A Flemish Finish

Our penultimate night in Europe was spent in the small city of Leuven, about 20 miles east of Brussels. It's a compact city that has two main claims to fame. Firstly it's the home of the Stella Artois brewery and secondly it has one of the oldest universities in Europe. It has a large student population, who account for about half the residents at any one time. Our hotel was located near a canal just a few minutes walk from the historic centre, dominated by the 15th century town hall.

Leuven Town Hall

With an afternoon and a morning to explore we set off on foot shortly after arriving. From the town hall we walked through the Oude Markt, lined with bars all advertising special offers.

The Oude Markt, Leuven

Leuven is not only home to Stella Artois but also several other Belgian beers. Beer is important here. Resisting these temptations (for now) we eventually found ourselves away from the hustle and bustle of the city walking through the tranquil cobble lined paths of Groot Begijnhof van Leuven. A beguinage was a religious community for women. This one was founded in the 13th century and has about one hundred homes. It's now part of the university and provides accomodation for students. It still retains an atmosphere of calm and the shaded streets gave some respite from the afternoon sun, as did a bar we found walking back to the centre.

Groot Begijnhof

Needing a drink we opted for a traditional bar, ordered a beer and started chatting to the friendly Chinese bar maid who was working there. She wasn't rushed off her feet so had a chance to sit outside with us and talk, being interested in our travels and wanting to know which Belgian cities we'd visited and which we liked best. (For the record, it's Antwerp, visited in 2024).

Refreshments time

Refreshed we wandered back to our hotel for a bit of a rest and then found somewhere to eat. 

The next morning, before leaving Leuven we had breakfast in a small local cafe just up the road from our hotel, mixing with people on their way to work and other locals. A twenty minute walk away from the centre, passing some of Leuven's street art, brought us to the entrance to the Botanical Gardens. Its Belgiums oldest botanical garden which was orginally created in 1738 to grow medicinal plants for students at the university. Its owned by the university and has a diverse plant collection that still includes medicinal plants. Its also free to enter. Wisteria was still in bloom and we stood for 10 minutes watching a heron on a pond.

On one side of the gardens a man was singing with arms spread out in what sounded like Dutch. It wasn't quiet - he was singing something (I guess) from an opera at full volume.

Around the gardens are statues as well as neat lawns and lots of trees. 

A hothouse provides space for various tropical plants. As we walked along the path we almost trod on a turtle - and then found a whole lot more just around the corner. A pond of giant lilies was inside, with some in full bloom. It was a beautiful space and very calming - although you have to keep an eye out for escaping turtles.

Hot houses at Leuven Botanical Gardens

A turtle making a bid for freedom

We made our way back to the hotel and collected the car having enjoyed our brief time in Leuven. I set off to drive north to our last hotel of the trip, located in the seaside town of De Haan.

We arrived shortly before mid day and parked the car close to the promenade which was spotlessly clean. White beach huts were located below the sea wall on the beach, statues were placed at periodic intervals. whilst expensive apartments faced out to sea. 

The seafront at De Haan

De Haan is a prosperous seaside town, with some lovely residential homes and in the centre some equally lovely hotels.

One of De Haan's elegant hotels

What De Haan doesn't have is affordable places to have a sandwich or light lunch - as we were soon to find out. We walked along the seafront and then headed into the town centre looking for a bakery or cafe. Despite it being a sunny June day nothing was open. There were restaurants serving sit down meals but that wasn't what we were looking for. We spotted a park cafe and thought that might be a better prospect. Fortunately I scanned a QR code to see the menu before we walked in. A croque monsieur (essentially a toasted sandwich) was priced at €18.00! I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for good quality food but draw the line at paying £15 for a toasted sandwich. We eventiually found an upmarket supermarket and bought a couple of filled wraps a couple of drinks and a bag of crisp which set us back €12. Even this experience wasn't entirely pleasant. Using the self check out, I had just completed the payment and took off my rucksack and opened it to pack away our purchases when a security guard rudely asked to inspect the contents. I'm not sure De Haan understands how to make visitors feel welcome and valued. 

