Paris

This one is for you Aunt Ruth and Uncle Jim! We had a great meal in Paris with my mom, cousin Becky and her husband Stu. More on Paris later.....

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us to all of you.

(Bob is taking the picture.)

My Mom

My mom has taken lots of pictures.

Here is Mom at the coolest cookie store. My mom and I visited The Church of the Holy Blood in Brugge. Google it and see what we saw. Then read the mystery novel Holy Blood by Charles Covington, a new friend of ours.

And the best of all, my mother wearing a berret and eating frittes (french fries) on the street in Brussels!

Thanksgiving

Maria looks her age of 17 in this pic...but looks like she is about 10 in the picture below!

My mom is visiting and got to see Maria dance the ballet in Oklahoma!

Here in Belgium, the Thanksgiving holiday is not celebrated. It makes sense that this country would not want to celebrate a time when the Pilgrims fled the continent to find a better life in America! The kids have school and Bob has to work. On the up side, there also aren't any "Black Friday" or "After Thanksgiving Day" sales. We will have turkey on Thursday evening anyway after my mom (who is visiting) and I take a guided tour of the Fine Arts Museum in Brussels. Mom has been here since last Friday and will go home again on Dec. 2. We have shown her all there is to see in Brussels and the surrounding areas. Then on Friday, we will take the train to Paris and spend 2 days taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame! It seems odd to say that I will just take the train to Paris, but that is the life I am living now. Ooh la la!

An Open Invitation

In an effort to accomplish all of my goals (see my previous blog entry), I have devised this open invitation for visitors. Mom is coming tomorrow and I am sure she will be able to give a review of our fine establishment. Note, if you are a stranger and you are reading my blog, this does not apply to you. You are not invited to my house and we are not a real hostel.

Information on the Biasi Hostel:
Aside from 2 weeks at Christmas and 2 weeks in April, we are open for business at our hostel. We can host you with fine accommodations of 7 bedrooms and a free breakfast. We offer a shuttle service to and from all airports and train stations. Beware of our driver as he is a little careless and has been known to weave and speed in traffic. Your room also comes with laundry service and a complimentary tour guide. We have 5 guides on staff with each one being skilled in their own area of expertise. Our guides boast the following qualifications:

Guide #1 - Experienced in all aspects of beer drinking and beer production. Wine is also of high interest and can take you on a tour of all bars and wineries.
Guide #2 - Knows every single shopping mall, outlet, open market and antique (troc) store in the greater Brussels area. Also skilled in Chocolate buying and eating.
Guide #3 - Is skilled in providing internet capability at every single establishment in Brussels. Also understands where a visitor can obtain the most "bars" on any cellular phone. If you have lost your phone, want to upgrade your phone or need lessons on texting lingo, this guide is for you.
Guides #4 and #5 - Although our youngest on staff, they have more knowledge than most. Reading French menus are their specialty. "What not to eat" is their latest publication with Escargot, mussels and tongue(that's right!) being top on the list. They can also explain the value of British TV and cross country running in the forest.

To all our friends and family, we would welcome your company. Please consider visiting us!

Needs

Here are some things I really NEED to do while our family lives in Europe:


1) Visit 10 countries.

That may seem like a lofty goal, but it is actually quite obtainable. We have already been to 4 countries, 6 more to go!

2) Have friends from the US visit us.

Totally out of my control. Mom is coming on Friday! Yeah! I hope she is the first of many visitors. Flights are cheaper. Start planning your trip.

3) Learn how to speak another language.

Ik spreek een betche Nederlands! Ik woon in Overijse. Ik kan afscheid nemen. Ik kan vragen stellen om een man of een vrouw. Uit welk land kom jij? Goedenavond!

4) Figure out public transportation.

I am not sure why this is so hard for me. I haven't stepped foot on a bus, tram or train since I moved here. (This should have been at the top of the list.)

5) Master driving in a foreign country.

Complete! With the GPS, I can go anywhere.



Now here are the things I really don't want to do while we live in Europe:



1) Have a car accident.

