New Blog!

I've decided, with much encouragement from friends and family, to start a photography business. After creating a website, I decided to attach a blog to it. I've discovered that I prefer WordPress for my photography site, so instead of keeping two blogs, I've decided to move over there. I hope you will continue to follow me!

Here's the new link. The adventure continues!

Take me to Angela's NEW blog!

In Bruges

Props to a good friend, Lori Martin, that filled me in on a great town in Belgium about 12 years ago. Bruges. Or Brugge. Depends on the mood - feeling French or Flemmish? Either way works. I had mentioned to her that I wanted to see Brussels one day and she told me to skip Brussels and go to Brugge. Great advice!

Brugge is supposedly one of the most well-preserved medieval towns in Europe. I would have to agree, and it was evident when we were there. Our trip was during an off-peak month, and the extensive amount of preservation that they do during those times was everywhere. But, not enough that it ruined sightseeing for us. Mostly the roads is where the work was being done. All cobblestone and all still laid by hand. It is very much a pedestrian town - in fact in a lot of areas it's hard to distinguish the sidewalk from the street. Of course, you could always travel the Belgian way and hop on a bike. You would be in company with most of the city.

On this trip, we decided to take the Eurostar from London. After this trip, this is now my numero uno form of travel. We took this train directly to Brussels with a few short stops in between. It was fast, fairly smooth and the staff are courteous.

Once we arrived at Brussels, we were to take another train to Brugge. This is where we hit a couple of snags. We found the correct platform but somehow ended up on the wrong train. We got on a local train - meaning it stops at every single stop. Luckily it was going in the right direction and we were able to get off in Ghent and switch to what we thought was the right train... only to discover later that it was the local train from Ghent to Brugge. So, what was supposed to be a 45-minute train ride became a 2-hour ordeal. I will say that these trains gave me a not so great first impression of Belgium. The trains felt very soviet - and the people didn't look happy, so that added to the feeling.

Here's one other thing that made me go, "Hmmmmm..." The Belgians have made the stations very handicap accessible. Lifts at every single platform. Great for us, because we had a stroller to get up to the platform. However, unlike England, the trains are several steep steps above the platform. So, the ease of getting on the train just flew out the window. Also, the train cars are not stroller friendly. Basically, you have to take you baby out and fold your stroller and leave it in the boarding area before entering the car. Things that never would have crossed my mind a year ago, but irritate me now. Oh, and just to let you know... we did catch the right train on our return home. That train is much nicer and only has ONE stop at Ghent. So, if you go to Brugge - and it looks like your about to board the rundown train. Stop. You're on the wrong one. Just ask someone, most people speak English and speak it very well.

Our hotel was fantastic. Small, newly updated, personal service and friendly staff. I highly recommend Hotel Prinsenhof.

So, our first EVENING in Brugge (I say it like that because it was evening when we finally arrived) was spent walking the main square and finding a place to have dinner.

Most restaurants all serve the same menu. The fluctuate very little. I'm sure because this is a tourist area of the city, but we found one and had a little bit of the Flemmish cuisine. A bit pricey, I thought... but, again it was vacation. Still, it was delicious and the Belgian beer was tasty. And a medium beer is really big. I thought only in the US were portion sizes out of control. Of course, generous portions only applies to beer, the food was normal portions.

Day Two included more walking and hitting all the spots on the map. Also did the river tour, which I recommend. It's worth getting up early to do this as Brugge is a spot for Day Trippers. They seem to start arriving around noon. When they started filtering in, we decided to stroll the back streets and take in the hidden parts of the city. Also, I'll mention that we were close enough to our hotel at all times (it's not that large of a place) so that we could run back there for diaper changes and feeds versus trying to find a family bathroom or cafes with highchairs.

Our meal that evening was at a "snack" place. I saw a few of these around town and we decided to give it a try. Plus, Scott was determined to have fries while in Belgium. I got an assortment of fried things that could all be top contenders at the Texas State Fair. The number one thing was what tasted like a sopapilla stuffed with cheese, breaded and then deep fried. It was DELICIOUS! Drew, forget our other ideas... this is the winner! ;) I'll also mention that the waffles are amazing and of course the chocolate stores are everywhere. If I could suggest a chocolate store it would have to be B by B. Michelin chef turned confectioner. He has some amazing flavor combinations that we are still enjoying.

