1:50 AM

Travel was long. Long and long. But enjoyable. Except for the part where we dragged our suitcases down the flights of stairs.

We had to make change for the ride to the airport. The lady at the counter didn't quite understand my request. Oh well. Dad made a scene on the streetcar. He tried to move about while the train was moving and nearly fell over. Stepped on some old lady, nearly knocked our luggage into a baby, and so on.

The lady who made our change at GMX charged us a fee to do it; fifty cents for five euro in change. It was enough to get us there. The airport was lively but not really crowded. We checked in, got our bags checked, went through the passport check point (the first of about ten) and were released to the airport for the next few hours. Our board was at 11:16, very early for a 12:55 flight.

A child was crying outside the chocolate shop in the airport. A boy about twelve I would say. Just bawling and throwing a tantrum.

Dad tried to sneak me into the elite lounge but the lady at the desk would have nothing of it. We parted ways (dad wanted to run off an email to mum telling us of our A-OKness getting to the airport, and the lounge had free wifi, course there was probably free wifi all over the place). I kicked back at the gate. They did the xrays and metal detector right there before you boarded so I guess that is why there is the really early check in time. Long wait to get through. Really really long. Dad breezed right through because he is elite business class. This guy grilled me on the "has your luggage been with you since you packed it?" line of questioning and afterwards I just breezed through security and met Dad on the other side.

I traded my seat so that a pleasant English couple could sit together. I ended up one back but still with a window. The man I sat next to was also from Washington. I watched the rest of Bullitt and ate my three cheese pasta. I don't know why airplane food has such a bad reputation, my dinner was delicious. A few hours into the flight dad came by and informed me that there was a seat right next to him in super uber business elite class and that the stewardess said I could have it!!

I moved right on up from 18a to 1b. And there were the nice seats. The ones the recline into a full bed with an infinite amount of comfort possibilities. I had a great tv screen, and an ice cream with chocolate, and a warmer blanket. Ohhh it was amazing. I watched AI, The Emperor's New Groove, and Fool's Gold. I laid down and took a nap. Had a Tobelerone. Ohhh what a way to travel. Big compfy seats, great food, wonderful stewardesses, and the bathrooms were bigger and had little lotions and stuff in them. I drew the Stewardess who let me up a picture thanking her. She seemed to like it. I was put ahead of a couple people who had the miles and actually qualified for the upgrade.

Before I knew it, we were on the ground. Went through passport check, got our bags, went through customs, put our bag on the belt so we didn't have to drag them across the airport, and went to go meet mum. Some lady got in trouble because she brought seeds with her from Europe.

Mom was at the terminal and was all hugs. Especially because I arrived with a Kinder Egg in hand. Little does she know that we have six more. Mmmm!!

On the way back we stopped by City University so that mom could get her school binder. She liked her Tintin and Snowy key chain that we got her (we got her more things than just a key chain, we aren't that cheap) and put it on her lanyard for all to see. I dozed off on the way home and groggily staggered up to my bed and proceeded to sleep from about 5:30 to 1:50. It is so quiet here, my bed is so big and soft. Ohhh nice to not walk miles each day as well.

Wim & Mary

We set an alarm so that we wouldn't meet out 9:00am meeting with the international guy at SintLukas. His name is Wim Aertz. Hes a shorter guy with a decent accent but good English. He reminds me of Steven Slappe. While waiting for him I saw a guy who looked like the Dutch version of Mike (Kimpler is his last name, I think). Wim told us about the structure of the program, how it is graded, how they deal with international students, and so on. It was a lot of information. Didn't see a lot of the art from the students and couldn't walk around so I don't know what sort of work they are producing. Lenny from PNCA lent me a couple comic anthologies that they had made and those were fantastic.

The weather was miserable. It was raining really hard as we walked there and as we walked back. On the return we took the trolley/street car. It got us to Congres really fast and simple. Before we went to the hotel to pack and check out we stopped by Mary's Chocolatier. It was noted in my guidebook (and it was right down the street). It was near empty compared to the bustling chocolate shops of the Grand Place. We picked up something to munch now and something to munch later.

