Lonnie Visit

A whirlwind of European fun is probably the only way to describe our visit with Keith's mom. She and I rode the train back from the airport last Thursday and just took it easy until Keith got home from work. Since Keith's vacation days are numbered he wasn't able to join in the festivities on Friday so his mom, Jen (another consultants wife), and I went to the Parc Paradisio to stroll around and check out the gardens and the animals. Because it was a week day the park was fairly deserted, and the rain held off just long enough for us to see everything we wanted to. I still can't get over how close you can get to the little monkeys!

Saturday the three of us headed for Koln (Cologne) Germany. Yes, it's where cologne comes from. The fourth largest city in Germany is only about two and a half hours from us. Not the most spectacular city I have ever been too, but still pretty neat. Most of the city was devasted durning the war so they have done a lot to rebuild. The main draws are the church, which was pretty spectacular and it's location on the Rhine. We strolled through the city and had a lovely lunch with German beer. Have to say, so far, I prefer the Belgian stuff.

On Sunday we took it easy, we watched Bailey play with some new toys that Lonnie brought from home and then headed up to Brussels to catch a movie. The Kinepolis theater in Brussels is a sight to see. It's three stores tall with over 20 theaters. There was watched Wall-E, complete with French and Dutch subtitles, an intermission, and sugar popcorn instead of salt. Very strange...

Monday we headed to Paris, this time by car. Keith braved the rush hour city driving - probably the worst I've ever seen, but he got us there and back safely. It's a longer trip by car than by the high speed train but we still managed to squeeze a lot in. We managed to see the Trocadero, the Eiffel Tower, a boat ride on the Seine, Notre Dame, the Louvre, the Arc du Triumph, and have lunch. Obviously there is so much more to do in Paris, but to see it all you really have to stay there for several days. We finished the night off with a nice dinner in the Grand Place back here in Mons.

Tuesday, Keith was back to work and Lonnie and I headed out for a leisurly day in Brugge. All along Keith and I have been knocking the little town of Mons that we are in, it's a fairly poor city, that has lost it's life and spirit, and Lonnie thought we were being a bit hard on it until she saw Brugge. I don't know how to explain Brugge other than it is exactly what you think of when you think of a cute european town. It's upbeat, picturesque, clean, charming, or as my mom would say it has "pizzaz". Both Keith and I wish that SHAPE could be located in Brugge instead, but I guess if it were we might not ever leave Belgium. Once Lonnie saw Brugge she understood why we are so down on Mons. It just isn't the same. We walked through the busy city streets, checking out the chocolate and lace shops. We walked along the canals and Lonnie got her first chocolate waffle, a fitting end to her trip to Belgium.