Baltic Cruise

Baltic Cruise

This may have been one of our most anticipated trips since we moved to Europe, and we felt that a cruise would allow us to take advantage of this rare opportunity to see so many of cities in one trip. We took a ten day cruise on the Emerald Princess through northern Europe. We picked this cruise for several reasons, the itinerary was perfect, it hit all the cities we were interested and it fell over the right number of weekends and holidays so that Keith didn't have to take off too much work.  For such high expectations, the trip truly didn’t disappoint, it was amazing!!!  We’ll try to break this down so people can skip around to what they are interested in, the cruise itself, the cities, and some other random info:

The Cruise:

We have never cruised with Princess before and really weren't sure what to expect. The ship itself is amazing, a lot less tacky then some of the others we've been on or seen and we upgraded to a balcony room, which was totally worth it!  Unlike our Mediterranean cruise the sea and ports were amazing to watch from the comfort of our own room.  This was not your typical cruise, it was not about relaxing pool side, or soaking up the sun in the Bahamas or Caribbean, instead this was a full itinerary of sight seeing, and very cool temperatures – no need for a bathing suit on this trip.  For those looking for warmth stay away from Northern Europe at the beginning of summer, we mostly had temperatures in the high 50’s low 60’s with showers periodically.  The cruise did off a flexible dining option, which was great; you don’t feel the need to eat with 10 of your not- so-closest friends just to have a nice dinner.  One thing that was fairly dramatic on this cruise was the over 55 crowd, what's difficult to know is whether it's was the itinerary, or the cruise line that failed to attracted anyone younger. We've always been young on cruises, but the entire ship had about 15 couples under the age of 55. But when thinking about it, this is not a cruise that attracts a very young crowd, it's ten plus day off work, expensive airfare from the states, and pretty cold climates.  One fantastic program offered by the ship that we totally took advantage of was their port lecturer.  They paid a contractor to talk about each port and how to do it on your own instead of through the overpriced excursions.  We managed to get around every city other than St. Petersburg on our own, thanks to this guy and his great information.  Despite the age differences and the cool temps, the cruise really met all our desires in terms of seeing so much of Northern Europe for a reasonable price.

The Cities (highlights):

We started in Copenhagen, Denmark, despite being rainy, cold and expensive was a neat city.  One of the highlights is a fairly large amusement park / garden right in the middle of the city.  It also had an extremely charming little old town street with cafes lining the canal, each seat with its own blanket to stay warm in the cool temps.  Since Belgium really stays away from anything American, it was really funny to see tons of Seven Elevens everywhere.

Our next day was at Sea a great way to get familiar with the large ship.  We found ourselves hanging the casino mostly, they did have amazing pools and hot tubs, and an movie under the stars program but sadly it was just a bit too cold.

Stockholm, Sweden

We found Stockholm to be an easy city to do by foot.  We took a 15 minute shuttle ride from the dock into the heart of the city and set off to the main sites from there.  First stop was the city hall, which despite it's drab exterior was very interesting as it is where all of the Nobel Prizes are awarded (except the Peace Prize, which is done in Oslo).  Next, we wandered down to Gamla Stan, which is the old town heart of the city.  It's a charming little area that has the church where the Nobel Peace Prize winner delivers their acceptable speech.  It also has a beautiful sculpture of St. Peter slaying the dragon, a theme which is very popular in the Baltic area.  Finally we went by the Vasa museum which contains a perfectly preserved 17th century war ship.  It sank on its first voyage and due to the brackish water in the bay, was pulled out a few years ago in perfect condition.  It was difficult to get a good picture due to the lighting, but it was an amazing sight to see.

Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki was probably the least interesting of the cities we visited on our tour, but it was a lovely day and a nice city to walk around in.  The main attractions here were mostly churches, and the main market area.  The market is loaded with local crafts and food, with guys selling grilled fish from the boats that they just used to catch it.  We wandered the market area and the two main churches (one a Russian Orthodox church with amazing architecture)...but the most interesting thing here was the Rock Church.  This church is built underground in the area carved out of a huge bolder in the middle of the city, meaning that all of the walls of the church are rock.  Strange, but very beautiful.

