Crazy Chloe

Just further proof that Chloe is really a bit crazy. Check out how she starts copying Colin at the end and then turns it into a sneeze.

Disneyland for the second (and last!) time.

Hi! I am so far behind on my blog posts that I will try to catch up over the next few entries. Sorry for the wait.

In the beginning of October, we took our second (and very last!) trip to Disney, which is located just outside Paris. What a difference 2 years make! We didn't tell the kids where we were going until we were within about 10 miles of the hotel. We stayed at one of the surrounding kid friendly hotels with a circus theme. The kids had bunk beds that were able to be sectioned off from the rest of the room with a curtain. Mickey Mouse had left Colin and Chloe each a bags full of Disney goodies including fanny packs so they could carry their own stuff! We managed to unload the car and quickley get over to the parks.

The weather was perfect! Over the three days we were there, it was between 75 and 80 degrees. Chloe was soooo excited to see the princesses and go into Sleeping Beauty's (or as Chloe calls her - Sleeping Bleauty) castle. Disney is great because just about every ride is OK for kids of all ages. It was nice to be able to go on everything together.

No crazy stories from this trip but it was great and went fairly smoothly. Lots of pictures on Flickr.

                                              Kids with Fanny Packs

Our Local Star and Bal van de Burgemeester

Every year one of the local papers, Gazet Van Antwerpen, prints pictures of most of the Grade 1 classes throughout the Antwerp area. This year they photographed 1208 classes! Today was the day and Colin's class went to the news shop to buy their copies!

This past weekend we ate at the oldest bar in Antwerp. Not sure how this slipped by us until now, but we are sure to be back. The bar, Quinten Matsijs, dates back to 1565 and is named after the painter who worked in Antwerp. After dinner, we head over to the Bal van de Burgemeester or Mayor's Ball. It is common here for the cities/towns to throw a public birthday party for their mayors. We attended the party last year so we knew what to expect. As usually, we attracted and had some interesting times with some odd ball locals.

With Tracie and one of our new friends.

Soccer, Red Heads, Dogs and more...



Barbara and Roman



We are just coming off a busy week and a half.



Friends of ours from Atlanta came to visit with their 2 kids, Roman -5 years and Beatrice -17 months. Both of their kids have red hair and I was able to lure them to Belgium to attend the Roodharigendag (Red Hair Day) in Breda, The Netherlands. It was definitely a site to see. There easily had to be 2000 red heads that gathered for a weendend long festival that included taking an aerial group shot of the attendees. Antwerp was also celebrating their liberation from the Germans in WWII all weekend with different events around the city. The four of us managed to get out 2 nights in a row without the kids for dinner, drinks and the Liberation Ball.



Getting ready for the group photo

On Tuesday night, we attended the Belgium vs. USA soccer game in Brussels. When Craig bought the tickets, he had to declare who we were rooting for because they seat similar supporters in the same section. It was clear that we were the visiting team because we had a seperate entrance that was far from parking and at the back of the back of the stadium. It was my first soccer game and the American supporters were able to fill up almost an entire section. We went outfitted with our USA soccer gear that Barbara brought from the US. Unlike the Belgian sections, the American supporters were standing most of the game and definitely demonstrated the proper way to do the wave when it reached us. We even had Captain America, the Statue of Liberty and Uncle Sam sitting by us. The US lost but it was nice that the team walked over to our section after the game and thanked us for our support.

The American Section

Colin and Chloe also started  school this past Monday. Like last year, I was the most excited for the beginning of the school year. This year, Colin is required to wear a uniform. They were both very happy when I picked them up at the end of the day. Colin was excited to let me know that there is a girl in his class from New Jersey named Lauren!

KG1 and Grade 1

Barbara, Todd and the kids left on Friday morning and we decided to have a low key weekend and rest up for the Bollekesloop 5K run we registered for on Sunday. If the name of the run sounds familiar, it's because it was hosted by the De Koninck brewery who also hosted the Bollekesfeest from my previous post. We met up with a group of friends and cheered on the kids as the completed the 1K Kids Run. Colin was giving it his all until he ran into someone and hurt his knee. He finished the run, but cried his way to the finish line. Craig and I ran the 5K and both completed it with record times - Craig 29:00  Me 29:13. You know you are in Belgium when at the end of the race you have a beer and a cone of fries instead of a banana or an orange.

Colin and his fellow competitors, Liam and Olive.



Runner #9222



We also had a surprise visitor for the weekend. Our friend Andrew's dog - Aussie! The kids didn't leave him alone all weekend, but I do think he liked the walk around the city we took.

Bollekesfeest

It was a big weekend in Antwerp with the Bollekesfeest here by our apartment. De Koninck is the only brewery in Antwerp and is a staple in most bars in the area. As with all beers in Belgium, De Konick is served in it's own glass designed to enhance the taste of the beer. The De Koninck glass is called a Bolleke. It is typical to ask for a Bolleke to get a De Koninck.

For the past five years, they have held a Bollekesfeest or Bolleke party. It is held in the parking lot by us that I previously posted about. It is huge and probably one of the biggest events I have seen set up. Unlike what would happen in the US, it is a family event with many childrens events planned. They also serve the beer in GLASSES! But that is typical Belgium-beer must be served in it's correct glass and NEVER plastic.

