School - Day 3

Colin really loves school although he tells me that he doesn't know the words. I don't think it is affecting him too much because he tells us about things he does there and is excited to go. He thinks it's cool that he goes to the lunchroom and eats his lunch that I packed.

He has been trying to convince me that he can walk to school all by himself. It's a 15 minutes walk!!

Today I will be spending the day preparing for our next trip. It's a holiday weekend and we will be heading to Euro Disney!! It is right outside of Paris and a 4 hour drive. Hopefully we will have lots of good pictures, but our camera shutter is broken and we are rigging it with Post It notes.

First Day of School

After talking with an American friend we have here, we decided to enroll Colin into a Belgian school. She enrolled her daughter a year ago and she is speaking fluent Flemish already. My friend brought me over to the school to see the classroom and meet the teacher on Friday. I was surprised how similar the classroom setup and structure was to what Colin had at Campbell's. Belgium provides public schooling from age 2 1/2! I just picked up Colin and we had lunch at the playground. He was so excited to go back this afternoon. He told me that he will know all of the words soon! His teacher told me that he did great this morning. Our friend, Lily, is also in his class and is helping him.

I also brought Chloe to a developmental playgroup this morning. She was so happy to be around other kids and sing songs!

Tulips and more tulips

We spent the last week making lots of new friends. On Wednesday, we went for coffee at a bakery with women who are members of the American Womens Club of Antwerp. They call themselves the City Girls. On Thursday night, I went over a friends house for cocktails with other American women. And on Friday, a friend drove me and the kids out to the suburb of Brasschat for a Newcomers meeting.

We had heard about Keukenhof in the town of Lisse in Holland, that did a display of tulips on their grounds during the spring, and decided to go. It is less than a 2 hour, so we went up on Saturday. The views around Lisse were amazing. The fields were fluorescent! It was really great to see, but half of Europe also decided to see the tulips on Saturday as well. The crowds were almost unbearable. On our way out, we sat in traffic for about 1 1/2 hours before we even got to the highway. We were beat by the time we got home.

This is a video of Colin trying to keep the goats from eating our stoller at Keukenhof.

Fischbach, Luxembourg!!??!

Can you believe that we drove thorough Fischbach, Luxembourg?? It was a small town - probably more cows than houses.

Luxembourg City and Vianden

This weekend we made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Luxembourg. Everything we read about Luxembourg said that it was the place of fairy tales and that it had the best scenic views in Europe. They were right, it was amazing!!

We got checked in to our our hotel and set off on our walking tour of the city. It had started to drizzle by the time we reached Luxembourg but started to really rain hard not long after we had starting walking. Even the rain did not ruin the views. Our walk lead us down into one of the valleys, then back up. The road back to the top was so steep! I was pushing the double stroller with Chloe. I was out of breath by the time we reached the top. At the top of the road were the remnants of the Bock castle that was built in the 900's. Under the remnants were the Bock casemates, a series of tunnels dug out of the rock used for defensive purposes. The casemates were closed and it was raining so hard that we headed back to the hotel to dry out.

For dinner, we headed back out to the old Mousel brewery, now restaurant, for an awesome traditional Luxembourg dinner - wiener schnitzel, sauerkraut, ham and potato salad. It was so good and we ate so much!

Sunday ended up being a beautiful day. We got up and went to the Petrusse Casemates. This was also a workout, going up and down the steps.

We then got in the car and made the drive north to Vianden. I was told by my friend Yvette that we should see this town and castle. We made some stops along the way to see some animals.

Driving along these roads were a little scary. There were a lot of hairpins turns along cliffs. Craig said his palms were sweating. Afterwards, I saw that we were about 1300 feet.

Vianden was so beautiful. The steep trek up the to castle was worth it. Colin was very interested in seeing the beddies of the dead kings.

It was a great weekend even though it rained and we all came home feeling beat and dirty. Craig told me that we wish he were a cow in Luxembourg so he could sit and look at the scenery all day.

Don't forget to check out our flickr site for more pictures - http://www.flickr.com/photos/shandtastic/

Playdates and packing for our Next trip!

This morning we had our first play date with the Antwerp Parent & Child Club at a members house around the corner. The kids had a lots of fun playing with the other kids and different toys. I met several women - some from the US, 1 from Wales, 1 from Belgium and 1 from Germany. It was really good to get out. They meet twice a week.

This weekend we are going to Luxembourg. It is about a 2 1/2 car ride. I will post pictures by Monday!!

Happy Birthday Colin

Yesterday we celebrated Colin's 4th birthday.
He was excited to get a Hot Wheels Dinosaur set and a book. We spend the day looking for a cake and eating lots of treats like Belgian waffles and ice cream (the ice cream is so good here). In the afternoon we went to the playground with our neighbors downstairs. We ended the day celebrating with bread pudding, macaroons and a special cake for Colin. They don't sell regular birthday cakes like we are used to here.

Monday we visited Fort Breendonk which is a concentration camp from WWII located about 20 minutes south of us in Willobroek. Needless to say, it was very sobering. They provided a great audio tour and we were lucky to be there on a day that there were no crowds.