St. Petersburg, Russia

We had two days in Russia and needed every minute of it to see everything.  Despite the slow growth post end of communism, the city has so many amazing things to see.  According to our tour guide, many of the Russian kings had an obsession with showing off their money and power, so the palaces and churches are simply incredible here.  The first palace that we visited was modeled after Versailles in France, and was strikingly similar in both architecture and the gardens around it.  We visited several beautiful churches, which are always beautiful in Europe.  Despite not being a museum person, I found myself really liking the Hermitage museum.  Not only was it a simply beautiful structure, the collection of artwork was simply amazing.  They had works from all of the greats...Van Gogh, Picasso, Da Vinci, and Michelangelo.  On our second day we took an early morning canal ride, and saw the city from a totally new perspective.  The city was design to be seen from water, and it really took on an entirely new feel from the boat.  We also visited the incredible Church of the Spilled Blood.  This is a traditional Russian Orthodox church, complete with the colorful bulbs at the top of the building.  At first we were both fairly frustrated with our tour guide hurrying us inside, wanting to stay out and take pictures of the awesome architecture, only to discover one of the most shocking and unique interiors we've ever seen.  On the inside, the entire church is covered from wall to wall with mosaics.  We agreed that this church ranks in the top five most amazing things we've seen.  Both days we were served great authentic meals, including Russian Caviar and Vodka, a nice touch before buttering us up for the rows and rows of Russian dolls for all us tourists, ranging from traditional to Obama and Simpsons dolls. 

Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is easy to overlook, and we even considered for a second staying on the boat this day...but we're sure glad that we didn't.  This amazing place is an authentic medieval city that has been mostly untouched by the wars, so it's original and in excellent condition.  There is a upper level where the nobility lived surrounded by a wall, and then the commoners lived in the lower area.  There is a great deal of former Soviet influence here, so it makes for an interesting mix when King Authur looking buildings sit next to a Russian Orthodox church.  Overall it was a small but beautiful city.

 

 

Gdansk, Poland

Gdansk was a pleasant surprise from what I was expecting.  The port town where we landed, Gdynia, was poor and run down and not exciting at all but we took the 20 minute train ride into Gdansk, which was much nicer.  Much of the city was drab, but the main square has clearly undergone a lot of renovation and is actually quite beautiful.  The painted buildings and fountains made for a lovely place to stop and have a beer (and soda for Elizabeth).  The prices were especially nice after a few days in Scandinavia...here a 1/2 liter beer was about $1.75, as opposed to about $12 in Stockholm or Copenhagen.  Yes, that's right...$12 for a beer...more on that later.  Anyway, it was a lovely town right on the river where they were having row boat races...and there was clearly a soccer match this day as the town was flooded with guys in red shirts drinking heavily and singing songs.  Now that was exactly what I expected in Poland.

At Sea

Next was another day at sea, and it was all about Rest, rest, rest!  It was nice to take it easy after all of the sightseeing we had been doing, but we can only handle so much bingo with old folks and blackjack.  We did take the time to see a comedian, who unfortunately was more uncomfortably weird as opposed to funny...but it was something to fill the time.

Oslo, Norway

Oslo was another beautiful Scandinavian city, but one I would probably rather live in that visit on a tour.  The city is rather small, which made walking it easy.  There are lots of lovely gardens and fountains, and the downtown was remarkably quiet for a Monday morning.  Very few cars here, which made it very pleasant.  The main sights to see are the city hall where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, and Viegland gardens.  Here a single artist created hundreds of sculptures showing his take on life.  Apparently there was a lot of controversy over the park as all of the statues are naked, but it was beautiful.  Hard not to chuckle at the "Angry Baby" and "Man Overwhelmed with five babies" almost a little too lifelike? 

Finally, we had to write something about the cost of things in Scandinavia.  Copenhagen, Stockholm, and Oslo were roughly the same, and just for comparison:

- Grande Starbucks coffee : $8

- 20 ounce Coke bottle: $5

- 7-11 muffin : $4

- Burger King Whopper meal : $16

- Paperback book  : $23

Needless to say, we did our best to eat on the ship in these cities...

Venice

I had a three day weekend last week, so we decided to take a quick trip down to Venice.  We found a good deal on Ryanair and went down Friday morning and left Saturday night.  We did almost no research on Venice before we left so we had no idea what we wanted to see or do when we got there, but we've discovered that we love just wandering cities and stopping at anything that looks interesting.  This served us well again in Venice, except for our arrival.  We took a bus from the airport into the city and got off with no map and no idea how to get to our hotel.  We purchased a 2 Euro map from a street vendor and just started walking.

