Brussels Belgium

We decided that we needed to start taking advantage of living in Europe. So, on Saturday, we drove to Brussels. It is only a two hour drive from our house. We packed a lunch for the kids to eat in the car, that kept them busy for awhile. Carter fell asleep when we were half way there, so needless to say, the drive went well. When we got there, we jumped on a double decker tour bus to see the sights. We sat on the top to insure good pictures. There was a great breeze and the kids loved it. The tour lasted an hour and a half. When we were done, we walked around a bit until we found a nice place to eat. We did a little shopping while we were there, but mostly just took in the sights.

The interesting part about Brussels is the variety of languages you hear. While I was in a chocolate store (big surprise that I would be in a chocolate store) I spoke three different languages. Belgium itself does not have a prodominant language. Most people speak either French, Dutch or Flemish. Luckily, I know enough of the French and Dutch languages to be polite. So when I entered the store I greeted the woman behind the counter in Dutch. She responded back in French. Part of the transaction was in English because I am not fluent enough in either language for an entire conversation. Then when I left, I thanked her in French. So, I thought we were covered because I knew a little of each prominent language. Imagine my surprise that while we were lost and I stopped someone holding a map to ask "Do you know where we are?" They responded in Spanish. After trying to understand what the other was saying for five to ten minutes, I was able to atleast thank them in Spanish, and we were on our way. We continued to search for our car for over an hour, but we eventually found it. Then it took another half an hour to get out of the city, even with a GPS in the car.

The kids did very well walking around town and going all day without naps. Brooklyn has started a snow globe collection of the places we visit. This gives her some incentive for all the walking we do and the time spent squished between her brothers in the backseat. (Oh how we miss our Armada!) Trying different foods from different cultures is exciting too. Though we missed out on trying the Belgian waffles, which looked and smelled awesome, I did get some great Belgian chocolates. For dinner, Jason had Flemish Beef and I had Belgian Mash with Sausage, both very good.

All in all the trip went very well. Now I need to start planning our next adventure. We plan to take advantage of our situation and see as much of Europe as we can in the time we are here. This should make the next two years go by fast.