Catching up...

Since it took me about a month to get the trip recaps finished, I now need to get back to the past few weeks! Right after we got back from Europe, Paul and Retta came for a visit on their trip back up to Michigan. I made dinner Friday night and on Saturday, we took them around uptown. Several new things have come to Charlotte in the last year or so; the Betchler Museum, the NASCAR hall of fame, the Cultural Campus, and the Epicenter. We walked around and rode the light rail from one end to the next (not far at all, but I had never ridden the light rail before!). The NRA was also going on that weekend and Sarah Palin was in town, so uptown was actually pretty lively for a Saturday.





We went to dinner at Loco Lime on Saturday night, and then they were off bright and early on Sunday morning.


Memorial Day weekend, Russ came to visit from San Francisco. Unfortunately, it was raining most of the day on Saturday, but we had a nice day on Sunday. We went to the Whitewater Center and went rafting and rock climbing.








Well, I should say that I tried rock climbing. Didn't actually make it very far. Those little "rocks" that you grab really hurt your hands so I did not make it to the top. At least I tried and realized it wasn't my thing! Crossed that one off the list. I loved the rafting though. We have gone several times, and we had the best guide this time. We told him we wanted an adventure run so he was always holding us back behind others so we could head back into the rapids a second time. John and Russ both ended up falling out one time. I kind of wanted to fall out because it was so hot, but never did. The other note worthy event that took place on Russ's visit was that Russ bet John he could not run a 1K in under 3 minutes. We took the car to a nearby neighborhood that has not been developed yet and drove around until we found a perfect 1K route. Russ clocked the run on his iphone and I had my flip recording the run. At first I was doubting John, but he surprised both of us and ended up finishing in just under 3 minutes. I tried to load the video here, but kept getting an error for some reason.


We went to Cuban Pete's for dinner so Russ could try one of John's favorite burgers- the burger with chorizo. There was some fight on tv that night that Russ wanted to watch but surprisingly that is not my thing, so I think I ended up just reading that night. I regret that I did not get any pics of John and Russ, I got them in the video, but not on my camera!



The next weekend, we headed back out to the whitewater center. They were having a dog's day sponsored by the humane society so we got to bring the little miss along. We met Nate, Noelle, Libbie, Dixie, Sam, Sam, Jud and Izzo for lunch and then took the pups over to the dog area. It was so hot, they had a pool for the dogs, but Morgan did not want to get in.

Finally got one with all 4 dogs looking at the camera!

They also had an agility area setup. It was so hot that the dogs were pretty lazy. Dixie found a mound of ice and just plopped under the table and sat on it. Smart dog!





We did not stay too long, but I think the dogs had fun. And I got to snuggle this little one, so I had fun too.

I've got the power!

Actually I don't, but I wish we did. Yesterday, John got home before me at 6:30 and said the power was out. No big deal, our power infrastructure is probably 50 years old, so we frequently have outages for a few hours. It's kind of nice being forced to be unplugged actually, usually I just head out to the front porch with a stack of magazines and some citronella candles and I am good to go. I got home a little after 8, and we still did not have power though. We found out it had been out since around 3 in the afternoon when a storm came through. I took Morgan on a walk around 8:45 and it became pretty obvious then why our whole neighborhood was out of power..







So by around 10 pm, we just decided to go to bed and read with a flashlight. It was 93 degrees so I just got cold washcloths and put them on us. It was still so hot. Neither of us slept much at all, I kept thinking that it would come back on any minute, but it did not. I showered in the dark this morning and went to work with wet hair.

It was inconvenient for sure, but more than anything, it made me realize how much we depend on power for everything. I am complaining about being without power for one night, but for some people it is an everyday reality. I even remember when the power would go out when we were growing up and we would have to call "time and temp" to get the time! Thankfully we have our cell phones now, but even our cell phones had run out of battery by the morning. It was amazing how quickly I was ready for work when I didn't have the Today show to tune into or internet to check!

I am just hoping they have everything fixed by tonight, I have learned my lesson about not taking power for granted.

Some flip from the trip- Bruges canal

Some flip from the trip Notre Dame- Reims

Some flip from the trip

Just wanted to share some videos John took with the flip- here we are at a park in Brussels.

Trip Recap Part 4- Amsterdam

Ok, I think it's about time to finish up this trip recap!  The last place we went was Amsterdam.  My review of Amsterdam is probably slightly unfair because by the time we got there, I think we were both tired of traveling and just ready to go home.  I always think it's best to leave a place wishing you had another day there than to be at the point where you can't wait to leave, and unfortunately with Amsterdam, I was at that point.

My first impression of Amsterdam was that it was so dirty! Ok, I know there are some bad areas of the town, but in general, I expected it to be a beautiful city with lots of canals and tulips.  Well, there were canals and tulips, but you had to watch you step for dog poop, vomit, or broken glass even in the trendier parts of town outside of the red light district. 

The first thing we did was go to the Van Gogh Museum.  We rented the headsets which I highly recommend.  It was very interesting to learn more about VG's life; they had the museum broken into regions where he was living, and explained what was going on in his life.  It told a story in a way, and you could see how much his work changed from the beginning of his career to the end.

