Move over Thanksgiving, it's Christmas time!

Well our Thanksgiving did not go as planned! We were so excited to be invited to a Thanksgiving Dinner Party over at Maren and Julia's house (from our play group) and I had FINALLY decided what we were going to be brining to the party and was looking forward to Jacob finally meeting some of these lovely ladies that have welcomed Autumn and I in to their wonderful playgroup...but alas...everything changed when Autumn turned up sick again. Autumn had been fighting a bug all last week...started with a fever Monday morning. I wrote it off as being the same cold I had recently come down with. But over the next few days the fever never went away and the poor thing just seemed miserable! I called the doctor Thursday morning (I guess that's one plus of them not celebrating Thanksgiving here...everything is open!) and made an appointment for that afternoon. We thought maybe she had strep since she would cry a lot whenever she would eat or drink. The doctor did a strep culture that turned up negative, but we started antibiotics on Saturday when we couldn't stand to see her in pain anymore...and couldn't stomach another day of a super crabby baby. She is doing much better now (aside from a raging diaper rash...thank you antibiotics) and we're just happy to have our sweet little girl back! We are so bummed we didn't get to celebrate Thanksgiving with our new friends, but thankfully all was not lost. I was able to find a small turkey breast at carrefour and spent the afternoon preparing the rest of the fixings. Thanks to the American food store we also had pumpkin pie, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. I also made some rolls, massed potatoes, and an apple crisp (I'm not a pumpkin pie fan). It was enough food to feed an army! Haha!


It made great Turkey sandwiches though for the weekend :o)

I'm so over Thanksgiving now though and moving full steam ahead for Christmas...I'm even listening to the new Glee Christmas album right now...hehe!! We broke down and bought a tree this past weekend at Brico...on sale even! For some reason I didn't have either of our trees shipped here (I really don't know what I was thinking...I guess just that we would be home for Christmas, but still we can't go most of December without a tree). I did ship some of the trimmings thankfully though so the tree is up and decorated now. It's not perfect by any means, but I am glad we have something!

We also headed to our first German Christmas market in Aachen on Sunday...and it was magical! Ok, maybe not magical...because it was raining and freezing and Autumn was screaming the entire time...ha!! But it was a quick glimpse at just how truly festive these markets can be...and I am very much looking forward to our next one this weekend in Cologne! Cologne is said to be the biggest of all the German markets so we decided we would make a weekend out of it and spend the night...woohoo! I'm looking forward to seeing the city all lit up with Christmas lights at night...since it's dark about 5 PM now that will be pretty easy. Seriously, the Germans do Christmas right...check out this website that list all the markets and gives details on each of them! I think there is pretty much one in every little town! I'm praying for nicer weather and a chance to really experience the market and really get in the Christmas spirit! Only 25 days left till the big day!!!

Here are a few pics from the Aachen market...




Also this week we watched the second episode of The Amazing Race where they were in Belgium!! It was so exciting to think we live in a place interesting enough to be featured on a TV show...two full episodes! Jacob and I had fun watching and trying to figure out where they were. One of the pitstops was even Atomium...which you may remember from my previous post. Crazy stuff. Oh and speaking of crazy...I also signed up to run the Paris half marathon next March. I must be nuts considering I have to train while pushing a stroller (at least for the short runs during the week anyway)...so I may not run it very fast, but what the heck...I'm gonna do it! (It's really just so I can get the t-shirt...there better be an eiffel tower on it or I'm going to be quite disappointed! Haha!)

More on Christmas markets next week! Oh, and the official countdown has begun...22 days till we go home!

Santa Clause is Coming to Town

Today St. Nicholas road in to Brussels on a BOAT! And Autumn and I went downtown to watch! It was a pretty easy tram and metro ride...here is Autumn all decked out in her Christmas red waiting for the train.


She looks quite excited doesn't she :o)

I wasn't sure what to expect after reading about this in the Out & About newsletter published by the American Club of Brussels...it is a great resource for events happening in and around Brussels that we just discovered. And it was a cloudy day and Autumn and I are both fighting off being sick...AGAIN...but we headed down anyway. There wasn't much to do...a booth to color...a booth to have your face painted...some of St. Nicholas' helpers putting on a show on the main stage...





