On the way from Paris to Brussels to switch the car – or as it turned out to just change contracts, keeping the same car - we stop in Cambrai for a quick coffee – the menu looks very tempting – amazing how a tiny café in a tiny town can come up with such a tempting daily menu! –then head on to Zaventem and the airport. In Zaventem itself we note an Italian restaurant as we drive in, and after we switch out the car we have an exceptional lunch there – the Wine Gallery – with simply divine sole meuniere. After the short (45 km or barely 30 miles to Antwerp) we unload at the hotel and think about our options. Eventually we realize there’s only one choice, and return to Dock’s Café where we eat at the oyster bar, and watch the oyster barman preparing incredible seafood platters. Extraordinary. Don’t miss this if you go to Antwerp!
The hotel is part of the US Holiday Inn Express chain, and it does offer a complimentary and substantial breakfast – but otherwise certainly does not remind us of the HI-Express experience in the US. Incredibly thin towels…no closet or chest of drawers – and most annoying of all, a charge of 12.50 euros a day, per laptop, for internet access, despite not indicating any such charge in the room information. (The same problem occurs again in Brussels at the HI-Express at the airport. I regret now not having done my homework about the airport hotels rather than assuming that the Holiday Inn Express label would carry the same level of comfort that it does in the US. The Antwerp hotel was not entirely satisfactory but the Brussels one was exceptionally awful!)
In both spots we have the dreaded featherbed or heavy duvet, and no other covering on the bed. Anyone who sleeps “hot” as I do or has the occasional hot flash will have problems with these! No French hotel had these…I think there is a cultural divide here, just as there is with breakfast.
Back to more cultural things! An enoyable visit to the Fine Arts Museum in Antwerp – and a nice lunch at the Café den Artiste across the street (but it doesn’t compare to the museums in Brussels, or the wonderful collection of museums in St. Martens-Latem.) Antwerp is a pleasant walking city – entirely flat – and full of interesting little shops. The northern district where we stay is enjoyable for the views of the harbor, and quite a few good restaurants are opening in the area. Good walkers can easily get to the center of town from the hotel. The cathedral and the market square are wonderful. Don’t miss the Plantan-Moretus or Mxx museums. And learn the tram system if you want to explore – it’s very extensive and very comfortable.