Spain wins

Well we've just finished enjoying our first Euro football (soccer) tournament - it came down to Germany and Spain in the end, but much to the sadness of our German friends, Spain managed to win the Final. It was fun to get involved and get caught up in the excitement - and believe me, despite the fact that all the matches were held in Austria and Switzerland there was plenty of excitement here! This tournament only happens once every four years, staggered vs. the World Cup so that Europe has a major international football tournament every two years.

This was also the first time I've worn another country's flag on my face - we joined our German friends at the pub to watch two of the games, and both times I ended up with the German flag painted on my cheeks! I figured what the heck, I like Germany, and Belgium didn't qualify so why not support Deutschland? There is photographic evidence but it's not on my camera, so I'll have to see if I can get a copy to post here later.

Happy (slightly belated) Solstice!

We've never lived this far north before, so the extremely pronounced differences in daylight between summer and winter have been very noticeable here! We're at approximately 50°50' N, which is about the same latitude as Calgary, Alberta. So when the summer solstice came around yesterday, we marveled at the over 17 hours (!) between sunrise and sunset.

Unfortunately yesterday was overcast so I couldn't get a good picture of the sunset, but tonight I got a pretty decent photo of it from our bedroom window. I couldn't figure out how to get the time to display on the photo so you'll just have to trust me when I say that I took it at exactly 9:55 PM, about five minutes BEFORE sunset! You can't see the sun because it had already passed behind the church down the street, but from the color of the sky you can definitely tell that the sun is still around! It's 10:27 PM as I write this, and there's still light enough to see. It's really nice in summertime, but after experiencing the flip side in winter I can tell you that that end of the pendulum isn't nearly as pleasant!

Anyway, we're very much enjoying summertime here in northwestern Europe, and we hope all of you are having a great summer as well! Happy barbecuing!

Working for a living

Recently I met the wife of one of the PhD students at Carl's school, and she asked me if I would be interested in helping her out with some of her English students. She's taught English for years and has a thriving "practice" of teaching to individuals here in Brussels, generally on a one-on-one basis. I think she's getting a little burned out and wanted to reduce her schedule for the Summer, and since it pays €25 per hour I am happy to help!

I met the first student yesterday afternoon, a six-year-old Japanese boy who does quite well with English considering how young he is. I'm taking over a half-dozen or so students of hers, but only a couple of them are kids - ALL of them are Japanese however! I guess she started out with a couple of Japanese students in the beginning, and her name quickly circulated through the Japanese community here, to the point where she had all the students she could handle!

Anyway, she's going with me the first time I visit each of the students, to make the introductions and fill me in with regards to where they are in terms of ability, what materials they're using, etc. They all have their own books and other materials, so basically all I'm there to do is to make sure they understand the concepts being introduced in their books and help them conversationally - basically just talk to them, ask questions, stuff like that. I was a little nervous at first at the idea of doing this because I don't have a teaching background, but I think one-on-one instruction is a great way to start out, and I'm definitely excited at the prospect of having a little money coming in! I start teaching in earnest in early July, so I'll let you know how it goes!

The fun and fabulous pub quiz!

I've been meaning to mention this for a long time, but somehow I keep forgetting! Since late last Fall we've been taking part in a weekly pub quiz, every Monday night. It's mainly a British phenomenon and has been around for some time, but while I'm told it's catching on in the U.S., I don't recall seeing it there before we left last year.

So for those of you who aren't familiar with the concept, here's a quick overview: it's a team game, with teams of up to five permitted. There are eight rounds in total. The first is a "picture" round, with photos, drawings or cartoons that must be identified. In this category we've seen everything from celebrity mugshots to album covers to serial killers to cartoon ducks! Rounds 2-6 and round 8 are standard trivia questions (general knowledge), while round 7 is music. Generally this means that a short clip of a song is played, and teams must identify the artist and song title (though there are sometimes variations on this, such as identifying movie theme songs or guitar soloists). Each participant pays €2.50 to play, and the top three teams win prizes. In the case of our venue (De Valera's Irish Pub) that means free dinner for the winners, a bottle of champagne for 2nd place, and a free drink for 3rd. I am proud to say that we have assembled a formidable team, and in addition to a number of 2nd and 3rd place finishes, we have also won 3 times!

The reason I finally remembered to write about pub quiz is because we've been missing it lately - with the Euro 2008 football (soccer) tournament in full swing, the pub is packed every night with football fans. As a result the pub quiz was cancelled last week, and will be cancelled again tomorrow. Strangely enough though, we will be at the same pub tomorrow night, watching the Germany-Austria match with our German friends - Geh Deutschland!!

Protests at the Commission

Carl spent a good part of this past week at the European Commission, working an exhibit booth for his employer at the "Green Week" event. It was a good experience for him as he got to meet a number of interesting people, but there was some unanticipated excitement when on Wednesday a protest outside the Commission building (a number of European fishermen were protesting high fuel prices that threaten to put many of them out of business) turned a bit violent. You may have even seen news coverage of the protests - I'm not sure if it was mentioned in the US or not, but our CNN International edition here covered it quite a bit.

He and the other event attendees were safe inside so there was never any danger, but as you can see from the photos he was very close to the "action" and could see everything. Fortunately he arrived before the bulk of the protests began and didn't need to leave until after things calmed down. Even if he had been planning to leave he couldn't have, because they had the building secured and the transit routes in and out of the area were shut down completely! Brussels definitely has its share of demonstrations; we're on the US Embassy's e-mail list so we get a message from them alerting us whenever a protest is planned, and there's usually one every week or so, particularly now that we're getting into the Summer months. We usually steer clear of them for safety reasons, so this was something unusual that we thought we'd share with you. Democracy at work!

Sidenote: the first picture is of Carl and his boss at their Green Week booth. Also, the banner being held up in one of the pictures translates to: "0.40 at the pump and nothing else" - referring to the maximum price the fishermen are willing to pay

Origins of the French/Belgian? fried potato

In one of my earlier posts I mentioned the famous "pomme frites" of Belgium, and how despite the English using the word "french" to describe them, they were actually invented here. The Belgians in fact cringe whenever they hear their claim to fame food associated with the French, but as I've learned more on the subject I've discovered that there is some debate as to the origin of the famous fry. It's a pretty interesting story actually, so I thought I'd share a bit of the history of the potato and the famous fry.

