Semi Marathon de Paris

We made the three hour trek to Paris on Saturday for me to run the half marathon on Sunday. We got a bit of a late start, but luckily Autumn was feeling better after a week of having the flu...so at least that was in our favor :o) I had packed some sandwiches for the road, but left them in the fridge...urg...I really didn't want to eat out both meals the day before the race, but oh well. So our first stop (after Autumn's two hour nap) was McDonald's. While I was waiting in line, there were four girls in front of me speaking perfect English. Turns out they were Americans from the military base in Belgium and were headed to Paris for the race too. What's even more funny is one of them went to Mizzou...where Jacob went...such a small world!

Anyway, when we finally arrived at our hotel (The Novotel Paris Vaurigard...same place we stayed last time) we were ready to relax, but we had to get to the race expo to pick up my shirt and packet. I didn't really think our hotel location through very well. I just wanted to be close to the eiffel tower of course...and didn't even worry about where the race was...assuming we could easily take the metro. And we could take the metro...unfortunately it was not easy...or quick! It took 3 trains and about an hour each way...oops! So when we finally made it to the expo it was already 5 o'clock! We gathered up all my goodies...including my short sleeve dry fit shirt with my "sort of" eiffel tower on it...my main reason for running right? Haha!


And then made the trip back to our hotel. We had planned to also go see the eiffel tower, but it was 6:30 by the time we got back and Autumn was getting hungry and it was getting dark out :o( So no eiffel tower for me.

The next morning we enjoyed our free hotel breakfast (totally one of the reasons we love this hotel, the hot FREE breakfast is awesome!! My mouth was watering as I watched Jacob polish off some eggs and sausage and pastries...my orange and dry bread looked pretty shabby in comparison, but I didn't want to over do it. Then we headed back to the subway and boarded our train for the race. Luckily we were so far away the train was almost empty when we boarded (otherwise I don't know how we would have crammed the BOB on). But by the third train and a few stops more and more and MORE runners kept piling in! The train was literarily bursting at the seams. It was just as bad (or worse if you include the fact that many Europeans don't smell that great) as a metro link ride after a cardinals game! We were barely putting along by the end as we finally reached our destination. Here you can see all the people making their way to the start.

The race started by the beautiful Chateau de Vincennes. Jacob and Autumn explored it for a few hours while they waited for me to return. Here are a few of the pictures of it.

I signed up to be in the "2 hours 10 minute" or more group...turns out since I was hoping to run the race in exactly 2 hours and 10 minutes this was a mistake and I should have signed up for a group ahead. I was weaving in and out of people for at least the first two miles as I tried to get ahead of all those running at a much slower pace than I wanted. It made for a rough first couple of miles, but finally opened up enough that I could maneuver around a little easier. It also meant that our group didn't start until quite awhile after everyone else...in fact I didn't cross the starting line until 35 minutes after the race officially started. That's a long time to be crammed in to a little pen waiting to go. Overall though the race went fairly well. It was pretty flat. The weather was pretty nice (cloudy and started in the upper 50s I think and was in the low 50s by the end with a chilly breeze). And they had music and such to entertain you along the way. We also ran by the Seine River for a bit and caught a great view of Notre Dame and even the Eiffel Tower off in the distance. The water stops were a little too few and far between for my liking and I was kicking myself for not bringing my own, but I survived. And they had fresh fruit at each water stop...oranges and bananas. I just had one orange slice around mile 10 and it was delicious! It does make for quite the treacherous terrain though as you are trying to navigate your way through all the orange and banana peels on the ground. When you add some water to them, they are REALLY slippery! Don't worry though...I didn't fall...I saved that for later on the ride home when leaving a gas station with some sodas...ugh! Leave it to me! I'm great at finding those slippery spots!

After the race we headed back to our hotel for me to change and get the car. I had spotted a Kentucky Fried Chicken a few blocks from our hotel the day before so we headed there for some lunch...mmmm...those chicken strips were divine! And with full bellies we headed home. Unfortunately a few accidents and some rain made for a long 4 and 1/2 hour trip so we didn't make it home until 8:30! We were all tired and hungry and happy to be home!

