So. We are here for two nights. We picked this town and this hotel due to the brewery next door/adjacent to here. The idea was to get a brewery tour and not have to hurry our visit.
Ha. There are only brewery tours on weekends. So since it is Tuesday, we were feeling a bit goofy.
But we are on vacation and we just had a laugh about it. We decided to make the most of our free day (since the brewery tour was all we really had planned). It felt oddly freeing to have "nothing" to do. Do you know what? It made for a great day!
Mechelen is a really great place! Even though it is not in our guide book (not at all) it really should be. We like it better than some other the places that were in the guide book! There is awesome strolling, fantastic pedestrian streets with shopping and strolling, a great park (with a play area!), a canal side stroll, and even a very impressive grand market place (a market place is a wide open area, ringed by impressive buildings, that is sort of a place for everyone to enjoy).
We stumbled into nooks with gardens, we found streets lined with great shops, we found the best lunch ever (and I mean it was an awesome lunch at this great Brasserie/Cafe where I had scampi in tomato sause and Dan had a goat cheese salad). It was just a carefree, perfect strolling day - and we were amazed that it was so nice since it wasn't in the guide book at all! The locals are so happy. They are everywhere on their bikes and there feet, walking all over this wonderful place. Cars? Why? Just walk or bike.
For dinner we went to the restaurant associated with the brewery - a family run place with a great chef, and had a wonderful meal. I had a stir fry pasta with vegetables (no cheese!) and Dan had beef. Sara ate chicken, tomatoes, and some wheat bread. The brewery makes excellent beer. I usally don't like beer very much, but I do agree with Dan that Belgian beer is very good.
We were supposed to return our rental car tomorrow, but we think we will extend our contract one additional day. It will making things easier.
So, I know I didn't really dive into details on this day , or this lovely place that we found. We were just happy as ever that it turned out to be such a great place - since the whole reason we came here (for the brewery tour) wasn't even possible on a Tuesday! So a nice surprise for us, and a restful, fun day of exploring came true.
Sara is still goofing around, so I'm going to try to get her to sleep and head to sleep myself. Good night.
Lori
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Tuesday - Mechelen, Belgium
As I write this it is Tuesday night. Julia is alseep in her crib. Dan is at the brewpub that is adjacent to the hotel (it is a family run brewery that is associated with this hotel - they are linked). And Sara is in bed.
But I just heard Sara sing, "twinkle twinkle little star," in her soft voice. I figured she was singing her Puppy a good night song, but she was standing in the window, looking outside at the stars. "Mama I see stars in the sky," she said. It was sweet to look over and see her soft profile looking outside and into the sky.
I have to settle her - get her to sleep - so to be continued.
But I just heard Sara sing, "twinkle twinkle little star," in her soft voice. I figured she was singing her Puppy a good night song, but she was standing in the window, looking outside at the stars. "Mama I see stars in the sky," she said. It was sweet to look over and see her soft profile looking outside and into the sky.
I have to settle her - get her to sleep - so to be continued.
Monday - to finish up
So the Abbey visit was great, just like the gardens were earlier in the day. We recognized that this was turning out to be one super day. I don't remember the name of the Abbey right now, but it is certainly built to handle a lot of visitors, so I guess it is popular.
We poured the kids into the car (after having ice cream) and drove to Mechelen, Belgium. It took about 1.5 hours, which seems like a long drive in Belgium because in general the distances are short here (small country). We hit Brussels traffic, which was fine, sort of even interesting. At one point Julia was vocal about wanting something to eat, so we got off the highway so I could nurse her. That was easy. Luckily the turn off we picked allowed us to get right back on the road with no additional driving. The "highways" here are 2-3 lanes.The are lit with over head lights, that look yellow (not white) to me. The lights actually make it easier to drive as you can really see the road ahead, not by the road itself, but by the lights. Like your eye sees the lights bend and you know that the road bends too.
We got here, where we are now, pretty late by kid standards. About 7 PM. Dan ran inside to get our key, we parked, and found our room. #16. It is a triple room. Sara has her own twin bed, we have a double, and Julia a crib. Same setup as usual. After our Namur hotel, this hotel seems so straightforward, just one staircase!
Instead of going out to dinner, we got some food from the hotel restarant (in another building) and ate it here. This hotel is adjacent to (and part of?) a family run brewery. It is actually very unique. And, the food is astonding. Like tasty! We had fish, and some beef for dinner that was as good as a fine dining place at home. It was 41 Euro, but worth it. Sara liked the beef, and also had a little of the fish too.
