Our next destination was
Belgium, but after landing in Amsterdam, we saw some Art before we could get on the highway.
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| at Schiphol airport |
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| Franz Bodner |
To commemorate the existence of witches and their execution in 1610,
Ellezelles (Bel) celebrates with a
Witches' Sabbath. The parade and other activities were downtown, but as evening approached the assembled (and us) walked out into the countryside to a hillside field where we watched the witch-like proceedings below. Ellezelles also claims to be the fictional home of Hercule Poirot.
It was a short drive to the
Zwevgem region of Flanders, where we found a few artists on
Kunstroute 2019. Each year a number of artists are selected to open their home gardens to display their artwork. In Heestert (which translates to "Shrubs") we found
Martine Withouck on Kampenhove, plus
Frans and
Anita Moreel over on
Nieuwstraat.
Ann Vantieghem was in Moen and in Sint-Denis we visited with
Olivier Bulteel and
Vincent van Asten.
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| Martine Withouck |
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| Frans and Anita Moreel |
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| Anita |
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| Ann Vantieghem |
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| painting by Olivier Bulteel |
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| Vincent van Asten |
We were staying with Anne-Mie and Luc at our favorite farm in
Pottes, so it was not far for us to slip over the border and revisit
Lille, France.
La Piscine-Musée d'Art et d'Industrie was closed last time we came through, so we had no real choice in the matter. This building, in
Roubaix, opened as a swimming pool in 1930 and was converted to a museum in 2000.
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| Heaven on Earth by Guidette Carbonell, 1944 |
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| Cat on an Armchair by Theophile Steinlen |
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| Still life by Robert DeNiro, Sr, 1958 |
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| Poisson vase by Niki de Saint Phalle |
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| Grand female figure by Valentine Prax, c 1953 |
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| Portique by Alexandre Sandier, 1913 |
The collection, however, has it's roots in 1835.
CLICK HERE TO SEE MORE .
Lille 3000 is an ongoing cultural celebration in the region and this year, the fifth themed-edition featured Mexico, naming the months long event,
Eldorado. On la rue Faidherbe, we found sculptures by
Pedro Linares López. He calls them
Alebrijes.
There was also special street art organized by the
Collectif Renart.
Also part of Eldorado:
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| Soles de Oro by Betsabeeb Romero |
And, of course, there was Art all over the city.
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| for Louis Pasteur |
Back in Belgium, we stopped to visit a favorite place of ours -
Tournai. Just for a walk around and a beer, but Marie decided to try
TAMAT, the contemporary centre of textile arts, one of the many museums in this city. Tournai was a center for the textile industry from the 15th to 18th centuries, known for its rich tapestries woven in wool and silk. Though a small museum, Marie enjoyed the exhibits very much.
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| Les Armes d'Adrien de Croy-Melun, 16th century |
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| Les Armes d'Adrien de Croy-Melun, detail |
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| Maryse & Pierre Caill |
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| restoration |
It is just a little further into France to visit
Douai for
Les Fêtes des Gayant - Cortège. And like last year's Ducasse in Ath and parade in Liege, they featured giant manikins of historic and popular figures, with people inside making them dance through the streets of Douai. We stayed in town, so were out there early watching the preparations and stayed until the last of the confetti was thrown.
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| Those are BELGIAN Fries! |
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| The Mayor |
Just a few more shots from Douai:
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| Selene by Norbert Treca, 1994 |
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| Le Grand Couple Heureux by Rosaline Granet, 1991 |
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| by Barry Flanagan, 1987 |
On the way to see our friends in Somme-Leuze (Belgium), we were still in France when we noticed a lot of cars parked on the sides of the roads so decided to pull up and see what was going on. We followed our noses into the town of
Solre-le-Château, where we found the streets closed for the fast-approaching
Tour de France. And it was over in seconds. Soon the roads were open and we were on our way.
Before continuing into Belgium, let's make this the end of Part One.
CLICK HERE FOR PART TWO.
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