I wish we would have had more time to go see the eiffel tower and other Paris sites, but it still was a great opportunity and I'm so happy to be able to say I ran the Semi Marathon de Paris.

ps...my official time was 2:15:47

Scrumptious Fries & Blue Skies

Last Saturday was a BEAUTIFUL day in Brussels...one that made the cold dreary winter seem almost worthwhile as we all start dreaming of the impending spring!! The skies were a gorgeous shade of blue and although it was only in the upper 40s the warm sunshine on your face made it feel so much warmer!

So we of course HAD to get out of the house! We had a beach party to go to that afternoon (what a perfect day to break out the flip flops too, right?), but before the jimmy buffet and hawaiian shirts we took our chance to head down to the Flagey market to try the famous frites (french fries) we have heard so much about. We typically hit up the market most weekends to grab a rotisserie chicken or two for the week and usually some fresh fruits and veggies, but this was our first time sampling the fries (ok, I guess we did steal one fry out of Bruce's cone when he was in town visiting, but that doesn't really count) Supposedly the "French Fry" was created in Belgium and not France...and they are quite the fans of fries here. They double fry them so they are nice and crispy and typically eat them with a mayonnaise type sauce. We decided to bring a left over packet of ketchup from McDonald's with us because although they have ketchup you have to (1) pay for it and (2) get it all piled high right on top of the fries...which kinda defeats the purpose of the aforementioned crispiness :o)

And the famous Flagey Frites were quite delicious. As you can see my little model was definitely enjoying herself.

This weekend we are off to the fabulous Paris, France! My 1/2 Marathon is on Sunday and I'm kinda freaking out. Not about the race exactly, but that I am going to turn up sick before then. Autumn has been sick all week with 101-103 temps. We went to the doctor yesterday and she has the flu :o( And Jacob has been fighting a nasty cold/flu bug for a few weeks now. I have been sneezing all day and my nose is like a faucet, but if I feel like this on Sunday, I'll be fine...I'll just bring some kleenex. I'm just petrified I'm going to wake up tomorrow or Sunday and feel rotten and all that cuddling with my sick little sweetie this week is going to have caught up with me! Ugh...Sunday really needs to hurry up so I can make it through without catching either of these monstrosities! Say a prayer! It's so hard to train for several months for something and then get so close without being to complete it. I really want to run this race!!

In other news...we got fired from our shared babysitter this week :o( She decided all of a sudden that she wanted 14 euros an hour instead of 8 since there were two kids instead of one. Our friend had negotiated the price up front and told her there would be 2-3 kids, but for some reason now she decided she wants more money. My friend Donatienne is quite upset with her and I think is actively looking for her replacement...so maybe I'll have my Friday mornings off again in the future, but for now Autumn and I get to hang out :o)

Hopefully on Monday I'll have good news and I'll have made it through the weekend and the race without being sick!! And will of course have some more pictures of the eiffel tower to share!!

The Carnaval Celebrations

Here in Belgium they celebrate not only Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), but also Dimanche Gras and Lundi Gras (Fat Sunday and Monday). Honestly...they celebrate the whole week of Carnaval! Schools are even out for the week so everyone can join in the celebration! And we decided to join in too last Sunday in Binche, Belgium.

Our friends Liz & Matt and their two girls Grace and Audrey were heading there as well so we all decided to hop a train to Binche. This was my first experience with the actual trains (not just the trams or subway) and I was relieved to find it was quite easy to navigate. So easy I even thought about Autumn and I heading back to Binche on Tuesday for the main celebration....I'm kinda bummed now that we didn't...oh well, maybe next year.

We definitely enjoyed our time watching all the festivities on Sunday. It seems Carnaval is Belgium's "Halloween" of sorts. Everyone...and I mean everyone...was dressed up! Many in elaborate outfits. The streets were packed and alive with the celebration. It kinda made me wish we had all dressed up for the occasion...I guess there is always next year. We wandered around taking it all in.

Watching this girl as she showered the unsuspecting people below her with buckets of confetti. (note the chicken wire on the windows of the buildings too...that is for the Mardi Gras festivities where oranges are thrown in to the crowd...I guess one too many broken windows through the years and they've all wised up because they were on every building.

Watching these bees put on a show for anyone that would pay attention.

And these Ostrich riding folk were my absolute favorite. It totally made me think of Swiss Family Robinson and the ostrich races. What a clever costume...I can only imagine the time and effort they put into creating something like this.

