Brussels 2009

On a whim, we jumped on a plane on Thanksgiving evening and flew across the ocean to visit our friends and our favorite places in Brussels, Belgium. Tony was scheduled to be there on business, and being Thanksgiving the plane was wide open (including the frequent flyer seats we used). During the flight over I kept thinking we were a bit crazy to take two little kids to Northern Europe in cold November. I hoped the effort would be worth it. It was. The visit surpassed any expectation I might have had. Being there, seeing our friends, seeing the things we missed, was wonderful. Beyond wonderful, really.

Castalie, Grayson, and Valentina.

Back in June, 2007 when they were just 2.

At Park Tenbosch.

Auxence and Max.

Visiting yet another Belgian chocolatier.

Grayson and Castalie.

Grayson, Auxence, Max, and Castalie.

Ana-Isabel and Séverine.

Our "tram story." One day I was with Grayson and Max (in the stroller) on one of the older trams that has narrow doors and big steps. Before we arrived at our stop I told Grayson that he should get off first and I would follow with Max in his stroller. At the stop, the door opened and Grayson got off just as I had told him. Then as I was backing down the steep and narrow steps, the doors closed. Frantically I pushed the "open" button and nothing happened. Then the tram started to pull away from the stop, my little four year old all alone on the sidewalk looking up at me with a confused expression. I instinctively began to SCREAM and slap my hands on the tram door in total HORROR at what was happening. Fortunately everyone on the tram saw what was happening and they yelled too - loudly - and the driver stopped just a few feet from the stop and let me off. Instead of bursting into tears I then had to play it cool as I didn't want Grayson to freak out. He was fine, and now loves to tell everyone the "tram story."

Waiting for a tram.

The Belgians know chocolate.

Max's first croissant.

A Belgian waffle at Wittamer.

Mille Feuille at Wittamer.

To-die-for hot chocolate at Wittamer.

Sév - at the park. This is how the French dress to go to the park. Really. Americans, take note.

Max, Grayson, Valentina, Thomas, Auxence, and Castalie.

Playing at Tenbosch Park.

The street we used to live on.

Rue du Tabellion.

This was our apartment.

This was not, but it sure was a pretty door.

Ana-Isabel, Séverine, Me, and our 6 kids.

Grayson, Castalie, and Valentina at the "Park of Death" as it is dubbed by us.

A year and a half ago the fact that they did not speak each other's languages wasn't a huge deal. Now, at age 4 1/2 and 5, it makes a big difference. Grayson was quite frustrated at the park when Castalie (speaks French) and Valentina (speaks Spanish and now French) wouldn't let him go first up the slide. He insisted they understood him but just wouldn't let him!

Hot Waffles from a Waffle Truck. We were tourists for the day.

Ana-Isabel, Séverine and I had a wonderful day, sans kids. They arranged for two babysitters to watch our kids so we could spend the day shopping and having lunch together.

Grayson and Castalie.

At the Petite Sablon - our favorite little park.

We stayed with our friends Rich and Kelly, and their daughters Sonny, Poppy, Maya, and Dali. Staying with them was awesome - the kids loved playing together and we had the comforts of home the entire time. On Saturday evening Rich and Kelly hosted a wonderful Thanksgiving meal. I was happy to help by making the pumpkin pies.

Grayson and Max were a bit outnumbered by the 9 girls that were at Thanksgiving.

Watching a movie with the girls.

We visited Abigail - our much adored babysitter.

She went to the park with us for a little while.

We lunched at Le Pain Quotidien - our favorite bakery!

We went to Gusto - our favorite Italian restaurant - with Rich and Kelly.