The Botanical Gardens

We had another lazy start to the day and after breakfast we decided not to venture into the garden just in case we got locked in again. Instead Mr C decided to walk me to the Botanical Gardens so I could enjoy them whilst he made his way to the station to buy train tickets to Waterloo for the following day. After quite a long walk which he was directing, I said ‘Are you sure we are going in the right direction?’ I thought the garden was not far from the hotel.

During the walk we came across the lovely and peaceful church of St Anthony with the tomb of Saint Damien of Molokai in the crypt below. We also walked past Saint Michael’s Church which is considered to be the main Jesuit church in Belgium. Eventually we got back on track and found the Botanical Gardens (not far from the hotel) which I found to be an oasis of calm contrasting with the hustle and bustle of the city.

The Small Beguinage

When Mr C returned from the station with the appropriate train tickets I showed him round the garden before we went to find a cafe for lunch. After eating we walked to the Small Beguinage which was once housing for Nuns but now after restoration had become homes to private individuals. Unfortunately St Gertrude’s Abbey which is situated next to the Beguinage is only open at weekends so we did not have the opportunity to see inside. We made our way back to the hotel along the River Dijl and stopped off at the Dijl terrace which is a stepped seating area. We noticed an unusual lady who appeared to be sunbathing!

The Dijl Terrace!!!

Once back at the hotel we were disturbed by Mr C’s mobile phone. The interruption turned out to be an annoying and disappointing phone call. Once again I got the urge to throw the mobile phone into a nearby waterway!

After freshening up we made our way to the restaurant of choice for the evening where I chose salmon, potato and salad for my main course. For dessert we shared an intriguing sounding dish of strawberry soup,basil ice cream and tiramisu cream. It was delicious!  We then made our way back to the hotel for a nightcap before retiring to our room for the night.

The Town Hall Square

8 Comments CherryPie on Jun 26th 2015

8 Responses to “Leuven – Day Three”

  1. ubermouth says:

    Love the statue of the sunbathing lady,especially how she is positioned.

    And that last picture would be a fantastic Christmas card with a little snow sprinkled about. :)

    I can`t imagine what basil ice cream tastes like. Apparently, in American they make bluebell ice cream-if they could make vegan versions I would love to try such flavours.

  2. ubermouth says:

    On closer inspection that is amazing! I even see the statue in the corner I did not initially notice(and as you know, I love me some statues! lol).

    I was not sure initially if that grass shading was sunlight or the clever way they cut the lawn.Yes, it is a beautiful picture.
    I live in what we call ‘The city of gardens’ and it is nice to see flowers year round and everywhere one looks. It’s calming for the soul,isn’t it?

    • CherryPie says:

      The lady in the corner of the garden will feature in more detail when I blog about the Botanical Gardens :-)

      When I sit and rest a while in a garden I find it calming and I find my soul connecting with its source :-)

  3. I like her hair though.
    What gel did she use?

  4. James Higham says:

    It would be fun mowing those stripes.