Thrilled to Pieces to be Back in Paris!!

Staring down six escargot, wondering how to get to the little nuggets of meat.

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   e're in Paris!  Flash back a few hours ago.  Today, I had to rustle Z up awake, bright and early for him.  We had to catch the 9:23a train that would take us from Ghent back to Bruxelles-Midi in Brussels and from there to Gare du Nord in Paris.

Last Views of Ghent.

On St. Michael's Bridge, gazing over at Korenlei.

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    started my second day in Ghent with making breakfast for Z and I. It was nice to be back in the kitchen but more importantly, it was nice to not have to get dressed and go out for breakfast. I took things slow this morning. No need to rush. As expected, Z was still fast asleep.  The kitchen in our apartment is teeny tiny but very well equipped.  I found the two burner stove in a drawer and got it set up and plugged in, ready for the frying pan.

An Afternoon in Ghent.

Ghent.  Posing in front of the most beautiful place in the city - Graslei.

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e arrived into Ghent around 1p and by the time we settled into our Airbnb apartment and hit the streets, it was close to 3p. One nice thing about traveling at this time of the year is that the day is still relatively long. We have a few hours, to see the historic city, before night falls.

Bound for Ghent.

At the Bruges station, waiting for the train to Ghent, to arrive.

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  oor Z. Had to get up early this morning...well, that would be early for him.  He had to get early not because we had a train to catch but because we had to make it for breakfast which meant up by 9:30a.

The Long Walk Back to Bruges.

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 t was just past 4p when we decided to walk back from Damme to Bruges. It would be at least an hour and a half walk.

We set out on the path that would lead us back to Bruges.  It was a nice tree lined path.  On our left side was an embarkment that shielded us from the canal.  On our right side were fields of green punctuated by the occasional quaint country cottage.

A Break from Bruges. Damme.

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    woke Sleeping Beauty, aka my sleep loving newphew, up at 12:15p. He had slept for two hours and if I had let him, he could have slept for two more but we're not in Belgium to sleep.

For today, I had planned for us to go to the nearby town of Damme - an opportunity to see another place.

Bruges Day 2. Off to a Slow Start.

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    dragged myself out of bed this morning as I did not sleep well last night. It was much too hot. Our room opens out onto a ground level patio and all we have are patio doors so there was no way to cool down the room so I could sleep comfortably.  I'm debating whether or not to ask for a new room.

Whirlwind Tour of Bruges Continues.

He's so photogenic and thankfully, still willing to pose for photos.

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  he short canal boat was so relaxing! When I got off the boat, I was re-energized enough to walk on!  Believe me, I need all the energy I can get - it's not easy keeping up with a 22 year old!  Historic Bruges is undeniably charming but it's especially charming when the sun is shining.

Bruges. Cruising the Canals.

Posing on a one of the many bridges in Bruges.

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ruges is as walkable a historic city as it comes.  In fact, there really is no better way to see it.  Thankfully, I don't even recall seeing a single of of the now ubiquitous hop on, hop off buses.  We most certainly did our share of hoofing it - first making it to Grote Markt and from there to The Burg.  Everywhere we walked, I just soaked in all the views of this charming historic city.  There's so much medieval splendor, it's not wonder it was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2000.

A Whirlwind Tour of Bruges. Part 1.

Posing in front of Provinciaal Hof (Province Court) in Grote Markt.

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 e kicked off our afternoon in Bruges with a quick bite at a pasta bar called Bocca. It was a simple meal but enough to fill two bellies.

Once again, Z fired up the city app on his iPhone and led the way. The app is really useful. It uses GPS but does not require data which means it can track where Z is. The app not only provides a map but also indicates the tourist highlights. It also has a search feature so all I have to do is tell Z the name of the place or spell out the name and he'll find it!  It was very useful in Brussels. Hopefully, it will serve us well in Bruges.

We're off to Bruges!

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 oday, we left Brussels for Bruges.

I had researched the train schedules before leaving on this trip so I knew there were frequent trains to and from Brussels and Bruges.  Ride time is about 55 minutes.  I also knew that getting Z up at an early hour would not be easy and besides, we weren't in a real rush so I decided to go easy on the poor guy.  I woke him up at 10a.  Thankfully, he's easy to wake up.  All I have to do to rustle him up is just say "Wake up", in a fairly loud voice.

Last Views of Brussels.

Grand Place.

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  fter a few hours of fun at the Atomium and Mini-Europe, Z and I made it back to the Central train station and from there, we walked back to the old city.  I wanted one last view of this place - tomorrow morning, we leave for Bruges.