I'm glad we didn't get there any earlier because I think we would have been quite bored. Luckily we got there only 15 minutes before St. Nick arrived on the boat. We peaked through the crowds and saw the boat approaching...it was quite an event...with drums playing...St. Nick waving...his helpers 'Zwarte Pieten' ("Black Petes") dancing away!! Which...as you see in the pictures are actually quite disturbing...faces painted black...and the legend says, any kids that have been naughty throughout the year will be snatched up by Black Pete and put in a sack and taken to Spain! Seems like a pretty good reason to be good all year!






After St. Nick arrived we stuck around a bit, but then headed home as Autumn was at the end of her rope. Doesn't St. Nick know we take our naps in the afternoon :o) We had fun...and will probably watch him come back again next year...I mean how often do you get to watch St. Nick come in to town on a boat!

And just to fill you in on last weekend...I didn't do a separate post because I didn't have one single picture from it, but we had a lot of fun with some new friends! On Saturday we headed to the American Women's club Annual Holiday Bazaar...basically like a Christmas craft show. We bought a cute little Santa Clause nesting doll...like the Russian nesting dolls you have probably seen. After the Bazaar we went with some new friends Liz & Matt and their two little girls Grace and Audrey to ChiChi's...that's right...Mexican...yum!! I met Liz at the hints class and we just reconnected over e-mail and even spent last Thursday hanging out at their house. It was a nice meal out and we had a great time with new friends! And then on Sunday Lauren invited the girls over for a Baby Shower for Maren. It was a lovely afternoon hanging out with just the ladies...it seemed so quite and calm when we all aren't chasing our little ones around! It was a great time and I really enjoyed the chance to spend time with many of the Mom's from our playgroup...without the kids in tow (thanks Jacob!)

Stay tuned for our Thanksgiving celebration...

Finally Made a trip to Brugge!

Brugge Belgium is one of the all time favorite spots for those visiting Belgium...or so we were told, but until last Friday we hadn't been to see for ourselves. Jacob had the day off so we decided it was about time we made the trip! Brugge is just over an hour away from here...so quite an easy drive. We had hoped to spend the night and spend two days in the lovely town, but booking too late on a holiday weekend left us with few choices and all of them above our price range. We figured for an hour drive though it was still worth it for a day trip...so we headed out on the cold foggy morning.


Weather reports for Brugge promised sunshine and mid to upper 50s...too bad the only sun we saw that day was when we were returning home to Brussels...and the 50s would have felt great compared to our 40 something temperature...on the good side though it was a great excuse to get a nice cup of hot chocolate! I was told if you are ever in Brugge you have to have a hot chocolate at Sukerbuyc!


And sure enough when we found it, the sign outside promised "Best hot chocolate in the world" (ha...as a quick aside...I couldn't help think of the movie Elf when I saw this...where Will Ferrell reads the sign saying Best Coffee in the World and runs in and says "You did it! Congratulations! World's best cup of coffee! Great job, everybody! It's great to be here. "...ha! Good stuff!) Anyway...I went in to buy us two cups to go and the lady informed me "no take-aways" boo :o( Oh well...we went a few shops down and found someone that would sell a cup to go...and it was quite tasty!

We walked around the town for a few hours...marveled at the old world architecture and charm...and chocolatiers! Oh-my-goodness...there were a lot of chocolate shops! I thought Brussels had a lot, but it's nothing compared to Brugge...and check out all the window displays...




Crazy...right!! If you love chocolate, definitely take the time to go to Brugge Belgium sometime! It really is a lovely town and I know we'll go back SEVERAL more times. Hopefully on a nice warm day where we can take a canal cruise...that is supposed to be the best way to experience the town. For now, here are a few pictures from our trip...

Our Week at Home!

Last weekend started off great...as our new friends Barbara and her son Mateo came and spent the day with us. They came over to hang out at our apartment that morning...and then we headed out in the gorgeous fall day for a walk to get some lunch and meet up with one of her friends Georgia. They introduced me to Mama Roma pizza which I now LOVE!! It's a cute little pizza shop that you can order a few slices and a soda for an easy quick lunch! I'm thinking we might even have to go back this weekend so Jacob can taste the yummy pizza! After lunch we spent the rest of the afternoon shopping, walking, and talking! It was a fun day with new friends!