Free from any further unpleasant interactions we headed to the seafront again and ate our sandwiches. Afterwards we treated ourselves to some local cuisine....a waffle, topped with hot chocoale sauce. Freshly made, they were warm, chewy and delicious. 

Waffle time....

We then had another stroll to rid ourselves of some calories before making our way to our hotel which was a few minutes drive away in the countryside. The welcome here was a complete contrast - the receptionist was friendly and helpful. 

We were situated opposite a nature reserve full of trees and criss-crossed by hiking and cycle paths. Beyond this was a road and steps that led up the high dunes and down to the beach. After settling in we took a walk through the reserve and over the dunes to see the sea gain before having dinner in the hotel restaurant. I had a traditional belgian beef stew - cooked in beer. It was very tasty.

The beach outside De Haan

The next day was our last of the trip. I'd booked a late afternoon crossing so we had plenty of time to get to Calais for our return to England. As I'd be sitting down for a lot of the day we had another walk to the beach after breakfast and, part way along, spotted a solitary seal by the shoreline. 

A seal waving us goodbye...

We then drove to Calais but instead of going straight to a hypermarket or the shuttle check in I headed to Calais Plage in search of a dragon. 

The previous evening I'd been researching what we might do before it was time to check in for the return crossing. I came across a reference to a giant, mobile dragon that was to be found at Calais on the beach. It seemed curious enough to want to find out more.

We have never visited Calais before, so the beach was a pleasant surprise. The beach front was redeveloped about five years ago and the beach itself is long and sandy. At one end a harbour wall and breakwater separates the long beach from the port.

Calais Plage

Parking is free and we were soon walking along the wide promenade. It didn't take long to spot the dragon. It's a giant animatronic version, which breathless 'smoke' and, for a fee, you can ride on it.

Here be dragons...

Were were content to watch and then stroll along soaking up the sun's rays. The bars and cafes are not that upmarket but we found one serving coffees and then later another one serving lunches. We only wanted something light. I thought am omelette might suffice. Someone needs to talk to the business about portion size and profits. I reckon they must have used half a dozen eggs in my omelette, which came accompanied by a large salad and a large helping of fries.

We drove on to the hypermarket, walking round with post food sluggishness, picking up some wines and beers to bring home, but sadly no French cheeses as they are currently banned from entering the UK due to foot and mouth restrictions - unless you are a food importer with all the necessary paperwork. 

Our long trip had finally ended, with a large store of memories to take home with us, and at least a thousand photos to sort through. It had been fun.

This was the first time I'd driven in Italy and the first time I'd taken a long trip in an electric car. I must confess before setting off I had some concerns about the practicalities of charging but in the end everything worked out just fine. European roads are much better maintained on the whole than UK roads, the EV charging infrastructure has expanded and there are now plenty of options for re4charging with a good mix of rapid and slow chargers. Italian drivers are stereotypically unpredicatable. I quickly learnt two things:

1. No-one sticks to the speed limits. I did!

2. Indicators may be an option extra on Italian registered cars....no-one uses them!

As long as you give yourself time and space driving in Italy is actually no worse than anywhere else. The EV handled mountain roads and hairpin bends with ease. A combination of instant power, precise steering and regenerative braking made the twists and turns a far more relaxing driving experience when compared to the constant changes needed in a manual petrol or diesel car. Plus the intelligent cruise control meant on motorways I could drive without touching the pedals. The car maintains a set speed, slows down and speeds up without the need for any human intervention. Its a bit unnerving at first and not fully autonomous driving but it certainly makes a long drive less tiring.

So to the future. Mrs B always wants to know if my thirst for travel has been sated and whether or not this will be our last big trip. I know there will come a day when age and/or health may mean I'll have to forgo the pleasures of planning and then experiencing these adventures but for now my mind is starting the slow process of mulling over possible future travels...who knows what will come next?

