Why I really, really liked Antwerp.

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The lovely Our Lady Cathedral presiding over the Grote Markt (or Town Square)
City Hall


Multi-culturalism: check
 The Lange Wapper: he used to sport a long penis until religious leaders got into a snit and had it removed



Day 7: She has created an escape vehicle to take her to freedom...
 While this group has opted for a less labor intensive way out
 The opera diva and one of her mini-captors remain entangled
While this twin, who has been growing daily by depriving his brother of food is threating to burst out

1) See photos above. The city is a architectural gem. Plus, it is compact, walkable and at least during our visit, free of maddening crowds.

2) It was the home of Rubens and Van Dyke and remains very artsy today. There are enough art galleries, antique shops and cultural happenings to keep you busy all summer.

3) It's in Belgium, so there is no going wrong with either chocolate or beer. And there is no shortage of really funky, inviting restaurants ranging from Morrocan to Italian to everything in between.

4) Their mannequins are in the midst of a revolution. Or at least, they were during our visit. As of earlier this week, an exhibition has been taking place along the Meir, Antwerp's main shopping street. It appears that the mannequins in 10 separate store displays have starting questioning their roles in life. Some have begun looking for ways to change their situations and some are having their situations changed for them through a series of outside forces (in one case, by a gang of felonious midgets). In any cases, every day for 10 days, the displays are changed to show the progress of the different storylines, with the whole thing culminating this weekend, when a theater troupe will act out the finale, determining if the mannequins live or die, escape or return to their fashionable lives. Sadly, I am back in Amsterdam, so I will not be there to witness the conclusion, but I will be checking http://www.depaspoppen.be/ for the final outcome to one very cool public art's project in one really enjoyable city.

Comments

  1. RamblingRolandJuly 20, 2008 at 11:56 AM

    Nice place. At one time, it was the diamond center of Europe. The stones were cut, polished, and traded there. Could make an interesting tour.

    ReplyDelete
  2. L@ur@August 13, 2008 at 5:27 PM

    hii woman... how r u? hope u are ok cos i saw that u didnt post anything lately ;(( until when will u be in Amsterdam?? at the end of September i will travel to Sicily and Malta, will u still be in Europe? love to see u. lots of smiles ;))

    ReplyDelete

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