Rain, Rain Go Away Elisabeth and Kate Want to Play

While driving to Brugges last Saturday it started to rain. It began as a light rain. Then about thirty minutes into our drive we experienced a downpour. The rain did not let up. We pulled into Brugges and contemplated changing our plans. But, where would we go? We checked "nearby attractions" on the GPS and the only indoor option was to visit the Boudewign Seapark Aquarium (and to spend the whole afternoon indoors). We put on our rain boots, rain pants, raincoats and opened our umbrellas: we decided to brave the rain.

We didn't get far. We exited the parking garage at Koning Albert I Laan to a torrential downpour. Luckily, it was time for lunch. We snuck into a fabulous Belgian restaurant across the square for a two hour lunch and stayed warm and toasty. Elisabeth ordered tomato soup, Kate ordered spaghetti, I ordered the fish soup and Rich ordered the beef stew. Delicious! The girls especially enjoyed the rye bread! Two baskets!

The Belfry

After lunch we walked along Steenstr to the Grand Plaza. We climbed the Belfry which dominates the city's main square, the Market. A narrow, steep staircase of 366 steps leads to the top of the 83-meter-high building. There was no charge for children under three, but Kate climbed all 366 steps herself, up and down! We listened to a carillon concert while climbing and watched the carilloneur play the carillon on the hand keyboard (although Elisabeth complained that it was too loud).

Belgian Chocolates and a Carriage Ride

Fortunately for us it stopped raining when we left the Belfry. The square surrounding the Belfry is ringed with Gothic and ne0-gothic buildings. Elisabeth's favorite was the pink building, Kate's the yellow (not surprising to us!). Several small shops in Brugges make their own chocolate. While Elisabeth, Kate and I waited in line for the carriage ride, Rich walked to Dumon, one of the best chocolate stores and factories in Brugges. Fortunately, an American in line in front of us told Rich where it was located just off the Grand Plaza. Rich returned just in time for us to savor some chocolates during our 35 minute carriage ride through historic Brugges. Delicious! After the carriage ride Elisabeth said that she wants to have a carriage and drive it when she grows up!

Begijnhof

The carriage ride took us through historic Brugges. We stopped for 10 minutes at the Begijnhof to give the horse some water and oats. We strolled around the Begijnhof, one of the most picturesque squares in Brugges. The Begijnhof was originally a haven for women whose husband's died in the Crusades. The widows pledged obedience to God and spent their time praying and making lace for a living. Today, Begijnhof is home to the Benedictine nuns.

The Church of Our Lady: Michelangelo's Madonna and Child

After the carriage ride we walked to The Church of Our Lady to see Michelangelo's Madonna and Child, his only sculpture outside of Italy. Upon entering the Church Elisabeth was in awe of the sculpture. She just wanted to sit and look at it. She asked questions about the other sculptures, but the Madonna and Child captured her attention most (although I wonder if she was just tired from walking all day?).

Canal Ride

We exited the Church of Our Lady around 4:00pm. We had just enough time for a quick boat ride on the canal before dinner. Brugges is often called the "Venice of the North" and its canals are impressive and beautiful. Taking the boat tour provided one of the best ways to see Brugges and understand it (especially with two young children in tow!).

Quicko's (= McDonald's)

The girls were exhausted, as were we. So we walked back to the Grand Plaza and found a Quicko's. A quick 30 minute meal. We enjoyed chicken nuggets, fries, hamburgers and coca-cola (the girls had milk) while looking out over the Grand Plaza. Just what we needed before walking back to the parking garage and driving home to Brussels.

All in all a great decision to brave the rain: we enjoyed a fabulous lunch at a gourmet restaurant and had a terrific afternoon discovering Brugges with the girls. Nice for us that the blue sky appeared after the Belfry! We fell in love with Brugges. There was so much to see that we will have to return to visit the Chocolate Museum, the Groeninge Museum, the Gruuthuse Museum, the St. Janshospitaal, the windmills and the Memling Museum. We found ourselves fascinated with Brugges, the people, the history and the art.

H1N1 In Brussels

We've been on "fall break" for two weeks in Brussels. On the last day of Kate's school, I received a memo stating that H1N1 was going through her class. Just what we needed. A stomach virus is also going around. The good news is that after two weeks of being sick (and out of school!) we are finally healthy (although exhausted!). We are heading to Brugges today. Will report back on our travels.