We quickly discovered that Venice can be a difficult place to get around.  There are no roads in the city, just canals and with sidewalks on either side.  We tried to just wander in the general direction of our hotel, but ran into countless dead ends.  After a bit of wandering and a quick stop for lunch, we finally found our hotel.  When we checked in, they told us that they had upgraded our room to a canal view, so we had a lovely room with a little balcony overlooking the canal.

After getting settled in the room, we went out to wander the city.  The only thing we knew was that St. Marco's plaza was the main attraction in Vencie, so we took off in that direction.  We

strolled for about an hour through tiny little alleys and along canals, stopping to get some gelato at one of the countless stands throughout the city.  St. Marco's plaza is a beautiful square with an amazing church and bell tower, but just packed with people.  We couldn't even find the end of the line to get into the church, so we just took in the view for a few minutes and then wandered through the streets again.  We stopped at a cafe for a cold drink and enjoyed watching the people and soaked up the 75 degree, sunny weather...something we haven't seen much of living in Belgium.  After a quick nap at the hotel, we went out and got a wonderful Italian pizza for dinner.  Then, we purchased a bottle of wine and went back to the hotel to sip wine (water for preggers) on our balcony and enjoy the view.

Day two in Venice was more of the same...just wandering the city, stopping for coffee and gelato here and there.  It was fascinating to see how Venetians handle their everyday tasks with no cars or trucks.  The police cruise the city in boats, even ambulances and mail are boats too.  It's very strange to spend two days in a major city without seeing a single car, truck, motorcycle, or even a bicycle.  Everything is done on the water.  It really makes Venice very unique and charming, since it operates like no other city in the world.

The one problem we found with Venice is the cost of traveling on the water.  Gondola rides were 70 Euro per person and a water taxi (which are beautiful boats by the way) from our hotel to the bus station was 70 Euro.  We passed on both of these and used the "bus" system, but even that was 16 Euro / person for a day pass.  The cost really forces you to walk everywhere, which as I mentioned can be difficult if you're really trying to get to a specific location.

Saturday evening we made our way back to the airport and after a brief delay due to the hail and lightening storm that passed through, we were on our way.  Overall it was a wonderful trip.  Venice was the fourth Italian city that we've visited, and probably our favorite as well.

Schaffer Visit

We’ve got the European whirlwind tour down to a science, just ask the Schaffer’s.  We jam packed our visit with Keith’s dad and Peggy with all sorts of European fun.  After the obligatory nap upon arrival (probably the only real rest they got while they were here), we headed out to the local cheese lady.  She normally is closed on Thursdays but was kind enough to open for us, and we of course made it worth her while by purchasing ten pounds of cheese!  Once Keith got home from work we all sat down with some wine and cheese as we watched a bit of an amazing slideshow they created for Keith.  They had scanned in and organized every photo they own relating to Keith, pictures of his grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc., all in chronological order.  It was pretty incredible!  Although it difficult to pull ourselves away from the thoughtful gift, we ended the evening in Mons with dinner at the famous Steak on a Rock.  

On Friday we headed out for a day trip to Monschau Germany, just one of those adorable towns to stroll through on a beautiful Spring day.  It was in this picturesque town that we learned of Jim’s interest in making pictures into jigsaw puzzles.  It’s amazing how many things you come across; flowers, old buildings and window displays that make for great jigsaw puzzle pictures! 

Most of our traveling was done over Saturday and Sunday when we headed to the Netherlands.  Keith and I are both agreed that we would love to retire in the Netherlands, the people are amazing, the Country is truly beautiful and for some reason you just feel relaxed, even when you are running around.  We spent Saturday wandering Amsterdam, from the red-light district to the flower market, to a beautiful canal ride.  Keith and I were excited on Sunday to return to the Keukenhof gardens.  The arrangements of flowers are spectacular, and seem never ending. It’s even more amazing that they change the layouts every year, so it was all new to us, despite having gone last year.  The heavy rain was kind enough to hold off until we were leaving the Gardens.  On our way home we decided to hit the highlights of Brussels including the Atomium, the Grand Place, and of course the Delirium bar with the 2004 Guinness Record of the largest number of beers in available.