People here drive in a very crazy way. It is only a matter of time before I have a fender bender. Maybe I should concentrate on mastering #4 above and I could decrease my chances!

2) Get sick.

Wouldn't it be great if none of the kids ever had a cold, sinus infection or cough while we're here? Then I wouldn't even have to figure out how to go through the entire doctor process. My own medical concerns are in a different category. I think I have already had my episode of getting a catastrophic illness away from home. So chances are, I won't have to worry about it happening again. Optimism is always best!

3) Get locked out of the house.

Who would I call? We need to hide a key somewhere.

4) Get robbed.

Note to self: Hide the key in a really good place!

All about the Museum

The pictures below show the twins at the Museum voor Natuurwetenschappen. (Museum of Natural Science) We saw dinosaurs that were actually found right here in Belgium. All the facts were written in multiple languages so we didn't have any trouble educating ourselves. There were lots of other interesting things to see like a huge collection of stuffed or mounted animals, rocks in every shape size and color and a history of the Belgian Zoo which used to stand where the museum is now located. Poor Maria did not get to come along. She spent the entire weekend at the SAT prep class. It is a two weekend course taught to high school students.

In the same weekend we went to an Abby in the Ardennes region of Belgium. It was so boring that I really don't have much to say about it. They did sell good beer and cheese so I guess that is a bonus. Unfortunately, the visit to the Abby was my idea and so uneventful that I we didn't even take any pictures. The visit to the museum was Bob's plan and he definitely won if we are comparing the two trips.

Museum

I will write all about this cool museum later...............stay tuned!

Chateau de Presles

Last Tuesday, although very jet lagged, I went on a tour with the American Women's Club. We traveled to the Chateau de Presles and toured the beautiful grounds and home of the Count and Countess Oultremont. The history was outstanding and the chateau was beautiful. We were also served lunch in their dining room and heard wonderful stories about the history of the family, the land and the chateau. The Count and Countess were so warm and funny. They talked about the election (it was November 4) and the political and religious importance of their home. They even hung an American in our honor!

(Oops...The Count and Countess did not hang an American, they hung an American FLAG! Many thanks to all of you who emailed me to point out this grievous error. I wouldn't want my blog post to be reason for strained relations between the French and Americans!)

Thanks

I just wanted to say thanks to all our friends and family. We had a great time while we were home. I kept saying I wanted to watch TV but I honestly think I didn't watch it all! Everyone definitely had their fill of fun and fast food. That is something we just can't get over here. We also spent plenty of money at the mall and Target.

During one of my many trips to Target, the checkout guy said, "Man you're really stocking up!" I told him we didn't have a Target in the place where we live and he asked if we lived in the mountains or something. I just laughed and told him we lived in Europe.

Thanks again for keeping us busy and entertaining us!

VOTE!!!

Bob and I had the opportunity to vote in person during early voting last Thursday. Of course we wouldn't be in the country on election day so this was the only way, aside from absentee mail in voting, for us to participate. We waited in line for 30 minutes outside the county courthouse and then 60 minutes more as we entered the basement voting area. As we waited, we talked on the phone, talked to other people and played scratch off lottery tickets to pass the time.

For me, this election has nothing to do with the candidates. I don't even live here. Yes, I know it effects me but It had more to do with the voting process in general. By casting my vote in the 2008 presidential election, I am giving more of a vote for the USA itself. I voted YES to democracy, YES to freedom of speech and YES to patriotism. Our country, though young as it is, has a darn good system. A track record of over 225 years of democracy and a 2 party system has proven itself over time. By living in another country I can see the USA for what it is; a country established with the forethought and guidance of people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Their political footprint paved the way for us to fulfill dream after dream. I have never believed that one man, our president, ruled our country. We the people are what have made our country great. We are also the same folks who have confused success with excess. We are the country where everything is bigger and better. I voted YES to bigger and better, YES to fulfilling dream after dream and YES to our political footprint.

Basically, the candidate didn't matter. I voted YES to the USA. Don't forget to vote tomorrow!