Saturday morning I woke up pretty early and set out on my own. This was our free weekend where we had the chance to travel a little bit but I decided I was going to spend some alone time (hard to come by on this trip) and explore Antwerp on my own schedule. I got up at 8:00, took a shower and got dressed, grabbed a croissant and I was on my way.
I had scoped out the Mode Museum before I had even set foot in Antwerp. Translation: the Fashion Museum. Antwerp is the fashion capital of Belgium and I was dying to go see the museum.
I mapped out the directions, took a picture and navigated my way through the city.
The guy at the front desk was very friendly and navigated my non-dutch speaking self eventually letting me in for only three euro! Yay!
The exhibit wasn't very large but it was absolutely amazingggg. It was "Birds of Paradise" and had all of the best designers with clothes ranging from the 1940s to last year. Here are some of my favorites:
Both of these are Alexander McQueen.
I drooled.
Chanel
Givenchy
Gorgeous
Classic Chanel.
Loved this dress. Dior
Marlene Dietrich's Swan Down Coat.
300 swans were needed to make it.
The sketch for the coat by Jean Louis of Hollywood.
This was my favorite dress. Dior.
Birthday present?!
Every single one of these designs were hand stitched and none of them were the same.
Absolutely gorgeous.
After the museum I spent the next three hours wandering around Antwerp and going in a lot of their shops. Something neat: all of the stores put the prices of the items in their window, so it's easy to tell what the general prices are going to be for the store. That was definitely helpful seeing as the first store I went into I looked immediately at a 500 euro dress. Ha. No thanks.
It was good to have a Saturday to walk around and do this. Very few stores are open on Sunday and it is another good way to see a different side of the people.
Also, false, Europeans do wear shorts.
After grabbing a dress and a few surprises I headed back to the hotel and then walked around the market looking for something to munch on.
After fruitless attempts from the market, I decided on a (repeated) sandwich from Perruche. Kip!
I grabbed a cold coke from a street vendor and ate it outside of the hotel.
Right before dinner a few of us decided to go try out a place called De Kulminator that we had heard about. It is a little brasserie owned by an old couple that has the largest amount of bottled beer in Belgium. It was such a cute little place and a great way to spend an hour before heading to dinner.
The menu.
Some of the guys tried the #1 beer in the world. At 14 euro I decided against it but the taste that I did get was pretty amazing.
After De Kulminator we went to a wok restaurant and then grabbed a Dame Blanche before heading out on the town for the night. We ended up at a Karaoke bar singing Breakfast at Tiffany's and Summer of '69.
Perfect Day.
Emily
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