25 September 2010

Cubist Masters: Bouillon

We made a long train-and-bus journey from Brussels the other day, ending up in Bouillon (like the cube!), a small town in the south-western corner of Belgium. The region is the Ardennes, the temperature is pre-autumn chill, the smell in the air is woodsmoke. This is the view from the top of the castle tower, looking down on the town (to the right) and the Liege road (to the left). The castle commands this amazing bend in the river Semoise. You can see water on either side.
After a hard rain (and an amazing dinner) last night, we woke up to a beautiful morning. We saw our breath in the air for the first time this trip. The town was quiet and the air was very still.
I think it's amazing how this "tabac" seems to specialize in bulk containers. Those are all tobacco tins.
The town has only about 2,500 people, but it seems to be set up to accommodate a lot of tourists. There aren't many here at this time of year and we have actually spent an entire day without hearing English once.
Rebecca ordered some "vin chaude," at lunch, and said it was delicious. It started to rain while we were eating, and the warm food (mushroom crepes) and drink was very comforting.
This is the castle, which we spent the afternoon exploring. It was pretty amazing - one of the most fortified places I've ever seen, and we spent an interesting couple hours poking around.
This is part of the "Spectacle de Fauconnerie" which wasn't exactly entertaining, but was really essential to our castle experience. Two falconers made a number of birds do "tricks." Mostly, they just implored the birds to fly to their hands. Sometimes the birds listened, sometimes they didn't. The falconers also threw chunks of meat on the ground and the birds would hop over and eat them.

2 comments:

  1. My name is Mrs Aisha Mohamed, am a Citizen Of Qatar.Have you been looking for a loan?Do you need an urgent personal loan or business loan?contact Dr James Eric Finance Home he help me with a loan of $42,000 some days ago after been scammed of $2,800 from a woman claiming to been a loan lender but i thank God today that i got my loan worth $42,000.Feel free to contact the company for a genuine financial service. Email:(financialserviceoffer876@gmail.com) call/whats-App Contact Number +918929509036

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Everybody,

    My name is Bhagwan Kumawzt by name and I live in the POLAND and i am a happy woman today? and i told my self that any lender that rescue my family from our poor situation get any kind of loan you need today, thank you, as you read greatest testimony of my life. with whatsapp+919667837169

    Testimony of a serious loan acquired, thank you very much Dr. Mark for your loan assistance of 100,000(US DOLLARS) without any upfront fee,that you give me. I will talk about your services to those around me who need a loan or financing. I am happy with the loan you have granted me Do not hesitate,if you need a loan and a real legit loan lender so just kindly contact him now and get your loan via:: markthomasfinanceltd@gmail.com whatsapp number: +919667837169

    Whats-App no +919667837169
    Company Name Ronnie Finance Ltd
    Dr. Mark Thomas

    ReplyDelete