Later in the day, we took the tunnel, under the Schelde River, to the other side of Antwerp. There are no bridges connecting the sides and the majority of the people either walk or ride their bikes to cross. I was surprised at how many people were in the tunnel when we were there. Colin decided be wanted to ride his bike. I was impressed that he rode the entire way - 1/2 mile each way.

Easter

We arrived back in Antwerp at about one in the afternoon only to find that the Easter bunny had visited out apartment while we were in Germany!!! We did a lot of playing before heading out for a long walk to find a weekend market and a great playground. We ended up right down the street from our place for a great Easter dinner at on outdoor cafe that looked down to the entrance of the cathedral.

After dinner, we were visited by our neighbors downstairs. They are Americans from Michigan who have a 20 month old daughter. They are on a 1 year assignment that will end by July. It is nice to have some new friends!

Cologne Germany

Saturday morning we got up early and hit the road for Cologne Germany. It is almost exactly a 2 hour car ride from Antwerp. After arriving in Cologne and checking into the hotel, we headed down to the Rhein to take a river cruise. Chloe loved being on the water.

After the river cruise, we headed to "The Dom" or the Hohe Domkirche St. Peter und Maria. Seeing the Dom made our trip to Cologne worth while. I can imagine that we will ever see a cathedral as magnificent as this. They began contruction on the cathedral in the 1200's and it took 600 years to finish. Pictures do not do this justice and throughout the day I would catch myself looking toward it mesmerized.

We spent the remainder of the day wandering the streets and chasing after Colin (who was wild!). We made stops at the 4711 Eau de Cologne house and the Lindt Chocolate Museum. We then had a traditional German dinner of wurst and beer. I swear I saw a little girl, around Colin's age, drinking a beer.

Saturday night was the first time we ever spent the night in a hotel room with the kids. We were packed in tight with a roll away bed and a crib. Around midnight, I woke up and checked on Colin only to find him sleeping on the floor because he had rolled out of the bed.

The next morning we went out to get some breakfast before heading home. We were lucky enough to have heard the morning bells for Easter mass from the Dom and see the priests making their way through the plaza into the church. It was awesome.

Road Trip - Germany

We decided, at the last minute, that we are going on a road trip to Cologne , Germany tomorrow. The drive will only take about 2 hours and we will be staying 1 night, maybe 2. I am sure I will have lots of pictures to post when we get back.

Tonight we will be decorating Easter eggs and we will have the baskets ready and waiting when we get back from our trip. I couldn't find Easter baskets anywhere, so I am going to use 2 drawers from a plastic storage bin in our washing machine closet. I brought over some grass and jelly beans and some chocolate from my grandmom. I also picked up some chocolate from the tiniest shop today. There are so many chocolate shops and their window displays are amazing.

Today we took a long walk along many streets we have been down before. We also walked around the castle at the Schelde river that dates back to 1200, it was so beautiful (see picture).

The picture I posted is of the street Craig needs to drive down to access our parking garage. He told me that tonight, a waiter had to move a table so he could get through - crazy!

Hallelujah

We now have a washer AND a dryer. It has made my day! There was a washing machine in the apartment. We had planned on buying a dryer when we got here, but the space was too small for both. With the permission of the landlord, we bought a combo washer/dryer. It is still really small and only holds about the amount of clothes you could fit into a bucket. If I read the instructions correctly the whole washing and drying cycle should take around 5-6 hours!!! No I am not kidding. I am already looking forward to getting home to my high efficency large washer and dryer.

Today I met up with my new friend Yvette from Kentucky for lunch. She brought me to this cute cafe for a sandwich and a coffee. Afterwards, we came back to our apartment and we went through her travels books and maps. She told me about all kinds of places she thought we would enjoy and how long each stop/trip took. I took a lot of notes. It was great.

I told Craig that I felt like we lived on Bourbon Street without all of the drunkeness. The nicer the weather gets, the more people come out. Many of the shops move their merchandise outside onto the street and the cafes bring their tables out. It is going to be beautiful tomorrow and I am sure the street will be mobbed. The entrance for our parking garage is on the next street which is very similar to this. I don't know how Craig gets in without running people over besides the fact that he is driving right next to peoples dinner tables!!

The picture posted is outside our window looking towards Grote Markt.

The weather was not very great today. It is overcast with off and on rain and windy. I think this is somewhat typical for Belgium. We went out today and bought a birthday present for Colin, when he wasn't looking.

The trash system is a little confusing over here. Plastics have to go into blue plastic bags, paper into yellow bags, food waste into green bags or green bins and all other into white bags. You have to buy the colored trash bags at the store. You would think that all of the stores carried all of the bag colors, but they don't. The store across the street sells grey bags - for what??? All glass is either brought back to the stores for a deposit or can be dumped into glass recycling bins on the street. I have been bring a few bottles with me each time I go out.