Getting the kids to bed was easy. Zzzzzzzz.
Quote of the day "Mama, what is behind my belly button?"
--
Another Quote:
Papa: "Sara what do you want for dinner?"
Sara: "Fruit and vegetables."
Mama: "Good girl SAra!"
---
So it was a great day. A magical garden, under a perfect sunny sky, and exploring it all to our selves, with waterfalls, fountains, and something new around every corner (so cool). An interesting Abbey where we had fresh beer brewed there (and no cheese). And some neat country driving. All in all a terrific day.
Good night. :) Lori
We poured the kids into the car (after having ice cream) and drove to Mechelen, Belgium. It took about 1.5 hours, which seems like a long drive in Belgium because in general the distances are short here (small country). We hit Brussels traffic, which was fine, sort of even interesting. At one point Julia was vocal about wanting something to eat, so we got off the highway so I could nurse her. That was easy. Luckily the turn off we picked allowed us to get right back on the road with no additional driving. The "highways" here are 2-3 lanes.The are lit with over head lights, that look yellow (not white) to me. The lights actually make it easier to drive as you can really see the road ahead, not by the road itself, but by the lights. Like your eye sees the lights bend and you know that the road bends too.
We got here, where we are now, pretty late by kid standards. About 7 PM. Dan ran inside to get our key, we parked, and found our room. #16. It is a triple room. Sara has her own twin bed, we have a double, and Julia a crib. Same setup as usual. After our Namur hotel, this hotel seems so straightforward, just one staircase!
Instead of going out to dinner, we got some food from the hotel restarant (in another building) and ate it here. This hotel is adjacent to (and part of?) a family run brewery. It is actually very unique. And, the food is astonding. Like tasty! We had fish, and some beef for dinner that was as good as a fine dining place at home. It was 41 Euro, but worth it. Sara liked the beef, and also had a little of the fish too.
Getting the kids to bed was easy. Zzzzzzzz.
Quote of the day "Mama, what is behind my belly button?"
--
Another Quote:
Papa: "Sara what do you want for dinner?"
Sara: "Fruit and vegetables."
Mama: "Good girl SAra!"
---
So it was a great day. A magical garden, under a perfect sunny sky, and exploring it all to our selves, with waterfalls, fountains, and something new around every corner (so cool). An interesting Abbey where we had fresh beer brewed there (and no cheese). And some neat country driving. All in all a terrific day.
Good night. :) Lori
Monday - continued - two great stops
We left Namur in our rental car soon after breakfast. The day started a bit oddly weather wise, we weren't sure what kind of day it would be. Rainy? Drizzle? Sunny? No matter, we have rain coats and luckly we don't melt.
The car ride was a joy. The Belgian country side was like a painting, with deep green grass stretching as far as the eye can see. Cows nibbling grass. Rock buildings punctuating the landscape. Forests. Streams. And when we weren't in the middle of no where, we'd drive through small towns, that were cute as a button - like with houses lining the main street, a church in the center of town, a butcher, baker, etc. The towns are adorable.
We were literally in the middle of no where when I looked at our built in GPS and said, "we'll be there in 20 minutes." Dan said, "in 20 minutes, we'll be 20 minutes from no where." It is true. It seems like it is just us and the Earth - Belgium is very un spoiled and you couldn't ask for a prettier place to drive. It is the most relaxing, peaceful thing. And a treat to look around out the windows. It is funny how driving has become part of the treat of this trip - not just transportation - but sightseeng out our own windows. Awesome really.
Lo and behold, soon we were 2 minutes from our destination. Then 1 minute. We saw a parking lot, decided that was for us. Parked. Sara got out of the car and ran across the whole parking lot. Perhaps that sounds scary, but there was no one else around. No cars. And the parking lot was basically a field. We just let her run - even though the drive was only an hour, she probably was glad to stretch her legs.
So, where were we? We were here: http://www.annevoie.be/index.cfm
All we knew about the place was the small blurb in our guide book. We had never even been to the website. The guide book said "this should top your sightseeing list for this area." Okay. Sure, we may as well go there we thought.
