Wink Headed to Antwerp - videos of the trip here!

[WinkHPD]

Ten days with Paul Antwerp and John Pollard start tomorrow. I will be doing some travelogue stuff here, you know travel shots and such.

I am leaving Sheila and Sylvia to mind the store and my elf Melissa to assist with work, but I will be working away in Antwerp and also checking messages so at least once a day.

I plan to update daily, but it is unlikely to be any posts on Monday as I will be in the air. On Tuesday I will post and every day there after.

There will also be some diamond threads about the industry in Antwerp once I get to visiting with people there and takes some videos. Those I will post on Rocky Talky. For ten days I get to be your on the scene reporter, and I can not begin to tell you how excited I am.

Wink

 

[Kaleigh]

Wink, Have a great trip, looking forward to your reports!!!

 

[Cind11]

Sounds great! Have a wonderful trip!

 

[strmrdr]

utoh will Antwerp survive a Wink and John invasion?

j/k have fun!!!

 

[Lorelei]

I so wish I could have joined you there....

- have a wonderful time Wink and please say hi to everyone for me!

 

[Ellen]

Date: 6/15/2009 1:27:31 AM
Author: strmrdr

utoh will Antwerp survive a Wink and John invasion?

j/k have fun!!!

Funny. That''s what I was thinking....

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 6/15/2009 7:33:17 AM
Author: Ellen

Date: 6/15/2009 1:27:31 AM
Author: strmrdr

utoh will Antwerp survive a Wink and John invasion?

j/k have fun!!!

Funny. That''s what I was thinking....

LOL. I am sure that John and I will join Paul and Lieve in trying to live up to your expectations.

I suspect that since Paul is playing under the rules of a new father that he may hold us back enough for Antwerp to survive...

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 6/15/2009 4:51:23 AM
Author: Lorelei
I so wish I could have joined you there....

- have a wonderful time Wink and please say hi to everyone for me!

Me too, it would have been fantastic to have met you and Maise, but life has a funny way of interrupting our plans.

Maybe next year.

Wink

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 6/15/2009 9:07:11 AM
Author: Wink

Date: 6/15/2009 4:51:23 AM
Author: Lorelei
I so wish I could have joined you there....

- have a wonderful time Wink and please say hi to everyone for me!

Me too, it would have been fantastic to have met you and Maise, but life has a funny way of interrupting our plans.

Maybe next year.

Wink

I will definitely try again for next year as the Hubby should be around then so I can toddle off for a few days. Meanwhile have a fantastic time and I look forward to your bulletins!!

 

[princessplease]

Sounds awesome! Have a great trip!!!

 

[WinkHPD]

Okay, it was a long post and I did a LOT of walking at airports. I got very lucky in Minneapolis, I had an hour layover and when I got off the plane I asked a skycap which way to the international wing. He pointed me to a cart and said jump on that cart he is going that way. It was a ten minute cart ride and it went forever, probably a good half hour walk.

In Amsterdam I walked for ten minutes, found an information board and it said it the gate and the estimated arrival time from the gate. It said twenty -five minutes, and it was. That included a ten minute stop to go through passport control.

At Brussels I got out of the plane and walked for nearly 15 minutes to get to the baggage claim, then waited another fifteen for the baggage, but I was so sleepy I did not care. A short wait for the bus and I slept until we were actually in Antwerp. (Forty minutes of a 45 minute trip I slept)

Paul, John, Griet, Fabian and I were all at this picturesque sidewalk cafe when I took this video, I intentionally did not focus on John although you can catch a flash of him while I am panning the square. Antwerp is such a beautiful city!

Lieve joined us in a few minutes and we all had a pleasant talk before John and I crashed at our respective domiciles.

Wink

http://www.screencast.com/t/DGEwMDWBw

 

[Lorelei]

Glad you arrived safely Sir! Thanks for the video, it gives me a taste of what it would have been like if I had been able to join you all there, I so wish I had been able to. But it looks like you are having fun, Fabien is thriving!

 

[hoofbeats95]

I LOVE Belgium! Antwerp is great. So is Brussels, Ghent, Brugge! I spent 2 months in Belgium in 2001. I had a blast. Thanks for the video!

 

[WinkHPD]

So far I have found Antwerp to be incredible. I went for a run this morning and I can tell yiou that it took all of my hunting experience and frequent checking my back trail not to get lost.

I started running on Lange Noord and looked after only a block to see that the street was now called Kort Noord. The part of town where Paul lives is a real rabbit warren, lots of little streets, very narrow, twisting here and there and very few land marks when you are actually down in the street.

I have not had a chance to get any more videos for you yet, but I will make time, it is so beautiful here!

Wink

 

[Skippy123]

Oh fun video; it looks Gorgeous there!!!! Awwwww, Fabian is soooooo ADORABLE!!! lol about the nap!

 

[hoofbeats95]

Date: 6/17/2009 9:05:13 AM
Author: Wink
So far I have found Antwerp to be incredible. I went for a run this morning and I can tell yiou that it took all of my hunting experience and frequent checking my back trail not to get lost.

Ha! I feel ya. It seems like all their streets are twisty and not a "grid-like" as in the states. It''s very easy to get lost. Especially since with all the winding streets you really can''t see much ahead or behind you to get your bearings. When I was in Brussels we walked for hours looking for the Manneken Pis statue (the little peeing boy). I was so frustrated as we walked around and around it was seemed like an endless circle. Of course that little peeing boy is a lot smaller than I expected so that didn''t really help!

 

[WinkHPD]

Another long day, wonderful! Paul, John, Lieve, Jerg and I spend a LOT of time talking out schedules and plans for the week.