The potato was originally discovered growing wild by the Incas of South America, and they have eaten them for centuries. The Spanish Conquistadors were the first Europeans to come into contact with the spud, and they brought some back to Spain with them in the 1500's. The Spaniards didn't take to them however (they called them "edible stones"), and neither did successive groups of English colonialists, who also brought back samples on their ships. In fact, only the Irish, who were going through a difficult period of famine and discovered that the potato grew beautifully in their climate, were actually willing to eat them. Others thought they were suitable only for livestock and prisoners, and some even thought they were poisonous.

It wasn't until Frenchman Antoine August Parmentier came along that the potato began to gain some acceptance in Europe. He was held prisoner in Germany during the Seven Years War, and during that time was fed only potatoes. Upon his return to France he evidently hadn't had enough spuds, and so made it his mission to convince the French of the potato's usefuleness. Through some rather sly tactics he finally convinced the French that he was right, and by 1813 the potato had been accepted as edible, even appealing by many Europeans.

Soon after this acceptance, someone who to this day remains unknown decided to slice up a potato and drop the pieces into a boiling pot of fat, and the fry was born. The French and the Belgians both strongly insist it was one of their countrymen, and historians who have studied the subject remain divided as well. Whoever it was, the creation became wildly popular in both countries as early as the 1830's, but it took another hundred years before Ray Kroc perfected his own version for McDonalds and made it a staple of American fast food. That means that while the Americans perhaps get some credit for helping the fry gain worldwide popularity and acceptance, we don't get any credit at all for its existence.

So there you have it! As for me, I'm inclined to give credit to the Belgians for the creation of the frite, because the French already get credit for so much in the culinary world, and the fry seems just, well, a little too un-refined to be theirs! So Belgium it is - that's my story, and I'm stickin' to it!! :-)

In case you haven't had enough of the frites story, click here to read more. This article served as my source, but I definitely ommitted some interesting stories involving Thomas Jefferson's love of the potato and Marie Antoinette's love of potato flowers (yes, really).

Burning questions

People are naturally very curious about our decision to leave our jobs, sell our townhome and come to Belgium this past year. I can't blame them, because it's a rather unusual and bold thing for two established individuals in their 30's to do! For the most part I have been asked the same handful of questions by everyone, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to address some of them here, for those of you who are curious but haven't asked!

"How did you come up with the idea of going to Belgium in the first place?"
It started with a web search for graduate schools overseas. We didn't know much about Belgium so it was really the University of Kent program that attracted Carl to come here. We were both thrilled at the idea of living in another country, so it came down to which school offered the best program for the money. Kent had the right program at an attractive price, so Belgium it was!

"How can you afford to do this?"
Well we certainly aren't independently wealthy (unfortunately!), so this move has come at a sacrifice. Our funding comes from various sources, but generally speaking it's a combination of (non-retirement) savings, profits from the sale of our property in the U.S., student loans and small amounts of income earned here. We've put ourselves on a tight budget, but we're still having a great time and will have some cash left over at the end to re-establish ourselves once this is all over.

"What do you do with your time (directed more at me than Carl)?"
This is by far the question I've been asked the most. I think perhaps it's because we all wonder at least a little bit what we would do with ourselves and our time if we didn't have full-time jobs and/or family responsibilities. As for me, I've kept reasonably busy, but I'm not the type-A personality who always has to be doing something. As a result, some days I've been content to simply curl up with a good book or read up on a topic I don't know much about. My knowledge of the news and current events has improved dramatically, and I've become quite good at our weekly "pub quiz" trivia tournaments! I've also spent time studying both French and Dutch, editing papers for Carl and his classmates, training for and running a marathon, as well as planning several trips on a rather tight budget (planning independent budget travel is really quite time-consuming!). I am reaching the point where I look forward to "working" again, but I am very grateful to have had this time to take a step back from my career, explore new interests and get to know myself better! Such a hiatus obviously comes at a risk, but for me it has been more than worth it!

"Where are you heading next?"
We're really hoping to stay here in Europe, whether in Brussels or elsewhere. We've both applied for jobs in Paris, and Carl also has applied at an organization in Switzerland. We're focusing mainly on French-speaking regions because that's the language we're both most comfortable with (with Spanish being a close second for me), but for the right opportunity we would consider going anywhere. If nothing comes through job-wise here in Europe we will be returning to the USA around early September, most likely to San Diego (Carl's family lives there), to continue our job search from there. After that I have no idea where we'll end up, but I'll be sure to let you know as the situation develops!

"Do you miss the USA?", "Do you want to come back?" and various other iterations of the homesickness question.
Well, not really. Sometimes I think longingly of Chipotle burritos and the ease of being able to communicate in my native language, but I've adjusted pretty well to the European lifestyle and I think if we go back I will miss just as many things about here as I do about the States. I'll be a little bit sad if we can't stay here, but the USA is still my home country, and of course I wouldn't be upset to return there.

Got any other questions? Add them as a comment to this post and I'll do my best to answer them!

Whirlwind tour of Eastern Germany

The former East Germany is a really interesting place, and in just five days we managed to cram in visits to Berlin, Potsdam, Dresden, Meissen, Leipzig and Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Needless to say we took full advantage of the time we had!

Berlin is a big city, and because of its having been separated into East and West for so long, it's very spread out. We only had one day there, so to see as much as we could in a limited time we decided to do one of those hop-on, hop-off tour buses. Carl and I have never done one of those before, and I'll confess that in the past we've made fun of them and swore that we'd never set foot on one! :-) Oh well, I guess there's a first time for everything, and in fact I think it ended up being a good choice that enabled us to get around quickly and at least get a glimpse of the major sights. As for Berlin itself, it's an interesting blend of old and new, it's "cool", and it's actually quite affordable for a city its size. It must be a great place to live!

Potsdam is kind of a suburb of Berlin, and is a very pretty town. Unfortunately we didn't have time to see one of its main attractions, the Sanssouci palace and gardens; we were there to take a cruise among one of the many lakes (many of which are linked by rivers and canals) in the area. At this point I'll also mention that with the exception of one day we had really beautiful weather, which made some of these outdoor excursions even more enjoyable. Europe's been having some nice late Spring weather, and we've really been enjoying it!

