2008.07 Brussels

We spent a week with Pamela and Henry from 12 to 19 July 2008, combining the visit with a trip to Ireland with our neighbors Bill and Judy Neill and their son Rob, who grew up with our kids and now lives in New York. While in Brussels we spent some time in museums we hadn’t previously visited, did some city walking, worked in the garden, and walked to and from Henry’s “stage” with him. A stage is like a day camp and there are all kinds of them operating in Brussels during school holidays. Henry’s done stages on everything from Don Quixote to sports to music. The week we were there he was doing China. We also enjoyed some late night visits with Pamela, who worked during the day but always found time for us in the evenings. We had a lovely Sunday afternoon picnic with good friends of Pamela’s and a little friend of Henry’s at the Solvay Chateau in La Hulpe where bronze statues by Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon are placed along walks throughout the grounds. Henry had visited the park on a school field trip in June, so he enjoyed the return visit with his friend Nicolas.

Many of the Jean-Michel Folon sculptures at the Solvay Chateau feature the man with the hat. The second picture is a clay version Henry made from memory after his school field trip.

Parc du Cinquantenaire, which houses several museums

A building in the EU area, with a banner welcoming Slovakia to the Euro

Grandson Henry as the dragon in the play put on by his China stage