Filling in the Blanks: Bruges and Around Brussels

As Dan had previously mentioned, his brother Larry’s visit coincided with my friend Cristin’s visit and we all worked it out the night before to head to Bruges with the girls on the Tuesday of their visit. We arranged to get an earlier start as the girls would be up anyway and Cristin it turns out, was up early (jetlag issues) which gave her plenty of time to get ready and check out of her hotel as she was staying the next couple of nights at the apartment. After packing the backpack and rousing Larry (who also had sleep issues it turns out) we were off to the Central train station along with Naomi who would take the same train and get off to go to work in Gent. The train took about an hour and was pretty packed...it was making one more stop after Bruges and it was still pretty full when we got off! Who knew it would be such a busy line on a Tuesday morning!! We had guidebook maps and after being pointed in the right direction we were off, walking towards downtown. We wandered our way through the deserted and quaint streets and eventually made our way to the main square.
Along the way we pondered a possible boat or carriage ride as we saw tours taking place in the canals as well as horse drawn carriages being pulled through the streets. The various guide books stated that the view from the belfry in the main square was quite exceptional and since it was a great day in terms of weather we decided to give it a go. The line wasn’t overly long and we weren’t sure what the problem was when after standing there for about 10 minutes and it hadn’t moved! The line finally started moving when a group of people came down and out of the belfry tower so we figured it had something to do with only allowing so many people up the tower at one time. With about 366 steps up the tower it was no easy trek, especially not for Amelia’s little legs. Luckily there were several levels where you could stop and take a break on the way up the tower so Jojo made it up the tower just fine (with breaks) and Amelia only needed to be carried for the last couple of parts. With the very narrow and winding stairs closer to the top, the trek wasn’t the easiest I had done but the views were quite wonderful! It was fairly close confines at the top with the bells so after snapping some photos we headed back down to the level below and decided to wait for the bells to ring and watch the mechanics on display at that level do their thing as it rang 12 o’clock. The bells were quite sizable so I was glad that we didn’t stay on the bell level as they were loud enough a level down for me!
While one would think that going down would be easier, it was still slow going as it was tricky to let people coming up pass as you went down and Amelia was very unsure of going down the steep stairs and only holding hands (I can’t say I blame her as I too was a bit worried about the trip down) so I ended up carrying her down the tower as well! I hadn’t communicated clearly that we were going to stop and listen for the hour to ring so Cristin made it down before the rest of us but luckily she knew there was only one exit we could come out of and a street musician had set up in the belfry courtyard and started playing some music. As entertainment, it was pretty cool as he was playing what looked like an inverted tin drum as well as an instrument that looked like an Australian didgeridoo. After a potty break and taking in the musician for a few moments we decided to grab something to eat at one of the nearby bar/cafes. We decided on one that had outdoor seating that was just a bit off the main square that had some more reasonable prices. There was still a great view of the Belfry (as seen in the photos) and we had a nice lunch while still enjoying the great weather!
We wanted to still do one more thing before I had to leave with the girls and unfortunately for the adults, there was an area in the center part of the square that had some fair type rides for children. The girls were given a choice of doing one thing (kiddie ride, carriage ride, or boat ride) (by their Uncle Larry) and surprise, surprise, they chose the kiddie ride. So for 4 Euro, they were able to ride in a little car and go around in circles for a few minutes while the adults stood by and watched. Amelia unfortunately didn’t fully understand that when she agreed to go on the kiddie ride (as Jojo had pretty much chosen and Amelia followed suit) that she wouldn’t get to do a carriage ride and afterward she kept asking about the horses and going on a ride! I explained the situation as best I could and she seemed to understand a bit better though she was still sad. I definitely emphasized with her as I think that a carriage ride would have been fun even though at that point both girls may have fallen asleep during it! Oh well, Amelia soon fell asleep in the stroller and as Cristin and Larry didn’t have anything else that they felt they absolutely had to see (and were also tired after their respective sleeping issues) we were all off to the train station to catch a train back to Brussels. We didn’t have to wait long and we all got seats as the train wasn’t quite as crowded as the previous one. While Jojo colored and I held Amelia while she napped, Cristin and Larry eventually dozed off for a cat nap while we journeyed back to the city.