Monday Keith went back to work and we headed to Brugge.  Not much new to add about Brugge since I’ve been so many times, other than it remains one of those cities that I love to go to over and over.  I never tire of the canal ride, or the chocolate shops!  We ended their last day here with dinner at a local restaurant and a few Belgian beers back at the house.  We still can’t believe we managed to see so many things in such a short amount of time, gotta love Europe! 

Irish Easter

I had a long four day weekend over Easter, so Elizabeth and I decided to make a trip up to Ireland.  We flew out Thursday night and went straight to bed when we got there as we had booked an early tour for Friday morning.  The next morning, we headed to the train station for our train / bus tour around the island.  It was about a two hour train ride to our first stop, Bunratty castle.  Here they had setup a little medieval village around an old authentic castle.  Apparently the castle was falling apart until a wealthy British family bought the castle and restored it.  They also brought their collection of authentic furniture and tapestries, so it was quite interesting to see furniture that was hundreds of years old, but still in excellent condition.  After the tour of the castle, we walked around the little village for a while.  Unfortunately it was Good Friday, so many of the little shops were closed, but it was still a lovely place to walk around. 

According to the original tour description, our next stop was an authentic Irish pub.  Unfortunately, there are two days in Ireland where they don't drink, and Good Friday is one of them (Christmas Day being the other).  So, anyplace that serves alcohol has to close.  Instead of the pub, we stopped at a little hotel restaurant for a good, but unexciting meal.  Then, it was off to the main attraction, the Cliffs of Moehr.  Here you can stand near the edge of a nearly 1000 ft drop off into the Atlantic Ocean.  This area is the inspiration for the Cliffs of Insanity in The Princess Bride, if you have seen that.  (If not, I highly recommend it)  The view was simply awe-inspiring...I can't describe it and pictures don't do it justice.  It's just something everyone should see for themselves.  After that, we were back on a bus to another area, The Burren, where the ground was an endless sea of rock.  It's really hard to describe, you really just have to see the pictures.  We then drove to Galway, where we were supposed to have an hour or so to explore the city, but apparently the tour ran late.  So, we just hopped back on a train to Dublin.  I was thrilled by the things we saw on the tour, but it was about 10 hours of traveling and 4 hours of seeing things...just too much travel for one day. 

On day two we rented a car and drove down to Youghal to visit the Irish family that Elizabeth lived with when she worked in Ireland just after high school.  The drive itself was quite an experience as, like the British, they drive on the left side of the road and the right (not correct, right) side of the car.  It took me a little while to get used to shifting with my left hand and it took a lot of concentration to avoid turning into oncoming traffic, but once we got out of Dublin and onto the highway it was fairly easy.  Unfortunately, the last hour of the drive was no longer highway, it was windy mountain roads that were two way, but barely wide enough for one car. Plus, sheep and goats were wandering the streets, so I had to be on the lookout for them as well. It was still a fun as we drove through beautiful countryside and cute little towns. 

We arrived in Youghal in the early afternoon, and Elizabeth took me on a little tour of the town to show me where she worked and ate while she was living there.  After that, we went to the family's house for dinner and drinks.  Elizabeth has always spoken very fondly of her "Irish

Family" and after meeting them I completely understand why.  I have never met a group of people that had the ability to make me feel like a family member when I barely knew them.  The parents, two daughters, and another family friend joined us for dinner and wine, and we just chatted the night away.  That evening, one of the daughters was kind enough to put us up for the evening, and even cook us a traditional Irish Breakfast in the morning, except for the blood sausage...I just couldn't bring myself to eat that. 

The next morning we stopped back by their house to chat a little more.  They all kept saying how despite it being 12 years since Elizabeth lived there, it was like she never left.  They picked up right where they left off.  We said our goodbyes and headed back to Dublin.  This time we took a different route and went through Waterford, where the famous crystal is (was) made. Unfortunately, this famous Irish landmark has fallen to the bad economy and declared bankruptcy.  You can still take a tour of the facility, but it's more of a museum now.  Plus, it was Easter Sunday, so it was not open anyway. 

When we got back to Dublin we took a walk through the city checking out some of the sights.  We really just wandered for a few hours, stopping in a pub for a pint of Guinness...it's always a great beer, but it really does taste better in Ireland.  We did a little souvineer shopping and then headed back to the hotel.  The next day we took the hop-on-hop-off bus tour of the city, which gave us a nice overview of the main attractions, including St. Patrick's Cathedral and of course the Guinness Brewery.  We took the brewery tour, but I have to admit I was disappointed.  They no longer show you where they actually brew the beer, they just have a bunch of TV's telling you about it.  It was an impressive building, but a little anti-climatic for me.  The highlight of the tour is that you get to go to a bar on the top floor of the building and have a pint of fresh Guinness (or Sprite in Elizabeth's case) while enjoying a beautiful view of the city.  I'm not sure if it showed up in the picture, but the head on the beer has a perfect shamrock shape in it.  I thought that was a great touch.