Dresden and Leipzig are the two big cities in the former East Germany (besides East Berlin). Both were heavily damaged in World War II, but both have also been completely rebuilt and are quite attractive. It was really sobering to see some of the pictures of what these places looked like after the war, as compared to now. We also didn't know what to expect in terms of aesthetics, given the former East German government's penchant for building Soviet-style apartment blocks, but we were pleasantly surprised to find some beautiful places along the way. The infrastructure is very good as well, and we had no problem managing on our extremely limited German. The people in both cities were friendly, the prices very affordable, and there's quite a bit to see! If any of you are looking to stretch your dollars when it comes to European travel, I would really recommend checking out this part of Germany.

Meissen and Lutherstadt Wittenberg are two towns you've probably never heard of, and neither had we! Lutherstadt Wittenberg was just a quick stopover on our way to the airport, to check out the church where Martin Luther reportedly nailed his 95 theses in 1517, starting the Protestant reformation. The church where the first Protestant services were held is there as well, so we stopped to pay a quick visit to both of those. Meissen, on the other hand, is known mainly for its fine (and very expensive!) porcelain. Meissen is where we based ourselves for the last three nights of our stay, and this town was a surprise favorite for all of us! It's in a stunning setting right along the Elbe River, topped by a cathedral and castle that are perched on the top of a steep hill. It was absolutely beautiful, the people were very warm and friendly, and the food we had there was great! It's only a matter of time before word gets out about this charming town, and I only hope that greater notoriety won't ruin its charms.

One last word on this trip - we had some excellent meals in this area, particularly in Meissen and Dresden. There's a lot more to German food than sausage and sauerkraut, and even though I'd been to Germany before, I found the cuisine here to be about the best German food I've had anywhere.

Photos:
#1: Carl and I at the Brandenburg Gate
#2: One of the many old castles and palaces we saw on our cruise from Potsdam
#3: The view from our dinner table one evening in Meissen - it was even better in person!
#4: Central square of Dresden; the Residenzschloss is on the left, the Hofkirche on the right
#5: The church in Leipzig where Bach was cantor (the guy in charge of singing and music) from 1723 to 1750

I'm still here!

It's been a REALLY long time since my last post - my apologies for the lull, but I've been busy showing my Mom and stepdad around Belgium and also traveling to Eastern Germany with them (they return to the U.S. tomorrow). We've had a great time visiting with them and seeing some new places, but after three trips in the past 3 1/2 weeks I'm looking forward to some time at home!

Be on the lookout for a report on the Germany trip - I also have a few non travel-related posts planned, so be sure to check back for more over the next few days!

The Grand Tour of Normandy

It's taken me a few days to get this post published because we've been quite busy since we got back, but last weekend we took part in a group bus trip to Normandy, France. We left early Thursday morning and returned Sunday night, and despite the long drive we had time to see a lot of different aspects of the region. We aren't normally big fans of the bus tour concept, but it was being led by our French teacher, who is Belgian and also a professor of Art History, and her husband who is American and a professor at Carl's school, so we had very knowledgeable guides. At only €190 per person (all inclusive!), it was also the deal of the century, so we just couldn't turn it down!

We visited many of the sights associated with D-day of course, such as Omaha Beach and the American cemetary, the German cemetary at La Cambe, Pointe du Hoc, Arromanches and the Memorial Museum at Caen. To walk along the very same places I've read about, studied and seen in movies was really moving, and the near perfect weather we had every day except Thursday made the setting beautiful as well. The Normandy landscape is scenic to say the least - rolling hills, wide sandy beaches, jagged cliffs, and postcard perfect countryside complete with cow pastures, apple orchards and fields of yellow rapeseed flowers (it's used to make canola oil).

This region is also full of history from other time periods, particularly the 1100's to the 1400's. The Norman invasion of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror was launched from here, and is commemorated in pictures in the Bayeux tapestry, which we saw in Bayeux. We also visited the square in Rouen where Joan of Arc was burned in 1431. Additionally, we saw several impressive cathedrals in Beauvais, Bayeux and Caen, and the ruins of the Château Gaillard near Rouen.

No trip to the region can be considered complete without seeing the massive and beautiful Mont St. Michel, topped by a beautiful abbey and surrounded by tidal sand/mud flats that can be walked on during low tide, but flood quickly at high tide and over the centuries have claimed the lives of many unwary visitors. The rock formation upon which the abbey is built just seems to rise up out of nowhere, making the place that much more striking against the relatively flat landscape that surrounds it. It's a very popular place to visit so it was very crowded and more than a little bit touristy, but even that couldn't take away from its appeal. It's a definite must-see if you visit Normandy!

Finally, our historical and architectural tour was broken up by visits to a cheese making factory and an apple orchard. The cheese factory, Isigny-Sainte-Mère, makes some fabulous Camembert and Pont l'Evêque cheeses for which Normandy is famous, and which we were able to sample and buy. Beverages made from apples, including alcoholic cidre, calvados (apple brandy), and pommeau (a blend of the cidre and calvados) are also famous in this region, and visiting the orchard was a real treat. The place we visited was a very small production, family-run business, and their products were just amazing - we brought home several bottles of cidre, pommeau and also regular apple juice, in additional to a fabulous jar of confit (very sweet, honey-like consistency spread often used as a marinade).

In case it isn't apparent already, Normandy was just AMAZING, and we had a really wonderful time. If you ever have the chance to visit there, definitely do so!

Picture #1: Looking off the cliff above Arromanches, towards Pont du Hoc. The large objects you see on the beach and out in the water are the remnants of the artificial harbor built by the Allies after the D-day invasion
Picture #2: Looking up the hill from Omaha Beach. This is what the soldiers who came ashore that morning had to climb - under heavy fire, of course.
Picture #3: The remains of the German defense post at Pointe du Hoc. An elite group of 225 Army Rangers, with fire support from ships offshore, had to destroy the powerful guns and concrete fortifications that were here in order to disable the strongest German coastal defense and allow the invasion to go forward. They succeeded, but upon completing their mission less than half of them were alive and unhurt.
Picture #4: view of Mont St. Michel.
Picture #5: The Abbaye aux Hommes (Abbey of Men) at Caen, built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century; 80% of this city was destroyed during the war, but this church was spared because the Allies learned that residents were holed up inside for protection.

Lausanne, Fribourg and Geneva, oh my!

