Enjoy Each Day

One of my favorite movies is Under The Tuscan Sun. I watch it every time it comes on TV. When we found out we might be going overseas to live, I went out and bought it. Jess and I watched it over and over again, thinking how wonderful it would be to live an adventure like that. People will tell you that life isn't like the movies, but that's not necessarily true.

Life is about enjoyment here, not rushing from one event to another. Every restaurant and cafe has an outdoor seating area, covered with large umbrellas. Families and friends enjoy a leisurely lunch or dinner and greet familiar faces passing by. You can sit for hours with a cup of coffee, and no one tries to rush you along. Each bite of food is to be enjoyed. Each moment to be savored. After a nice dinner, you wander down the cobblestone street to Leonidas for a scoop of speculoos ice cream or a box of chocolates. The locals know that you are new to the area, and some curious, but most just smile and nod their heads as they pass by. There is always something going on during the weekends here. There are markts, carnivals, music festivals, food and beer festivals. The list is endless. The lesson to be learned from this place is to simply enjoy day. Life is short. Hug your family. Enjoy time with friends and relatives. Heck, you can even jump in the neighborhood fountain and dance. Odds are the politie will simply help you out, shake their heads, and mumble "toerist" or "Amerikaan". (Rent the movie-then you'll understand.)

Walking Around Town

Towns in Belgium have a long and interesting history. Peer, for example, became an official city in 1367. It was a town of sorts long before that, but was not officially recognized until that time. It's believed that it got it's name from the Latin word Pirgus, and the French word pierge, which mean "hardened road." Peer is also the Belgium word for pear, hense the object you see here.

The pear is on top of a cast iron pump in the market place. Every Monday, people bring their wares into this area, set up booths, and sell them to the locals. It's a very busy day. You can buy just about anything that you need on Market Day. They have everything from clothing, fresh produce, flowers, cleaning supplies, cooked ribs and rotisserie chicken, to so much more. It's a great idea. Each of the neighboring towns all have their assigned market day, so depending on what day you want to go to market, you just head to that town. Some markets are bigger than others, and Peer had one of the largest.

The center of each town is called a Centrum. There are signs pointing the way to the Centrum of each town. In the middle of the Centrum, you will find the town's church. In the middle ages, the church also served as the stronghold of the town. Around the church, there were stone walls. In Peer, after the period of time where these walls were no longer needed, they were replaced with a road. As you walk around this road, you can just imagine the history all around you. As the saying goes, "If these walls could talk..."

Sunny Saturday In Amsterdam

Wow, where to begin? Normally I can pick out a couple of pictures that capture the basics of our day, but this time, it was hard to pick just a few. There was so much to do and see, and so much to share with you about our lovely day in Amsterdam. We took a tour bus to the city, and got off in front of the Heineken Brewery with the instructions "The bus heads home at 8 pm, so be on it!" We stood there a minute, more than a little overwhelmed. How on earth do you cram a lifetime of adventure in so little time? Then our rumbling stomachs kicked us into action and we headed down the road to the Hard Rock Cafe. Food before culture, I always say! It's beautiful there. Canals everywhere! In the little plaza outside the restaurant, a pair of gentlemen were playing a game of chess. I have got to get one of these chess sets. How cool is that? I think I'll put it on my Christmas list!After a super lunch (with a very handsome Austrailian waiter-I'm just saying), we headed back to the Heineken Brewery for a tour. I now know more about how to brew a Heineken than I every thought possible. For the beer drinkers out there...they love to give out free samples. If you are ever in the area, it's well worth your time to go and check it out. Everyone is extremely nice and can answer any questions you have every dreamed about asking concerning the brewing process of beer.The tour walks you through each step of the process of making beer. It's a full sensory tour--you get to touch and taste things at different stages. This is the site of the origional brewery. After we finished our tour, we asked the kind employees there how to get to the Ann Frank house. (See? I actually remember something educational from High School! Aren't you proud of me?) Long story short, they sent us out to get on the tram system. The tram is like an above ground subway system that flies through the city at an alarming pace. There are two major routes, both of which connect at Central Station. If you can read numbers and have a nice person willing to interpret the signs for you, you can go anywhere in the city on the tram. Two tram rides later, and we were dropped off at a big church near the Ann Frank House. There is a statute in front of the church as a tribute to Ms. Frank. The tram driver had told us that the house was just on the other side of the church, so off we went.

This is the canal that runs in front of the house. Unfortunately, half of the population of the Netherlands were in line to tour the house, and we were on a tight schedule. After waiting for a little while in the line, we decided to take a picture and return for our tour another day. (If you want to tour it, be sure to buy your tickets on line in advance, and you can pass right by the line outside. We did not know this ahead of time.) Here is the site. http://www.annefrank.org/content.asp?pid=1&lid=2

It's such a nice, regular looking house. There is nothing to even hint at what went on in there. You can just imagine a young girl peeking out from behind the curtains and wishing she could go out to play and live a normal life.