October: Weekend in Paris

Our Itinerary for Paris

Friday Morning

7:15 Leave the House via Taxi Bleu

7:45 Arrive Train Station

8:16 Train Leaves

9:40 Train Arrives in Paris

10 :00 Arrive Hotel Metrole Residence Opera, Leave Bags at Hotel

10:30 Leave Hotel

11:00 Go to Jardin Des Tuileries

12:00 Eat Lunch at the Louvre

1:00 Go to Louvre

2:00 Walk along the Seine; Boat Tour 2:30pm

4:00. Walk to Eiffel Tower. Go up tower and then have dinner at snack bar part way up Eiffel tower. Ride Carousel, etc.

5:45 Descend Eiffel Tower. Go back to Louvre . Either re-enter for exhibits or just walk around and have an ice cream or something.

Saturday

8:30 Notre Dame Cathedral

10:00 Walking Tour of old Paris (Rick Steve’s Guide)

12:00 Lunch near Luxembourg Gardens. Play at Luxembourg gardens. Sail boats.

1:30-4. Musee de Orsay

4pm Walk through Jardin Des Tuileries

5pm Dinner at a Cafe

6:00 Train Home

Elisabeth & Kate in Paris

Last week Elisabeth had a four-day weekend at school for parent-teacher conferences. Her conference was the first of the day so we decided to take the train to Paris for the weekend.

FRIDAY

On Friday morning we took a taxi to the train station in Brussels, Gare du Midi. Our Thalys train left at 8:15am and arrived in Paris at 9:40 am at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. We took a cab to our hotel, the Hotel Metrole Residence Opera, on the left bank. We left our bags and car seats at the hotel and then headed off on foot to explore the city.

Tulieres Garden

We did not bring a stroller to Europe so we walked with the girls on our shoulders to the Jardin de Tulieres. We enjoyed a pastry in the park and sat in the sculpture garden. At one end of the garden they were installing a new sculpture. The girls found it interesting to watch the forklift. We walked from one end of the garden to the Champs Elysees. Elisabeth noticed that the obelisk at the Place de la Concorde was smaller than the Washington Monument. They enjoyed seeing the Eiffel Tower from a distance.

Louvre

Next we visited the Louvre. First, we ate lunch. We had planned to eat lunch at the tea room, but opted for the cafeteria instead. After lunch we sought out Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. We spent a lot of time resting on the couches in the gallery. Rich and I took turns staying with the girls as the other walked through the galleries. We tried to find our favorite in each gallery or something funny in a painting.

The Seine

After the Louvre, we walked south along the Seine toward the Eiffel Tower. Our boat tour left at 2:30pm. It was just what we all needed after walking all morning. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed taking pictures with my camera. Elisabeth also enjoyed having her picture taken with the Asian tourists on the boat. They were all in awe of Elisabeth (Kate did not want to have her picture taken!).

Eiffel Tower

After the boat tour we walked along the Seine to the Eiffel Tower. A bit of a drizzle during the walk. We ducked into a covered bus stop to avoid the rain. Luckily for us the line for the Eiffel Tower was relatively short after the rain. I quickly jumped in line while Rich took Elisabeth and Kate across the street to the carousel. The girls enjoyed a ride or two before joining me in line for the Eiffel Tower. We took the elevator to the second level and walked around and then proceeded to the top. What a breathtaking view of Paris! We opted not to spend 200 Euro each on dinner at the restaurant. We ate at the second floor cafeteria and the girls enjoyed Orangina soda, pizza and hot dogs.

SATURDAY

The girls woke up early Saturday morning (despite our best efforts to tire them out on Friday!). We checked out of our hotel and stored our bags in the lower level. Then we ventured out for breakfast. We were craving bacon and eggs (or at least I was!). Not many cafes open that early on a Saturday.

We found a lovely little café that was open and ate a big breakfast. The bacon and eggs were delicious – they were cooked together in a skillet and served on a plate intermingled with the bacon fried in the egg.

Notre Dame Cathedral

After breakfast we walked with the girls on our shoulders from our hotel to the Notre Dame Cathedral. We walked past the Louvre and the Jardin de Tulieres and along the Seine. Once at the cathedral the girls enjoyed the rose window, but what they most wanted to do was light candles for family and friends.

Once outside we enjoyed walking along the Seine outside of the church and played in the playground. The girls did not want to leave, but we were hungry for a snack and there were no cafes nearby.