The opening got off to a rainy start but cleared up for the Horeca Bollekes Tandem Bike Race. About 13 bars participated having 2 of their bartenders carry 2 full Bollekes from Grote Markt to the feest while riding a tandem bike. Whom ever had the most beer left in their glasses at the finish line won. No one expected the boardwalk at the feest to be so slippery from the rain and a couple of them completely wiped out.

We were back the next night with two of Craig's colleagues. Half of the Bollekesfeest was set up with local restuarants. Even though they were set up under tents, each set up was elaborate and while you were inside, it felt as if you were in an actual restuarant. We made the most of it and had a sit down dinner, then stopped at another to have some pizza.

We were back again on Saturday with the kids and our friends Hugh and Tracie. Craig and Hugh both successfully attemped to pour the perfect Bolleke on the bar stage and left with an official looking certificate. We spend the rest of the day in the playground that was set up with climbing, cooking and play stations for the kids. It was a hot day here - almost 80 degrees!

The weather was looking great again for Sunday, so we were out of the house at 9:30 and went up to the Art Museum for the free breakfast. We were back at the playground until dinner when we went over to the Mosselfeest. We went to the Mosselfeest the first summer we were in Antwerp and never knew that it was part of the Bollekesfeest. It's funny to think about how little we knew then.

We have big things happening in the next week. I start my Dutch classes again this Friday and the kids start school this coming Monday. We are also having friends with their 2 kids coming tomorrow morning for a week. We have all kinds of things planned including the Red Hair Festival in Breda (boths their kids have red hair). I will be sure to post on that later!

Craziness in Antwerp

Crazy things happen in Antwerp.

Last week we saw that the city was preparing for an event in the parking lot a block from our house. The parking lot is commonly used to host events, especially in the summer. During June and most of July, it is used for the Sinksenfoor or carnival. Next weekend, it is being used for the Bollekesfeest or De Koninck beer festival.

While we were out to dinner on Saturday, our waiter told us that it was for an event called Antwerpen Zingt or Antwerp Sings. He also told us that they were expecting about 30,000 people. We thought is was going to be similar to an American Idol type concert with performers. Not quite.



The Stage



We went down to check out what was going on at about 8. The parking lot was already packed full of people. We were given a small newspaper by people standing at the entrances. Then the craziness happened. We were told to open our papers to the first song. There we found the lyrics and everyone started singing to the music. Yes, it was a huge sing-a-long. It was weird and crazy but fun and it was hard not to join in even though the first few songs were in Flemish. Then we sang the Beatles, Hard Days Night. More Flemish songs, then John Denver, Country Roads. And it went on and on until about midnight.

This events has definitely one of the strangest we have seen in Antwerp.

UK: Bath, Stonehenge and Longleat

A few weeks back, we made the last minute decision to head over to the UK for a long holiday weekend. We have covered about 75% of our Rick Steve's Best of Europe book and we had been talking about making the drive, yes, drive, over to Bath for a while. There are several ferries and even an auto train that allow you to bring your car with you across the channel. It is about a 2 hour trip to Calais, France where we picked up the ferry. The ferry only takes about 1 1/2 hours and it delivers you to Dover. It was a bit scary at first driving on the other side of the road but Craig did a great job. A friend once told Craig that it takes one good scare then you will be fine - not really comforting advice. Driving on the highway seemed very normal. Driving through the small towns and turned that was a little tricky.

Our first stop was Stonehenge. I find the theories about Stonehenge very interesting and was glad that we were able to see it.The weather was very windy and looked very stormy at times but it made for some great pictures.

Wow! Rocks!

Because we booked our trip at the last minute, we ended up staying at a bed and breakfast in Bradford on Avon. Not our first choice with 2 young kids. The owners were very accomodating and showed us their chicken coop where they get their eggs for breakfast. Colin was eager to check the coop everyday and one day found 3 eggs. We were surprised at how he knew exactly what to do and reached right in and got them.

The next day, we took the train from Bradford on Avon into Bath. Bath was first settled by the Romans and has since been know for it's warm springs which was used for many reasons including what was believed as it's healing powers. The Romans built a complex around the main spring which you are able to see. We also took 2 tours around the city. As a bribe, we told Colin that if anyone told him that he was a good boy, we would buy him a treat. After our first tour, he was complimented by another American tourist and he was able to get a large lollipop. We will definitely be using this one again. Bath was a beautiful city and we are already considering going back around Christmas time for their Christmas Market.

The Roman Bath

Sunday was all about the kids. We took them to Longleat Safari Park. Longleat was the first drive through animal park outside of Africa. Inside the park was like a small zoo and also had a few rides. The kids loved it. The first thing we did was drive through the safari. We could have stayed in the monkey area all day. We were screaming and lauging at the same time. I don't think I have ever seen the kids so happy. It is a good thing we have an old, leased car because we weren't too concerned that the monkeys were removing some of the rubber parts. We spent a few hours inside the park and decided to take one last drive back through the safari area before the park closed. Just as before, we were all laughing and screaming when the monkeys were climbing all over the car. It was also funny seeing all of the windsheild wipers left on the ground. The kids are still asking to go back even though Chloe had a nightmare that night about monkeys being in our room. She must not be too traumatized because she asks every few days if we can get a monkey on our car again.

This picture sums up our trip to Longleat.

It was a good trip, one I wouldn't mind repeating. It is comforting being in a country where you can speak the language. It was also nice to have had the car with us since we were able to stock up on things like Cheerios before we got back on the ferry!!