In case you are wondering what Central Station looks like, here it is. It's a very busy place, but well organized. We were in and out very quickly.

This is the view from Central Station toward the canals.

This is an Amsterdam parking garage. Did I mention bikes are really big in Europe?

This is a famous international super model that agreed to spend her day with us as we explored the city. (We almost lost her a few times because the city is full of "hot guys with great accents" and apparently the Heineken Brewery is their Mother Ship.) After running all over the city, we stopped at a local cafe and had cappuccino and bitterballen, a Dutch snack that translates to "bitter balls". They aren't bitter at all, and are very good. They look like hush puppies, but are little deep fried ball with a soft inside made of pureed veggies and beef. You dip them in a dijon like mustard. Yum! You can find the recipe online if you are feeling adventurous and don't live near this area. In all, it was a very fun and interesting day... and we made it back to the bus with 5 minutes to spare. I call that a success!

My Friend Tom

We have a new addition to the family. No, we didn't adopt another pet. (Our hearts remain true to Tink and Ashley.) This new addition is one that we couldn't survive Europe without. In fact, I can truly say that we would be lost without him. You might know him as TomTom, the GPS unit, but we refer to him affectionately as Tom. Roads in Belgium don't exactly run north, south, east and west. Like the locals, they like to enjoy life at a leisurely pace, meandering across the countryside. Little roads intersect with big roads in a spiderweb of confusion around here. You can try to read a map, but the names of the roads also change at any given moment. Depending on who put the sign up, a road can go by one name in Dutch and another totally different one in French. City names do the same. For instance, what we refer to in English as Antwerp, is Anvers in French and Antwerpen in Dutch. Most of the time, they sound similar, but this is not always the case. For instance, Tourain becomes Doornik in Dutch. Now you see where Tom comes in. All you need is an address, and you are golden. This is not to say that there aren't still a few surprises in our travels. Tom has a sense of humor. He finds great joy in sending us down tiny one-lane roads in the middle of farm land if it means shaving a few minutes off of our trip. On one occassion, he led us to a bike path. Bad Tom. No relationship is without it's problems. Tom always gets us where we want to go, and that's what's important. As we learn the roads, Tom keeps us from getting lost. And he doesn't fight me for the remote control once we make it safely home. He's a pretty good guy.

The Vending Machine

I'm sure I will say this over and over again, but America can learn a lot from Europe. They will tell us about something, and we will smack ourselves in the head and say "Why didn't we think of that? It makes so much sense!" One of those things is the vending machine. Brandon LOVES the vending machine. Food, drinks, and entertainment... all in one little package. What more could a boy ask for? Anything that you could possibly need is sold in these machines. Toilet paper, hot dogs, toothbrush, milk, alcohol....you name it, and you can find it here. Heck, they probably even have home loans and vehicles tucked in the corner. It's an amazing piece of machinery. A friend introduced us to the vending machine last week, and Brandon's been hooked ever since. He loves melk (Belgium milk), and they have it in the machine. Now he doesn't want to go to the market to get it any more. It's much more fun to get it this way. I had wondered how they control what you get from the machine (because you can get alcohol and cigarettes from it as well), but I'm told that you have to put your Belgium ID into it before it will give you those items. There is a little chip in the card that it reads. It doesn't just drop the items like the US machines do. It lifts a little metal tub up to them and delicately swipes the items into the tub, and then brings them over to the little scoop on the side. It's genius. When we return to the states, I will start my own vending machine empire. I'll make millions! Kids all over the US will be saying, "Mom, don't we need some milk? Do you have any change?"

Weekend Fun!

There is something going every weekend in Peer, and this weekend... it's time for the fair. Fun rides, tons of games, and fried food! What more could you ask for? They close off the streets in the center of town to traffic, and you can just walk around and have a great time.

We finally got to try the frittes (fries)! They are great. You can get them the Belgium way...with mayonnaise on top, or get ketchup like an American. We tried both, and I have to say that the mayonnaise is really good. Brandon loved the games more than the food, and won several toys at the arcades.

Brandon also loved the bumper cars. Apparently, lots of loud music and running into stuff is a perfect combination. It was a great weekend with lots of activity. We'll all sleep well tonight!

Alden Biesen

If I could choose one thing that I've always want to see in person, it would have to be a castle. Today, I got my chance. We headed about 45 minutes away to Alden Biesen. It was worth the wait. It was beautiful. Alden Biesen is a 13th century mediecal castle, who's roots start back in 1220. That was when they received the land on which it stands. Slowly, over hundreds of years, the structures were added.

There is a beautiful French garden that was added in the 18th century. That was when the castle was converted into a residence. We wondered around the garden, enjoying the beautiful flowers and the sounds of the fountain and birds chirping in the background.
There is a beautiful church on the grounds. They were having a wedding there today. You couldn't ask for a more beautiful setting. Beside the castle is a lovely little cafe where we had our lunch. Grilled chicken salad, with fresh vegetables and sliced pears on the side. If this is what European life is all about, sign me up.