I Heart Brussels

I haven't been as good about keeping this blog up to date as some other times in my life.  I think a lot of that has to do with how good things are.  Less drama = less stories.  I confess I have moments in my life when something absolutely horrific is happening (like having a casual conversation with a doctor topless) and I think to myself, "well at least now I have something to blog about."  Somehow my blog justifies weird, embarrassing, or frustrating situations.

Lately Brussels has been just plain nice.  Nicer than nice.  Brussels is awesome.

A lot of people have been getting their FS bidlists ready and I can only assume Brussels is on the list because I have had more than a handful of emails asking me about it.  So let me compose why this is one of the nicest posts on earth.

1.  Chocolate

The food of Brussels is delicious.  Amazing.  Fantastique.  And the chocolate, ohhhhh, the chocolate.

I don't think I will ever be able to eat a normal Hershey's chocolate bar because that snobbishness that I always scowled at before, has hit me.  My German exchange student friends would always complain that American chocolate was waxy and I never understood what they were talking about until I ate real chocolate.

Ohhh, it is yummuy.  Everyone in the US knows of Godiva Chocolate, which is Belgian, as is Leonidas.  But those are small potatoes.  The real chocolate that you want to try, the one that has yet to be exported to the US is called Marcolini, holy cow amazingness.  You go into the store that could easily pass for a jewelry store.  The lit up glass display cases and fancy boxes.  They treat their chocolate like diamonds as well.  So so yummy, especially if you are a dark chocolate lover, make sure you try their Cuban Chocolate.   Ohhhh, wow.

The other competitor in chocolate realm is Mary Chocolates.  I personally like Marcolini better but Mary gives him a run for his money.  This is the preferred chocolate of the Belgian royals if that means anything.  Yummy.

2.  The Parks

I still cannot get over how amazing the parks are.  Every time I feel like I have found the most amazing park on earth and then I find another one.

My personal favorites are:

Kessel-lo  This is a park in the Flemmish side of Brussels that is acre after acre of awesomeness.  I have been here about ten times and I am still discovering new things.  They have at least four large playgrounds for children of all ages, bike paths, a lake, a go-cart track, paddle boats, petting zoo, water park fun, pool, nature walk, and the list goes on.

Helecine Castle

This is a bit of a drive but the grounds are so beautiful.  There are flea markets on Saturdays and the playground once again is ENORMOUS.


Hofstade Mechlen

This is a lake beach that has imported soft sand and then GIANT kids waterpark on the lake with waterslide.  It also has a playground with water features.  Once again amazing.

The list of awesome parks goes on.  I have a large file of the best places to visit.  If you are coming leave a comment and I will email you the guide of places to visit.

I haven't even addressed the indoor playgrounds yet.  There are many and they are amazing but my personal favorite is Parc Molenheide.  Giant indoor waterpark and indoor playground the size of an airplane hanger.  HUGE.  'UGE.  Big.

London with Kids

This past week was Carnival.  Every child in Belgium dressed up the last day of school (it was like Halloween without the candy) and then was out of school for the week so we decided to get out of town and go to London.

Stella went to school dressed as ladybug. 

Getting to London was an adventure alone.  Unlike other European countries that we live near London requires you to go through an obnoxious immigration process much like an airport.  This also requires you to arrive at least thirty minutes early, remove belts, keys, show passports.  We were not prepared for this and my ticket with this information printed in French didn't not convey this information (Seth didn't peruse it either).  So we missed our train.  Luckily they booked us on the next one without penalty but it had us getting to London later than we wanted.

The country was beautiful, especially for February.  The kids loved being able to be understood and used every chance they could to chat it up.  You know the British are known for loving strangers who talk to them without being addressed first.  Oh, wait.  They were kind nonetheless.


What to Do With Small Children (when its February)
1. Victoria and Albert Museum They do a really good job keeping kids interested in what I thought would be a stuffy museum.  When we went they had an exhibit based on a spider that spins gold silk and they created these beautiful tapestries.  They had the kids make their own spiders and decorate them based on what inspired them in the museum.  Stella and Tiger loved it.

Stella was inspired by the tile floor more than the exhibit.  Here she is coloring her golden spider.

We also gave Stella the camera and let her snap away.  Looking at the photos seeing a four-year-old's perspective looking at classical statues is pretty funny.  We saw her snickering a few times but it was only when we saw the photos that we realized why.

Art at child level.

Stella's view of the classical nudes.

2. Natural History Museum  Crowded but free, they have a great dinosaur exhibit.  The human biology exhibit is stuck in 1979 so stick to the dinosaurs, whales, and other crowded exhibits.

