Day with the Baron
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Last day in Belgium!
Today we were allowed to “sleep in” until about 8:00am. We had to be ready by 9:15 and on the road by 9:30 for a tour of a family owned brewery—Lindemans. Here we learned about the entire brewing process. At the end of the tour we were given samples of their famous fruit beers.
Next stop was to a local dairy farm. This dairy farm not only provides dairy-fresh products (ice cream, yogurt etc.) to anyone who wishes to make the journey, but specializes in agri-tourism. This is particularly interesting as it allows people of all ages to see the cows and see the automatic milking process by a robot first-hand!
We took a stroll through the little town of Gaasbeek with our U of I alum—Baron Piet van Waeyenberge. He even gave us a quick tour of his personal library designed by a renowned Belgian architect.
We headed to lunch with the Baron at the only restaurant in town. We all received a steak and salad and for dessert, the freshest strawberries in town. At 3:00 the Saturday organic farmer’s market opened—local farmers offered bread, fruits, vegetables, poultry, pastries, and flowers. We all enjoyed exploring the market and even purchasing a few items!
After our nice lunch, we left Brussels to take the Eurostar train to London. Most of us took our two-hour train ride as a fine opportunity to catch up on sleep. Riding the Eurostar was a unique experience because the train actually travels underneath the English Channel. While waiting for our next train at Kings Cross station, we were surprised by the current exchange rate of dollars to pounds. Unfortunately for us, it definitely favored the strength of the pound. After arriving in Grantham, we met our new bus driver who was sitting on the right side of the vehicle and drove on the left side of the road—talk about confusion! We stayed at the Belton Woods Hotel, which is a very high-class resort. Our accommodations were funded by OSI group and our rooms seemed like luxury compared to the previous hotel we had in Leuven, Belgium. Around 10:00pm a firework show was held for a high-end 40th birthday party, many of us told ourselves that the fireworks were in fact for our arrival! Very wishful thinking!
Most of us went to bed “early” to take advantage of our comfortable beds with a surplus of pillows and prepare for the next day. Definitely the best night of sleep on the trip!
Posted by Meredith Blumthal