On Saturday we decided to take the tram down to my new favorite park!! Unfortunately it's a few miles away from here so we rode the tram to save some time. The park is in downtown Brussels across from the Palace and is fabulous for kids around Autumn's age. She has a great time running on the ramps, climbing on the stairs, and playing in the sandbox...I wish it was a little closer so we could go there all the time, but for now we try and venture there at least once a week. Here are some pics of the sights we passed along the way and Autumn at the playground.

The Museum of Musical Instruments

Check out the guy blowing huge bubbles!

Kinda hard to see, but it was pretty cool in person!

The Royal Palace

Weeee!!!

Then Sunday we headed to church and then off to the American Food Store...AGAIN! I know, I know...I need to embrace Brussels and just get used to not having some things...hopefully we'll get there some day...and then it will probably be time to move home...ha!

On Monday we headed over to Maren's house again for playgroup and lunch! It's great having all these playgroups to keep us busy over here! It's a great way of meeting new people and just nice for Autumn to get out and play with other kids. I'm really enjoying them and think if I end up staying home when we move back to the US I might have to try and start up something similar back home!

Tuesday we had another playgroup with the BCT and this one was at OUR house! Autumn had a great time showing off all her toys and it was nice getting to meet a few new people. One thing we have learned is that people here really like their warm beverages...something I have never been particularly fond of. So when the coffee pot we bought basically for this occasion didn't work with the coffee we bought I felt terrible. It is after all supposed to be a "coffee morning" group! Ali was nice enough to run home and get some instant coffee and tea for us though...thank you Ali...so it wasn't a total disaster! Ha! What am I going to do when they move back to the states in just over a month!!

Then our Tuesday ended with quite a scare. Autumn and I had run out just before 5 to the grocery store to pick up dinner. Thanks to the time change it now is pretty much dark by 6 PM. We were returning home just before 6...and as we got off the elevator I noticed our front door was WIDE open! I stood there a second in shock not sure what to do next. Trying to remember definitively closing it...but we're in and out so much, of course I couldn't. I decided it best not to tempt fate and to just head back down in the elevator and look for help. As we got back in and pressed zero and started our decent, the light in the hall clicked on and I heard foot steps running down the stairs. My mind is racing!! I'm thinking the burglar had heard us and is now fleeing the building...or WORSE...is hoping to greet us at the bottom and threaten us for money or something! Of course as soon as we near the bottom floor, the young twenty something man does too (our elevator is the kind with gates...so you can see right through it...it is not enclosed). He starts to dart out, but then turns and says something in French...and kind of opens the elevator door for us! I am FREAKING out!! In my head this guy just robbed us! I don't want to look at him...don't want him to think I saw his face...so I mumble something like "it's ok, it's ok" and kind of gesture him away, to which he turns and quickly leaves. I am literally shaking at this point...I don't know what to do. I don't even have my phone to call Jacob. I head to the lobby...quickly lock the outside door that our "burglar" has left open and frantically push the concierge button. No one answers. I'm reeling, trying to figure out which of my neighbors to disturb when a young man unlocks and comes through the front door. I ask if he speak English..."a little" he says...I ask if he lives here...trying to hold back my tears..."yes" he says. No more holding...here they come! I'm sobbing and trying to explain that I think someone was just in my apartment..."what should we do...should we call the police?" I can't stop shaking. He tells me he's the concierge son and he goes to get his Dad. They call the police and tell them to come (in the back of my mind I'm thinking I hope they speak English).

As we wait in the lobby the concierge arrive and they begin to check the doors...trying to determine how anyone got in (we have two locked doors you have to pass through just to get in the building). One door knob is loose, but not totally broken...so we are not sure. We decide to go ahead and head up stairs and see what if anything is missing. When we arrive we begin flipping on all the lights, checking all the rooms, etc. And everything is EXACTLY how we left it. Not a thing is out of place! Now I'm starting to relax and think logically...it does not appear anyone has been in here. Maybe I did, in fact, leave the door open...maybe the man running out was just bad timing on his part...and my fear and imagination got the best of me. I'm not sure if we'll ever really know (I guess unless I see the "burglar" in the building again...yikes!). But for now I think we are just going to take this scare as a lesson and learn to be more careful. Although Brussels is a relatively safe place to live (probably quite a bit safer than St. Louis...especially for violent crimes)...it is still a city and there are still bad people here...and we just need to be mindful of what we're doing at all times! And hopefully that will be the closest thing to a burglary that we'll EVER see!!

