Category: Europe (2014)

We left Belgium on Thursday with Annelies and Yves for a drive to Switzerland. Our mutual friends Tammi and Martin, who we hadn’t seen for two years, live in Ecublens, a small village outside of Lausanne near Rue.

Ecublens is about an 8-hour drive from Zaffelare, Annelies and Yves’ hometown. Another mutual friend, Heather, with her husband, Timo, had arrived in Ecublens on Thursday morning. We were headed for a fun reunion.

Heather and Timo had been visiting Timo’s family in Sweden and Finland. Ecublens was a brief stopover on their way home. We knew we wouldn’t make it all the way to Switzerland on Thursday night, but wanted to arrive reasonably early on Friday.

We had a very late dinner at a Burger King in Luxembourg and then stopped for the night in Metz, France. I spotted the Amish Minion at a service area off the highway. He makes me smile.

As usual, I don’t have time for a full-blown post, but wanted to share a few pics and let y’all know that all is well.

 

 

 

 

We’ve had a fabulous visit. I know this is getting repetitive, but I’ll share details and more pics later. We leave here in a bit to head back north. First stop, Sinsheim, Germany.

 

We’ve enjoyed Switzerland even more than I thought we would. And that says a lot. Tammi and Martin are fabulous hosts with a beautiful home and two cute dogs. Martin is a wonderful cook, too. We’ve eaten well, laughed A LOT, and shared lots of stories. I’m already looking forward to our next gathering.

It’s been a busy, but fabulous, week. As I mentioned in my last post, we visited Brussels on Saturday. Sunday, we went to Bruges. Monday through Wednesday, we were in the UK. Today — Thursday — we are back in Belgium. But shortly, we are piling into a car with Annelies and Yves and driving down toward Switzerland. On Friday, we will arrive at our mutual friends’ house — Tammi and Martin. By then, another mutual friend, Heather, will have arrived at Tammi and Martin’s with her husband, Timo. Essentially, we’ll be having a big, grown-up slumber party.

I’ll share a few pics here while we wait for Yves to get home from work. If I run out of time, I’ll finish when I can.

In Bruges

 

 

 

 

The United Kingdom

On Monday, Hubby and I left Annelies and Yves to their work and drove to Calais, France, which is where we caught a ferry to Dover, England. From there, we headed to Canterbury Cathedral. Wow, wow, wow. Then we were off to Oxford where I’d hoped, unfruitfully, to catch Annie Sloan at her shop. Our stop for the night was Bourton-on-the-Water in the Cotswolds.

Obviously, I have many more details and pics to share. One day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued. Sorry! I ran out of time. 🙂

Annelies wanted our first full day in Belgium to be interesting, so she planned a special outing for us. A tour of sorts that would provide opportunities for photos of big and famous stuff.

 

In many ways, Belgium looks like the US.

 

 

First, for the big stuff… the Atomium in Brussels.

 

 

 

 

We moseyed around there a bit, taking in things like this little waffle truck.

 

Belgians don’t eat waffles for breakfast. That’s snack food.

We were hungry for lunch, so we skipped the waffles and chose a little restaurant with some unusual decor.

 

Once we’d finished eating, our real adventure began.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annelies is quite the planner. Can you believe we were able to see so many famous sites in the span of one afternoon?

 

It was a tour of Mini-Europe. LOL.

Wait till you see the pics from the real Brussels.

 

I don’t always do blog posts while we are traveling. Mainly because it’s not a great idea to tell the world we are away. But since we have a house-sitter this time, and our house is not standing alone, uninhabited and unsafe, I figured I’d post updates.

My mother-in-law, who is watching our pups, should be pleased.

After a long and uneventful flight, we arrived safely and on time. Annelies collected us at the airport and carted us off to her house for some relaxation.

I didn’t sleep at all on the plane. Hubby slept fitfully. It’s better to stay awake as long as possible, sort of helps combat the exhaustion of the redeye flight and overcome the 6-hour time difference.

 

As you can see, the sky was quite blue and temps were in the upper 60s/low 70s.

 

Our friends know us well.

Annelies took us to the beer store yesterday, and we added even more beer to their already full refrigerator.

I finally crashed last night around 9:30 after four beers and a filling grilled hamburger dinner. It was literally like I had hit a wall.

And I slept until 8:00 AM this morning. Time difference? What time difference? 🙂

Today we’re off to explore Brussels. I’ll try to post pics later.