After arriving back in Brussels, Larry was off to the apartment to meet Dan and let me in (as Larry had Dan’s set of keys) and the girls, Cristin, and I stopped at le Parc de Bruxelles so that we could grab a snack and the girls could play a bit before we headed back to the apartment. I figured that they had been very good sports and had behaved quite well that morning so they definitely deserved a bit of time to run around and do as they wanted for a bit! After a snack and walk through the park, Cristin went off to explore the shops on Avenue Louise. This is a street with many high-end designer type shops and if nothing else, it is a fun street to walk down and do some window shopping on a nice afternoon! Amelia, Jojo, and I finally made our way back to the apartment for dinner time. Larry had gone out for a run and hadn’t planned to eat with the family (as he initially wanted to get mussels) and I was waiting to see what Cristin wanted to do as we didn’t make plans before she left.
When she arrived we decided to go out to eat and since we were thinking about going out to a bar that Cristin had heard about afterwards, Larry decided to join us. We ate at a lovely little Thai restaurant that is a couple of blocks to the apartment and luckily we timed our arrival there just in time to get in out of the rain that was starting to fall! We ate dinner, trying some new (Thai pork Raviolis, soup) as well as usual sorts of things (fried rice, mixed vegetables and rice) and since the rain had stopped, we decided to walk to the Grand Place. Larry hadn’t seen it yet and I thought it would be fun to see by night, and we were all glad to see it as the city has the buildings nicely lit around the square and it was fun to see! We then tried to head to the bar that Cristin had heard about that supposedly had 2000 different kinds of beer, The Delirium! The street we needed wasn’t on my map but we knew it was in the neighborhood so after asking a couple of times for directions we made it to the right place…it was quite hidden away on a back street. We went and grabbed a table at the already busy downstairs portion of the bar. The building had two levels and we later discovered that the lover level catered to a more mature crowd while the upper level served a younger and noisier set!
With so many beers to choose from we didn’t quite know where to start but luckily the first menu we saw had a smaller collection printed on it and so our first round were all fruit beers. I had a Cherry, Cristin a Raspberry, and Larry had a mixed wild berry. Each were good in their own way but being so sweet they were quickly polished off! The second round didn’t quite have theme but Larry tried the chocolate flavored beer, I had a strawberry beer, and Cristin…I forget, she may have had another fruit beer as well. For the third round we moved upstairs and quickly realized that it was not only louder but we were the oldest ones there! I always forget that the drinking age is younger here than in the U.S….I don’t know the exact age in Belgium but places are usually more lax about beer consumption anyways. We asked the bartender for any 3 beers as I had suggested a surprise round since we couldn’t decide and ended up with a beer that didn’t taste stronger than water (but had a strange aftertaste) another light Belgian beer, and a nice brown ale of some sort. So many types of beer to try and so little time…since it was getting late, we didn’t quite finish this round and headed out intending to head back to the apartment.
Before we even left the street though, I looked up and there was a sign for the Jeanneken Pis!! This is a statue of a little girl peeing that a nearby restaurant owner had put up in response to the Manneken Pis. It wasn’t on my map of Brussels and while I had been out looking for it before I had been unsuccessful and although it seems odd, I was quite thrilled that I was finally going to see it! We went and of course took pictures and then since Larry hadn’t seen the Manneken Pis, we went and saw the original inspiration! All in all, a great, but long day!

On Wednesday we (the adults) all got off to bit of a later start and headed out to the Atomium. The girls weren't really interested in going up but Cristin and Larry were curious about the view since it was once again a beautiful day in Brussels! I hung out at the base with the girls while they did their chalk graffiti thing for awhile. There was a bit of a wait for the trip up to the top and through the exhibition as it was a holiday week still for most Europeans so when it got to be lunch time I headed off with the girls in search of food. For the Atomium being a tourist sight it isn't the type of neighborhood to have a good selection of restaurants in close proximity so we had to walk for a bit before we came to a nice little brasserie where we had a light lunch of soup and salad.



While I headed back to the apartment with the girls so that Amelia could take a nap, Cristin and Larry decided that since the couldn't get a hold of me (as I didn't hear my phone evidently) to head out to the Neuhaus (a very yummy Belgian chocolate artisan) chocolate outlet. Here three decent sized boxes (think boot shoebox sized) of chocolate with 3 layers of chocolate pieces (pralines) can be had for 20 Euro which is pretty much a bargain basement price for such good quality chocolates! There are smaller gift wrapped boxes as well in addition to bags of different kinds of chocolates! Everything that is for sale can be sampled before purchase (since you are buying in such large quantities) which is quite dangerous! At the time I hadn't been there myself but it is like a mini heaven for both chocolate lovers and bargain hunters! The rest of the afternoon was leisurely spent by all lounging around the apartment and making plans and preparations for the weekend. Cristin and I were off the next morning for Paris, Naomi was leaving early for the Netherlands, and Dan, Larry, and the girls were following Naomi later that morning. After a nice dinner we were all able to sample some of the chocolate that Cristin and Larry brought home before they sealed it all for their trip home...yum, yum, yum is all I can say and thank goodness they were willing to share their finds!!