A Long Weekend in Normandy

Jacob had a four day weekend this past week (well sort of, he had Tuesday off for All Saints day so we figured might as well take Monday off and make it a long weekend!) so we planned to take a trip down to the Normandy region of France. The weekend did not start off great as I was sick...AGAIN!! I woke up about 3 AM Friday morning throwing up and was miserable the entire day! Jacob had this bug earlier in the week so luckily I knew it would only last about 24 hours. I sent him off to his work Christmas/Fall party that evening alone...boo :o(...in hopes that I would wake up Saturday morning feeling better and ready to head off on our journey...and I did...well, mostly better anyway.

So we piled our car full and headed out on the 5 hour drive. I know no one wants to hear this and trust me I know how lucky we are to be taking all these amazing adventures in Europe, but I still need to say it...traveling is hard...and stressful...especially with a little one in tow. At times I feel like all the preparation and work that goes in to it is really not even worth it...I probably would have never even written that after our Italy trip, but these last few trips Jacob and I both have just been a little run down and at wits end by the time it's all over. He's tired of driving all the time...and I'm tired of trying to entertain a 1 year old from the front seat. Anyway...I guess I needed to just get that out there...so you don't think our life it all glitz and glamour all the time :o) And now...back to the trip...

We headed to our hotel in Caen, France. We ended up staying at the Mercure hotel...another great online deal that included breakfast. Ideally we would have stayed in Honfleur or one of the other small fishing towns along the coast, but we booked too late and apparently there was not a room left in any of the towns! And Caen actually turned out to be quite charming...here are some pictures from it.

We arrived around 4:30 PM so just ended up settling in for the night and saved our site seeing for the next day. The next morning we were up early and headed off to visit Mont Saint Michel! This is a beautiful Abbey located on an island of sorts...well it's an island when the tide is in anyway. According to the website the tide would be in at 9:30 AM and PM that day. I was sort of hoping to see it with the water surrounding it, but with those times it just wasn't possible since it was a little over an hour from our hotel. When we arrived you can see why this is such a tourist attraction...even from far away it's quite impressive!

And even more so from up close...

Unfortunately once we got inside the grand walls of it though our enthusiasm diminished. I'm not sure if it was because it was a holiday or if it's always this way, but the place was completely PACKED!! You could hardly move with all the crowds. And when we finally made it up to the Abbey there was a line as far as the eye could see to get a peak inside! So we opted to just admire it from the outside and head back to our car.

Check out the shot of the car lot from inside the small village. You can see how even the parking lot will be covered by the tide. Signs along the way even warned as much!! And apparently we were the only ones that didn't know rain boots would be a great accessory on this visit...as the water soaked lots were mostly a muddy mess!

I would definitely recommend a trip to Mont Saint Michel if you are ever in the area, but try and do it in the off season or atleast on a weekday...when hopefully the crowds are a little less of an issue.

On to the next day...Halloween...we got an early start (thank you Autumn) and we headed off to Omaha beach...where the American troops landed back in 1944. It was crazy...when we arrived there was NO one there! It was about 9 AM and we basically had the beach to ourselves...except for a few walkers and joggers...oh and some men riding in these crazy contraptions connected to horses.

There were a few nice monuments, but really it mostly looked like any other beach. It's hard to imagine the tragedy and the blood, sweat, and tears that were shed her not all that long ago. It definitely made you proud to be an American standing on such precious ground. After the beach, we headed up to the American Memorial Cemetery. There was a very nice museum at the cemetery that we wandered through (Admission was free). Jacob and I were both very impressed with the cemetery and the museum and how well everything was kept up. Again...we were proud to be able to visit such a historic site. We kept expecting to hear more people speaking English here, but really we felt like the only ones. It was nice to have all the movies and information in English first for a change though :o)







Then after some much needed lunch we headed off for the apple orchards to taste some of the local specialty...apple cider...along the "Route de Cider." As is typical in Europe though, we had trouble finding the places and roads we were looking for...but we did get to drive through some beautiful French countryside and did manage to taste and buy some cider along the way :o)

Look at all the apples in the picture below!

Oh and I finally got to see my beautiful fall leaves...the drive down was stunning...it was the perfect fall weekend to be driving all over France!



The next morning we packed up the car again and headed home...and it's nice to be home...especially since the sun is shining here in Brussels. It feels like fall has finally arrived!

To see all the pictures from Normandy, click here.