I had mostly packed in the morning so getting out of there was quick. My bag had become distinctly heavier during my vacation. Comics and intaglio plates are not light.

We checked out and hoofed it along the cobble roads and through the rain. We took a shortcut through one of the metro stations and after dragging our bags down a considerable amount of stairs, we arrived at Centraal and at our platform with half an hour to spare. Trains came and went every minute from all the platforms.

Our seats were rear facing. I took a little nap. Dad read his book. Our train had to stop at Schipol due to some errors but they had a train waiting on another track to take us to Centraal.

Dad dropped part of his luggage on my head during the bustle of disembarking. It really hurt but I wasn't bleeding or unconscious so we continued on.

It wasn't raining in Amsterdam, in fact it looked exactly how I left it: full of tourists.

We were given rooms on the topmost floor of Abba Hotel. Three flights of ridiculous stairs. Still don't know why we dragged our luggage all the way up them for only one night.

Our last day and night in Amsterdam was spent walking about. We went to Wok to Walk, a trendy wok and noodle shop, and had dinner. Both our plates were scraped clean. We set to walking in a general direction towards Centraal Station. Neither of us had a map. We walked through shopping districts and a sort of China Town. Saw a lovely ginger kitty that really liked me and wanted to come home with us. There was a flower market, crowds, bikes, the Dam, canals. Lots of Amsterdam things. It was a great walk. Our feet have been well and truly worn through from travels so we went to the hotel early.

I watched a program on the Royal Academy of the Arts and its yearly open exhibition. We also watched Waterworld but it kept being interrupted by women's football(or soccer as we call it).

We set the alarm again, just in case.

gesloten

The last night in Brussels. It went by so fast. Wasn't it yesterday that I was pondering if five days would be enough? Still sort of want to see Bruges though.

We slept in today. We didn't miss breakfast, but we did miss the chocolate filled pastries. The area downstairs was crowded. When we get there early it is normally about six other guests. Had the usual (minus the chocolate pastries).

The Wiertz Museum was closed from April through July.

The park nearby was lovely. Some kids were playing in the park, might have been recess at a nearby school. The girls joined in the game of kickball, no kids had iPods, PSP's, or other technology of that sort, and none of them were obese. Total contrast to the last time I saw kids in a park.

The area around us was where the European Union buildings is located. Very business centric with little lovely architecture. Jubelpark had some lovely sculptures but it was overly well kept and pristine. It has its own Arc de Triomphe.

The Armory Museum and Military Museum was huge. It just had wing after wing. There was a large blimp hanger sized room filled with planes, there were tanks outdoors, plane engines that dad got all worked up about, a long room filled with uniforms and equipment, and a level devoted to the history of Belgium during World War II. A grand mystery is why the marine, war, and uniform part of the museum closed down from 11:45 to 1:00. Just closed down. The rest of it stayed open. Lots of planes. Lots and lots of planes. Big ones, small ones, and a couple helicopters as well. The designs of the tanks intrigued me, as did the variations in uniforms from World War I and earlier. No offense, but the Belgium uniforms were sort of silly. We spent quite a few hours walking around looking at history. There was a little cafe in the museum and we had lunch there.

It needed more hands on things like pilot seats you can get into and go PEW PEW PEW.

You could climb up to the top of the Arc de Trimophe and look around. Great view, not 360 degrees, but amazing. We could see the Atomium from up there.

After the museum we decided to go to Sint Lukas and check that out. By this point in our trip our feet are quite dead so we decided that taking an adventure on the subway would be a good way to get up to the school. We boarded at Merode station at the end of Jubelpark, got off at Arts-Loi, transferred to the Orange line to Simons and left at Botanique. We cut across the Botanical Gardens and took a side road to the school.