Castle Tours

Saturday we (Naomi and me and the girls and Naomi's parents) went on a tour of castles in Klein-Brabant in the Antwerp region. The tour was organized by the Belgium (and Luxembourg!) branch of the Fulbright Program. A chartered bus picked us up at Central Station in Brussels, and we had professional tour guides of the Castle of Bornem, and also the De Notelaer pavillion and the Castle D'Ursel, both in Hingene. The two castles (Bornem and D'Ursel) didn't seem quite like stereotypical castles, although they each had a moat.

For each site, our group divided into two, each with its own tour guide. We always had our main tour guide (who also traveled with us in our bus), but at the Castle of Bornem the other tour guide was one of its residents, the Countess John de Marnix de Sainte Aldegonde, née Amélie d'Arschot. At the conclusion of the tour, there was a gift shop of sorts where you could purchase a book about the castle and then get it signed by the Count and Countess! It seemed a little bizarre that bona fide nobility engaged in such pedestrian activities, but perhaps nobility isn't what it used to be. (And here I was, in the market to buy a title.) The castle was lovely, however, although we did not see the current residential part of it. We did see several large stalls filled with an impressive collection of coaches.

The De Notelaer pavillion had a very interesting and pretty round room topped by a dome. The building was also interesting in that it sits on a steep hill—on one side, you can't see the dome, but you can see 4 or 5 floors of the building; on the other side, all you can see is the dome and the floor below it with the round room.

The Castle d'Ursel was not very castle-like, except for the moat; it was more of a very big house, with large rooms for entertainment. It was under renovation, in various stages of completion in different rooms. Once again, the grounds were very nice.

The tours were very authoritative, and sort of interesting. But at the same time, it was all very esoteric, and I'm not sure what if anything I'll remember from them! Still and all, the day was relatively unique, and we got to meet a bunch of other Fulbright staff, Fulbrighters, and their hangers-on (Naomi had the most hangers-on). Without solicitation, several people remarked to me how impressed they were with the girls' behavior—very nice to hear!

Larry's visit redux

My brother Larry visited us for a week, effectively from Sunday April 12th through Saturday the 18th. The second half of his trip, to the Netherlands, was already chronicled in the previous post. During the first half, in Belgium, Larry's visit coincided with a visit by Jenee's friend Cristin, and they ended up doing some wandering around together, sometimes just them, sometimes also Jenee, and sometimes also Jenee and the girls. If memory serves, Larry went to the Atomium, Grand Place, and the Neuhaus chocolate outlet in Brussels, and also a bit of Bruges and Ghent. (Apparently all of our visitors visit Bruges. Me, I haven't been there yet, either during my 1-week visit to Belgium last September, or thus far during the 3½ months into our current visit.) Larry also did some jogging around Brussels, but did not achieve his objective of having moules (mussels), one of Belgium's signature foods. It was good fun having Larry here.

We are now in our busy season. We had a week's vacation in France just before Larry came, as our intrepid blog followers know. Then shortly after Larry left, Naomi's parents, Mark and Joan, arrived. They will be spending a few days in England this week, but otherwise will be with or near us during their 2-week European holiday. Shortly after they leave, my friend Mike will be coming for a long weekend. Mike is our last scheduled visitor, but we'll be spending a week in Israel shortly after Mike's visit is over, and then we have our final two weeks in Belgium before returning to the States. It's actually sort of insane!

Netherlands vacation

The second half of last week we took a trip to the Netherlands. Actually, we took two trips, or at least one and a half. Naomi had a conference in Rotterdam on Thursday and Friday, and she left early Thursday morning. Later Thursday morning, the rest of us—me and the girls, plus my brother Larry, who was visiting for the week—took off for The Hague. Friday evening Naomi hooked up with us in the Hague, and Saturday we took a day trip to Amsterdam, and then an evening train back to Brussels.

