Autumn doesn't say that many words clearly yet, but sometimes she will talk for what seems like hours straight. Just walking around the house gabbing away...to herself or anyone that will listen...it's so cute! The words we know for sure she says are: Momma, Dadda, hi, nini (that's her binky), quack, and doggy. We also sometimes think we have heard thank you and welcome...she's so polite :o)
Anyway...back to our weekend...we decided we would venture over to Ghent Belgium to check it out. It is supposed to be similar to Brugge, but a little less touristy...and a little closer to home...it was only about a 40 minute drive. When we arrived we weren't exactly sure where the main part of town was. Our "501 Must Visit Cities" book talked about the beautiful old architecture along the waterways and three churches as the main attractions. So when we found the river we just went ahead and parked and headed off towards the steeples. We came to find out later we were a bit far away from the main drag, but we have fun exploring the town while we searched for it. We had lunch in this cute little pizzeria called Pinnochio's. And one thing I have noticed so far when we do try and eat out with Autumn...everyone has always been so nice and welcoming...they always want to love on her and call her "belle" for beautiful, but they also are so formal all the time and don't seem to understand that's she's a one year old. Haha! Like at the pizzeria, we had brought some food in for Autumn and were feeding it to her off a plastic saucer...and the waiter quickly came over and insisted we put her food on a GLASS plate and give her a paper napkin. As you can imagine within minutes she was picking up the fine china threatening to toss it to the ground and had the napkin torn into a thousand pieces. I love that they treat her so well...I just hope our table manners improve soon :o)
Ok sorry...this has become the tangent post. So back to Ghent...it was a great town to explore and it definitely was alive on this lovely Saturday afternoon. There was a music festival going on...with opera music, these crazy guys playing horns and blowing glitter (see the picture below...they kinda freaked me out a bit to be honest), and this crazy lady floating down the river on a bunch of umbrellas. And of course we got to see lots of awesome old beautiful architecture. My cousin Keith and his wife Amy are coming to visit this Sunday and since they are both Architects we might just have to go back to have another look. Below are some of the pictures from Ghent.
On Sunday we had quite an interesting day...it was "no car Sunday" in Brussels...which meant you were not allowed to drive in the city between the hours of 7 AM and 7 PM (unless you have a permit or were a cab driver since it's their livelihood). From what we've heard they do this once a year in Brussels and people can take public transportation for free...and essentially "play" in the streets. There was bikers, roller bladers, strollers, and even a crazy guy windsurfing down the street! It was quite a scene!!
Anyway...back to our weekend...we decided we would venture over to Ghent Belgium to check it out. It is supposed to be similar to Brugge, but a little less touristy...and a little closer to home...it was only about a 40 minute drive. When we arrived we weren't exactly sure where the main part of town was. Our "501 Must Visit Cities" book talked about the beautiful old architecture along the waterways and three churches as the main attractions. So when we found the river we just went ahead and parked and headed off towards the steeples. We came to find out later we were a bit far away from the main drag, but we have fun exploring the town while we searched for it. We had lunch in this cute little pizzeria called Pinnochio's. And one thing I have noticed so far when we do try and eat out with Autumn...everyone has always been so nice and welcoming...they always want to love on her and call her "belle" for beautiful, but they also are so formal all the time and don't seem to understand that's she's a one year old. Haha! Like at the pizzeria, we had brought some food in for Autumn and were feeding it to her off a plastic saucer...and the waiter quickly came over and insisted we put her food on a GLASS plate and give her a paper napkin. As you can imagine within minutes she was picking up the fine china threatening to toss it to the ground and had the napkin torn into a thousand pieces. I love that they treat her so well...I just hope our table manners improve soon :o)
Ok sorry...this has become the tangent post. So back to Ghent...it was a great town to explore and it definitely was alive on this lovely Saturday afternoon. There was a music festival going on...with opera music, these crazy guys playing horns and blowing glitter (see the picture below...they kinda freaked me out a bit to be honest), and this crazy lady floating down the river on a bunch of umbrellas. And of course we got to see lots of awesome old beautiful architecture. My cousin Keith and his wife Amy are coming to visit this Sunday and since they are both Architects we might just have to go back to have another look. Below are some of the pictures from Ghent.
On Sunday we had quite an interesting day...it was "no car Sunday" in Brussels...which meant you were not allowed to drive in the city between the hours of 7 AM and 7 PM (unless you have a permit or were a cab driver since it's their livelihood). From what we've heard they do this once a year in Brussels and people can take public transportation for free...and essentially "play" in the streets. There was bikers, roller bladers, strollers, and even a crazy guy windsurfing down the street! It was quite a scene!!
Here is the view out our window...
And a few more from the street...
It turned out to be a pretty neat idea...and we're looking forward to participating in it next year...maybe even riding on the street! We decided though to opt for the free tram rides this year...so we hopped on and headed down to Grand Place. We indulged in a delicious street waffle...yum! And checked out manekin pis. All the regular tourist stuff. I made the mistake of taking a picture of these men dressed like statues...who then quickly came out of character to demand that I pay them 2 euros. What...there was no sign! I obliged...I'd hate to see a mad statue! And they then proceeded to force me to pose for cheesy shots with them. Ugh...I just wanted out of there! Last time I take a shot of street artists :o)
Eldon was able to stay through Monday so we headed over to Atomium and BruPark Village for some lunch (both mentioned in previous posts). After lunch we drove over to Waterloo to visit the Butte de Lion...a mound that was built to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo where Emperor Napoleon and his army were defeated. We discovered you had to pay to climb the giant mound so we just walked around the outskirts and snapped a couple of photos. We will likely venture in sometime when we have more time and energy to climb the 300+ steps :o)
Thank you Eldon for coming to spend a fun weekend with us! We look forward to your next one and to our next visitors this weekend!!
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