white picket fence

belgium sketchbook

I bought a new tiny little sketchbook to bring on our Belgium trip in June. I've never worked in a book this small before, but I have to say, it's really satisfying to be able to fill up an entire page in just a few minutes. Perfect for a travel journal. 

2 things here: we found a kids' teddy bear left on the plane and looked around for it's owner but couldn't find them. We turned the bear over to a steward but still... ugh, I felt so bad. Little kids losing stuffed animals is the WORST. Also, after we got off the plane in Brussels we followed some other American tourists onto a train they were "pretty sure" went to Bruges. I had a bad feeling about it, looked at a map, and realized they were wrong. Lesson learned: don't rely on other tourists for good advice.

The only supplies I had were my Micron pens and a few rolls of tape. At first I wondered if I shouldn't have brought paper and colored pencils and all kinds of other stuff, but I'm glad I travelled light. It definitely worked for me and it was easy to carry my little bag of supplies inside my purse. 

The best thing I ate the entire trip was something poorly translated as "rabbit, in the style of grandmother." I assume it just meant an old family recipe.  SO AMAZING. Plus it came with these little mashed potato fritters. (side note, why don't we have these in America? They're mashed potatoes that are fried! Can you imagine a more perfect comfort food?)

Another best of the trip: seeing the Ghent Altarpiece, also known as The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb, by Jan Van Eyck. Art nerd fact: when Mike suggested Belgium as a possible vacation spot, my VERY FIRST thought was, "ooh, I could go see that Van Eyck." I could probably write an entire gushy blog post just about this, but I'll just leave it at this: it was beautiful, and it made me cry. 

The "sharkpants" was on the label of one of MIke's beers. My best drawing of the whole trip, I think. And the little dutch girl was actually a full grown man in a costume. It had something to do with a soccer match. Of course. 

Looking through these pages has me looking forward to our next trip abroad... which probably won't be for years, but I can dream, right?

 

belgium (two). little details.

Trying to whittle down the photos I share here is proving difficult. I might end up with 4 separate posts. And I still wish I would have taken more photos!

My little tag in Ghent! I wish I would have brought a sharpie, but a .08 Micron pen had to do. 

Ham, cheese, and arugula sandwich, plus a little side salad. Almost everything we ordered in Belgium came with one of these little salads, and they always had the most delicious dressing. I couldn't place the greens that were in this one, but I really liked them. Any ideas?

Loved this little window illustration. And yes, that is a naked mannequin in the background. Oh well. 

Another illustration I loved. Man that guy looks happy. 

aaand: THIS. Oh my. On one of our walks we stumbled across this little restaurant/tearoom called Prestige. One of my goals for the trip was to get some kind of beautiful or decadent treat. This definitely fit the bill. Each little bite was better than the last. And it came with a delicious coffee too. Ahhhh. Pure bliss. (I tried to channel my inner Kristin Ladstrom for this shot. She always has the best photographs of delicious European treats. :) )

belgium (one)

I'm happy to be home but I already miss it there terribly. 

I can't resist taking photos of pink clouds. 

I have this compulsion to listen to John Denver when I'm in a plane. Is that weird/creepy?

Views from a speeding train. 

The Markt, Bruges. 

Empty train station self-timer shot. 

There's this little street in Ghent where graffiti is encouraged! More on this later. ;)

Empty courtyard self-timer shot. Sint-Janshospitaal, Bruges. 

A happy man: Mike and his beer. 't Brugs Beertje, Bruges. 

I already miss those orange tiled roofs. View from the Belfort, Bruges.