Our (all of us except Naomi) trip got off to an inauspicious beginning when the train we planned to take from Brussels to The Hague got supprimé (canceled), and the next train was not for another hour. But we took the lemons and made lemonade by taking a train to Antwerp, thereby affording Larry the opportunity to see the magnificent train station and nice nearby square, which the rest of us had seen on our trip to the Antwerp Zoo. (There also happened to be a gigantic inflated dinosaur taking up most of the square.) Back at the station, we purchased lunches to go, and then got on the next train to The Hague. About an hour and a half later we arrived at The Hague HS Station. Deboarding was not as straightforward as we had hoped, with the result that Larry didn't get off the train before the doors closed on him—and the doors didn't open again, despite our button pushing and efforts to get the conductor's attention. But Larry managed to turn around and meet us at our final train station destination for the day, The Hague Central Station, with a net loss of less than an hour (not including the other hour due to the original canceled train).

In The Hague we stayed at the vacant apartment of the Keanes, family friends from way back. Keane son Maurice and family live in The Hague, and he met us at the apartment (which was conveniently close to the Central Station) to give us the key and orient us. Maurice left, and then we did some hanging out and grocery shopping and ate a take-out dinner. Also, the display on my laptop died that night; every time I powered it up it looked like it was melting—very cool looking, but the laptop was effectively useless, and unfortunately I had had real plans for it.

The next day, Friday the 17th, we took a walk around the center of town, looking for a playground. We found some kind of obstacle course, which the girls liked, but honestly it wasn't that great for them. But as Rummy might say, you play on the playground you have, not the one you want, and that's what we did.

Later in the day, we met up with Maurice's family on the beach, near where they live. Maurice was not actually there, but his wife Alexandra and kids Berber, Daudi, and Lois were. Then we hung out at their house, where Naomi and Maurice eventually and separately joined us, and the kids had dinner. It's also where JoJo played a bunch of Wii sports games—tennis, bowling, golf.

Saturday we briefly met Maurice and his kids at the apartment, to transfer ownership back to the Keane clan, and then we headed up to Amsterdam to meet the other Keane son, Marcus, and his wife Fareeda and newborn Alexander. We had a nice lunch at their place, and then we went for a walk around Vondelpark, to the center of town. There we (minus Marcus and family) took a canal ride, which was a pleasant and interesting way to see the city and harbor. The canal system is quite extensive, and the "no parking" signs on the inside walls of the canals cracked me up.

We nearly had to abort our visit with Marcus' family due to bizarre circumstances, but fortunately it all worked out in the end. Lois came down with chicken pox. Our girls haven't had it, but they have been vaccinated. Nevertheless, there were questions about how Alexander could be affected. Fareeda called a doctor friend, who said that Alexander is well protected by Fareeda's antibodies, through one of the miracles of breastfeeding.

It was great fun for me seeing Maurice and Marcus and their families. I hadn't seen them in literally 30 years, and I had not previously met their wives and kids. I tried to reconcile their looks and personalities with how I remember them from so many years ago. (Larry had seen them all in modern history, except for Alexander. He had also previously stayed at the apartment in The Hague, and loved people-watching out the living room window.)

We did not partake of Amsterdam's infamous offerings, but I would have, if the girls weren't with me, and if I were single, and if I were basically not the guy that I am. We observed that there were many cyclists around The Hague and Amsterdam, with large bicycle parking lots outside the train stations (the one outside Amsterdan Central Station was comically large), and only a single cyclist wearing bike helmet.

Passover observed

We didn't observe Passover as rigorously in Europe as we usually do. We made a very nice second-night seder, as I previously described, and we had regular and sweetened matzo throughout the week. But on the whole it was difficult to get Passover foods, especially when we were traveling, and we ate plenty of tref (i.e. non-kosher). However, I felt a ray of seasonal familiarity at one of the regular grocery stores we patronize in Brussels when I found gefilte fish!

There are a variety of connections between Passover and Easter, but the connections are really highlighted in French. Easter is Pâques in French, and Passover is also called Pâques, or Pâques juive ("Jewish Easter," I guess). I actually think "Passover" is a great name because it evokes a core element of the story of Passover, and it also matches reasonably well with the meaning of the Hebrew name of the holiday, Pesach; these elements are obviously missing from the French.

By the way, the timing of our France and Netherlands trips (the latter still to be blogged) coincided with the girls' two-week school vacation for Passover.

France vacation

Our vacation in France started Friday night, April 3rd. I wanted to meet my friend Florence in Meylan, next to Grenoble in southern France, who did an internship stint in the lab where I got my doctorate. Florence was only available to get together on Saturday the 4th, and as she was an 8-hour drive from Brussels, we decided to break up the drive by spending our first night at a random hotel in Nancy, France, a little less than half-way to Meylan. We left Brussels after dinner, and got to the Nancy hotel with the girls sleeping in the car.