Yesterday afternoon I brought the kids into the courtyard to ride their bikes around. Chloe was so cute and Colin was playing with a little boy whose apartment was on the ground floor. He is the little spec with the yellow helmet.

The other day we met a few Americans while on a walk. They were here for work and I am going to meet up with one of the wives for lunch/coffee tomorrow. They are wrapping up a 10 week trip and she has all kinds of weekend length trips she is going to tell me about. She is a retired principal from Kentucky and I can tell already that she is very organized and thorough. She is also going to introduce me to another woman who is here from Australia with a 10 month old. I will let you know how that goes.

Things are finally starting to come together around here.

The movers brought all 591 lbs of our stuff today. It is going to be a challange to try an figure out where to fit it all. This apartment is not very big. It is only a 2 bedroom and there are no closets. You would think it was Christmas here today. The kids are having so much fun seeing their toys again. Over the past few days, they have been fighting over a Dora doll, 3 rubber duckies (that were here) and a few other toys. Colin has been pretending that the writing utensil attached by the string to the etch a sketch, is a snake. Chloe has been playing with the socks that we have been hanging on our drying rack.

I starting to really feel like a real resident. I signed up for my Carrefour food store card and am earning points towards 1 free pass to Euro Disney. At least that is what I think it is for since I can't understand the brouchure. I was floored today in the food store when I saw a bottle of French's Yellow Mustard in the American section for 4,22 Euros!! I don't think I have ever paid more than 99 cents for it at home. There really isn't much else in the American section other than Jiffy Pop microwave popcorn. Last night we ate hamburgers but it really didn't taste like beef, more like spicy sausage. I don't think we are going to get that again.

We have been trying to get out of the apartment as much as possible. You could walk down the same street 10 times and still not see everything. There are restuarants everywhere, it is amazing that they are all able to make it. Even though the weather tends to be overcast and quite often rainy, there is outdoor seating at almost every restuarant and many people ride bikes.

TV is pretty awful here. Even though we have hundreds of channels, I still caught Craig watching Knight Rider because it was the best thing on. Last night we were watching the British version of Cops. It was really funny, especially when one of the cops called a lady he pulled over lovey.

I am starting to add all of our pictures into a flickr account. Here is the link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shandtastic/

First Day of Work

Today was Craig's first day of work. While he was at work, we went to the appliance store and bought a combo washer/dryer. We currently only have a washing machine in the apartment and do not have enough room in the closet to add a dryer too. All of the appliances here are so small!! It can fit only about 4 pairs of pants in 1 load.

I also found a health food store and was able to find a few things for Chloe to eat.

I have attached a few pictures of the oldest street in Antwerp that ends at our courtyard.

Chloe's First

Yesterday we celebrated Chloe's first birthday. The cake was pretty dismal looking and tasting, but she didn't realize it and we all ate it anyway. She was all blotchy because I gave her apples in the morning. I have offically added them to the do not eat list.

Playground

Here are some pictures from the playground near our apartment.

Our first days!

We made it to Antwerp!! Colin and Chloe were great on the plane. Chloe slept almost the entire trip and Colin thought he was in heaven with his own TV and being waited on. While we were waiting to board in Philly, a nice cop offered to let Colin ride his Segway!

Once the plane started to back away from the terminal, Colin yelled "We're flying!!". It was great!

Once we reached Brussels, the taxi picked us up and brought us to Campbell's to pick up our car - a Citreon C5. It is a sporty station wagon that is practically new. Craig then followed us in the taxi to our apartment.

Our apartment is on a pedestrian shopping and dining street. It is considered a tourist area, but we would never know. It is bustling all of the time. It is one of the only street that has shops open on Sundays. We have a courtyard in the back of the building that is shared with the surrounding buildings. It is a perfect place for the kids to play and there is a pond with goldfish. The courtyard leads out to a tiny cobblestone walkway with a few restuarants. The walkway is considered to be the oldest street in Antwerp. It is amazing and I will be sure to get pictures up soon.

Once we got settled, we headed out to try and get some food. We could not find the food store we were looking for and ended up getting 2 pizzas, a carton of milk and a bottle of sparkling water, which was by accident. We all crashed early and slept for about 12 hours - all of us!

Saturday, we all got in the car and found a food store. It was a little confusing but we ended up with a shopping cart full of food and a shoppers club card. It was good to finally have some food in the apartment. We have to enter our parking garage on the other block and follow an underground hallway (more like a weird tunnel) to our elevator. We used our stroller like a shopping cart. It was kinda a mess trying to get down the steps with our food in the stroller and me carrying Chloe. Our elevator is so small, it took 2 trips to get everything upstairs.

We will be celebrating Chloe's 1st birthday tonight with some dairy free/egg free/nut free cake - Yum! This is because we found out that Chloe is allergic to milk, soy, eggs and wheat amoung other things just before we left. We have been able to find stores with the milk she needs but I would like to be able to find a good source for some crakers and other items she can eat.

I will post some pictures of Chloe and her cake tomorrow.

Our address:

Hoogstraat 29

2000 Antwerp

Belgium