Oh my goodness. This place was ***awesome***. And even better? We were the only people there. Yup, we had this whole magical place to ourselves. It was built and designed a long time ago, as gardens for some rich guy, and the highlight is the fountains. There are no motors, all the fountains function naturally without pumps. Jets! Fountains! Pools! Swans! Beautiful beyond belief. Since we didn't know anything about the place before hand, we had no expectations, and around every bend we just let our eyes feast on the sheer beauty. There was one time, that I looked up, to see sun light peeking through a grove of trees up on a hill, and surrounding that was a waterfall, a a fan fountain, and swans swimming around. It could not have been more beautiful if someone painted a picture of what positive beauty is. If you go to the website (which you should!) click on "continue in English" (near the left) to see the photo gallery. And the history of the place is fascinating.
This is another good website of it: http://discoveringbelgium.com/2011/06/05/annevoie-gardens/
Oh, what a place! It had an on-site restaurant, which may as well been our private dining room. Literally we were the only people there. We had a fantastic meal, overlooking the gardens right by the window. I had pumpkin soup, Sara had chicken, and Dan had a salad. I did not have any cheese. Agh. No cheese please.
After that our spirits and belly were full. We let Sara play on the playground (in one part of the garden) and she loved that. Such true sweet glistening smiles she gets when she plays! She nearly skips around the whole place, not even touching the ground she's so happy! The weather turned out to be a gift too - just sunny, magnificent, and perfect Fall day. Seriously, we couldn't have ordered a more perfect Belgian experience if we tried.
Back to the car, we drove to our next stop. An Abbey. (Yes, we saw monks.) Dan likes beer, especially Belgian beer, so going to Abbey's that brew beer is loads of fun for him. This Abbey was, like everything, is, in the **middle of no where**. The only way we figured we were close to something was that a stone wall was built a long the wall, then we saw a castle like turret, then we saw a place to turn.
As it turns out, this was a big place. A big parking lot (lined with these gorgeous yellow trees - Fall colors are so nice here), was easy to park in. I'd say it was 5% full, which means there must be a lot of poeople that come here in the summer. We strolled the Abbey, then went to the restaurant complex. We had another meal. Steak, fries, pasta, etc, beer. And, we got to eat outside in the beer garden under these big leafy trees while Sara played in their awesome playground! I love these places that have play grounds! :)
One of the things in this playground was a zip line. Sara and I climbed the platform to prepare her to do it, and she said "I don't want to" So we got down. But after Dan ran along side her one time - she loved it so much, she must have done that zip line 20 times. "Faster!" "Can I do that again?" She kept saying! Oh, her dimples were shining on her cheeks with huge smiles!
Going to publish this - to be continued -
The car ride was a joy. The Belgian country side was like a painting, with deep green grass stretching as far as the eye can see. Cows nibbling grass. Rock buildings punctuating the landscape. Forests. Streams. And when we weren't in the middle of no where, we'd drive through small towns, that were cute as a button - like with houses lining the main street, a church in the center of town, a butcher, baker, etc. The towns are adorable.
We were literally in the middle of no where when I looked at our built in GPS and said, "we'll be there in 20 minutes." Dan said, "in 20 minutes, we'll be 20 minutes from no where." It is true. It seems like it is just us and the Earth - Belgium is very un spoiled and you couldn't ask for a prettier place to drive. It is the most relaxing, peaceful thing. And a treat to look around out the windows. It is funny how driving has become part of the treat of this trip - not just transportation - but sightseeng out our own windows. Awesome really.
Lo and behold, soon we were 2 minutes from our destination. Then 1 minute. We saw a parking lot, decided that was for us. Parked. Sara got out of the car and ran across the whole parking lot. Perhaps that sounds scary, but there was no one else around. No cars. And the parking lot was basically a field. We just let her run - even though the drive was only an hour, she probably was glad to stretch her legs.
So, where were we? We were here: http://www.annevoie.be/index.cfm
All we knew about the place was the small blurb in our guide book. We had never even been to the website. The guide book said "this should top your sightseeing list for this area." Okay. Sure, we may as well go there we thought.
Oh my goodness. This place was ***awesome***. And even better? We were the only people there. Yup, we had this whole magical place to ourselves. It was built and designed a long time ago, as gardens for some rich guy, and the highlight is the fountains. There are no motors, all the fountains function naturally without pumps. Jets! Fountains! Pools! Swans! Beautiful beyond belief. Since we didn't know anything about the place before hand, we had no expectations, and around every bend we just let our eyes feast on the sheer beauty. There was one time, that I looked up, to see sun light peeking through a grove of trees up on a hill, and surrounding that was a waterfall, a a fan fountain, and swans swimming around. It could not have been more beautiful if someone painted a picture of what positive beauty is. If you go to the website (which you should!) click on "continue in English" (near the left) to see the photo gallery. And the history of the place is fascinating.