Saturday the 4th we headed out for Meylan, taking a break for lunch. We discovered that when you drive on the autoroutes, options for eating are often lame or non-existent. We found a town that had some eating options, according to the GPS, but they were all closed for the moment or closed permanently. We got some bread and cheese at a little store in the little town, and ate it on a bench in a little playground (do I sound like Gulliver in Lilliput?).

Traffic getting to Meylan was worse than we anticipated, possibly because we were traveling at the beginning of the holidays in this part of France. But we eventually hooked up with Florence and her 3-year-old son Peyo, and proceeded to a nearby playground, and then dinner.

Our accommodations for that night (and 4 out of the 8 nights of our vacation) were at with Claudie and Pierre Sikirdji, who live in Sainte-Agnes, up the Chartreuse mountains near Meylan and Grenoble. Their address simply doesn't exist in a conventional way, and it defied our GPS. We had a lot of trouble finding their place, and when Claudie eventually found us waiting for her, it turned out we were only 100 or 200m from the house! The 20-minute trip from Florence to the Sikirdjis probably took us about 2 hours, the girls sleeping comfortably in the car.

Grenoble is located in the valley between 3 mountain ranges, the Vercors, Chartreuse, and Belledonne. The Sikirdjis house afforded great views of all of them, from their snow-capped tops all the way down to the valley. Sunday the 5th we took a long walk around the local farmlands and small town center. Then we went down to Grenoble for lunch with Claude and Bernard Ramus. Their daughter Claire and her two kids Simon (4-ish) and Anna (2-ish) joined us after lunch for a venture to a large playground up the mountain a little bit.

Dinner that night was back at the Sikirdjis, and their son Laurant and his wife Marion and daughter Maude (11) joined us. We enjoyed home-made orange wine, which I loved, and also the most enormous chicken in the history of chickens. Our girls were put to bed before dinner started, but it didn't stick, and they made several appearances during dinner.

Monday the 6th we headed out to Juan-les-Pins, where we knew no one. The drive there took us through beautiful mountains, and we stopped for a nice lunch in Eygians, which had a nice (guess what?) playground. I've already chronicled our little misadventure getting to Juan-les-Pins, so I shan't say more about that here. But Tuesday the 7th was a beautiful day there, almost too warm for a shirt. We spent a bunch of the morning playing in the sand on the beach, and getting our legs wet in the cold Mediterranean water. In the afternoon we swam in the slightly less cold water of our hotel's pool. We stayed in town most of Wednesday the 8th too, but the weather wasn't as warm or sunny as the day before. But we thought one perfect day was worth this part of the trip. It's kind of funny: Juan-les-Pins is about half a degree further north than Madison, and yet palm trees grow there!

We returned to the Sikirdjis late Wednesday night. Thursday the 9th was all about Passover for us. Everybody except me made some home-made matzo in the morning, and it came out pretty good (you know, for matzo). Later, Naomi and Claudie shopped for ingredients in the morning while I played with the girls. (I was hoping to take the girls up Grenoble's telepherique, but the timing didn't work out.) Still later, Naomi and I cooked chicken, matzo stuffing, matzo ball soup, haroset, etc., while Claudie wrote down what we did. The seder was intimate, with just the four of us and Claudie, but very enjoyable. We had hoped to share the seder with Michele and Gilbert Ganem too, but unfortunately that didn't work out.

Friday the 10th we met for lunch with Malice and Dominique Mathias, our next-door neighbors in Venon in 1978–79. I was in the same class as their son Benoit (and a few years younger than another son Nicholas, who we met last month in Paris). The Mathiases moved to Saint-Martin-d'Uriage a few years ago, which is one town over from Venon. Both towns are in the Belledonne mountains, with great views of the Grenoble valley and the mountains around it. JoJo got sick on their front door step when we arrived (presumably car sickness from the windy mountain roads), but the visit improved considerably after that and we had a great time. On our way out of town, we went through Venon and Gieres for a very quick trip down memory lane for me.

Our last stop in France was that night at a B&B in Pressigny, near Dijon. This town was so far in the boonies that camion boulangerie (bakery truck) delivered bread around town—in other words, the town was too small for its own bakery, which in France is saying something. The next morning we learned the B&B didn't accept Visa, and I had to go to the next town to find a ATM. But the area was beautiful, with lots of farmland, and lots of roads that were little more than cow paths. The B&B was very nice for our family, and we had a nice dinner and breakfast there.