It was a great people watching place and I thoroughly enjoyed it! We also noticed the beautiful yellow Mimosa flower speckled throughout the crowd. People carrying bouquets, wearing corsages...street vendors selling it by the bushel.

I couldn't find an English speaking person to tell me what the significance of it was, but from what I've found online it is a common flower in France that signifies the coming of Spring. There are even several "Mimosa Carnival's" in France to celebrate the flower itself.

After a few hours we decided it was time to head home. The parade was just starting, but we're pretty certain it's mostly just a somewhat organized procession of the folks we've seen wandering around all afternoon in their elaborate costumes. So we all hoped back on the train and headed home. We had a blast celebrating "Fat Sunday" with our friends...and hopefully we'll be able to return next year to soak up even more fun at the Carnaval :o)

Busy, busy, busy!!

When we got back to Belgium we hit the ground running and haven's stopped to look back yet! This has been our schedule the past two week...

Monday: Playgroup at Rory and Vera's
Tuesday: BCT Playgroup
Wednesday: French Music Class & Ran 5 miles
Thursday: Playgroup at Grace and Audrey's
Friday: Ran 5 miles

Over the weekend I ran a 10K (not an actual race because I couldn't find one, but that is what my training schedule called for so that is what I ran) and we did lots of cleaning. Our apartment needed a good scrub down from being gone for so long...and with playgroup at our house on Monday it seemed like the perfect time. We also went back to our church...it was nice after being away for so long, but I think we've decided to try out a few more as it just doesn't feel like home.

Then on to another busy week...

Monday: Playgroup at our house! 7 adults and 9 kids...it was crazy, but a lot of fun!
Tuesday: BCT Playgroup & Ran 5 miles (bad fall in the mud...I even took Autumn and the stroller down!) Had a knot the size of my fist on my leg...lots of ice and tylenol...after a few days rest I was able to run again without much pain
Wednesday: French Music Class & Chick Flick movie watching with our new friend and neighbor Andi (and her cute daughter Brooklyn)...I think I mentioned her in a previous post...we met on the tram just before Christmas. It's amazing how easy it is to pick out other American's when you are so used to listening to people speaking a different language all the time. It seems to attract a lot of attention from the locals too. We might as well all wear banners around our necks that say, YES, I'M AMERICAN...NOW STOP STARING! :o) Ha...I guess they are just curious about what we are doing here.
Thursday: Autumn went to a sitters for the morning (a friend of ours from the BCT playgroup took a babysitter for her daughter and offered to share her with us...and split the cost. This was our first time and it went very well...I think I might get used to this. Also, ran my long run for the week...9 miles. Only one long run left till Paris...Woohoo!
Friday: Volunteered at the American Women's club library for the first time...it was nice being able to sit and read while Autumn went to the Creche (daycare) for FREE! One of the perks when you volunteer at the club...free daycare :o)

Phew...we made it! :o) I usually like to have at least one day a week with nothing concrete planned, but that didn't quite happen...it was nice though after being away for so long to just jump right back in to the swing of things. Unfortunately though we have NOTHING planned for next week. No playgroups...no music class (it's a school holiday week)...the only thing we have so far is the sitter is going to come to our house on Friday so I can run my 10 miles. Other than that, I guess we'll be enjoying the down time. Atleast Monday and Tuesday we will...after that we'll probably get bored and go find something to do. Hehe!

This weekend we're planning to go experience the Belgians version of Mardi Gras at the carnival parade in Binche. Hopefully we'll have some nice weather and I'll have some lovely pictures from the celebration to share with you all next week! :o)

And even though we are starting to feel like we might be able to stick around for longer than we originally thought (even possibly the full two years we were originally planning)...we have started being more proactive on the trip planning and are headed to Barcelona, Spain at the end of March and off to The Keukenhof Tulip festival and to visit Amsterdam in early April. We are also exploring a trip to Greece and Turkey sometime in the near future!! Yeah...I just love having stuff to look forward to! No matter how long we end up being in Europe I am determined to enjoy every moment of it!

Happy Valentine's Day!!

We had a valentines day - I want to wear my new cow girl boots - I want to wear my new hat - photo shoot last week :o) Ok, maybe it was more like Mommy wants me to wear my new hat and boots because she LOVES them...haha! Either way...she looks adorable in them! Here are my favorites...