This is another good website of it: http://discoveringbelgium.com/2011/06/05/annevoie-gardens/
Oh, what a place! It had an on-site restaurant, which may as well been our private dining room. Literally we were the only people there. We had a fantastic meal, overlooking the gardens right by the window. I had pumpkin soup, Sara had chicken, and Dan had a salad. I did not have any cheese. Agh. No cheese please.
After that our spirits and belly were full. We let Sara play on the playground (in one part of the garden) and she loved that. Such true sweet glistening smiles she gets when she plays! She nearly skips around the whole place, not even touching the ground she's so happy! The weather turned out to be a gift too - just sunny, magnificent, and perfect Fall day. Seriously, we couldn't have ordered a more perfect Belgian experience if we tried.
Back to the car, we drove to our next stop. An Abbey. (Yes, we saw monks.) Dan likes beer, especially Belgian beer, so going to Abbey's that brew beer is loads of fun for him. This Abbey was, like everything, is, in the **middle of no where**. The only way we figured we were close to something was that a stone wall was built a long the wall, then we saw a castle like turret, then we saw a place to turn.
As it turns out, this was a big place. A big parking lot (lined with these gorgeous yellow trees - Fall colors are so nice here), was easy to park in. I'd say it was 5% full, which means there must be a lot of poeople that come here in the summer. We strolled the Abbey, then went to the restaurant complex. We had another meal. Steak, fries, pasta, etc, beer. And, we got to eat outside in the beer garden under these big leafy trees while Sara played in their awesome playground! I love these places that have play grounds! :)
One of the things in this playground was a zip line. Sara and I climbed the platform to prepare her to do it, and she said "I don't want to" So we got down. But after Dan ran along side her one time - she loved it so much, she must have done that zip line 20 times. "Faster!" "Can I do that again?" She kept saying! Oh, her dimples were shining on her cheeks with huge smiles!
Going to publish this - to be continued -
Monday - Wow, what a day
So we woke up in Namur. Sara said, "Mama, Papa, I'm awake I'm ready" about 5 times before we woke up enough to go into her room (down 4 stairs from our room, but in the same suite). Sara woke Julia up, so we all got ready to start the day.
Sara gets out of her PJs and into her clothes all by her self. This AM, she was a bit of a goof towards Papa, and I said, "you should thank Papa for feeding and clothing you." And Dan said, "yeah, you say that when she is naked and hungry" which she was - since she was still getting dressed and we hadn't had breakfast yet. It was funny.
We went up, down, around, up, down, around, snaking our way through the interior of the hotel to the breakfast room. It cost 10Euro / person extra. We found a table (there was only one other group there), put Julia in the bouncy seat next to us, and ate and ate and ate. This is the first place where we could get our own coffee (instead of a server bringing it to us cup by cup) so we each had a dozen cups of coffee. Even me. And I don't usually drink caffine. We also had yogurt, ham, cheese, juice, breads, and the usual stuff. Actually, I vowed to have a cheese free day - (I'm so sick of cheese!) so I didn't have any cheese. That is saying something, as everything has cheese or is served with cheese here. It is nice cheese, made locally, but man, how much cheese can one person eat? I'm at my limit.
--To be continued -
Sara gets out of her PJs and into her clothes all by her self. This AM, she was a bit of a goof towards Papa, and I said, "you should thank Papa for feeding and clothing you." And Dan said, "yeah, you say that when she is naked and hungry" which she was - since she was still getting dressed and we hadn't had breakfast yet. It was funny.
We went up, down, around, up, down, around, snaking our way through the interior of the hotel to the breakfast room. It cost 10Euro / person extra. We found a table (there was only one other group there), put Julia in the bouncy seat next to us, and ate and ate and ate. This is the first place where we could get our own coffee (instead of a server bringing it to us cup by cup) so we each had a dozen cups of coffee. Even me. And I don't usually drink caffine. We also had yogurt, ham, cheese, juice, breads, and the usual stuff. Actually, I vowed to have a cheese free day - (I'm so sick of cheese!) so I didn't have any cheese. That is saying something, as everything has cheese or is served with cheese here. It is nice cheese, made locally, but man, how much cheese can one person eat? I'm at my limit.
