Belgium in 6 days

We have been staying with friends in the Flemish part of Belgium for the last 6 days and having an absolute blast! They have made us SO welcome and taken us around all the places of interest - that, coupled with fantastic weather until yesterday, has made us think of a return visit to do all the things we just couldn't manage this time. Between OAP's sore hip and our hostess's sore leg (she fell in Jordan and broke it and has a plate and screws which are paining her muchly) I felt as if I was on a cripples day out every time we ventured out! Eventually the two of them would find a bench to sit on while our host and I would dash off to see the rest of the sights! We did Antwerp, Brugges(Broosch its pronounced!) and Brussels and there is still loads to see. Today we went to the botanical gardens in Antwerp which, though small, are very comprehensive and then we had tea and pancakes in the Toneelhuis (Theatre) which was VERY baroque. In the morning we cruised a huge department store called Carrefour where OAP bought himself TWO PAIRS of lovely suede boots which look remarkably like Caterpillars (the boot not the insect!). But we learnt that in Antwerp there used to be many canals threaded through the city - the ships would come to the mouth of the huge river and then offload into the barges which would then take everything upriver to the city. But when plague broke out the city fathers thought it was due to the stagnant water in the canals (more like to be cholera in those days with all the sewage in the water!) so they drained them and those they didn't fill in they sold to the townsfolk who had to "cap" them. This they did and then built houses on top of the caps but apparently the canals (refilled naturally from the water table) still exist underneath and you can do a tour of underground Antwerp by boat with a torch!!! I HAVE to do that! In Brussels we went up the Atomium which I last saw in 1958 when it was built for the World Trade Fair - what a blast from the past that was. Brugges was quaintly beautiful with all its little canals, ye olde coffee shoppes and ancient buildings and bridges and we did a tour of the town in a motor boat as the handicapped amongst us couldn't walk too much! For once in my life I am as fit as a flea and poor OAP is champing at the bit with his problem. In two weeks time we are back in SA and will have his hip looked at by an expert to see what can be done.