3. Parks, parks, parks.  We somehow packed Stella's small Razor scooter and she scooted around Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens.  Regent Park has a great playground area for kids.

4.  Buckingham Palace  Forget the palace hit the park across the street.  They have a nice playground towards the Royal apartments.  Our kids could have cared less about the changing of the guards.

Once you hit Buckingham Palace take a walk down the gardens, hit Big Ben, Westminster, and make your way to Piccadilly Circus.

5.  Harrods  A high luxury department store that has EVERYTHING.  It is a fun place to look at but the prices are crazy expensive.  It is a gorgeous store and it has a great little family cafe with ice cream when you become overwhelmed after looking at childrens designer Chloe and Prada.  They had custom made race cares for the small price of 10,000 GBP.

6.  Theatre (with an RE)
If I could do it all over again I would go and see Matilda.  I tried too late to get tickets for me and Stella but the word on the street is this is the show to see in London right now.

The other place great for kids is called Little Angel Theatre.  They have marionettes and shows geared towards kids.  You can get there with via tube.

7.  Carnaby Street Shopping
This was my favorite place to visit by far.  The kids loved running and I wasn't worried about them getting hit by a cars driving on the wrong side of the road.  It had such a fun energy.  What does it say that shopping is more fun to me than museums.  Be sure to hit Hamley's.  It is a great toy store.  Not hoighty toighty like Harrods but packed full of all sorts of reasonably (relatively) priced toys with demos on every corner.  Pretty much a child's heaven packed in four stories.

Eating


We didn't escape too many restaurants under $50 (including breakfast).  It was and is expensive and I don't see that changing.  However if you are going to be dropping bucks you want to at least be comfortable.   We went to Giraffe's and they had a very family friendly atmosphere without serving microwaved nasty food (ala Rainforest Cafe').  Giraffe's is near Sherlock Holmes' place (right off Baker Street) and had good food at a reasonable price and a great place for the little ones.

Where to Stay

We stayed at the London Hilton Metropole Hotel because it had the cheapest rates and it was nice.  We got two conjoined rooms which was much cheaper than a suite.  The hotel also had a pool so every night we had swim parties.  The kids loved it but the pool was small, there were so many people wanting to use it we had to sign up in 30 minute increments and by the time we left the water was cloudy with a tint of green.  Either way, it was nice for the kids.  The concierge loved both of my babes and gave them balloons every night.  They were so excited to come home every night and get their balloons.  

My big complaint about the hotel was they failed to inform us they would be having a fire drill.  We woke up from a nap at 4:00 in the afternoon thinking the building was on fire and that we had to go down 13 flights of stairs with two small children.  The kids were screaming, scared to death and we were frazzled trying to get out of room before we burned to death.

Of course I was upset when we finally got to the ground floor to discover it was their WEEKLY fire drill.  I am grateful that they have practices in place to make sure they alarms are working but they did NOT do due process in informing their guests.  The rarely unleashed Fury of Sunny came out and I was livid.  My mama bear came out.  I was so upset and the manager did nothing to make me feel better.  They felt that the 14 pt three paragraph sign in the elevator was more than sufficient.   It wasn't.  I feel that they are in my room every day and I really just don't see why a note or even a message on my phone the night before could not have been done.  Poorly done Hilton, bad form.  The manager kept repeating what I was saying, just like they learned in Hotel school but nothing other than repitition was done.  So if you are thinking about staying here, I say skip it and go for a smaller hotel where they can manage their girth and let you know that no, you are not going to burn to death it is just a drill.

Overall, London was great.  For me, it was a mental vacation where I got to hear the greatest language on Earth spoken.  My ears were singing with comprehension.  At the same time,  the second we got to the Queen's island coins and bills bearing her image were drained from our pockets and my purse.  It was PRICEY.  Europe is pricey, London is super pricey.  I am grateful we were only there for a weekend I don't know if we could have afforded much more time than that.  We loved it and I hope to go back before we leave Brussels.

Driving in Belgium

A few weeks ago my husband was on the bus coming home from work.  He ran into our Swedish diplomat neighbor who was very surprised to see him.  She informed him she was under the impression that all Americans drive everywhere and do not take public transport.

We giggled about this for a while.

The reality is like the Belgians we take public transport to go downtown and take our car when out in the burbs.

I rarely go downtown so I am mostly get around with the car.

Driving in Belgium is different from any other place I have lived in.

The first and most important thing to note: any vehicle coming from your right has right of way.  This means people coming out of driveways, blind streets, ANYONE to your right, you have to stop and let them in.  Even if you are on a crazy busy road where you so obviously have the right of way, you don't.