--To be continued -
Sunday - Lux. to Namur (Belgium)
Woke up (Sunday) at our normal time 8:38. I don't know why it is always about that time that we hear, "Mama, Papa, I'm awake I'm ready." That is what Sara always says. She never leaves bed. She stays there 'till we walk and get her. In this hotel (Hotel Royal) we have a normal hotel room (not a suite or anything), with Julia by the windows, Dan and I next to her crib, in a Queen bed, then we have some space (with a table etc) and then Sara's twin (roll-away) bed by the other wall. After Sara's bed is the bathroom. The room has a trouser press, just in case we wanted our pants to look extra nice. Right. Having pressed pants would be nice, as would wearing socks that I haven't already worn for two days straight.
Naturally, we went right down to the fancy breakfast. It ends at 11:00 AM, and we like to maximize the time we can chow down (I mean the time that we can eat delicately with good manners.) The lady remembered us (how could she not?) and tried to give us the same table (which we wanted), but it was taken so we sat near the windows. Sara loved going up to the breakfast buffet. It didn't matter if the food was for her or for one of us. She just loved the process of walking up to the buffet, looking it over, and getting something. She liked the cereal dispensers, which were cool. You put your bowl underneath and spin a silver knob to get cereal. "Is that enough Mama?" she'd ask. "Yes, that's enough." I'd answer. She also liked to get us juice, and I'd have her carry the glasses with two hands. She'd take careful steps all the way back to the table and not spill a drop. She is a good kid. She just loves doing things - even things that we think are normal like going to a buffet. To a kid, that is super fun.
I liked the yogurt. It was "natural" and delicious. They also had ham that you could carve and all the same stuff I described yesterday. I asked for "one order of french toast and one order of pancakes" and they brought me 1 piece of french toast and 1 pancake. It was funny. (All that kind of food comes from the server, while the other stuff comes from the buffet.)
After breakfast we packed up our room, which we managed to get just full of our stuff every where, and left. It wasn't raining anymore. The city was fresh and clean. The check out was easy, and they gave us a free voucher to cover our 50Euro parking. The bell-hops helped with our luggage (probably wondering how we get all our luggage into the rental van we have) and then we were off.
As we drove out of Luxembourg Sara asked where we were going. "What is next? How many sleeps are there?" We told her we were going to Namur, and that there was one sleep there.
Before leaving Luxembourg Dan got Diesel for the VW we are renting. He had heard that gas/diesel is cheaper here - so we may as well fill up here. Even so, it was over 50 Euro, and the tank wasn't empty.
Our drive to Namur (Belgium) was short and easy. Through the country. Belgium is so pretty! Very green, un-spoiled, many farms, and few towns. It was cold when we got to Namur. Our hotel was sort of on a deep side street, so we parked against a brick wall and ran in to check in.
Whao. Our hotel (which we got from the Frommer's book) is a set of renovated townhouses that is now a hotel. Our room was up steps, around a corner, up more steps, around another corner, down steps, up steps, through a door way, up a passage way and then up some more steps to door 16. It was funny how convoluted it was to get there. We set our stuff in our room, before going out to find some dinner. Dan was done before Sara and I were, so he took Julia to the front desk to ask for dinner recommendations. Sara and I were to catch up to him. Right. I tried leading Sara back to the front desk, and I ended up on the street level (after several steps and passage ways) and we were on a whole other block! I had to wrap around the exterior of the building, hoping we'd find Dan and Julia - and since we'd just gotten to the town, it was a tad harum-scarum -- but we did find them! As it turns out our hotel was lovely, it is just that the interior of it is very, very, very odd.
Ah, dinner. At 3:40 PM. Right. In the US, maybe. But here? Things don't open 'till 7:00. We needed to find "non-stop" kitchen. That is the only thing that could feed us at this non-meal time. I was starving. We hadn't really had lunch, so I was ready to eat a napkin if it looked tasty. When we saw "Pizza Hut" it looked like a beacon of food. We decided if we didn't find anything else, we'd just eat there. After a few minutes, and a few closed restaurants, we did indeed eat at Pizza Hut.
Not to worry. Pizza Hut in Belgium isn't that lame. In fact the familiar-ness was a good thing. And it wasn't like a carbon copy of what it is in the US, so it was kind of interesting to see what it is like here. I had lasagna, and tomato soup (though I must have ordered two soups, as the server bought two!) and Dan had a pizza. They speak French or Flemish here. Mostly French. The food was good, and they had markers, and a whole packet of kid activities. But the best thing was the had balloons for kids. Sara just loves balloons
We had a nice stroll in central Namur after our early dinner. Past churches, down pedestrian streets, past shops (mostly closed since it is Sunday), and out with other people strolling too. We got some treats to go at one place, and we got ice cream at another. I got Sara her own ice cream cone - chocolate - and the man who made the cone made it HUGE. And I got Dan and I a two scoop to share - and it was huge too. Perhaps he felt sorry for my lame attempt at French. I did a bunch of pointing, smiling, and he was perhaps humored by me. Our ice cream was so much it was almost too much - that it is saying something! It was all under 5 Euro.