This post is a few days late in coming, but I've been incredibly busy this week trying to help Carl finish his essays for school, along with editing the essays of two other students. We leave for Normandy first thing tomorrow morning, but before doing that I wanted to tell you about our time spent in Switzerland last weekend. Here goes!

First of all, Switzerland is just as beautiful as the pictures and postcards make it look! We spent three nights there, one each in Lausanne, Fribourg and Geneva, and we lucked out by having beautiful weather in all three places. The lake setting of both Lausanne and Geneva, with the French Alps as a backdrop (the other side of the lake is France, after all!), was absolutely stunning, but Lausanne was definitely our favorite of the two. It's smaller, quieter and is perched on a hillside, so you can get great views of the lake from almost anywhere! The hills also mean lots of huffing and puffing, but it was worth it for the view - and as an overnight visitor you get a free transit pass, so you can also take a tram or bus if you get tired. We visited the Olympic Museum in Lausanne too, which was really a treat!

Fribourg is a little off the tourist trail, and so is less crowded and touristy, but no less beautiful. We had a blast there getting to know my blog buddy Miz K and her hubby - who else? - Mr K! They were excellent hosts, and showed us Fribourg's beautiful Old Town in the afternoon, followed by an authentic Swiss raclette for dinner - yum!! Thank you both for your hospitality, we had a wonderful time and can't wait to show you around Brussels!

Pictures:
#1 - Lake Geneva and ferry, viewed from the Olympic Museum in Lausanne
#2 - Another view of Lake Geneva, from the lakefront in Lausanne
#3 - Geneva at night - the giant soccer ball (or football if you hail from this side of the pond) is in anticipation of Euro 2008, the European Football Championship being held in Switzerland and Austria in June
#4 - The Old Town riverfront in Fribourg
#5 - Another view of the Old Town, Fribourg

Gearing up

Spring has finally come to Belgium, in the form of warmer weather and leaves on the trees. Today is by far the nicest day we have had all year; mostly sunny and a high of 17C (63F). It's just beautiful!

We also have a busy month coming up...Carl is working and writing the essays for his second term courses; they're due on May 5th but since we're traveling both this weekend and next, he doesn't have a whole lot of time left to get them finished! I'm also keeping busy helping him review and edit his writing, editing papers for a few of his classmates who aren't native English speakers, planning our upcoming travels and getting ready for our next visitors (my Mom and stepdad Joe), who arrive on May 7th.

This weekend we're headed to Geneva, Lausanne and Fribourg, Switzerland, next weekend to Normandy, France, and a few weeks after that we're taking Mom & Joe to Berlin and Dresden, Germany. It's all a bit overwhelming, but we felt we ought to take full advantage of the opportunity we have, and see as much as we can while we're here! As always, check back for more trip reports!

As far as the future is concerned, the job hunting has begun! We are really hoping to be able to remain here in Europe, so we are both searching for work here. Prospects are limited due to our US citizenship however, so if necessary we will begin preparations to return Stateside around late August. This year is going by so fast, it's almost unbelievable!

Photo finish

I finally received the picture I ordered of me finishing the marathon. The photographers took several but this one was definitely the best, and since they charge a fortune for them (15 euros each!), I only ordered the one. I knew I was being photographed of course, so the huge smile and the arms in the air was a little bit for the camera, but the emotion was the real thing! The feeling of crossing the finish line was awesome, and I'm so glad I lucked out to have a photo that conveys it so well!

The second photo is of all 35,000 of us at the starting line - they provided us with a small electronic version of that one for free at least! Just to give you an idea, Carl and I were near the back of the pack, on the left side as you look at the picture.

Paris and marathon stories

We returned from Paris yesterday, and we had an absolutely wonderful time - and finally our legs feel normal again! I now also have an idea of how the French - or the Parisians, at least - are able to eat and drink like they do and not (generally speaking) get fat - it's all the freaking stairs they go up and down on a daily basis! I don't think I would have realized it had I not been as sore as I was, but geez they have a lot of stairs there, especially in the metro system! I must have elicited some laughs those first few days, gingerly hoisting myself down the stairs with lots of grunting and grimacing!

Still, we couldn't let sore legs stop us from enjoying our first visit to the city of lights. There was just too much to see, and too little time to spend there! We did manage to make it to the big sights, places like the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe (both of which we climbed via stairs too!) Versailles, Notre Dame Cathedral, Sainte Chappelle, the Louvre, and the Musée d'Orsay. We missed out on Montmartre, the Sacré Couer, the Catacombs and several other sights though, and in general we didn't feel like we had enough time to just soak in the culture and enjoy the café and dining scene. I guess that means we'll have to go back! :-)

Before we went to Paris we had heard for years about the famous Parisian "attitude", and had prepared ourselves for the occasional rude individual. Well, maybe we over-prepared for that, or maybe we've adjusted a bit to the French attitudes since we live in a heavily French influenced city, but I must say that we didn't have even one bad experience. Everyone we encountered was polite and patient with our far-from-perfect French, and a few people were so friendly that it frankly caught us a little off guard! Regardless, the charm of both the city and its people definitely makes us want to return, and soon!

Now for some marathon stories...I'm not going to give the usual run-down of how my knees hurt at mile or kilometer such-and-such, but rather focus on my impressions and things I saw and heard during the race, because that's the stuff I think you'll enjoy reading about, and it's definitely the stuff I really want to remember!

First up is all the trash. The race had approximately 35,000 people participating, and that adds up to A LOT of trash! Just trying to get to the starting line was a challenge, stepping over all the discarded junk from the 30,000 or so who had already run over that space. We started pretty much at the back of the pack - it took us nearly fifteen minutes just to get to the actual starting line! - and I guess a lot of people decided early on not to wear the plastic bag "rain jackets" the organizers had been handing out (it hardly rained at all). Anyway, all along the course there were discarded water bottles, banana and orange peels, various empty sports gel packs and who knows what else. It was amazing though, by the time we finished the race and made our way back to the start at the top of the Champs Elysées, it was entirely cleaned up! I don't know whether it was volunteers or the city workers who did it, but they did an incredible job!

Next up is the scenery - I'm embarrassed to say that after a while, and particularly towards the end, I kind of stopped noticing it. This is pretty funny - at our celebratory dinner I mentioned to Dan, one of the other people from Carl's program who ran (we all finished by the way!), that I had somehow missed seeing the Eiffel Tower during the run; Carl nodded with me, because he hadn't seen it either. Well Dan looked at me like I was nuts and said "It was kinda hard to miss - we practically ran right past it!" To my blank look he says "Uh, it was to your left around kilometer 30?" Yeah, oops, missed that one! I guess in the latter stages of the race I was too focused on getting to the next kilometer mark to pay attention to what was beyond the street I was on.