Overall, I would say that Dublin was a little unimpressive, but the Irish countryside and friendly people certainly did not.  Our visit with Elizabeth's "Irish Family" was just fantastic and made the journey up there well worth it.

Weekend in Bavaria

Our little group of Americans in Belgium has grown steadily over the last year, and there are now 7 people from our company working here. Since we all had different holiday schedules and couldn't make the company holiday party in DC, they decided to send us on a European outing instead. After a quick vote, it was determined that we would all fly to Munich for a 4 day weekend with our significant others. The company covered our flight and hotel room, so we had an almost free trip to Bavaria.

To keep the price within the company guidelines, we had to take the 7am flight out of Brussels, 

so we left the house at 4:15 in the morning. After a short 1:15 minute flight, we landed in snow covered Munich. On our first day, half of the group wandered the city, and the other half (including Elizabeth and I) rushed to our 11:00am tour of the former concentration camp, Dachau. This was my second trip to the camp, but it was a first for everyone else. It was just as sobering of an experience as the previous visit. We walked through the tiny rooms where they stuffed in hundreds of prisoners as well as the gas chamber and crematorium. We had an even more realistic experience than most, as it was brutally cold with 8 inches of snow on the ground. Hard to imagine what life was like for the prisoners with no heavy coats or warm food.

After the tour, we returned to the hotel for a while to warm up for a few minutes...then it was off to a group dinner. We found a nice table at the Augustinerbrau restaurant and enjoyed some

Augustinerbrau beer (by the liter) with our bratwurst and sauerkraut. My favorite part is that instead of bread, they bring out big chewy pretzels like you get at the ballpark...only better! After getting up at 3:30 am, walking around Dachau, and then a few beers, we were all exhausted and headed back to the hotel.

On day two, the whole group went on the Bavarian castles tour. The first one was King Ludwig II's main home, a modest 8 room castles tucked in the alps. 24 karat gold covered most of the rooms, and priceless works of art were all around. From the pictures we saw in the gift shops, there were apparently some beautiful gardens out front, but they were covered in a foot of snow while we were there. After that was a brief stop in Oberammergau, the site of the famous German Passion Play. We wandered this beautiful little snow covered town in the Alps for about an hour, then back on the bus to the main attraction, Neuschwanstein castle. We had lunch at the base of the mountain, then spent a little time in the shops before the 20 minute hike up the mountain to the castle. This castle was King Ludwig's main project, although he died part way through construction and it was never completed. It is a bizarre place, complete with a fake cave in the room next to his bedroom. Apparently it was quite modern for it's time, with plumbing and door buzzers to tell the servants where the king was when he needed something. This one was less ornate, but much larger than the other castle. There were some spectacular views from the top, and it was just a fun place to see.

For day three we all hopped on the train to Salzburg, Austria. Unfortunately the weather really didn't cooperate with us on this day. It was foggy with rain and snow all day. This was especially disappointing as I had been there before, and there are some spectacular views of the Alps from the Citadel in Salzburg, but we couldn't see them on this day. We did take the funicular up to the top of the castle anyway, but it just wasn't the same. We went back down for lunch, then the group broke up to see their own things. Elizabeth and I went to visit a beautiful graveyard and a 500 year old church, then a quick walk though the catacombs (dug into the side of the mountain) where religious refugees hid during the Crusades. Overall, we still had a good time despite the weather.

That evening, we all had dinner together at the Hoffbrauhaus. This is the most famous beer hall in Munich where Hitler himself liked to visit. They serve beer by the liter, enormous pretzels, and have an authentic German band (dressed in lederhosen) playing drinking songs. Always entertaining...

On our final day, we finally spent a little time in Munich. We went to the Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel chime at 11:00. It's basically an enormous cuckoo clock built on the side of a building. Little men spin around and play instruments and dance for the king. This was another bizarre creation by the eccentric King Ludwig. Carnival was also starting up this day, so there were tents with food and music, and people were dressed in all sorts of crazy costumes. We had a quick Gluwine at a tent, then headed back. We would have spent more time wandering the city, but once again the cold wet weather was getting to us.