Teeny Tiny Europe.

Posing in front of mini Grand Place.

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rom the Atomium, we made our way over to Mini-Europe.  I think we came in via the *back door* so it took us a while to find the place as we first had to wander through a section of the park that was filled with all sorts of eateries.  There was absolutely not a soul around but I can imagine just how packed this place is on a nice summer day.

Brussels. The Atomium.

Riding down an escalator inside the Atomium.  He was perfectly centered for me to take the shot!

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hen we arrived at the train station at Heysel, rain was gently falling. Z was taking full charge of getting us to the Atomium, so I just followed his steps.  With each step I took, the rain came down harder.  In a matter of minutes, I had stopped walking, reached into my backpack for my rain poncho and had draped it fully over me, my backpack and my camera.  I looked liked a giant blueberry.  Not in the least bit attractive looking.

Brussels. More Wanderings.

Kunstberg or Mont des Arts (Mount of the arts) gardens with a view of the unmistable spire of Town Hall in the background.

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fter patiently waiting for Z to wake up on his own, I finally gave up and rustled him awake at 11a. Like so many kids his age, he stays up to the wee hours of the early morning and then sleeps til past noon, if let be.  I'll let him sleep but not til noon!

Today was Z's day to decide on the itinerary and he decided we should go see the Atomium.  I know from pictures that I've seen on the structure but beyond that I'm clueless.  It'll be a nice change from the historic landmarks that filled our attention yesterday afternoon.

Brussels. We Wander.

Taking a bit of a rest in Egmont Park, next to a statue of Peter Pan.

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e pretty much spent the entire afternoon in old city Brussels. Considering that we had just arrived into the country earlier this morning, after an overnight flight into Paris followed by a train ride to Brussels, I was surprised at how well we had held up. We were pushing through jetlag as I had hoped we would do!  Nonetheless, by late afternoon I was beginning to lose some steam and was ready to head back to our apartment.

Brussels. The Old City.

Guildhalls, Grand Place

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fter taking a few minutes to settle into our Airbnb apartment, we decided to head out and explore Brussels.  As tired as we were from our overnight flight from the US, we were both excited to finally be in Brussels and neither of us wanted to waste any more time.

Before leaving on the trip, I had tasked Z with being in charge of navigating us wherever we needed to go.  He took the task on and apparently, has an app on his iPhone that has a map of the city that includes the tourist spots highlighted on it.   So with his iPhone in hand, we set out.  I decided we should start with Grand Place - undoubtedly, the highlight of highlights in Brussels.

Belgium and France. Here We Come!

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 esterday, was a travel day and it was a long one at that.

Waiting at BWI.

Flash back to earlier in the day. My plan was to *call* Uber at 12:30p. I figured they would take anywhere from 15-30 minutes to get to my house but as our luck would have it, there was a driver less than 4 minutes away! We were leaving from BWI and I factored in some travel time in case the traffic was bad on 95N but as that turned out, there was no traffic. In just around 1/2 hour, we arrived at the airport....well ahead of our 3:55pm departure time.

I had checked us in yesterday so all Z and I had to was go through security. Thanks to my Global Services membership, I automatically qualify for TSA PreCheck and since I bought the tickets under my name, we both could use the line. There was only one person ahead of me and we breezed right through. It took us about 10 minutes to get to our departure gate leaving us more than 2 hours to wait for our flight! With the task of getting to the airport out of the way, I could relax a bit. Both Z and I occupied ourselves with our iPad.

Our flight to Charlotte left on time even though the plane was full. I was seated in the middle row and in no time was happily chatting away with an older African American woman seated in the window seat. Her name was Joanne (sp?) and we bonded over our love of traditional southern cooking. Our hour and half long flight arrived a few minutes early giving Z and I a comfortable window to make it to the Paris departure gate.

Counting Down the Minutes.

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y  Belgium and France travel partner is finally here.  It took him all of five minutes to settle into his room!  That's about how long it takes a 20-something year old male to get his suitcase unpacked and himself comfortable in his new surroundings :-)

Divided by Language.

Image from Deputy Matt & Others Who Serve

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just returned from a trip to Kingston, Canada. While I was there, my friend and I did a day trip to Montreal. Driving along Highway 401, I could immediately tell when we had crossed the border from Ontario to Quebec. All the road signs were now written in French first and then English. In the rest of Canada, if French writing is reflected, it usually appears below or after English.

The language divide in Quebec is a passionate fight to preserve heritage. The French speaking population steadfastly holds on to its linguistic traditions and there have been on again, off again, on again talks, of Quebec seceding from the rest of the the country.