Sint Lukas is an art school in Brussels. It has a program with PNCA where I could, potentially, study there for a semester during my junior year. I'm thinking about it and wanted to check it out. The area looks harmless but isn't really nice. I couldn't get a good look at the school because the guy who would show me around had a meeting he had to catch a train for. Also the school is setting up for final exhibitions (next week would have been a better time to show up)so I couldn't wander about. We have a meeting tomorrow morning so I hope I will get a better gander then.

We walked back to the hotel, got some drinks on the way there, propped our feet up, and pondered dinner. Dinner ended up being a gluttonous meal. We went to Grand Place, got some meaty substances with frites and mayo, then we got some free samples in a chocolate shop, then got some ice cream. Ohhhh maaan. So good. If it wasn't for all the walking, I'd feel guilty about stuffing my face like that.

taken for a fool

We planned to go museum hopping today. With the amount of time we spent at the first one, it ended up just being a museum hop.

Bright, but not that early, we went to the Musees Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. A line greeted us at the entrance but once we got in, it was a fairly uninhabited museum. No crowds of headphoned people or tour groups. There were a couple bands of school children but they were quiet and didn't hog the whole place.

The museum was not designed to follow how people think and navigate unfamiliar places. It took a while to locate the way to the main exhibit. There were open doors leading to unutilized rooms and exhibits devoted to the World Expo that was held in Brussels in 1958.

Once we finally found the main exhibit, it was a long slow journey through centuries of art. Van Der Weyden was there. They had an extensive collection of Brueghel pieces(several by various each member of the family). I love the pre-surrealist surrealist work. Brueghel’s weird scene of animals falling from the sky was followed up a few rooms later by some Hieronymus Bosch (The Temptation of St. Anthony specifically, and a sane looking piece). The museum boasted, along with its Brueghel’s, a magnificent collection of Rubens. And grandiose they were. Huge. A gigantic room filled with paintings of unimaginable size. No one paints like this anymore. The room they were stored in was absurdly cold and thus I could not stay and look at them for as long as I would have liked to. The museum had a very extensive amount of 16th through 18th century paintings. The styles flowed together and made for a good timeline of the revolutions in art. That museum is a textbook in itself with very few gaps.

Further mishaps occurred when we tried to find the modern section of the museum. The wing was closed till 2pm for whatever reason and when we got in, it was still roped off. We had to talk to someone to have it opened. The modern floors had a beautiful variety. They seemed to show more choice and selection in the examples shown. Each was clearly a definition of one movement. While Bosch's triptych was upstairs, Dali's version of the same scene was its singular self down here. With Dali were Magritte, Matisse, Picasso(his piece has a spit shield), Seurat, Rodin, and others. They had a Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones painting and that thrilled me to see it in person. Great collection, and some iffy conceptual contemporary art as well.

Of all the new artists that I saw, Gustaf(or Gustave) Wappers' work was some of my favorite. Couldn't find a book of his work though. Bummer. He is a Belgian Romantic.

For lunch we ate at the museum cafe. Shared a sandwich and a chocolate mousse.

The disappointment, then joy, then confusion, then supreme disappoint was my quest to see Jacques-Louis David's Marat Assassine/Death of Marat. At first it wasn't where my guide book said it should be (lower level four). The lady tended the floor told me that it was upstairs. I figured I must have missed it by accident (even though I combed all the rooms to make sure I didn't miss a masterpiece). I asked again and it turned out it was upstairs, just behind a locked door and not open for the public to view that day. It might be open tomorrow, maybe. I don't think I'll come back for a maybe. That is one of the most notable pieces they have in their collection and they don't have it out in grand display? The Night Watch had its own room!

We got to the museum at around 10am. We left for the Cartoon Museum at 3:30ish. Inside was a huge shop and a group of American kids sitting about drawing. They seemed nice. I made eye contact with one and he gave me a weird look. After the exhaustive walk in the previous museum, I didn't have the energy to behold all the work contained in this one. I focused heavily on Herge and other artists who caught my eye immediately. I took notes on who I liked and I hope I can look them up again later based upon my writing. They had sculptures and sets from various comics, original pages, biographies of the more notable artists, a summary of how comics are made, and just image after image from what had to be ever Belgian and French comic artist from the forties to sixties. I'm sure there were other decades but that gave me that generation was presented stronger than others. The more I learn, the more I can separate styles. I used to think that Tintin and Blake & Mortimer were both done by Herge! How foolish I was.

