Just Back.. Our Bloomingly Beautiful Tulip Time Cruise Aboard Avalon's Imagery II. Full trip report with tons of pix!

[Sleep7]

Yay! Another lazy morning!

Huy is just a little town so it was a pretty short walk around in the morning after a leisurely breakfast.

In the rain of course..

A friend from home who is a huge traveler described the skies in that region in the spring as "50 shades of gray" and he was spot on!

Right next to where the ship docked was a beautiful church.

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

And now for one of the highlights of this cruise for Sam.. besides spending the week with me

of course! 😉

Directly across the bridge from where the ship was docked there was a huge supermarket in the basement of a shopping center.  And in that supermarket was the LARGEST selection of Belgian beer we have EVER seen!!!

A full aisle of every brand you have and haven't heard of.. WOW!!

 

 

 

Sam found his fave which we rarely, if ever, see for sale anywhere.  Our luggage just gained 10lbs.

 

 

 

[bubbulz]

I am thoroughly enjoying your report as I pack my bag to get ready to fly to Brussels for a Uniworld cruise to Amsterdam.

[Sleep7]

Lunch and then onto Liege by bus.  The ship sailed to Liege while were were on the tour and met the passengers there.  We chose the included walking tour of Liege which started off at their very unique and beautiful train station.

 

 

[Sleep7]

Just now, bubbulz said:

I am thoroughly enjoying your report as I pack my bag to get ready to fly to Brussels for a Uniworld cruise to Amsterdam.

Oh thanks so much bubbulz.. I'm so glad you are enjoying it!  You will see many or all of the same sights.  Enjoy every moment.. bon voyage!

[Sleep7]

After a restroom break in the station (you need 50 cents to use.. keep that in mind if you are going) we then re boarded the buses to a different area of Liege to begin our walking tour.

We just happened to come across a group of travel industry students who were shooting a movie and ask us if we would all be part of this scene.. the cameraman in on the right.  Funny.🤩

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

I had never heard of this HUGE stairway before I came to Leige.. 374 steps!

 

 

 

[bubbulz]

7 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

Oh thanks so much bubbulz.. I'm so glad you are enjoying it!  You will see many or all of the same sights.  Enjoy every moment.. bon voyage!

Thank you so much! I am also doing a few days on land on each end.

[Sleep7]

Other scenes from around Liege.. that's actually a patch of blue sky.👏

 

 

 

 

Somebody in the tourist bureau has a good sense of humor.😊

 

 

[Sleep7]

Our walking tour ended on a very sweet note with a fresh hot waffle for everyone.😋

 

[Sleep7]

It seems like we have been on so many waterways on this cruise I couldn't keep track so I asked Bram to write them down for me.

The Rhine Canal

The Rhine

The Meuse/Maas

The Albert Canal

The Schelde

 

Is this a map of the rivers? Nope.. just a marble tile in our cabin bathroom.  Sorry I recycled that joke from my last Avalon cruise blog.. just thought it was too funny to be used only once!🙃

 

 

[Sleep7]

Friday in Antwerp or Antwerps as Bram called it.😊

 

 

Almost there..

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

A short bus ride from our ship to the starting point of the "Treasures of Antwerp" walking tour.

 

 

 

There is truly beauty everywhere if you look.  This is ornate metalwork on the industrial roof of open air cargo storage along the waterside.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

More Pixel camera magic!  Now you see it.. now you don't.

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

Our guide today was particularly fantastic!  What a wealth of knowledge he had.

 

 

And the sun even peek out before it started to pour.☀️

 

[Sleep7]

He took us into the cathedral. We learned what the sets a cathedral apart from the church? It's having a Bishop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

He also explained all about the characteristics of Baroque paintings.

They are very 3 dimensional and lifelike.. every one looks "ripped with muscles."

Compare it to a pre-Baroque painting which looks very flat in comparison.

Art History 101 learned on a three hour tour.😊

 

 

 

 

 

[Sleep7]

A wonderful and timely sign in the cathedral.. true in every language.

 

[Sleep7]

This is a controversial statue in the Cathedral.. the artist was recently convicted of sex abuse charges.

They decided to keep it as the statue is about religion.. not the artist.

Interesting.

 

[Sleep7]

Exit through the gift shop.. this 3D puzzle looks fun!

 

[Sleep7]

A little free time and then the tour was over.  We had the choice of going back to the ship or spending another 2 hours in Antwerp and then catching a shuttle back to the ship at 1:30.

We chose to stay and explore Antwerp more.😊

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sharkster77]

19 hours ago, Sleep7 said:

🌷At the floating Bloemenmarkt.. alas these would be the only tulips we would see this week.

But as I said in my first post it didn't detract at all from our fantastic cruise.🌷

 

 

@Sleep7 you say these are the only tulips  you saw---was Keukenhof not on your itinerary?  To me, visiting there is the main reason for taking a spring cruise in the Netherlands.

[Sleep7]

Perfect sign.. both of us are vintage 1962!

 

[Sleep7]

9 minutes ago, sharkster77 said:

@Sleep7 you say these are the only tulips  you saw---was Keukenhof not on your itinerary?  To me, visiting there is the main reason for taking a spring cruise in the Netherlands.

👋Hi Sharkster!

Yes.. Keukenhof only opened this year on March 23rd and our cruise sailed from Amsterdam on March 19th.  Seems that the timing of the tulips blooming is different each year depending upon the weather.  If February and the beginning of March is particularly chilly then tulips bloom later than average and last longer.  Conversely if the beginning of March is unusually warm they bloom sooner and then die earlier.  Our cruise was the first cruise of the season (after a cold spell) so we didn't end up getting to see the tulips at Keukenhof.

A slight disappointment but the week was so wonderful that it was VERY soon forgotten.

So for anyone booking this cruise and tulips are super important to them they should try and take it in April. That is prime time and you are pretty much guaranteed of seeing the tulips in all their glory.🌷

It's interesting.. I would say that 2/3 of the passengers were actually staying on board for the following week which ended back in Amsterdam and then a tour to Keukenhof was offered on the last day once back in Amsterdam.😊

Edited March 28, 2023 by Sleep7

[Sleep7]

💍Ahaaaa!!

The real reason I wanted to stay longer in Antwerp.. the DIVA Diamond Museum!!

As a jewelry lover this is my Louvre.😍

12 Euros to enter.. so interesting and so glad we had a chance to visit.

There is a branch in Brussels too.