Day 12 - Thurs., April 17, 2025 - An Appetite for Antwerp

Entering the Groot-Bijgarden Castle.

Good morning Adventurers. Kara here again to get us started today. I’m going to actually start today’s post with a little hiccup from last night. Each evening at about 6:30pm we gather together in the lounge for some complimentary cocktails (including both an alcoholic option and a mocktail option), some group celebrations led by our Adventure Guides, and a run down of the next day’s activities, also led by our Adventure Guides. If there is a photo contest or other activity going on throughout the day, the winner of that is also recognized. Today’s Photo Contest theme was Tulip Mania. 

The Adventure Guides went over the day’s activities with us and gave information that was then contradicted later in the evening when we returned to our cabin and found our Daily Adventurer schedule in our room. The contradictions are mostly small, but they add a bit of confusion - and thus frustration - to the days.

Okay, back to today, we again got up at 7am with me getting dressed first, heading for coffee, confirming that we didn’t need colored tour cards (which was only partially true) and then at 8:10am, we headed down to the lounge together to get ready to head towards Brussels and a castle about 7 km outside of Brussels called Groot-Bijgarden (Grand Bigard). 

Gayle: I am Groot!

Kara: Let's get the official stuff out of the way. This tour was named Floralia Flower Exhibition at Grand Bigard Castle Excursion. Here is Disney's description of this excursion:

Experience a feast for the senses as you explore this unforgettable annual flower exhibition in the park of the Castle of Grand Bigard (Groot-Bijgaarden) during a privately guided visit. Receive a brief orientation tour, then enjoy time on your own to walk among vibrant displays that encompass 35 acres and feature over 400 varieties of more than a million hand-planted bulbs.

The Castle has parts that date all the way back to the 11th century. That part was a fort that was part of the area’s protection efforts. Over the centuries this beautiful estate has been added to. The castle was constructed in the 15th century and is now owned by private holders. 

They have a 35 acre estate that they open in the spring, featuring over 1 million bulbs in over 400 varieties, all planted by hand. 

We had a delightful time strolling along the crushed stone paths enjoying all of the colors, smells, and even unique textures and shapes of tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, and dahlias. 

Among the specific features of this exhibition - which is called Floralia Brussels - are both French and European style garden areas. Additionally, they had a feature for kids which told the tail and travails of Maya the bumblebee. Maya has to be resilient to get the pollen to help all the flowers grow. She also faces vulnerability from threats like climate change and other poor environmental and habitat practices. 

We had some fun taking photos of both flowers and of one another. They had some fun “backdrops” set up as well that you could use for some unique “grammable” photos - if you’re into that kind of thing. 

We reflected on our previous experience - getting to walk out into the tulip field and choose a small bouquet - and some could say stepping up to this experience in this gorgeous manicured, carefully crafted garden. (Saturday, we’ll have our final tulip experience at Keukenhoff Gardens just outside of Amsterdam. Gayle is already a bit worried that we won’t have enough time at Keukenhoff. I actually believe that today’s experience was probably the perfect one for me/us because we were the first group allowed on the grounds in the morning and so had the place all to ourselves for the first 40 minutes or so of our visit.)

We did have about 90 minutes here in total before we met back up at the castle at 10:45am and headed back to our motor coaches. Clement, one of our Adventure Guides that we have not spent that much time with, was with our coach. He told us about how he got to have tea with the King of Belgium once which was a very sweet story. 

Our coach ride was about 40 minutes back to the boat and Clement offered us a whole host of snacks on the way back of small candy bars, Biscotti, chips, and protein bars. (FYI they used a small under-the-bed customizable storage container for all the snacks, which seemed genius.) 

Upon arriving back we went straight down to lunch. Today, Bogdan, our head server, suggested the fish and chips - to which we both said YES! Additionally, while most days we don’t do much with the appetizers placed at each table, today we enjoyed the potato cakes, the smoked salmon - which was nicely enhanced with just a bit of plain mustard they had dotted on it - and some smoked ham. Our fish and chips came with fries (I would have preferred the wedges, but oh well) as well as a nice little grouping of vegetables including mushy peas which had the texture of mashed potatoes and were surprisingly good. 