Farmers Market in the Historic Neighborhood

We walked along the Seine and then crossed a bridge to the historic core of Paris on the right bank. We bought some pastries and fruit at a farmer’s market there. We had planned to do the Walking tour of Old Paris (Rick Steve’s Guide), but were tired.

Shakespeare & Company Bookstore

I am volunteering at the library at Elisabeth's school once a week. Regine at the library suggested that we visit the Shakespeare & Company Bookstore on the Right Bank. We stumbled upon it. Rich and Elisabeth enjoyed looking at books while I took Kate to the WC at the café next door. Elisabeth picked out a book about Matisse. Kate picked a book about Cezanne. We climbed the narrow staircase of the bookstore to see the alcoves where writers typed in the early 20^th century: a cozy little children’s section in the bookstore on the second floor.

Luxembourg Gardens

We walked from the Seine inland to the Luxembourg Gardens. The girls enjoyed sailing miniature sailboats there. Kate’s was yellow with a clownfish on it. Elisabeth’s was pink. There was a café at the gardens, however the girls saw a McDonald’s so we went to McDonald’s for lunch.

After McDonald’s we bought some delicious chocolates from a local shop and munched on those while we walked to the Musee d’Orsay.

Musee d'Orsay

Elisabeth was very interested in Matisse and found several paintings in her new book that she wanted to find. Her favorite was Study of a Pine Tree (1904). We picked up a map of the museum and found the rooms where Matisse paintings were located. Kate wanted to see the Little Dancer by Degas so we found the Degas rooms as well and charted our course through the museum. I think they appreciated the paintings and sculptures, but again we took turns sitting with them on the couches while the other toured each gallery. Afterwards the girls enjoyed playing in the sculpture gallery in the Musee d’Orsay. Luckily, nothing broke.

We ate a snack at the café in the Musee d’Orsay. We sat and rested before the walk back to our hotel on the other side of the Seine…shoulder rides....what a great way to travel!

Technopolis & Planckendael (Mechelen & Leuven)

We planned a trip to Planckendael, a breeding ground for the Antwerp Zoo, in Leuven, Belgium last Saturday. However, as we jumped into the car at 9:30am it started to rain in Brussels (and continued to rain....). We were not prepared: we had rain coats and rain pants, but we forgot our rain boots and umbrellas. We checked our GPS for "Nearby Attractions" and decided upon Technopolis.

Technopolis

http://www.technopolis.be/nl/index.php

Technopolis is a science museum for children with hundreds of interactive experiments. I'm not sure who enjoyed it more: Elisabeth, Kate or Rich. Rich enjoyed the combination of science and technology and watching Elisabeth and Kate explore - he wants to return every weekend! There is a great room at the entrance with water play with damns and locks, fake plumbing, etc. For the younger kids there was a grocery store, pizza parlor, etc. Kate enjoyed making me pizza and bringing it to my table in a pizza to-go box. Technopolis is huge - we could have spent the whole day there and not experienced all of the exhibits.

Mechelen

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechelen

Rather than eat at the cafe at Technopolis, we ventured into Mechelen and ate lunch at a local restaurant. Nice to explore historic Mechelen and the architecture.

Planckendael

http://www.planckendael.be/

After lunch the sky opened up and the sun peeked through the clouds. Rather than drive home to Brussels, we headed back to Planckendael in Leuven. Elisabeth brought along her sketch book and colored pencils to sketch the animals. First, she sketched a pelican. Next she sketched a peacock topiary in a garden, and finally a rhinoceros. We enjoyed resting on a bench while she sketched the animals. She tried to sketch Kate, but Kate wouldn't sit still long enough.

Planckendael is a family-friendly zoo. It is very flat terrain and very easy to navigate. There are playgrounds (with cafes for parents!) interspersed throughout the zoo. The playgrounds include trampolines, ponds with rafts and a pull line, traditional Native American tepees, petting zoos, tree houses, etc. Elisabeth enjoyed the pond and the raft. She pulled herself across it with the pull line a dozen times. Kate loves Pocahontas so she enjoyed the Native American village and the tepees. I think their favorite was having snack with the giraffes. We climbed to the second story of the giraffes "barn" and ate with the giraffes - they were so close!

One thing we did not do was take the boat from Mechelen to Planckendael. Apparently, if you park in Mechelen there is a boat that goes to Planckendael. We'll save it for next time....