Happy Valentines Day!! Hope you get to spend it with those you love!

To be continued...

We made it safely back to Brussels this week...hooray!! The trip itself was very uneventful, thankfully! Autumn was seriously a perfect angel...slept at all the appropriate times, played well in the down times, ate pretty well...I couldn't have asked for a better travel companion...Jacob did pretty well too...hehe! And everything fit into our suitcases...another hurdle I was quite worried about as I had been shopping for the past month trying to stock up on everything. But we're here...we're home safe and sound. Everything was exactly as we left it...except for the fact that it was FREEZING...both indoors and out! We were instructed to turn the heat off before we left and since it has been hovering in the teens and twenties you can only imagine how cold it was in our apartment with the big old windows. We immediately ran around turning all the radiators on and finally after about a day and a half it was bearable in here.

And the day after we arrived we got another addition to the cold...SNOW!! Beautiful big white flakes! It only ended up being about an inch and a half, but enough to send the whole city into a traffic jam! The view out our window was quite a mess!

Glad we were all home at this point...even Jacob.

But now that we are here we can't help but question...for how long? We received the news the Friday before our departure that Jacob's company had been sold to Eastman Chemical Company. (Here is an article about the purchase if you are interested.) Eastman is headquartered in Kingsport, Tennessee and it quickly became evident that Solutia's St. Louis headquarters will cease to exist in the next year or two. That throws quite a wrench in to our plans to return to St. Louis in the next year and a half when our Brussels adventure is complete. Luckily the deal between the two companies will not close for another 5-6 months so we feel relatively safe until then, but what comes next we just don't know. We would like to be back in St. Louis at some point...so it may mean leaving our Brussels adventure soon (while Solutia still exists and can honor their commitment to move us home)...but that would likely mean Jacob would have only a short time to find another job before he's turned lose and Solutia's offices are closed for good. There is a possibility of a job in Kingsport, but is that the right move for our family? Do we want to be back in the US, but still be 10 hours away from family and friends? It's not ideal, but it may be the best choice. And with either scenario, how much more time do we have in Europe? We really don't know. We're hopeful we at least get the next 5 or 6 months, but feel somewhat certain that it will likely not be much more than that. We're hoping to get some more answers soon, but for now we're planning our next European adventures...and hoping to get as much traveling in over the next few months as we possibly can...in case our time here is cut short. Right now our travel wish list consists of Rome, Tuscany, Amsterdam, Switzerland, Southern France, Greece, Berlin, Prague, Copenhagen, Norway, Turkey, London, Scotland, Spain, Ireland...and probably a few more I forgot (I know some are just countries and some are much more specific because we haven't figured out exactly where we want to go). Think we can pull it off with only half a year or so? We shall see.

I guess all we can say for sure at this point is this story is to be continued...

The Grass is Always Greener...

As you all know I could not wait to come back to the United States for a visit...after 5 months in Brussels I was ready to see family and friends, and drink delicious diet mountain dew from a fountain, and go to Target and Marshalls and Qdoba...and all our other favorite places. But now...after being here for 33 days I am SOOOO ready to get back to Brussels!! Autumn and I were planning to stay until January 11th, but we found out the week between Christmas and New Years that Jacob was needed in the office here for the month of January. I was definitely excited that Autumn and I didn't have to fly back on our own and about having more time here, but being away from our life this long is hard. Because our life right now is in Brussels....and we are ready to get back!

I actually REALLY miss Brussels...ha, bet you didn't think I would say that...I know I sure didn't :o) I miss being able to walk everywhere. I miss our play dates and our new friends. I miss our French music class. I miss going to the markets and the grocery store on a regular basis. I miss planning our adventures and trips. I miss our apartment and the sound of honking outside our window. I miss being able to walk out the front door and either hop on a tram or go running in the forest. I miss most things and realize how much I am really enjoying living there. So I'm sure when I get back I will think wow, I really wish I could have a diet mountain dew right now :o) but hopefully I'll think back to our unexpected month in the US and remember all the things I really do enjoy about our life in Europe and just how lucky we are to have this opportunity!!

For now, I'm going to try and savor our last week in Missouri and look forward to our return to our Brussels home next week!!