After lunch, we actually had about an hour and a half before our tour was supposed to leave at 2pm (according to the Daily Adventurer left in our rooms). We both enjoyed some time to read and rest. However, at 1:40pm, Vanessa, our Cruise Manager came on the speaker and said we were leaving at 1:45pm - ugh!!! I rushed down to the lounge - realized we needed colored tour cards and picked those up - and made sure that we didn’t leave without Gayle, who needed a moment to freshen up. 

We met our local guide, whose name unfortunately neither one of us can remember. He, however was dressed exquisitely - and had on some amazing shoes. This afternoon we were on a Belgian Chocolate, Waffles & Beer Tour! Here is Disney's description of this tour.

Taste a true Belgian foodie flavor trifecta as you savor the opportunity to sample delicious local chocolate, waffles and beer!

Our very stylish Antwerp local guide

We walked a bit and he told us about the two different origin stories of Antwerp - one of which explains why you will see things shaped like hands all over the city. He also asked us what the difference was between Ghent and Antwerp - and the answer is that there are no canals in the old city. That was because we were standing on top of them. Those who wish to don protective gear including boots can apparently tour about 1.5 km of them - along with their resident rats. No thank you!

Our first stop on this tour was for Waffles. Our stop was at De “zoete” Verleiding which translates to The “sweet” Temptation. We were led to a little dining area in the back and served our choice of coffee or tea. They also brought around a cup of whipped crème to each person. Then, each waffle is made fresh and brought out - coated in powdered sugar. This is the classic Brussels waffle as it is rectangular in shape and has toppings of powdered sugar and whipped crème. There is actually a second variety of Belgian waffle which is the Liege waffle. It is square and is served without toppings as the powdered sugar has been incorporated into the waffle batter and thus does not require the added sweetness.

Gayle: I’m going to try to forget she ever said “does not require the added sweetness” to any waffle. Ever. 

Kara: The waffle we had definitely had the characteristic golden color and deep pockets of what we associate with a Belgian waffle in the US. However, this version was very light and crispy. As I did a little googling after returning from our trip, I think we would prefer the Liege style waffle, as it’s a bit fluffier in texture and the additional sugar inside of it gives it a deeper caramelization.

After everyone was served their waffle and had some time to enjoy, it was time to head off to our next stop which was our Belgian chocolate tasting. Our guide explained the sort of pyramid of superiority of Belgian chocolates. At the lowest level you have Leonides (which I forgot to add we got to sample a little free piece of as we left Floralia this morning - I was unimpressed). 

Gayle: Same. It didn’t help that they were shaped like Easter eggs, which immediately reminds me of possibly the worst US nationwide brand - Palmer.

Kara: Then you have a local Elisa chocolates (which we had passed), then you had the chocolate shop we went to - ChoFleur. Finally, you had a very fanciest chocolate shop well outside of Antwerp. That chocolatier sources his chocolates from the shop we were going to, but the fancy shop. focuses on - what one of the locals we asked later in the day about - very fancy fillings that she didn’t personally like). 

The owner of ChoFleur, Michel, opened the store with his son, Pieter, in 2014. Michel greeted us and told us about how he makes the chocolates and how they source their ingredients. He was sweet and delightful. We were a bit disappointed for him as he was very kind to turn away customers while our group was in the store getting a little talk and a tasting from him. 

The chocolates and ganaches were divine. This was, to quote Gayle, “what we had been waiting for” in terms of Belgian sweets. I suggested and Gayle agreed to my decision that we let the rest of our group get what they wanted and head on to the final stop which was to taste some Belgian beers. As we knew we would not partake in that, we chatted with our guide for a few minutes and he shared with us the treat of a hand shaped almond cookie. 

Once our group headed out to their next stop, we each made up large and small boxes of chocolate for ourselves, family, friends - & Gayle’s boss! I also bought a container of dark chocolate covered coffee beans which I adore and are often hard to find. 