Son et Lumiere

We were now making our way home, through France and then Belgium. Our return journey started with a long drive to take us to the city of Nancy, where we had a couple of nights to explore the city. 

Our drive, counterintuitively, took us back into Switzerland, along the sides of Lakes Geneva and Neuchatel before we left the dual carriageway and headed up into the Jura mountains. A road climbed higher and higher with a succession of hair pin bends before dropping down into a valley before climbing up again. We drove through a heavily wooded landscape that gave us glimpse of cliff faces and gorges. It was a beautiful landscape, but most of the time my attention was on the road. 

By mid afternoon we arrived in Nancy which was baking in 32°c heat. The parking gods were being kind, I managed to nab a spot just opposite our apart-hotel. a rather quirky new building.

Our quirky apart hotel

Once checked in and rested we headed out to explore the centre of the city. The centre of Nancy is Place Stanislas, a large square of pale stone paving, with a statue of Stanilas, an exiled Polish king who was the Duke of Lorraine who commissioned the creation of the new space The south side is dominated by the Hotel de Ville and on the east and west sides are other elegant buildings, one housing the opera and on the opposite side is the Fine Arts Museum. On the north side are lower buildings but also a grand triumpphal arch, Arc Héré. The square and the buildings were built in the 1750's to link to the older part of Nancy to the new town.

Place Stanislas

Its a beautiful space. All the buildings are dressed in a cream stone giving a sense of space and elegance to the square.

We wandered through a park and then grabbed a drink in a bar opposite the 19th century Basilica of Saint Epvre.

Refreshments in Nancy

Refreshed we headed back to our room for a bite to eat before venturing out again to see Nancy in the fading light. Each summer Nancy hosts a sound and light show called La Belle Saison. The buildings in Place Stanislas are transformed into a giant backdrop for this spectacle which runs (after sunset) from mid June until September. We made our way towards the centre. It wasn't fully dark yet but the buildings around Place Stanislas had been lit. 

Once it was fully dark the light show began. The Hotel de Ville was transformed into a giant screen onto which images were projected, colours and shapes changing. There was an underlying concept related to time and change but to be honest the constantly changing scenes, accompanied by music were so spectacular that the theme rather passed us by. We were content to watch and listen to an amazing display of creativity and technical wizardry.

When we arrived in Nancy it had been very warm. By contrast the next morning the temperature had dropped by 10 degrees - a more comfortable temperature for exploring but showers were forecast all day.

Undeterred we set off to explore a bit more of the city. As the weather was damp our first port of call was the Museum of Fine Arts. The museum has a large collection of paintings and artwork dating back to the 13th and 14th century right up to the present day. Our favourite part was the extensive collection of Daum glassware which orginates from Nancy. The studio was first established in 1878 and became associated with the Art Nouveau movement. The museum has accumulated an impressive collection of glass pieces some old but some quite new and all handmade.

Daum glassware

Once we had toured every floor of the museum we ventured out - it was still a bit damp but fortunately not cold. Wandering through the old quarter we came across the Cordeliers church which was constructed in the 15th century and became a necropolis for the Dukes of Lorraine. 

The Cordeliers Church

Nancy is known for its Art Nouveau buildings and the most famous is Villa Majorelle. It was a good 40 minute walk to the part of the city where this house is located but we enjoyed seeing some of the other Art Nouveau buildings en route.

Art Nouveau in Nancy

There weren't many places open to eat in this part of the city. A small bistro seemed a good bet - but was full. We eventually found a cafe in a park, another 10 minutes walk away, and discovered it was a social enterprise providing employment for people with various disabilities. They provided a decent lunch - by this time we were pretty hungry - and we sat outside under cover. After paying the bill I thought we could walk around the park before we made our way to Villa Majorelle. I'd booked timed admission tickets online. Just as we'd crossed the path the heavens opened and we took shelter under trees - getting dripped on even through the thick foliage. The rain was so heavy that within minutes the path had been transformed into a stream. Almost as quickly as it had started the rain ended and we made our slightly damp way to Villa Majorelle. Designed in the Art Nouveau style, its a very beautiful building.