Overall it was a good trip. We were able to cross off a lot of places that we wanted to see, although we probably would have preferred to do them during warmer months. We couldn't argue with the price though!

Amazing Journey

So anyone who has ever watched any reality show such as Survivor, The Bachelor, American Idol, Apprentice, Top Chef, knows that at the end of the season the contestants whether winners or losers refers to their experience as an “Amazing Journey”. I’ve always thought it was such a corny phrase, and still do, but I finally get to use it! It’s difficult to describe our first year here other than to say it’s been an Amazing Journey!

It’s pretty hard to believe that we have been here in Belgium for a year now, it has truly flown by. Things have changed quite a bit over the course of a year. When we first got here we were so nervous, excited, and anxious. There was so much to do, find a house, get the dog here, and figure out how to get everything set up, including SHAPE and Belgium ID’s, drivers licenses, and getting a car. It’s not just the set up stuff that was hard; it was all those things we took for granted back home like going to the grocery store. Finding foods labeled in French, figuring out how to weigh and label fresh fruits and vegetables, finding the “special” trash bags and remembering to bring bags to bag our groceries. How we spend our time has changed a lot too. It seems a like a long time ago now that my days were preoccupied with making curtains while Keith handled tons of paperwork!

A year later we are settled and have a great routine. We have our favorite restaurants, a great group of friends, a kooky vet that loves Bailey, and best of all, we call this place home. I no longer spend my days sewing and hanging curtains. Instead I spend a lot of time on the base volunteering with a group that does training for the Army and their families. I also keep busy with work from my old company back home…. (thanks HT!) Although the paperwork is probably never ending, Keith at least has some work to keep him busy. And obviously the travel really has made this whole experience fantastic. We’ve gotten to go to so many places… and not just the major tourist destinations, but also the local day trips. We are busy planning our trips for 2009, including Munich, Ireland, a Northern European Cruise, and Prague! One other thing that has made this past year so much fun is the blog. We’ve had fun writing it and we totally appreciate everyone who follows it, we love your comments. Hopefully we'll have fun adventures to share soon!

Friends, Musicals, Roman Baths, And A Big Pile Of Rocks

My boss from the US was in London on vacation a few weeks ago so we decided to train it up to meet him and his wife. We caught the Eurostar on Thursday night so we could make an early tour the next day, and then planned on meeting him on Saturday for some tourism and a show.

On Friday, we took a long but interesting tour all around southern England. The first stop was Windsor Castle, the Queen's weekend home. It's quite a magnificent place that still looks like an old medieval castle. We walked through the chapel where Henry VIII is buried, as well as several other famous British rulers. Unfortunately the state rooms were closed, so we weren't able to go in there...I've heard they are quite beautiful.

From there it was a 1 1/2 hour drive in the pouring rain to the famous Stonehenge. Just as we approached the site, the clouds parted and we were treated to a nice, dry view of the site. To be honest, it's a big pile of rocks in the middle of a field. This was one of the few times that I've really enjoyed having an audio guide of a place. We learned that the 3000 year old structure was built from stones over 100 miles away. How people at that time could transport 40 ton rocks that distance just blew my mind. We also heard about the many theories of who built them and why...ranging from a timepiece to plant crops to a big practical joke by aliens.

The final stop on the tour was Bath, where a Roman bath house was discovered on top of the only natural hot springs in the UK. Here we roamed around the well restored piece of history, imagining what it was like in Roman times and admiring the amazing architecture and plumbing that the Romans were able to create. We had a little extra time after the tour so we spent some time wandering around the beautiful city. We stopped at Sally Lunn's Buns to pick up the "best bun in the UK" from the bakery in the basement of the oldest house in the city, built in 1482! It's amazing to me how short America's history seems after visiting some of these places. After that, it was a long 2 1/2 hour ride back to London. We were mentally exhausted after the trip, so instead of researching a restaurant we returned to our "favorite" dim-sum spot from our last London trip. Same experience as last time...terrific food, lousy service.

