the parking. Not to mention paying for the parking! I spent the entire afternoon in Leuven. I wandered down every street I could find. In and out of shops. Peaked in windows. Visited a couple of coffee shops. Tried on some clothes. Handled some books. Looked at some shiny coffee makers. Spied some tasty looking chocolates, bread, cheeses, and meat. All in all, I saw it all in Leuven. Leuven is a great little city. Culturally rich with many monuments, a beautiful town center and a bustling university.

As promised, I brought my camera and snapped a few photos of my day.

This statue was the first thing I saw upon exiting the train station.

One of the last pieces of the nativity scene for the Christmas period. Often there will be live animals in the nativity scenes.

This statue is on the main shopping street in Leuven.

Check out the prices on these chocolates! No - I didn't go inside this chocolate shop - bit too pricey for my wallet. Besides, everyone knows chocolate is bad for cyclists (full of oil and fat)...

The bread man.

I believe this is the old city hall. A stunning building. At night it looks amazing when lit up.

Massive church. This church is across from the city hall. Makes for a rather stunning center of the "old town". From this location there are tiny little side streets with funky little shops and some tasty looking restaurants.

This statue is located on one of the more popular restaurant-filled streets. Even in the winter, the statue is surrounded by "town" bikes.

Decaf cappuccino. I stopped at Punto Cafe for a little warm-up. I didn't stay long though, it was rather crowded and noisy. So noisy that I couldn't focus on my book. The cappuccino was rather good. But I think Cafe Libro in Westerlo still comes out on top.

I don't know what this building is. Just thought it looked pretty spectacular.

I really had a great afternoon. I even bought some new clothes! A certain someone has been bugging me about my "baggy" jeans... So I bit the bullet and tried on some jeans. And as luck with have it - the first pair I tried on fit. So of course I bought them. I also bought a new shirt. Bought both items at H & M. Normally I'm not a fan of H & M but I discovered a "second label" that H & M carries: Label of Graded Goods. This is an H & M label but it is slightly nicer than the standard H & M clothes. Of course, the clothes I bought weren't on sale... I'm quite happy with the new items. In fact, I could be convinced to buy more clothes at H & M after this experience.

I stopped in a Le Pain Quotidien and had planned to plunk myself down with my book and a warm drink, but the cafe closed at 5 p.m. and I entered at 4:50. So I bought a decaf cappuccino to go. Best compromise. I also picked up a jar of harissa paste. I had some time to kill before catching the train so I popped in to the grocery store. Where I spied a taste of home:

I hopped the train back and now after a satisfying meal of broccoli, sausage, and whole wheat pasta, I'm chilling out and getting caught up on the WWW action. A good day indeed.

I hope it warms up tomorrow... I've got a double day on deck, and I'm not looking forward to 2.5 hours on the trainer in the morning. Oh well, could always be worse - could be 2.5 hours in a cubicle!

Hope you enjoyed the photos of Leuven. If you ever find yourself in Belgium, I definitely recommend you visit this city. Perfect for an afternoon of wandering, shopping, coffee drinking, waffle munching, and chillaxing.

Comments

[Ed Campbell]

In your last picture of Lueven, above the lamp post, there looks to be an upside down cricket! Am I seeing things?
Wish I could be there.

Ed

[vicki]

Hey Ed!

You are correct - there is an upside down cricket in the photo! Strange. I didn't notice it until you pointed it out. Great to hear from you - hope you are doing well.

cheers,
vicki

[Ross]

I like the Irish twist to the bottle of Canadian syrup!

[geert dehuvyne]

Hi Vicky

the statue in the first picture
is the monument fot the citizens from leuven fallen in WWI and WWII

The "beetle on the needle" was given to Leuven by the KUL for the
University's 575 birthday. The artist, Jan Fabre, has always been obsessed by bugs and insects. For example, aside from the needle artwork, he also covered
the ceiling of the royal palace's "mirror room" with thousands of beetles
painted in green.

If you look closely, you'll notice it's really a 400x enlarged version
of a needle (23 m high) on which the (3 m) beetle is stuck. The needle
itself "sticks" in the blue sky.

Several explanations exist:
- It represents the insect collection the artist made in childhood.
- It is a symbol of science and knowledge, thus representing the
university.
- "Insect collection" as in "book collection" (of the library.)
- the beetle is a species that already exists 400 million years, so its
"memory of nature" clearly outspans man's "memory through book
printing" -
the library again.

the library is the building in the background

http://www.leuven.com/index.html

Greetz

Geert

[vicki]

Wow - thanks Geert for all the useful information about the buildings in my photos. Very interesting about the "beetle on the needle".
cheers,
vicki

[joscelin]

I will go look for that beetle next time I am in Leuven