We wrapped up our evening early as we had a teething baby with us and headed back to our hotel. The next morning was a nice breakfast in the hotel and then a cab to the station.

Bruge, a charming place that I hope to visit again, one day. And I hope you'll put it on your list of places in Europe to see.

Handy links:

B by B Chocolate

http://www.bbyb.be/

Hotel Prinsenhof

http://www.prinsenhof.com/

Oh! And I guess if you never get to Bruges, but still want to see it AND if you enjoy dark comedy. Be sure to rent the movie "In Bruges." Great flick.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! We are wrapping up the day with full bellies. Full of good luck and fortune. That's black-eyed peas and cabbage for those not familiar with this tradition.

Scott, Will and I are also wrapping up on our three week tour of home. We arrived the week before Christmas and head back to the UK next week.

How wonderful to see friends and family, and sad that we couldn't squeeze everyone in on this visit, but promise to next time around.

We barely escaped the last snow in England. I joked when the tickets were purchased that it would probably snow. The week before leaving, it crept into the forecast and the day before we left, I was getting panicky that we might actually get stuck. I think if our flight had been late that night we would have been out of luck. I'm not even joking about the weather on our return flight.

So what were the top five questions asked of us on our visit home? Here they are:

1. How was Will on the flight?

2. When are you coming home for good?

3. What do you miss most?

4. When are you coming home for good?

5. Have you traveled much?

6. When are you coming home for good?

Okay, though those that have asked probably got an answer already, but I'll still fill you in.

Answers:

1. Will did really well on the flight. He did not sleep much, but he was very good and played with his rings mostly. We got to Heathrow three hours early and requested the bulkhead. If you have an infant, this is a great route to go. American Airlines offers bassinets for bulkhead passengers and BA offers bouncers. It really freed up our laps for those delicious airline meals. And allowed for a little game time or crochet time to help pass the ten hour flight.

2. Not sure. Scott is going to Seattle on Tuesday to get an idea of our future plans.

3. Scott misses playing tennis and his car. I miss TexMex, tennis, friends & family, Target.

4. Not sure.

5. No we haven't traveled much. Just the day trip to different parts of England. But, now that we know how easy William travels right now, we plan to go places right away. A few friends, Caine, Jeff & Martina will be coming to Paris and Amsterdam in a few months and we definitely plan on making some of the trip with them. That is, if we are invited to. *wink, wink!*

6. Did you hear Will? Hang on, Will, Mommy's coming.

During our trip home, Will has changed so much. He will be five months old in two days. In the last two weeks, he has discovered he likes to put his foot in his mouth. He's been staring at them for weeks, but finally realized that he is bendy enough to get them up to his mouth. He also has learned to roll over. I thought that even when a baby learns to do this it still takes a little while to get the hang of it. No. They are pros. He rolls and rolls and rolls. It's great fun to watch him do this because it is with such ease. He's so proud of himself, too. And of course, we are proud of him. He's much more vocal than he was before we got here. And he's dropped one or two naps during the day. He still likes to stand ALL THE TIME. So, everyone is predicting that he'll be an early walker and we've got a pool going on the date. I'm going with June 22nd. Scott's birthday.

Santa was good to all of us this year. William is set on toys and clothes for a few months. And he still has the things that Santa has left for him in England. Santa brought me a new lens that will be arriving on Monday... can't wait! And Scott got a new gadget, an apple tv. He's been thinking about that one for the past few years, but finally decided we needed one. Yea... more gadgets! I hope this one comes without a cord.

Oh.. I thought of one more question that people asked us and a very important one:

7. What about the dogs?

Good question! Before leaving, we couldn't find any kind of kennel or boarding place. So, we called our landlord and asked what she did. On short vacations, she sent her dogs to stay with someone close by. This seems to be a common thing. People petsit in their own home. On long trips, she called a gentlemen that lives about an hour away. He picks up the dogs, cares for them and brings them back. He also has 10 acres of fenced property for the dogs to run about and play. Don't worry, they aren't outside the entire time, he allows the dogs to stay with him in the house. I'm not positive, but I can almost bet that those two may not want us to come home. 10 acres to run and hunt on??? They won't ever want to leave!! But, we can't wait to see them and hope they feel the same way.

Wishing everyone a terrific 2011 and look forward to sharing more adventures with you!