Made it to Paris!

Bonjour from Paris! We made it to our apartment with little to no trouble, except for working the g-d pay phone to call our apartment rental people. 2 quick Metro stops later, and we met Yaniv, our host. We lugged our suitcases up the 3+ flights of stairs--how did they get to be twice the weight they were in the states? Oh wait, Mark is carrying his weight in beer bottles now (thanks a lot, Belgium...). Our little place is so cute, and we are getting ready to walk around our neighborhood, possibly up to the Eiffel Tower tonight (which is literally up the street from the apartment). We miss our friends, Mark and Sandra, in Belgium, but are excited for the next leg of our trip. More photos will come soon!

Days of Beer and Chocolate

We're approaching the last days of our time in Belgium and are continuing to have a marvelous time. So many beers and chocolates, and little plats of cheese and sausages everywhere we go. France will be healthier, right? Why are you laughing? Yesterday we spent the day away in Brugges, a lovely medieval town with a big belfry and tons of great chocolates and beer bars. We took the tour of De Halve Maan Brewery and it was tons of fun. This was, of course, recommended on Rick Steve's "Belgium: Bruges and Brussels" episode, and guess what? We got the SAME lady as our tour guide that good ole Rick got! Like a celebrity to us (or just Emily). I was so geeked out that we actually took a photo with her at the end. Hilarious!

Today we got to see a great friend, Colleen Mitchell, and her twin baby boys, Luke and Cole (1o mos.). We met up in Rochefort, a quaint Belgian town in the Walloon region (where they speak French, not Dutch--confusing Belgians!). We had so much fun having lunch with Colleen and the babies, and are in awe of how she can juggle 2 toddlers. Holding both boys at the same time was nervewracking, but they were the sweetest boys. After lunch, we headed to the LaChouffe Brewery in the tiny village of A'Chouffe (bless you!). We got in on another tour led in Dutch (yay!) but the guide was gracious enough to translate for us on the side. Tour ended with a couple of their beers at a cute little tavern, and we got to have a great chat with our guide, who happens to also operate a "Bed, Breakfast, and Beer" in the town. (If anyone's heading to eastern Belgium, let us know!) It's after midnight, and we must rest our weary feet and gear up for our last day of indulging in Belgium and all of its delicious sites. I think I've figured out how to post a PicasaWeb album, so hopefully you can see some of our photos!

This parc (that's 'park' in French) is walking distance from Mark's apartment-absolutely gorgeous!

Our welcome picnic in Mark and Sandra's Brussels backyard

Yup, they have a hammock. It's awesome.


The flat from the garden looking up


Mark W. and Em at Parc du Cinquantenaire

Our friends and hosts, Mark Wawrzyniak and Sandra Roling (and Em's parents) from Christmas 2006

Hi, we've just been on a 10 hour flight. Don't we look amazing?!?

Outside Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. Suck it, SeaTac!

See previous comment about SeaTac...

Photos coming soon!

Sorry for the delays on posting our pictures! We are trying to figure out our friend's German Mac and it's rough going. Haven't quite figured out how to download when trying to translate Picasa web from German...
Anyway, if you are on Facebook, I'll post some pics there from our first couple of days. Dank u vel!

Hallo from Brussels!

We're having a fabulous time in Belgium so far! We arrived yesterday early afternoon after a hellish 10+ hour flight (why must there always be an irritable toddler seated behind us on international flight?) and a 2 hour train ride from Amsterdam airport to Brussels.

Mark Wawrzyniak, a dear friend, is hosting us at his 'flat' (FYI, that's 'apartment' in Belgian). He had a fabulous lunch for us with cheese, meat, bread and lots of delicious beer. Mark W. did a blind taste-off of Rochefort 10 and Westvleteren 12-the Westy was a clear winner. After being awake for 36 hours straight, it was amazingly relaxing to lay in their backyard hammock under the sun. We went for a walk around Mark's neighborhood, which is near all of the EU embassies in downtown Brussels. We returned to Mark's flat even more exhausted and hungry for dinner-a plate of grilled meats and more....wait for it...BEER! We then slept the sleep of the dead for a solid 8 hours and woke up fresh as a daisy!

Today we rented a car in Brussels and drove out to Vleteren, home of Saint Sixtus Abbey, where monks make 'the world's best beer.' The beer was unbuyable today, but we were able to buy it on tap across the street at the bar/restaurant. I had a grilled ham and Monk cheese and Mark had a chicken jello sandwich. Yes, chicken suspended in gelatin. Horrifying and mesmerizing at the same time, he ate every bite.

We headed from Vleteren to Rodenbach brewery in Roeslare. Rodenbach makes phenomenal sour beers, and we got to tag along on a tour in Dutch. I thought after a few minutes, we'd be able to understand some of it, but Dutch is not easy on the ears. Still had a great time touring the old brewery and got a couple of delicious beers at the end of it.

Mark W. took us out to dinner on the Grand Place in Brussels for some traditional Flemish food, which involved frites and rabbit stew and...wait for it...BEER! We bought some Belgian chocolates on our way back to the flat, and stopped at a bar for chocolates and...wait for it...BEER!

Now we're back at the flat, getting ready to hit the sack and get up for another day of touring, this time in Bruges. Enjoy the pictures, and keep checking back for updates!

Halfway There

Well, technically Portland's airport is not halfway to Amsterdam, but it's close, right? We made it out this morning after wrestling with our cat, Mystique, to give her medicine. She'll be in our thoughts, but as of now, we're ON VACATION! We'll be arriving in Amsterdam in about 12 hours, then hop the Thalys high speed train to meet our friend, Mark, in Brussels. No more posts until I have some pictures to share, I promise!

4 days and counting

Supposed to be in bed right now, adjusting to our new sleep schedule. 1 hour earlier each night until we leave. Yuck. Tonight, I was supposed to be asleep by 8:30, but my body clock is not having it. So, here I am at 11:00 making our first vacation blog post. Lame... But, we are leaving for our trip on Saturday morning and couldn't be more excited! Tomorrow, let the packing begin!