On Saturday we were planning to meet with Chris at 2:00 at the London Eye. We took it easy in the morning, grabbing coffee and making our way to Leicester Square for lunch. After lunch we hopped on the Underground only to find Chris and his wife standing right next to us in the car! What are the odds? So, the four of us made our way to the London Eye. Now, I've been to London two times before this trip, and the only thing I haven't done is the Eye...I'm terrified of heights. But, this time I had convinced myself to give it a shot. So, of course, the giant ferris wheel had broken down just two hours before we arrived. A little bummed, we decided to walk across the river to Westminster Abbey...only to find it closed as well. So, we did the only things left to do in London, hit up a pub! After a couple of pints we retired to our respective hotels to clean up before dinner and a show.

The four of us met up again and enjoyed a nice dinner in the SOHO area, and then cabbed it over to the theater to see Wicked. Chris had found absolutely amazing seats for us, which added to an already wonderful show. After the show, we parted ways quickly as the rain and crowds made it difficult to stand around and chat.

London is always a fun trip, and it was even better to be able to experience it with friends.

Home for Christmas

The stars were aligned for us to have a fantastic trip home at Christmas...we got a direct flight for a great price, NATO was closed so Keith had the time off, and we had friends willing to watch Bailey. The trip itself flew by; there is just no way for us to see everyone we want to see in just a week. My parents were gracious enough to let us crash at their place, and since they are storing our bedroom set in their basement we has a very familiar place to sleep. Possibly the best part of staying at their house was that they are taking care of Pumpkin for us, so we had our furry friend curling up with us most nights. Despite hectic Christmas schedules we were able to coordinate with several people, mostly over lunches and dinners.

On one of our first days, friends had organized a group dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. After a full year being deprived of Mexican food out here, we were quite excited. Several of our friends brought their beautiful new family additions, and we chatted away the evening over margaritas and burritos. Sadly we forgot our camera on this night, so we'll be relying on them to keep us supplied with baby photos. We had three or four other meals with friends, coworkers, and ex-coworkers during the week. Unfortunately there were still many people that we missed due to holiday travel schedules, but it was great to catch up with as many people as we did.

On the 23rd, Keith's mom drove up from Norfolk and stayed with my parents through Christmas. It was really great to be able to have our families together on Christmas. Other than a few shopping trips for some last minute gifts, we took it easy. The whole family took a trip to the church on Christmas Eve to watch our nephew's Christmas play. It was a cute and wonderful version of a Christmas story. Then, on Christmas day we had a blast watching my dad put on every piece of clothing he received...all at the same time. The rest of the day was spent preparing and enjoying the Christmas feast.

We spent our remaining days back home visiting friends when possible. Wendy was kind enough to bring Maya and her mother by a few times, so we got to spend a while with them. It was amazing how much she'd grown already. Our nephew Brandon also stopped by and hung out with us a bit, and we even took a trip to our old home that my brother Tom now owns. He introduced us to Rock Band, and the three of us and his roommate spent the evening playing and singing (apparently poorly as the game told us) away. We were also able to fill another craving with a trip to China Garden in Rosalyn for Dim Sum! It was exactly as we remembered, maybe even better :)

Several people asked us if we noticed anything different now that we've been away for awhile. We were both pretty blown away by the traffic, not that we didn't know it was bad, but it really stood out how crazy the drivers are there. Here, slow traffic truly stays to the right, it is illegal to pass on the right and you can't sit in the left lane, and people follow the traffic rules. I guess I've gotten used to it, that it was a shock to the system to be back with people swerving in and out of lanes, people going 55 in the left lane, and 90 in an exit lane. On a positive note, we loved going to see a movie. It's amazing to have so many theater choices, and movies without all the subtitles on it. I do wish we could add one feature that some of the theaters here have, pre-seating selection. When you buy your tickets you pick your seats, which reduces waiting in lines only to race and elbow others out of the way to save seats for your friends getting popcorn. Nonetheless, it was great to see a movie back home. Another great part about being home was being able to shop on a Sunday! We both needed to run some errands and almost forgot that we could do some of it on Sunday. And who doesn't love a 24 CVS? Ahhh..... the land of Convenience! Our other observation was no big surprise, but we were both pretty overwhelmed with the portions of food! The US really does bigger, sometimes better, but always bigger! It was not hard to feel a little sick after all the meals out with friends.

Anyway, after an uneventful but long flight back to Belgium, we had 5 days to recover from the jet lag and acclimate to the sub-zero temperatures here before Keith went back to work on the 5th. Despite not being able to see everyone that we wanted, it was still a fantastic trip home.