We got back to Brussels Saturday evening the 11th. With all the driving we did the vacation seemed a lot longer than just eight days. It was good to be back.

Diesel-tastrophe

For our family vacation through southern France this week, we decided to rent a car. We were hitting a lot of spots in the Grenoble area, also going to the French Riviera, and maybe going to Switzerland—I thought that having the car would be the cheapest, most flexible, fastest (for our itinerary, at least), and ultimately easiest way to travel.

I picked up the car at Midi, the main Brussels train station. It was my first time behind the wheel in three months, and it was a stick, which is not my custom. And it was also in Brussels, which in my opinion makes for unpleasant driving. I was very busy stalling the car the first few minutes of operation, and when I left the parking garage at Midi I had to drive around randomly until my GPS figured out where I was, so it could direct me home to pick up the family and our luggage.

On the whole, though, Naomi and I both felt that the driving went ok (once we got out of Brussels), whether on the autoroute, on mountain roads, or just around town. Yesterday we drove from Grenoble to the French Riviera, and the trip took us through some beautiful mountain vistas. About an hour before our destination I stopped for gas. The rental car took diesel, as do most cars here; it was my perception that Europe basically runs on diesel. The gas pump had four hoses, none labeled diesel. Under the circumstances, though, I assumed they were different grades of diesel. So I chose the lowest grade and pumped a full tank, and we all know where the story goes from here.

It was not diesel that I pumped into the car, but rather regular unleaded gasoline. I happily pulled back onto the autoroute, and then almost immediately I started to get engine knock and hesitancy in pickup. It was a horrible, sinking feeling, and Naomi and I quickly diagnosed the problem. I would have liked to pull over onto the shoulder and stopped driving—I know it's bad for the engine to drive on the wrong kind of gas—but the shoulder basically was wide enough for a car and no more, and I thought parking in the shoulder, possibly for hours, was a recipe for death. So I drove to the next exit, perhaps 3 or 4 miles away. At the first stop there, at Le Muy, waiting in line to pay the toll, the car conked out and wouldn't start again (although the starter system could turn the engine over fine). A toll worker helped me push the car through the toll (stopping to pay, of course), and we parked the car on the side of the road a few more feet up.

Naomi had already made contact with Avis, our rental company, and they got a tow truck under way. Naomi snapped some pictures of the girls and me standing in front of the tow truck with our car on the back, and then we drove to the garage. Our Avis guy helped us get a taxi to St. Rafael, which at about 15 miles away was the nearest Avis franchise that had a car available for us. We got the new rental car, had dinner in St. Rafael, and then headed to our true destination, Juan-les-Pins.

This experience evoked a lot of ambivalent feelings. On the negative side: I was clearly an idiot; we were out an additional 265€ ($350) for the tow and car repair, and another 75€ ($100) for the cab ride; we lost 3 hours; and for the third night in four, we were putting the girls to bed in the back seat of our car. But the negatives were substantially outweighed by the positives: I thought the repair would be $1000 to $2000, so 265€ was a relief; we only lost 3 hours—it could have been a lot longer, and the girls held up great and we got to our destination ok; we got to spend a little time in a nice town not on our itinerary (St. Rafael); we learned a valuable lesson about fuel dispensers; and fundamentally we were all ok. Furthermore, we were lucky because we just got to the garage before it closed (when we left the garage, it was after its official closing time); we were able to get a taxi to take us a long distance on short notice, and this only succeeded because our taxi driver was in our neighborhood ending his shift, and heading home right near St. Rafael; and the Avis franchise with our new car was held open extra expressly in anticipation of our arrival.

I have to give snaps to Avis, because I felt we were given excellent and kindly support. And I also think it's amazing how quickly it was possible for our plan to be adapted. In the age before cell phones and GPS navigational systems, our story would have likely been much more unpleasant.

After dinner in St. Rafael, we packed ourselves into the new car and headed out. After a few minutes, JoJo helpfully asked, "When is Daddy going to break the car again?"

Art!

So for those of you who may have worried that Jojo would have less time to complete a variety of artwork during her stay here in Belgium, I am here to say that you need not have worried!! She, as well as Amelia are still drawing and creating at their usual respective paces--although Amelia usually enjoys cutting things instead of coloring!
Anyways, here are some photos of a lot of the artwork by both girls that is posted around the apartment. Also included are some recent photos of the girls doing their own version of graffiti with sidewalk chalk while we waited for the bus one day. I must say that Jojo's contribution definitely gave the Brussels graffiti artists a run for their money which says a lot about Jojo's talent and not so much about the graffiti around town!!