Now what I did notice was all the people cheering us on, the bands who came out to entertain us, and also the other people running with me. First the spectators: our race bibs had our first names on them, so throughout the race I had people cheering me by name - that was great! I'll never forget the first person who cheered for me - a little girl about 10 years old who yelled "Allez, Jennifer!", pronouncing my name with the cutest French accent...totally made me smile! There were easily tens of thousands of people out there, and it was everybody; little kids holding signs to encourage their mom or dad, elderly residents of the city, families of the runners, tourists taking a break from sightseeing, and firefighters from at least a half-dozen different fire houses. Oh, and for you single ladies out there - the Parisian firemen do NOT disappoint! :-)

Now for the entertainment - we heard a pretty good variety of music, including steel drums, disco and a mini-orchestra, but the one thing that really sticks in my mind is the thought that every brass band in Paris must have been out there! Some were better than others - I remember thinking that the small band of horns playing around kilometer 38 sounded about like I felt at the time - but the fact that they all came out there to entertain and motivate us was awesome.

Last up, the other runners. Although I ran the race pretty much alone and only briefly conversed with a few people, because of the sheer number of people participating I was still surrounded by fellow runners the entire time. As a result I saw and heard a few things that were memorable in one way or another. One was a young woman towards the end of the race who ran past me, repeating out loud to herself over and over, "There IS no wall, there IS no wall". I imagine you've probably heard of the infamous "wall", but in case you haven't, it's basically the point at which the body runs out of its stores of glycogen ("instant energy") and has to begin burning its own stores of fat in order to continue. The fat stores don't provide energy as well as glycogen does, so when that switch happens it can produce a pretty severe fatigue - "the wall". As for me, I kinda bumped my head into the wall a bit, but fortunately I didn't hit it too severely!

The second "fellow runner" story is a little gross, but too funny to not share with you. Somewhere around kilometer 30 I came up behind a guy I hadn't seen yet in the race, with long, graying hair down to about his shoulders. I was directly behind him when all of a sudden I started hearing noises. At first I didn't pay much attention, but it continued, and after a few more seconds I was pretty sure the guy was farting! I looked around at the people to my left and right to see if they'd noticed, but if they had their expressions didn't give it away. Well as if I needed further confirmation, I then started to SMELL it! Meanwhile he's STILL letting 'em rip - it was unbelievable!! Needless to say I was pretty grossed out and managed to find the energy for a little burst of speed that got me past the guy...and thankfully I didn't see or smell him again!

Okay so there you have it, an extremely long post of Paris and marathon stories. Hopefully I haven't bored you, but I really wanted to get some of these memories written down before I forgot them! Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it!

Pictures:
#1 - Catherine, Dan, Carl and I under the Arc de Triomphe just before the start of the race.
#2 - The Eiffel Tower at night, viewed from the top of the Arc de Triomphe - it's lit up like you see here for the first fifteen minutes of every hour, and it's beautiful!
#3 - Unusual but pretty view, looking up at the Eiffel Tower
#4 - The south side of the Notre Dame cathedral - the circular stained glass window is absolutely stunning from the inside!
#5 - Napoleon's casket - now I fully understand where the term "Napoleon complex" came from!

The Results

Okay this is going to be short because we're both exhausted and want to squeeze in a nap before our celebratory dinner this evening, but I promised I would let you know how we did. Well, WE DID IT!!! We both finished successfully, and while we're a little worse for the wear and hobbling around like we're 90 years old, we're okay.

We're still waiting for the official chip timer results, but based on the time we kept on our watches, I finished in just over 4:35, and Carl in 4:39. I am ecstatic because I was aiming for under 5:00, and the pie-in-the-sky goal was 4:30, so I almost made it! Carl is a little disappointed with his time, but he had a really painful problem in the arch of one of his feet that came up around kilometer 28 (the marathon is 42.2 km), so by the time he neared the end of the race the pain was just too much and he had to slow down. Still, sheer determination helped him finish despite the constant pain, so without a doubt we are both happy with the results - especially considering that neither of us had ever done something like this before!

I'll post more once we get some rest, and hopefully we'll get some good photos from the race photographer that I can share with you as well. Till then, nighty night! :-)

The Final Countdown

Wasn't that an 80's hair band song??? Well it's also the thought on our minds at the moment, as we sit in our apartment here in Paris (we rented a small studio apt. rather than stay in a hotel so we could make our own breakfast and have a little more privacy).

The start of the race is just under twelve hours away, and to say that we're nervous would be a bit of an understatement! We just got back from the Marathon Expo where we checked in, picked up all our stuff and had a pasta dinner. While eating our pasta we were watching a video of last year's race, and I think that's when it truly sank in for me - I am actually going to attempt to complete a MARATHON! Will I be able to finish? I think my body would have to completely give out in order for me to give up and not finish after all this training, but everyone has a point where they just can't continue, and I just hope I don't reach mine!

No matter how exhausted I am tomorrow, I promise to update this blog by 4 PM Paris time (that's GMT +1) to let you all know that we finished (we will!), and what our times were. It will probably be a short post, but I'll be sure to log in and at least tell you that much! Keep your fingers crossed and think happy thoughts for us! :-)

Atomium pictures

I've been a bit slow in getting these added, but here are some pictures from Saturday, when Chuck, Sue, Carl and I went to the Atomium. I mentioned it in a previous post about things to do in Brussels, but basically it's a HUGE model of an Iron crystal that was built for the 1958 Expo, or World's Fair. It's magnified 165 billion times, and it really is big. The neat part about it is that the whole thing is accessible inside (though at €9 the admission isn't cheap), and it has some nice views of the northern part of the city. The "tunnels" that go between the large circular areas leave you feeling a bit "off balance" because you're moving at an angle, but that kind of adds to its futuristic feel. If the Atomium were to be built today it might not be considered spectacular, but in 1958 this must have been an incredible sight; even the elevator was the fastest in Europe at the time it was built!