It was built between 1901-1902 as a family home for a wealthy industrialist. Its been perfectly preserved. A guided route takes visitors up a beautiful staircase, through various rooms.

Interiors of Villa Majorelle

The tour doesn't take very long but we liked it so much we went around twice. 

We then made the long trek back to our hotel, slightly footsore after a day of pounding the streets. We had another drive the next day which would take us to our final destination, Belgian Flanders, starting in Leuven, near Brussels, before finishing at the coast in De Haan.

Sometimes things happen fast....very fast

We left Italy on a sunny morning by taking the Mont Blanc tunnel - a road through the Alps under Mont Blanc. Its just over 7 miles long and the toll is quite expensive, but alternatives involve taking long routes over the Alps.

We popped out into bright sunlight just by the popular ski resort, Chamonix in France. As we hadn't got far to drive that day we decided to revisit Chamonix and wander around before it got too hot (we were in the middle of a very hot spell).

Although Chamonix is a very touristy town it still has lovely views of the mountains - especially of Mont Blanc to the south.

Our legs stretched we made a drive to a place I'd decided I wanted to try and visit on our return journey: CERN.

The European Organization for Nuclear Research or CERN for short, is located in a suburb of Geneva, very close to the French border. It was founded in 1954, and is the foremost centre for nuclear physics research in the world. It's home to the Large Hadron Collider, the biggest particle accelerator in the world, that can accelerate particles to 99.9% of light speed. 

You can't see the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), it runs for 27 km in a loop and is buried 100 metres underground in both Switzerland and France. The engineering to design, build and maintain a particle accelerator is mind boggling in itself. When accelerated particles will travel in a straight line. To keep them in a loop giant magnets are sited at various points. Particle collisions release phenomenonal amounts of energy, generating heat, so underground the temperature is kept to -271°c, colder than outer space.

If you are not a nuclear physicist you can still visit CERN. They have a Science Gateway, a free visitor centre where there are interactive exhibition spaces and auditoriums that try to explain some incredibly complex concepts in lay person terms. Even so its still complex stuff.

The Science Gateway, CERN

We arrived late morning and after registering on wifi, booked an English Language tour that would allow us to see the synchrocyclotron, the very first particle accelerator, installed in 1957 and the ATLAS control centre, where scientists and researchers use complex systems to observe the result of particle collisions. This was where the experiment to discover the Higgs bosun particle was discovered in 2012. All of this scientific endeavour is about increasing our understanding how our universe works by observing and studying particles created by almost light speed collisions. Billions of particles are created every second and some of these new particles may only exist for the blink of an eye. 

We had about an hour and a half to kill before joining our tour so after lunch in their cafe we viewed some of the interactive exhibitions. The first looked at how particles are accelerated and the second how collisions are observed.

Both exhibitions were very interactive - with plenty of touch screens, hands on games and videos. 

Inside the 'Collide' exhibition

Once the time came for our tour we made our way to the meeting place. Our guide didn't show up - but we got a substitute - a scientist doing current research!

He was very engaging and clearly passionate about the work at CERN. CERN is a huge complex and we were led through security gates into the ATLAS control centre. We learnt all about CERN's history. IT has had several particle accelerators each bigger and faster. The LHC is currently the largest but the older ones (apart from the very first) are still operational. 

It was a baking hot day and we were all wilting in the heat whilst we stood outside. Mrs B decided a patch of shade was needed and said to the guide she was going to stand in it. Everyone quickly followed - including the guide. Some are born to lead...

Once inside the ATLAS control centre a switch was pressed and through the glass we could see real time scientific research taking place. A large room full of computer screens and displays, like a NASA control centre, was revealed with a handful of people working as we watched.