October in Ghent

Our first weekend in October we visited Flemish city of Ghent with its ancient cobbled streets and winding canals. It was our first rainy, windy and cold Saturday in Belgium. We packed raincoats, rain pants, and umbrellas so we were prepared!

Belfort

First, we visited the Belfort, an ancient medieval tower in the heart of the historic center of Ghent. The girls enjoyed walking up the turret and learning about how bells are made. A magnificent view of the historic city of Ghent from the tower. There were also some torture exhibits that we quickly bypassed.

Chocolates

The Belfort is situated in between the cathedral and the town hall. We enjoyed some chocolates from a local chocolatier while we waited for the carriage ride. In the basement of the chocolate store was a chocolate factory and the girls enjoyed watching the chocolate machines. Perhaps we should start reading Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory...

http://www.roalddahl.com/

Carriage Ride

After visiting the Belfort we were ready for a rest. Several horse-drawn carriages were available just outside the Belfort. We enjoyed a 45 minute carriage ride through Ghent. The tour guide provided information about Ghent in English. It was the perfect way to discover Ghent and provide an overview of the city.

Het Gravensteen Castle

Next we walked through the historic center of Ghent to the Het Gravensteen Castle. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed exploring the castle and pretending to be princesses. Again there were torture exhibits which we quickly bypassed. How do you explain a guillotine to a three and six year old? Outside of the castle walls was a giant iron spider web. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed climbing the spider web.

Architectural Boat Tour

The sun opened in the sky around 4:00pm so we decided to join an architectural boat tour of Ghent along the canal and the rivers Scheldt and Lys. The girls were tired too so a boat ride provided a nice rest before dinner and a 45 minute drive home to Brussels.

Overall a wonderful medieval city to visit. I would highly recommend the newly renovated Marriott hotel on the canal. Quite picturesque and easy walking distance to everything.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghent

The Water in Brussels

After our first week of living in Brussels, a chalky substance accumulated on the faucets, the sinks and the bathtubs. What was it? Had the girls drawn with chalk in the bathrooms? Apparently, the water in Brussels is very hard and has a high concentration of calcium. I asked a new friend about it and they had the same problem (unfortunately, her husband had been living here for a year before she arrived so she really has her work cut out for her).

White Vinegar & Lemon Juice

I recently took the Hints Class to Living in Brussels at the American Women's Club of Brussels (AWCB). A class that I couldn't live here without - one session provided lots of great information about housecleaning in Brussels! After the AWCB presentation, I went to Carrefour, our local Walmart, and bought cleaning supplies. Not exactly how I imagined my days abroad, but we're making it a family project. The girls are having fun cleaning their sinks!

Using white vinegar is also a great solution. My friend Tania recommended that I mix white vinegar, water and lemon juice. It gets rid of the calcium build-up in a flash. Thanks Tania!

Kidney Stones

In addition to posing cleaning challenges, the calcium in the water causes health problems, namely kidney stones. We are now buying mineral water at our local grocery for drinking and cooking. We're only here for one year, but I don't want to risk an emergency room visit to one of the local French hospitals. Medical care here is excellent, but my french is very poor!

Laundry

Another result of high calcium content in the water is that clothes wear out faster. We bought new clothes for the girls for school over the summer. I have washed them just a few times, but I can see they have faded. I bought two drying racks at the local Carrefour and dry everything on the clothes rack now. I've also bought a product that supposedly cuts down on the calcium in the washer. I put in a tablet for each wash. Lots of time spent doing laundry....

Dishwasher

Another problem with high calcium deposits is that the dishes and glasses have spots. We need to add rock salt to the dishwasher (similar to the salt that we put out on the sidewalks in the States). Haven't done it yet, but will have Rich help me this weekend.

Ironing

Before leaving for Belgium a grandmother of Elisabeth's classmates told me I would need to iron. We've started ironing once a week in Brussels (usually while we watch TV in the evening). Lots of fun to iron together.

When we first started ironing our clothes, we noticed white chalky substance on the shirts when we used the steam setting. The calcium was everywhere! We need to use distilled water in the iron. Fortunately, we are able to get the distilled water from the washing machine compartment so we don't have to buy it.

Drycleaning in the States is very inexpensive. In contrast, one dress shirt in Brussels costs 6 or 7 euro (=$10). Happy to do the ironing ourselves and save money for travel in Europe.