Anyway, it's another item we can check off our list of things to see, and we can now tell our visitors about it and let them decide for themselves whether they want to go in, or just admire from the outside! Thanks Chuck & Sue, for helping us add to our tour guide qualifications!

More snow

I mentioned in the last post that I took a picture from our back window after last night's snow. Well here it is!!

Dinant, Namur and Let It Snow!!!

Yesterday was a holiday here in Belgium (Easter Monday), so Carl had the day off from work. Chuck and Sue are in Wallonia right now, so we decided to take a train south to Namur, where the four of us met up and together went to Dinant for the day.

Dinant is a small town in the southern Ardennes region of Belgium. It's in a beautiful setting, nestled between the Meuse River and the surrounding cliffs and hills - this is the hilly part of Belgium! At the top of one of the cliffs is the Citadel, a large fortress originally built in the 11th century that overlooks the town. We climbed the 408 steps to the top (there's also a cable car, but we decided we could use the exercise), where there are incredible views of the valley and guided tours of the Citadel grounds. It was a really interesting place, and has been the setting for some pretty brutal battles stretching all the way from the 1400's up to World War I.

After the tour and a "beer break" in the Citadel's café, we took the cable car back down the cliffside, where we went to one of the brasseries in town for a late lunch. The food was GREAT, one of the better meals we've had in Belgium in fact. While we were eating it also started to snow, and it has been snowing off and on from then until now, in Dinant, Namur and Brussels! In fact, it's snowing even as I write this! Last night we got about 1 1/2 inches (close to 4 cm) after we got home, and it was one of those really pretty snows that coats everything. I took a picture of the view out our back window this morning - so pretty! This is the first (and probably will be the only) time we've had accumulating snow this winter, so even though I'm ready for Spring, I'm glad we got one good snow before the warmer weather arrives.

Anyway, after lunch we returned to Namur and walked around a bit, and of course took one more beer break. With all these beer breaks you might think that we were getting a bit saucy, but we were definitely pacing ourselves and savoring the excellent beer! In each region of Belgium there are distinctive beers that are often available only locally, and since all four of us are amateur beer connoisseurs, we really enjoyed sampling the local offerings and sharing them amongst ourselves.

After our final beer break we walked back to the train station - in heavy snow of course! - and took the train back to Brussels and home. Chuck and Sue have one more day in Wallonia, but tomorrow they'll be here in Brussels until they fly home Sunday morning. I think they're having a really good time despite the weather, and we hope it will continue here in Brussels!

Pictures:
#1: The town center from across the river, with the Tower of Notre Dame (the big church) and the Citadel in the background)
#2: No, Carl and Sue aren't performing an acrobatic feat here - this is one of the bunkers in the Citadel that was bombed during World War I, and as a result was shifted a good 23-30° off center. It's a very odd feeling to stand in there, throws off your balance entirely!
#3 and #4: Views from the Citadel, overlooking the town and Meuse River
#5: Chuck, Carl and I playing in the snow in Namur!

Brrrr!!!

We're having a bit of a cold snap here in Belgium, and over the past several days we've seen our share of rain, small hail and even snow, interspersed with short "teases" of sunshine - sometimes all in the same hour. The weather here can be STRANGE!!

Unfortunately the lousy weather coincides with the visit of our friends Chuck and Sue. We had hoped that the warmer temps and occasional sunshine that we'd had for several weeks would continue while they were here, but no such luck! They're taking it in stride though, and we enjoyed an overnight visit with them in Bruges on Friday/Saturday. Today they headed south to the Wallonia region, and tomorrow we will meet them in Dinant to spend the day with them and visit that town - for more on Dinant, read my post from January 31st. We're excited as this will be our first visit to Wallonia, and hopefully we'll be able to take some good pictures despite the weather! On Wednesday they return to Brussels to spend four nights here before heading home. They are our first guests and we are excited to show them our new (if temporary) home!

In other news, we have booked a trip to Switzerland in late April. We'll visit Geneva and Lausanne, and will also take a train to Fribourg to finally meet my "blog buddies" MizK and Kasia (you'll find links to their blogs on the right of my page). The three of us met online through our blogs and I can't wait to finally meet them in person, along with their spouses!

Well that's all for now - I hope to have some photos and commentary on Dinant for you tomorrow night or Tuesday though, so stay tuned! Oh, and Happy Easter!

We did it!!

Today was the big day as far as our marathon training is concerned. It's the longest training run we do to get ready for the race, and it's 32 km (20 miles), so it's a big deal and the date has been looming on our training calendar for some time. Well we did it - YEAH!! Although it wasn't easy and our leg muscles are pretty sore - you'd laugh if you saw me try to get up after sitting down for a while - we feel great overall and are thrilled to still be injury-free! We now head into the final 3-week "taper down" phase of the training, with about as much confidence as two first-time marathoners can have of their ability to finish.

Race day is Sunday, April 6th, so keep an eye out for a celebratory blog post and hopefully some pictures (if I'm able to get someone from our University of Kent group who isn't running to take some with my camera). In the meantime, I've got a couple of amusing "after" photos from today. Carl finished before me and I told him to take his own picture before showering, so that's why his pic is just a head shot - he looks tired, doesn't he? As for mine, they were taken about 30 minutes after I finished, and I was just acting goofy...I might not look tired but believe me, I was (and still am)! Safe to say we'll both sleep REALLY well tonight!

Beautiful Barcelona!

We returned from our weekend trip to Barcelona yesterday, and the word that best describes our stay there is "WOW!" What a lovely, modern, clean, and friendly city! It truly surpassed our expectations, and I would dare say that it is now one of our favorite cities anywhere. I had long desired to go there and had built it up somewhat in my mind, so I was worried that I might be a little disappointed. I was worried for no reason though, because it was just beautiful!

Here's some of the highlights:

A must-do, even if it is touristy, is to walk along Las Ramblas, a almost mile-long pedestrian promenade full of tourist shops, restaurants, street performers, flower vendors and caricature artists. It is a bit of a haven for scam artists and pickpockets because of its popularity with tourists, but we experienced no problems whatsoever. Just east of Las Ramblas is the Barri Gòtic, the oldest part of the city with narrow, alley-like streets that open onto quaint little squares. It's the perfect place to wander and "get lost" for a few hours!

