We took the train from Gare de Nord in Paris to Antwerp.  We made reservations the night before on our phone and were surprised to find that our options for a direct train were very few.  Who knew everyone was coming here on a Monday?  We found a train at 9:46 in which we had to change trains in Brussels to arrive in Antwerp at 12:30.  Gare de Nord is really just a hallway, not a traditional train station.  There are no seats to sit and wait to find out which track your train will be on.  They announce the track about 20 minutes before you leave.  The tickets ask you to be there a half an hour before it leaves. We were happy to get to the track early because it was a long line to board the train. 

The first train has assigned seats.  It had free wi-fi (which didn’t work for me) a tray table, place to put your drinks, a place to plug your phone, and hang your jacket.  The seats in front of us had four seats around a table.  I’m happy we didn’t have that. We shared the car with a group of children and their teacher.  I have no idea if they were on a field trip or returning somewhere, but they did not get off the train in Brussels with us and it was headed to Amsterdam. 

The second train had no assigned seats and was much like any other train we have ridden here.  We arrived at Antwerp station, which has some beautiful architecture and walked to our hotel, which is very close.  Luckily, our room was ready so we could drop our stuff off and then head out for lunch.  We went to a place that had roasted chicken and fries. The fries were amazing. The chicken was not.  There was a coffee shop two shops down and we got a coffee and a hot chocolate. The hot chocolate was made with real chocolate and milk and it was delicious. 

I did not feel very well that day so we took some time to rest in the afternoon.  We went out later in the evening to wander around the center of town.  I love how the houses look here.  

Peter Paul Reubens lived here and there is this statue near the main square that commemorates him.  You can also visit his house and gardens, but not while we are here, his house is currently being renovated. 

The fountain near the cathedral is incredible.  We would have entered the cathedral, but it costs 10 euros to do so.  I have been in many many churches in my life and I am not interested in paying for them. 

The next day we headed to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts.  It costs 20 euros for entrance.  While we were there, they were working on a new exhibit and there was some type of flower sculpture being constructed in every room.  They were very elaborate.  I was not thrilled that we could not enter one room and half of another room was blocked because they were working on these flower installations. 

I found this museum very interesting.  Each room  had a theme and although most of the works of art were similar, there was always something in the room that was surprising.  One room was filled with portraits of men and women with the white collars and then one more modern monkey picture.  You can see the monkey picture behind this flower display (which smelled amazing). 

The room with the giant Dali painting also had a massive skull sculpture.  It was so massive that my 6’2 husband could have fit in its mouth. 

I love this leg. 

The museum itself was also very different.  On the third floor I felt like I was stuck in a maze.  There were only three rooms on that floor.  This staircase was super scary and closed to go down. 

I was staring at this red hand and it started to rotate!  It was so cool. 

I also really enjoyed seeing two areas in which people were working on restoring different paintings.  One person was right out in the gallery working on a Rubens and another was in a workshop. 

A few of the flower installations were complete or close to complete, but it was interesting to watch them work on each project.  I would love to see the birds of paradise globe when they hoist it to the ceiling. 

After the museum, we walked down to the water and found the remains of a fortress. 

The buildings by the water were also very beautiful. 

This sculpture is in front of the cathedral and tough to get a picture of because lots of people want to sit or lay on it. I love the idea of the cobblestones being a blanket. 

We did get some chocolates and waffles while we walked around. We also enjoyed some coffee while sitting outside.  There were a lot more people smoking here than we saw in France, which we thought was interesting since so many people here are biking everywhere.