We turned in for the night sort of early. It felt good to have some time to relax in our room. Just as the hotel had an odd interior configuration, our room was odd. You walked in, and Sara had a room, then up three timbered steps was a second room (with a timbered ceiling) for Dan, Julia and I. Off Sara's room was a balcony, that peeked out onto the roof top. We also had a room with a potty, and another room with a whirl pool jacuzzi tub. Sara and I made good use of that, taking bubble baths.
Only "one sleep" (one night) here. I watched the first TV of the trip (we've been gone for 2 weeks) and saw something about the debates. CNN international was covering them. It is easy to forget how soon the election is.
I had some nice Mother daughter time with Julia this evening. She wasn't ready to go to bed, so I had her on my lap while we watched CNN, and I also sang to her and tickled her. She is just the best baby. So happy (always!) and just gleeful. She looks me in the eye and is a pleasure to be with. We've stopped giving her baby food, she is back on just my milk. The food here wasn't agreeing with her. We may try again in Holland/Netherlands, but the food in Belgium just wan't her cup of tea. Once we stopped the food, she seemed happier. (Normal poops, less gas etc).
So, good night. Another fun day. :) Lori
Monday, October 15, 2012
Saturday - the remainder of the day
So, the walking tour suggested by the tourist office was a lot of fun. It was a self-guided walking tour, which lead us all around Luxembourg city. We walked down steep streets (and I mean very steep), we trudged back up steep streets (and I mean so steep they even slowed Sara down). So steep, that they required switch-backs to zig zag the slope. My goodness. These people have hills.
A highlight of the walking tour was an overlook that they called a "balcony" where you stand there (outside) and look down over the old town. So you are standing *way* up high, and you feel like a bird hovering over houses/streets/etc that are much lower. Almost like you are a giant, looking down over a train set, except that the train set is real. And then, sure enough, we walked down the hill to actually be down there - which was neat, since then we could look back up.
Most things are made of stone here. And things are big. Big tall arches. Tall fortifications. I guess the fortifications are why Luxembourg managed to stay its own country all this time, and not be invaded and taken over. Good for them.
The city is not sleepy. There is a hustle-bustle here. People in suits walking with purpose. Business. Business. We passed many groups of people walking and talking, as if they were finishing a meeting out in the street on their way to lunch. There are also plenty of young people milling around. And as always in Europe, there were plenty of the older generation walking around (like 80+). They shuffled down the streets in their sensible shoes and sensible coat. Going from Point A from Point B as they probably have for a decade or so.
After the walking tour we went back to the hotel (Hotel Royal). I was tired. So after getting Julia down for a nap, I curled into a ball on the bed and was out too. I heard Dan putting Sara down for a nap, "Papa, I'm not tired, I don't want to sleep" she'd say. "Okay, you don't have to sleep, just lay down and give puppy a hug" he replied. And it worked. She gave her puppy stuffed animal a hug and was zonked out. We slept from 3:30 - 5:30.
When we woke the city was being cleaned. By they I mean it was getting a shower. Rain. Drops pelted down. No one was outside. These people are smart, why be out in the rain? We ordered room service, relaxed, and got to bed at a decent hour.
It was a full day, with the walking tour and the markets taking up much of our time. We did (naturally) get some Luxembourg style cookies, which they called macaroons. Here they are colorful round things about the size of a half dollar, filled with some goo. Sara liked them. They are 1.10 Euro each. When I said, "one of each color" to the lady in the store, at first she offered me a box of 25 of them, so I was glad that I repeated "one" of each color - so we got 9 of them total, which was more then enough!
I think I skipped over lunch. Mid way in our walking tour our stomachs were ready to eat, so we strolled past a tiny whole in the wall place that looked like it would be good, and yet quick. So often a cafe lunch is a long stop, which is okay if that is what you want. We wanted quick. We had a salad, a baguette sandwich, and a soda. There were maybe 10 seats in the whole cafe, so we just found a small table for 4 and ate. There wasn't room for the stroller in side, so we left it outside. The meal was good, easy, and we were back on our way soon.
One more night here. We leave Sunday. Goodnight. :) Lori
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