Gayle: Michel offered two different platters, each with four different chocolate/ganaches. FYI as soon as someone says ganache instead of chocolate to me, I know we have the same high standards! I tasted the Dark Chocolate Ganache “diamond” and a “Peanut Praline”, which had a nice peanut butter type filling. (The latter was nothing like a nutty American praline, which I do not care for.) Both were tremendous in their flavors, smooth exterior, and luxurious fillings. Yes, this is what I had been waiting for (& was getting nervous as this was my last chance to get Belgian chocolates to bring home)! The store was clean & crisp, but with plenty of packaged product options. In fact the display reminded me of The Ganachery at Disney Springs, but with far more and better choices! I was very happy to have the store to ourselves for a short bit and thoroughly enjoyed crafting custom boxes. 

Kara: With our purchases in hand we spent a little time exploring more of the city center. We ducked our heads into the cathedral but didn’t see a need to pay 20 Euros to look around. We also had to go see a diamond store in Antwerp - because when in Antwerp. We just stopped by the one that is close to the port - so not in the heart of the diamond merchants and very touristy.

Gayle: My statement here was “We can shop here - or plan another cruise!”

Kara: We also walked through a little crystals and jewelry shop which I may regret not buying something in as I usually buy a piece of jewelry as a commemoration of each trip. I did buy something at Westminster Abbey on the London portion of our trip but haven’t found “the one” on this portion of our trip. 

We headed back across to the river side of the street and walked up on the cobblestone and brick lookout. Gayle thinks that one of the stories we were told this morning by our local guide is that they started building a bridge and ran out of money or simply stopped and this is the remnant of that. To get back to our ship, we also went through the Old castle that is now the Official Visitor Centre for Antwerp and serves as a sort of cruise terminal for the city. It had a cute shop and Gayle found a couple of post cards to purchase. 

We’re enjoying just a bit of down time where I got caught up on this blog and Gayle enjoyed some well deserved reading time. She even finished her book! 

At 6:30pm we headed to the Sip and Sail for our evening briefing and daily celebrations. We had another photo contest. The theme was Tulip Mania! Gayle’s entry was so cute!! I didn’t enter today. 

During the chat, the Adventure Guides said they would be coming around during dinner to chat with us. We headed downstairs and got our table for dinner. We both acknowledged that lunch, while very tasty, didn’t sit with us particularly well. As a result, we opted for the kids’ menu tonight. Now, before you go getting judgy on us, we’ve done this on ocean cruises before as well. Sometimes, a girl just needs a cheeseburger and fries or some simple pasta. I was happy to hear that Gayle thinks my pasta and sauce is better!

The dessert tonight was an interesting combination of Hazelnut ice cream with a Strawberry Ragout. Friends, it was a strawberry that had been soaked in some sugar. We both agreed that each thing, on its own, was very good. However, we wouldn’t have combined them. 

As we wrapped up dinner, it didn’t appear the Adventure Guides had come to the dining room so we headed to the lounge, grabbed a deck of cards, and played two games of rummy to a draw (don’t ask how that happens). We could see the Adventure Guides were eating in the bistro restaurant as we played. As they wrapped up, Georgo came over and gave us our pin of the day. We were able to ask a question about where we were likely docking in Rotterdam tomorrow. 

Gayle: In another “go with the flow” moment, a couple of days ago they told of us another docking change. Stay tuned, as we’ll detail that tomorrow! 

Kara: Pins in hand, we headed to our stateroom. This evening’s entertainment is a classical music group with violin, La Strada. We listened to a bit of their warm up while we were playing cards. We decided that the volume level was not for us. One complaint is that the volume in the lounge is always quite loud - something neither of us is a fan of. 

Gayle: I enjoy many types of classical music, but for violin, I love it - or not. My guess for tonight was that I wouldn’t love it. That along with low lights and a long day, some quiet time in the room was a better choice for us.

Kara: So, we’re looking forward to a lighter day tomorrow as we’re off to explore on our own in the morning. …and Gayle has made an excellent plan for us!!

Here's Kara's video from the day:

Next up: Architecture - New & Old

On that note… Disclaimer: I (Gayle) am a travel agent with Authorized Disney Travel Planner agency - Off to Neverland Travel. Contact me today for a no-obligation quote!

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