Villers-la-Ville
I took advantage of the two days of sunshine - the first in a long time - to take a short one hour trip to Villers-la-Ville, touted as some of the best ruins of a monastery around.
I has seen the site from the train when coming back from the airport a few weeks ago, and decided it would be one of my next trips. I have a big book of places to visit in Belgium - and I usually have several places that I have plans to visit. Once I visit them, then I flip through the book and find other places. Belgium is only about 1/3 the size of Missouri, and I'm located pretty centrally. So you figure I cant be more than a few hours from anywhere. This photo that I found online shows how close the tracks come to the site of the ruins. It was good to get out for the walk and the day was simply gorgeous!!!
Well, we passed the site on the train, and kept going and going, and finally stopped at the 'station' in town. Just a few lights and booths along side the tracks. I had to retrace all that way (about 4km) to get to the abbey. It was pretty cool. A real fixer-upper, but you can see how the layout was, and the grounds are nice. There were a few tour groups there. I kept running into this German group. There was another group that had a boom box with chant-type music. They would settle in a place and put on the music. Then there were families, etc. I have some pics of the inside - I'll be home soon enough, and will be happy to share photos of the whole experience.
Otherwise all is well. My cold is mild, but tenacious; it is still with me. I have three exams this week, plus a dentist, a lunch meeting, and whatever else comes up. I've started 'clearing out' but not yet packing. I'll probably save the bulk of that for when I come back from retreat - I'll have a week. I do have a list though, and I've settled that I'll probably try to take all the clothes and books I can manage on the plane, then pick up the rest when I come back next spring to finish up.
See you soon!
Amy
I has seen the site from the train when coming back from the airport a few weeks ago, and decided it would be one of my next trips. I have a big book of places to visit in Belgium - and I usually have several places that I have plans to visit. Once I visit them, then I flip through the book and find other places. Belgium is only about 1/3 the size of Missouri, and I'm located pretty centrally. So you figure I cant be more than a few hours from anywhere. This photo that I found online shows how close the tracks come to the site of the ruins. It was good to get out for the walk and the day was simply gorgeous!!!
Well, we passed the site on the train, and kept going and going, and finally stopped at the 'station' in town. Just a few lights and booths along side the tracks. I had to retrace all that way (about 4km) to get to the abbey. It was pretty cool. A real fixer-upper, but you can see how the layout was, and the grounds are nice. There were a few tour groups there. I kept running into this German group. There was another group that had a boom box with chant-type music. They would settle in a place and put on the music. Then there were families, etc. I have some pics of the inside - I'll be home soon enough, and will be happy to share photos of the whole experience. Otherwise all is well. My cold is mild, but tenacious; it is still with me. I have three exams this week, plus a dentist, a lunch meeting, and whatever else comes up. I've started 'clearing out' but not yet packing. I'll probably save the bulk of that for when I come back from retreat - I'll have a week. I do have a list though, and I've settled that I'll probably try to take all the clothes and books I can manage on the plane, then pick up the rest when I come back next spring to finish up.
See you soon!
Amy
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