The ATLAS control centre

We then made our way across a busy road to another part of the site, again passing through security gates, to see the  synchrocyclotron. This sounds like a device from a 1950s science fiction film, but was in fact CERN's first particle accelerator. It's now retired and on display. We watched a film and our guide talked us through the development of particle accelerators, the LHC is the fourth. There are plans to build an even bigger one.

The synchrocyclotron

With this our visit concluded. It had been a fascinating experience, unlike anything else done on this trip. A short drive took us just over the border into France where we checked into an apartment in a hotel, that had views to the Jura mountains. We had a long drive the next day and would get to see the Jura on route.

Arrivederci Italia

Our last day in Italy took us west and north, through the Aosta valley. I have never been here before but was familiar with the scenery. Prior to travelling, and as part of my efforts to learn Italian, I had started watching an Italian TV drama, Ice Cod Murders on Channel 4"s Walter Presents platform. It centres around a Italian police inspector, who has obviously transgressed as he's been banished from Rome to Aosta. The character is surrounded by provincial colleagues who are all a bit clueless. All the stories are filmed in or near Aosta.

We had expected that as we got closer to the Alps and climbed higher the temperatures would cool slightly. This wasn't to be. We drove cross country, avoiding fast roads through rural landscapes with rice fields, spotting egrets and ibis as we passed by in the comfort of an air conditioned car. When we arrived in the city of Aosta the heat hit us, and the temperature had risen to 32°c. For a city surrounded by snow covered peaks this was quite a surprise.

Leaving the car in a multi storey car park which would avoid turning it into an oven we set off to have a quick exploration of this ancient city. The Romans established a  settlement here and the city has a number of ruins that remind us of their presence. 

The first thing we saw on arriving in the centre was the large city square. Piazza Émile Chanoux. One side of the square was dominated by the city hall or Hotel de Ville, a large neo classical building in cream coloured stone, built in 1839. A relative youngster in Aosta's history. 

Piazza Émile Chanoux, Aosta

We wandered through streets near the piazza to the ruins of the Roman theatre. Only a small part of this 2000 year old building is still standing and most is screened off at the moment. An archeological excavation was taking place and construction works obscured much of the view but it still impressed.

The remains of the Roman theatre in Aosta

Wandering through the streets we explored Aosta, grabbing a bite to eat like the locals. Go to lunch food is warm topped focaccia and/or large pear shaped arancini, with a filling.

Because it was so hot we hugged the shade, letting the shadiest streets dictate our route. We came across lovely piazzas, and more Roman remains. Aosta had a buzz about it. It isn't a picture postcard city, but there are hidden gems to be found, pretty churches and around every corner the backdrop of the Alps impresses.

After a few hours we carried on the the valley towards our final hotel in Italy in the village of Entreves,  just beyond Courmayeur. This is about as close as it's possible to get to the border without having your passport stamped. Our hotel sat under the bulk of Mont Blanc, with snowfields covering the summit and glaciers visible from the street. Our hotel was an alpine style building, very pretty and with wood panelling  inside, perched at the top end of the village.

Our hotel in the middle of this photo, with an impressive backdrop

Unfortunately it didn't do evening meals and the only choice was a restaurant about two minutes walk down the hill.

It wasn't the best dining experience. To start with the positives. The view from our table was exceptional and the locally brewed beer was good. We both ordered a three course dinner and the portions were enormous. Mrs B had a starter of vegetable soup...I reckon the equivalent of at least two tins of big soup. The service was comically bad, water being slopped on the table, no conversation from the waiting staff who all appeared to want to be anywhere but there. Food quality was variable and the drinks charges outrageous. 

Enjoying drinks...before the food arrived.

Another dining room with a view

We were sad to be leaving Italy but were able to reflect with pleasure on the wonderful places visited and the amount we'd packed into a short time. It was time to make the short drive to our next border crossing. This time, instead of going over the Alps, we were were going through them.