On Sunday, we made the trek to the Netherlands for the Sinterklaas parade (see the previous post). Then on Monday, we took them down to downtown Brussels and did some sightseeing (Ste. Catherine's cathedral, the Mannekin Pis, the Grand Place, the restaurants). We did a little shopping, a little chocolate tasting and a lot of walking. The kids loved riding on the Metro (Jack just kept repeating "choo choo ride.")
On Tuesday we drove to Ghent to see the castle and the churches. T.J. and I had a nice cappuccino while the Rousseaus toured the castle. I actually had 2 cappuccinos (when I find the opportunity, I take advantage of it!) and then went shopping (just a little!). We then headed toward Bruges, where we were staying in a castle for 2 nights.
The castle was really neat -- originally built around 1100-1200 but extensively rehabbed in the 1850s. Reportedly, Napoleon visited there twice. It was all very ornate with lots of old pictures and beautiful stained glass and painted ceilings. It was a really nice stay, and close enough to Bruges that it was a quick drive there for sightseeing and dinners.
We had a nice time walking around and seeing the sights, including one of the few Michelangelo statues outside of Italy. Everyone else took a horse and carriage ride around town, while I selfishly stayed behind to watch the strollers (and then immediately took off for the shopping district, stopping for a takeaway cappuccino along the way).
The girls had actually stopped earlier in H&M for a mini-shopping excursion. Amelia wanted a glittery Hello Kitty shirt, and then went berserk when she saw My Little Pony shirts as well. We also, of course, had to buy some glittery pink shoes to go with her new shirts. Jack got a white t-shirt, so as not to feel left out.
After our time in Bruges, we headed to Oostende, a coastal town on the North Sea. The kids got to play on the beach a little, and they had a ball, even though it was a little dark and cold.
The week went by really fast, and we were sad to see them leave. Now it's time to get ready for the holidays.
Just Different Enough...
My latest vents:
1. Bought new lights for the Christmas tree, because, of course, our old ones won't work here. Got three strands of 50 lights each. Opened up the package at home and found that instead of one long strand of 50 lights, it was a CIRCLE of 50 lights. So putting them on the tree was quite a challenge.
2. The kids had some gorgeous portrait pictures done at Jack's creche, and I was trying to order them last night. Of course, they don't have 8 x 10, 5 x 7, etc. Everything is just different enough that nothing fits into the frames that I have -- so now I have to buy all new frames.
And what I'm pleased with....
1. Christmas markets galore! So many, that I won't be able to attend all of them. So we're planning one Saturday in Germany, one in Brussels, one in Stockel -- and who knows where else. There are just too many to go to, but they all seem neat!
2. I found bagels in the grocery store today, and I heard that the British store sells Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Life is getting good. Seems like peanut butter, syrup, takeaway coffee and rice-a-roni are the few things I still can't find, so my list has definitely gotten shorter over the past year.
3. I LOVE riding my bike -- even in this cold, damp weather. It's been so nice to pick Jack up from creche on the bike, fill my basket with groceries and get some exercise. (Although the ride home is uphill, and that's always fun with a 12 kilo kid and groceries.)
So overall, life is great here. They're starting to decorate Stockel -- they just put up a giant Christmas tree and were stringing lights. But we're looking forward to our visit to the U.S.
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