The famous Sagrada Familia cathedral is another stop on the tourist trail. The outside is much more impressive than the inside, at least at this point. Even though the project began way back in 1882, it is still under construction , and from what I read it won't be finished until at least 2026 - yikes! It was designed by the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, and it has an incredibly unique style as far as religious buildings are concerned. One façade is very ornate, while the other has a much more modern, geometric look. There's supposed to eventually be a third façade as well, but it hasn't been started yet. When you go inside you have the option of taking an elevator to the upper level for another 2 Euro, but the line was so long that we didn't think it would be worth the time.

We visited one of the most incredible indoor/outdoor markets I've ever seen, located just off Las Ramblas. There we purchased the ingredients to assemble a picnic lunch, which we enjoyed on the patio of the guesthouse we stayed in with our friends Carl and Margaret (Margaret is a fellow student at the University of Kent, and they were visiting the city at the same time).

The Parc Güell, perched high on a hill overlooking the city, was well worth a visit despite the uphill walk to get there. It was also designed by Gaudí, and combines interesting architecture, sculpture, decorative tilework, gardens and sweeping views of the city and the Mediterranean. The whole place has a rather whimsical feel to it, making it about the most unique park I've visited. We hiked even higher above the park, to the top of the hill where there is an overlook about 267 meters (800 ft.) above sea level. Gorgeous views!

There is a long waterfront promenade that straddles the city and the beach, and it's a great place to wander, people-watch and admire the scenery. There's also a good choice of restaurants and a large shopping mall.

One might not expect this from Spain, but it's obvious that this city is run very efficiently. On Friday evening around 7PM, in one 45-minute stretch I saw three city workers cleaning the sidewalks - that's three of them working individually in different places, not all together! The metro service is also about the most efficient I've seen anywhere. Not once did we have to wait more than 4 1/2 minutes for a train, and we rode it at all hours, and on Saturday.

The food, the wine - both were terrific! The restaurant prices were also very reasonable - much more reasonable than here in Brussels, in fact!

To sum it up, I would highly recommend this city as a destination for just about anyone. It's not quite as full of history as London or Rome, but what it lacks there it makes up for in atmosphere, cuisine and natural beauty.

Picture #1: The four of us out for the evening
Picture #2: View down a narrow street in the Barri Gòtic
Picture #3: The entrance to Parc Güell
Picture #4: View over the city from the top of the hill, above Parc Güell - this is the center one of three panoramic shots I took
Picture #5: Part of one of the façades of the Sagrada Familia

BIG NEWS!!

We got some really great news yesterday - Carl has been offered a four-month paid internship! It's with an organization called Post Europ, which represents the interests of postal organizations throughout Europe. The position is called Web Communications Assistant, and it will give him a chance to gain some valuable experience in a new field. He'll also be able to meet a lot of people, make some good connections and (who knows?) perhaps even secure a full-time job afterwards!!

He starts next Thursday, and will typically be working 7 hours a day, four days a week. Fortunately his new boss is a very understanding lady, who is willing to be flexible regarding our scheduled trips to Paris and Normandy. That's a relief, because we have already made non-refundable payments towards both of them, not to mention all the marathon training!

So needless to say, Carl is very excited about this new development - and we're both excited to have a little money coming IN as opposed to all of it going OUT!! :-) Perhaps we'll have a nice dinner in Barcelona this weekend to celebrate!

Odds-n-ends

Wow, has it really been over a week since my last post?? Sorry for the lull, but I guess it's been a quiet week as far as news and events are concerned. I do have some things to mention now though, so here they are!

The marathon training continues. I completed a GRUELING 18 miles (29km) yesterday, and OH MY!! I don't think I've ever felt my legs hurt so much! My calves in particular were painful towards the end. I guess it was cramping but it basically felt like someone was grabbing them and squeezing as hard as they could - not a pleasant feeling! I suppose this is how the marathon will feel towards the end, but I hope that all the excitement and adrenaline of the event will help distract me from it. Anyway, I'm feeling much better today and still have no injuries to speak of other than general soreness, a few small blisters and some chafing where my sports bra has been rubbing against my skin. Nothing serious, so I'm plugging away with less than five weeks to go now! Carl is doing fine as well, but unfortunately some nasty stomach issues interrupted his run yesterday. He's feeling better now though, and is still on track and looking forward to the big day. The biggest training run of all is Sunday the 16th, after that it tapers down as we lead up to race day. It's the home stretch, thank goodness!!

We're off to Barcelona this weekend, so keep an eye out for a report and pictures - we've never been to Spain before and we actually have some friends going there with us, so we're very excited!! We also have another trip planned that I don't believe I've mentioned yet, to Normandy the first weekend of May. It's a group trip being coordinated by our French instructor, and it was such a good deal that we couldn't pass it up! It's a three night trip and will take us to Beauvais, Rouen, Bayeux, Mont St. Michel and of course the D-day beaches.

Spring is on its way here in northwest Europe, a few trees are showing the first sign of leaves, and a small (I think maybe cherry?) tree in one of the yards behind our apartment has some lovely pink blossoms, which I've photographed and added here. The days are getting longer, a major improvement over the 8-hour days of December, and the first signs of Spring are all around! With that, it looks like the visitors are beginning to arrive as well. Our friends Chuck and Sue from Portland will be here in less than two weeks, my mom and stepdad are coming for two weeks in May, and it looks like my dad & stepmom will arrive just after that. So if any of you reading want to come and see us while we're here, better plan it soon! You can come whenever you like of course, but as far as our ability to be tour guides May is pretty full, but the second half of April, all of June and the first part of July are still open - so let us know! :-)

An Anniversary of Sorts

Today marks a small milestone for Carl and I; it was exactly six months ago that we first arrived in Brussels! We've definitely enjoyed our time here so far, but in some respects it doesn't seem like it's been that long. For instance, we don't really feel like we've discovered all of the city yet (that was obvious to me after writing my last post!), and we know for sure that we haven't yet learned enough French!! We are definitely making progress in both areas though, and having a great time in the process!

I'm sure the questions on everyone's minds are how much longer will we be staying here, and where are we headed next? Well the short answer is we haven't got the foggiest idea!!! :-) Now for the long answser: I think it's safe to say that we will be here until at least early to mid-June, but after that it's pretty up in the air. Carl doesn't really need to be here after his classes finish in April, so technically we could leave anytime after that. However, we plan to stay until either a job opportunity comes up or until our financial cushion begins to wear down, whichever happens first. We're both starting the process of looking for jobs, and we're willing to go pretty much anywhere for a good opportunity, so we'll have to wait and see what happens in the coming months. To sum it all up, this is an uncertain but very exciting time for us!