Lieve has a fiend getting married Saturday and John has met them and been invited to the wedding. Jerg is taking us to Brussels earlier in the day Saturday and Monday we go to the cutting factory, etc etc.

Once the schedule was partially set we then set to work, planning and discussing details so that we can give even better service to our clientele.

It is very fun here to ride a bike to and from Paul's house to his work and back. It is also a bit dangerous if you are not being very careful. I was nearly hit with a van door as I rode by this morning and a worker flung it open just as I was passing near. Fortunately I was about six inches out of harms way, but it sure did not feel like it at the time.

In many of the small streets we can keep up with traffic on our bikes, the big cars just must go so slowly to be at all safe as pedesitrians and byciclists do not seem to fear or respect the autos, rather it is the auto drivers who must be on the careful lookout for others.

As we were riding home Paul said to stop. We got off our bikes and walked to a large door in the wall and looked in, there was a beautiful court yard which happened to be surrounded by the University of Antwerp. Totally invisible from the street until you look into the door. Amazing!

As I started this video there was a gentleman with an incredible handle bar mustache walking towards us and of course he knew Paul. It turns out that Peter is an Irishman who is also a cutter of diamonds. He does not like to cut rounds, not interesting enough, and is waiting for a competition I beliieve Thursday evening to see if his "Dream Catcher" design will win an award this year.

We are going to try to visit him tomorrow or Friday.

http://www.screencast.com/t/cjWn1SYss

Half a block further we came to a square, or should I say more like a triangle. In it were two schools, one for mechanical design, one for art and an art supply store, but the most important part for me was the wonderflu streetside cafe where Griet and Fabian were waiting for us. We had a delightful meal and then went the for more blocks to their house.

http://www.screencast.com/t/O8svMrWbM

That is my travelogue for today, I will take some video of the diamond district tomorrow, it is quite fascinating!

Wink

 

[Skippy123]

Wow, sounds like a fabulous trip!!! I love all the videos, thanks; eeeek, be careful Wink, riding bikes sounds like fun but kind of scary too! Love the courtyard of the University; looks like you are having a marvelous time! I wish I was there!!! Cheers!

 

[WinkHPD]

I am going to switch to photos now, the videos are taking WAY too much of my VERY limited time. It can take easily fifteen or twenty minutes to edit one and render it before I can post it. I did not think of this when I promised videos.

Here is a picture that John took of me the other day and posted on his Facebook account. I was doing a video of a diamond for a client. Now you can see that I am no Wink Martindale, but I do get to dress the part from time to time...

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Yesterday we took the train to Brussels and spent the day. I am going to meet John now to look at some Cathedrals here in Antwerp. Perhaps later today I can edit the pictures from Brussels, there are many, what a pretty town.

Wink

 

[Lorelei]

Great pic Wink!!

How is the food there, have you had anything particularly yummy?

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 6/21/2009 7:39:46 AM
Author: Lorelei
Great pic Wink!!

How is the food there, have you had anything particularly yummy?

Don''t get me started on the food. Seafood, steak, sandwiches, vegetables, fruits, spaghetti, and of course, CHOCOLATES TO DIE FOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We were to have a BBQ this evening but the weather was bad so we had a cold plate dinner that was the best I have ever had. I have already gone up a notch in my belt. Sigh.

Still, all but one morning I have gone for a nice run and we bike every where which is fantastic. I love this place and the wonderful people here.

Wink

 

[Stephan]

Date: 6/21/2009 7:38:13 AM
Author: Wink
Yesterday we took the train to Brussels and spent the day. I am going to meet John now to look at some Cathedrals here in Antwerp. Perhaps later today I can edit the pictures from Brussels, there are many, what a pretty town.

I''m happy you did like my town.
I prefer Antwerp, Brugge, Leuven, Gent, ...

It was a great pleasure to meet you after so much time knowing you on the net!

 

[WinkHPD]

Date: 6/21/2009 3:14:27 PM
Author: QueenMum

Date: 6/21/2009 7:38:13 AM
Author: Wink
Yesterday we took the train to Brussels and spent the day. I am going to meet John now to look at some Cathedrals here in Antwerp. Perhaps later today I can edit the pictures from Brussels, there are many, what a pretty town.

I''m happy you did like my town.
I prefer Antwerp, Brugge, Leuven, Gent, ...

It was a great pleasure to meet you after so much time knowing you on the net!

I have not had time to process all my pictures yet, but one of my treasures is the one I took with you after lunch, it will get posted very soon.

Queen Mum met us at Paul''s office and did some work with Paul, then we all went to lunch. It was such a delight to meet this man with whom I have done business for many years.

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Okay, as promised. It was a real pleasure to meet you and I look forward to seeing you on future trips.

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

While running in the early mornings it is not unusual to look down a narrow street and see something extraordinary, like this shot. I was running down a street and looked to my right as I crossed another and it took my breath away. (The view, not the running, really!)

Fortunately I had taken my camera with me that morning so I grabbed this photo of the early morning sun on the towers of the church.

Wink

 

[WinkHPD]

Let''s try uploading the picture this time...

 

[WinkHPD]

John in Central Station, we are about to catch a train

 

[WinkHPD]

The Gardens were huge!

 

[WinkHPD]

In Antwerp the streets are often curved and sometimes extremely short. While I like it a lot there are times when you just don''t get a good view of things.

One of the things I really liked about Brussels is that you could look up opr down a street for a LONG ways and then there would be something fantastic.

Here is one such example, the hall of Justice with its golden crown.