Van Gogh Museum

We also walked through the Albert Cuyp market.  I love open air markets like this, they had vendors selling everything you could imagine; incense, panty hose, beach towels, cheeses, nuts, flowers... basically anything you could ever need and alot of things you should never need.

And then we went through the Bloemenmarkt- which was a great place to buy all kinds of bulbs and flowers.  John was a good sport and was very patient with me while I took lots of pictures here.

One of the most memorable parts of the trip was going to the Anne Frank house.  We purchased tickets online ahead of time so we avoided the long line- thanks to Rick Steves for that tip!.  The house and museum were both very powerful.  Quotations from the diary, historical documents, photographs, film images, and original objects that belonged to those in hiding illustrate the events that took place here.  Anne's original diary is also on display.   I could not take photographs inside, but did get the exterior.   

 

 

 

That about sums our time in Amsterdam!  We headed back through Brussels and left the following day.  We were 5 hours late getting home due to the volcanic ash, but that was minimal compared to some people's experiences with the volcano.  

On a completely different subject, I told John that I wanted to do a better job of us taking candid shots of each other.  I think they so much more fun and natural and I think we will enjoy having those snapshots that capture our life as it is happening instead of always posing for photos.  So anyway, we stopped at a cafe for some hot chocolate and I was putting eye drops in.  I thought it was so funny that John thought that would be a good time for some candid shots.. not exactly what I had in mind, but you have to start somewhere I suppose!

 

 

Trip Recap Part 3- Bruges, Belgium

So, we said goodbye to Reims and were off to Bruges.  We had a long day of driving on Monday and planned to stop by the Westvleteran Abbey to try and get some of their world famous #12.  Being the beer connoisseur that he is, John had done some reading on trappist breweries before and the word among the beer publications was that this beer was the best in the world.  Just a little background info- unlike most beers, trappist beers are not brewed for profit, they are simply a way to keep the monasteries going.  There are only a few trappist monasteries that brew beer and all but 1 happen to be in Belgium.  Since this was supposed to be the best beer, we wanted to make sure and try some while we were there.  This particular beer is only available at the abbey, and they only sell it a few days a week- first come, first serve.  A few weeks prior, we tried to reserve some which you can do when they put it on sale- they open the phone lines for 2 hours a few days a week and if you can get through, you can reserve it.  John woke up at 4 am to start calling and could not get through.  We found out later that they get 400 calls a minute when they put #12 on sale so we really had no chance. The drive was pretty easy and we found the abbey which had a small restaurant and visitor's center.  We were fortunate because they still had some of the #12 when we arrived so we were able to taste some in the restaurant and get a 6 pack each (that was the limit- One 6 pack/person).  Here is John with what he agrees to be the best beer in the world.

Unfortunately the whole monastery was under construction, so I could not get any other pictures of the place. The next stop was to the town of Ypres where we were going to see the In Flanders Fields Museum about WW1.  This museum was very powerful and humbling to experience.  The collection of memorabilia that they have is very impressive!

The museum is the large building on the right... it was pouring rain so I did not get many pics here.

Onto Bruges! We arrived in the late afternoon, turned in our rental car, and found our fabulous Bed and Breakfast, B&B Setola.  This was another Rick Steve's recommendation and the place was perfect and in a great location just a block from the main square.  Bruges was my favorite city, it was small enough to have a cozy feeling, but there was plenty to see and do.  We really wanted to do a bike tour while we were there, but the weather was so windy and cold that I know I would be miserable.  We decided on a walking tour instead.  Some of the highlights are below.  We also had a great time eating and drinking in Bruges.  There were the best cafes and bars tucked away in alleys off the cobblestone streets.  And of course the canals were so beautiful I felt like I was walking into a picture every time I turned a corner.

One of the first things we did was climbed the Belfry.  Unfortunately they were doing construction at the top, so part of the view was obstructed, be we still got to see out 2 sides.

 
 The Market Square- opposite the Belfry

 

 After that, while we were in Bruges, we...

Sampled Belgian waffles.  In Belgium, they are not traditionally served at breakfast like in the US.  Mostly you will find them for desserts or an afternoon treat.  They have a variety of toppings, but we just tried the powdered sugar one.

Found our favorite pub/cafe- DeGarre.  John liked the beer too, but at this point our bag was already full :(

 
 Toured and tasted at De Halve Maan brewery- the only brewery in Bruges

View from De Halve Maan brewery

 

 Saw some windmills

  
 Walked the streets

 

 Ate at a wonderful restaurant that has been continuously open since 1515.

 
 Toured the Chocolate Museum- with a nice chocolate making demo afterwords

 
 Stopped by the Vismarkt

Did some laundry..

Saw one of Michelangelo's only pieces outside of Italy- Madonna and Child

 Enjoyed the Gothic architecture- below is the City Hall

   And walked through the Bruges Begijnhof

After Bruges, we were on to the last leg of our trip- Amsterdam! Stay tuned...