The campground at Londerzeel was abuzz when we got up. Today is their annual festival that raises money for the kids activities at the park. 90% of the residents are full time and a few of us are transitional, so, we could feel the excitement of our neighbours. We hadn't understood why the kids were rehearsing dance routines, etc. on the stage at the entrance when we arrived last night. Now we know. The parking lot and entrance was filled with tables for eating, vendors, food stalls, etc. It looks like it will be a fun day.
As seems to happen to us occasionally, we couldn't help but get lost on our way out of town. The campground is located by the highway and we were attempting to avoid the maze of one way streets in Londerzeel by cutting across country via an overpass. We finally gave up as no roads led across the freeway (despite what the GPS indicated). This glitch added about 12 km to our start. This was a bit frustrating as we were looking forward to getting to Mechelen and we wanted to have time to explore a bit before moving on.
Earlier on our journey in Belgium as we road along the Flandern Route in this area, a young woman had been disappointed for us that we had missed taking a detour to Mechelen. This recommendation had stuck in my mind and we wanted to be sure to see it. Mechelen did not disappoint. We were entranced by the pervasive bike culture that greeted us from outside the city. The access was smooth and easy. We liked the signs that showed an image of a bike in the foreground with a car behind it yielding right of way. The message was that bikes have 1st priority, on any road, even one way roads.
This is a picturesque and well preserved medieval Flemish city. We took in its beauty, had a picnic in the park, met some nice people and Barry had an impressive fall after touring the cathedral. All in all, a good visit.
The riding was pleasant and followed rural areas and villages. We stopped at the very small campground at Viersel. Once again, the camp is made up of full time residents and one tent (us!). People were very friendly and hospitable. The price was right - 13 euros including showers - the facilities were very limited and need to be replaced, but it was quiet and gave us a place to stay.
In Mechelen, this angel was on a building - not sure why, but it caught our eye.
These women who live in Mechelen were fun to chat with. A bit of Flemish, a bit of English and lots of laughs. They noticed that we had no motor on our bike and were concerned for us. They wanted to know how old I am (62) and they laughed as they are also 62. Then they asked me if my husband was strong and healthy in order to handle such a big bike. I assured them that he was more than up to the challenge....and moments later as he left the cathedral he took a nasty tumble on the cobbles. Naturally, these ladies had just left me and were there to help him up.
Approaching Lier on the canal. It is deja vu time as we were in Lier earlier on the trip, but from a different direction. The good thing today is that we have a tail wind instead of a headwind!!
Yeah!! We remembered this ice cream van from before. It serves homemade ice cream that they make on their farm. Barry was in withdrawal as we found ice cream not the best in France, so naturally we stopped. "There is always time for ice cream", no matter how late you are.