What this has done to me as a driver has made me terrified.  I am constantly skiddish (I was already a skiddish driver to begin with) that someone is going to just slam into us on the right side.  I am always suddenly breaking for the crazy person who is just darting into traffic with no care in the world whether I see them or not.  This rule makes everyone drive nervous.  Beware.

There is an exception of course, if the road has little triangles painted on they have to yield.

From what the neighbors say it has reduced traffic accident but my guess to that is only that everyone is driving terrified that they are going to be hit.

The other thing of note: the roads are by design, not large enough to accommodate two ways of traffic even though two lanes of traffic are permitted to drive on the road.  This means that you play a lot of chicken until one car pulls over and drives on the sidewalk to let you pass.  It is ridiculous.  I suppose the purpose of this is to create a natural incentive to drive slowly.

Round-abouts.  Love them and they are in plenty here.  They really keep the traffic flow going.  I wish Americans would wake up to the glory of the traffic circle.

No turn on red.  Never. Ever. Don't.

Cars older than five years have to go through a nasty emissions test.  If you are moving here and thinking about bringing a car think about getting a newer one because they really make it tough on the rust buckets.

Gas: approximately $8 a gallon.  Yesterday I spent 50 euros on a half tank of gas (approx $66 USD).  It sucks and makes you think twice before you fill up.  Diplomats can apply for a card that reduces some of the gas tax but not all and it you have to pay up front and then get reimbursed later so really I am not sure the price of gas we are paying but it is still much more than the US.

Fog lights-both front and rear, legal requirements.

You are required to have flashy vests for every passenger in the car.  In the case of an accident you have to exit the car and go on the other side of the highway ramp (if on highway) and wear the vest.  You also have to purchase this triangle flare kit.  I think this is probably a good idea, I don't know why we don't do this.

Car insurance is insanely expensive here.  This is because all cars are insured not drivers and they require every vehicle to be insured for a 100,000,000 euros.  You may as well insure it for a bazillion gazillion dollars.  It is expensive and not cool.

If you drive to Germany, they make you have snow tires.

Advice on buying a car before you come to post
Almost all cars in the US are going to be much cheaper than Belgium by several thousand dollars.  That being said buy a car that can be serviced here if necessary.  However, European makes of the same US model are different so sometimes you will have to order parts.

Get a newer car or a good used car that will pass emissions and safety.

Get a small car.  The parking spots are tiny, the roads are even tinier.  If you are bringing a minivan get a narrow one, not a fat one.

Happy driving!

Winter, Can We Now Have a Check?

I got a lot of views on my last post but very few comments, voyeurs, all of you.

However, I had to publicly link to this blog post from a comment by my friend Dee.  This is her sister's blog. She is in France and had her fourth child there.  Her OB experience was UNBELIVABLE and totally right on par for Europe. Tear jerking hilarious.  I love Aussies and this blog post brings back that love.

Check it out: youhadmeatbonjour.blogspost.com.au.

In other news, snow hit Belgium.  We have had a pretty mild winter until this last week.  Now it is cold, it snowed, and I am ready for winter to be finished.

The kids had a great time playing in the two inches of snow.  We hung out with our Finish neighbors and American neighbors and had an impromptu winter party.

Playing with the neighbors

Using dad as an Ididirod

Eating snowflakes

Nudey Nude Nude Nude-a-rino

Over a year ago I had a bit of a breast cancer scare.   I went to the doctor and found all was well but was advised by my doctor that because of my family history I should probably go to the doctor yearly for an examination and mamogram.

A year came and went, and then came New Years and somehow I decided I was going to get my act together and not put off easy things like getting my mamogram.

So...I went to the doctor in Brussels.  Check for Sunny.

Since they were going to be checking me for breast cancer this required me to remove my top, no surprises here.  What I didn't anticipate was taking my shirt off, not having a drape or some hospitally-type shirt, and then having a ten minute conversation with a French speaking old man while I am ever so tactfully trying to keep my naked-ness covered as if it is casual.  How does one have a chill conversation whilst topless?

All of this has made me question how comfortable I am with being naked.  I also thought compared to my mother and the other folks from my native land I was pretty free spirited but I am not up to Euro standards being comfortable with the body. I may be pro breastfeeding in public but I am not up to a medical conversation topless.

I think part of the confidence Europeans have has to do with required changing for PE from 6 years old on.  You just have to get dressed in front of people, it is part of life here, and kids start swim lessons in school at 6 or earlier.

So...I guess I just need to get over it.  Oh, and men of America, once you leave our continent you may not have problems with topless conversations but you may in a speedo.  Buy one, get used it, and get over it because it is just the way of things here and really, no one cares but you.