The book shop had a lot of comics but no where to really start from. Didn't know how to find anything that I had just seen. There was a guide book to Belgian comic artists but it didn't have English and the pictures were not big enough to justify its purchase.

We relaxed and then went to La Bottega for dinner again. I had four cheese penne. It was delicious and I finished it off. Dad and I shared a tiramisu and the waiter convinced me to eat the berry that was on it. I think it was a rosehip. I don't think I was supposed to eat it and the waiter was just fooling me. They are a silly bunch, those boys at Bottega.

I love things dipped in mayo

Mmmm Frite.

Another lovely Comic Wall

Inside Catherines Cathedral

Chicons au Gratin, not to my taste

Today was planned to be full of museum visits. When we arrived at the first one it was found to be closed. We went to a tourist information center and it was revealed that all museums in Brussels are closed on Monday. No such thing was mentioned in the guide book. Most of the rest of our Brussels plans were museums so we were at a slight loss.

We walked around and found three more comic walls. The one that was called to our attention about being hard to find was indeed that. Couldn't find it at all. When we go to the museum, we will ask about it. Maybe.

It was a very warm day today and I opted for my sandals. A bad choice. My feet wore out and I had to change them at around 3. But we didn't really have any plans so the return was not much of a disturbance. Had some Belgian fries for lunch.

It costs 40 cents to use a public toilet in Brussels.

I picked up some goodies at the Tintin Boutique. Little odds and ends.

After I changed shoes we went for a walk towards the East of our hotel. Just meandering. Picked up some orange juice and sat in Ambiourix Square (or as it says on the bilingual map; Square Ambiourix Square). I'm on the final story in the new Sedaris.

We went to a nearby Italian restaurant for dinner. La Bottege I believe. I took a chance and ordered Chicons au Gratin. I recognized the "ham" and "gratin" part of the explanation of what it is. It ended up being endives wrapped in ham and cooked in a cheesey sauce. Didn't really like it. Sort of did at first but then...not so much. It was an experience. The wait staff was nice and friendly. They saw my drawings over my shoulder and dad encouraged me to show more. That embarrassed me. I haven't really liked any of the sketches I have done thus far. Don't have the proper supplies, or the will to sit for three hours.

Now I am watching The Princess Diaries in French on TV.

Belgian Comics All Over Town

We left the hotel at around 9:00am this morning. We had a continental breakfast that comes with the hotel. Much better selection than was at Abba Hotel. They have chocolate croissants here!

The first part of the day was spent going to the Place du Jeu de Balle market in Marolles. We stopped in at a couple antique and knick knack stores along the way. The market was a large open air deal. Lots of china, silverware, records, clothes, and so on. What you would expect. Not as many weird, oddball things as I was hoping for. I found an intaglio plate that we bought after haggling with the guy. I can look at it and figure out all the different parts that went into creating it. Sugarlift, etching, aquatint, and plain old fashion dry point. Lovely weird image. I'm going to bring it to Yoshi to see if I could print it.

We stopped by the supermarket for an early lunch. Just a quick sandwich that we made and sat at the fountain in Porte de Hal. A lady removed her shoes and walked in the fountain. She had a bad looking wound on her leg. I don't think the green fountain water would be much good for her.

After the snack we began the long journey for the Comic Walls in Brussels. The Walls are large murals painted in various spots around the city. They are by various famous Belgian artists, like Herge. We found about 25 in about 5 hours of walking. I can't believe it really took that long and we have five left to go.

We found the comic shop I looked for yesterday (feels like a few days ago now). It had a wonderful section of foreign mainstream comics. Picked up Spirou volume four. Mostly for the art work. Okay all for the art work.

We ate at a little restaurant near the hotel. Decent meal for a good price. I'm exhausted.