Things to do and see in Brussels

It occurred to me the other day that other than some pictures I took the week we arrived and a description of our "Car Free Sunday" outing, I haven't really described what kinds of things there are to attract visitors to Brussels. We've been living here as "locals" and haven't had any visitors of our own yet, so I'm embarrassed to admit that there are quite a few attractions we have yet to see. Despite that, I'm going to give a run-down of what's on offer for visitors.

The obvious attractions which most people are familiar with are the Grand Place and the Mannekin Pis, both of which I've photographed and put onto the blog. Beyond that however, the attractions aren't quite as familiar. So to give you an idea, here's a little list:

1-The Atomium is a gigantic space-age looking structure that was built for the 1958 World's Fair, and replicates the atomic structure of an iron crystal, magnified 165 billion times! This is one of the things I have to admit I haven't seen yet, but I'll try to get there soon and get some pictures for you!

2-Museums: there are quite a few of course, but the best-known are the Royal Museum of Central Africa (the Belgians have a rather brutal colonial legacy in the Congo) and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts. There are also a few non-traditional museums of course - one is the Belgian Center for Comic Strip Art. That's not it of course; all told, there are more than 75 museums in the city according to Arthur Frommer's website. Oh, and of course we've been to NONE of these places!

3-The European Quarter and Parliament: there aren't any museums or beautiful old buildings here (although the huge Triumphal Arch is nearby with some great views), just modern skyscrapers erected to house the various offices of the European Parliament and related organizations. It is kind of neat to walk through this area though, and as one might expect the neighborhood is also home to a few excellent Irish pubs - remember how much we like those! :-)

4-Bars and beer...I've commented on this one before, but I have to reiterate that Belgium is truly a beer country! With names like "A la Morte Subite" ("Sudden Death"), and "Le Bier Circus" (I assume that needs no translation?), the pub culture in Brussels is unique, fun and most of all VARIED! There is also a museum dedicated to beer, the Belgian Brewers Museum. Their website is www.beerparadise.be - gotta love that!

5-Dining: again I have a confession for you - we haven't been to very many "Belgian" restaurants, but I can tell you that whatever the cuisine, Belgians know how to do good food! Thank goodness we do a lot of walking and have been busy training for the marathon, because otherwise I would think that we might have gained instead of lost weight since arriving here!

6-Shopping: given our current employment status we of course have been unable to indulge in this visitor's pastime, but believe me when I say that a shopaholic of just about any kind would have a field day in this city! The Avenue Louise shopping district just south of the city center has a plethora of designer stores (if you have to ask how much, you can't afford it!), and the city center has an interesting mix of kitschy souvenir stores, elegant boutiques, shops selling traditional Belgian goods such as lace, and of course dozens of CHOCOLATE shops! You can spend a fortune or a pittance (well maybe not exactly thanks to the belaguered US dollar), but spend you can!!

Well there you have it, a brief introduction to the city we've called home for the past several months. Overall I would sum it up by saying that it may not be full of famous sites like Paris or Rome, but Brussels has its own distinctive charm, and we are thrilled to have the opportunity to explore and discover its treasures!

Happy Valentine's and Travel update

So it turns out that the ubiquitous "holiday of love", Valentine's Day, is celebrated in Europe as well. However, it doesn't seem to be quite as big of a deal over here, and we are happy to not be constantly bombarded with jewelry, flower and chocolate advertisements. We're spending a quiet evening and dinner at home, but we've got a busy weekend coming up, with friends hosting a party Friday night, dinner plans with another couple on Saturday, and - what else? - a 16 mile training run on Sunday. This one is definitely going to be a challenge, but we're feeling great so far (no injuries, knock on wood!), and if we can both successfully finish this run it will do a lot for our confidence going into the last few weeks of training.

I also have an update on our travel plans. We've booked another mini-trip, this time to Barcelona, Spain. We'll fly there the morning of March 6th, and will return the 9th, so it's only for a long weekend. Still, that should be a perfect amount of time to see the city, and enjoy the warm weather (fingers crossed!), good food and good wine for which Spain is famous! I will of course take pictures and write a trip report, as always!

Ghent - Round Two

The past few days have produced some of the nicest weather we've had in months, so yesterday we decided on a whim to take a daytrip to Ghent. I went there last Fall with our friend Johanna while Carl was back in the U.S., so this was my second visit, his first. The weather was absolutely gorgeous all day long - in the low to mid 50's F, no wind and not a cloud in the sky! It made for some really nice photos compared to what I got last Fall, so I decided to post a few despite the fact that you've already seen some pictures of Ghent.

Ghent is quickly becoming my favorite place in Belgium...it's attractive, historical and friendly, but not too touristy. One thing that did disappoint this time: the canal cruise. When Johanna and I did one last September it was in a small, open-air boat and was excellent, but probably because it's winter now they weren't running those boats (even though the weather was MUCH nicer than it was in September!). The one we ended up on was enclosed and had about three times as many people on it. At times it was so loud that we could barely hear the captain's commentary, and it's hard to take good pictures through glass. Based on the three canal cruises I've now taken (two in Ghent, one in Amsterdam), I would HIGHLY recommend the smaller, open boats over the larger enclosed ones if you have the choice!

Photo #1: canal view in the old city. Right in the center you can see the canal cruise boat we took - to be avoided if possible!
Photo #2: a kayaker and his trusty companion paddling one of the canals - too cute!
Photo #3: a great little pub that I've now enjoyed on both of my visits. This is also the spot where the "good" canal cruises depart when they're running - note the covered open-air boat at the bottom of the frame.

Le Super Bowl - en français bien sûr!

We've stayed up late tonight to watch the Super Bowl - it got underway at about 12:30 AM here. We actually do get a broadcast of it at our apartment, via one of the French stations. It's entirely in French of course, and we see none of the commercials (geez, why else would you watch??), so given that and the fact that it's late, we're going to have a hard time staying awake till the end! It is pretty funny to listen to commentary of this most American of sports in another language, so I decided to record a short clip of it to share with you. Sorry it's not of the highest quality, but you should be able to clearly hear one of the commentators say "C'est magnifique!" right at the end when the Giants complete a pass. Too funny!!!