Last Soccer Match

This past weekend, Christian played in his last soccer match in Brussels,with the Bristish Soccer Club. It was a great game to watch and they won 2-1! Way to go guys!!These are a great group of guys and we hope to see them again.

Pisa & Florence, Italy

Yes, I still have more to write on Italy.

We decided one morning to drive into Pisa before heading into Florence. We arrived in Pisa and figured we would be able to see the leaning tower with no problem...wrong. We drove around in circles until we decided to park the car and go by foot. All was going well until it started to rain, it made finding the tower that more difficult, but at last we turned a corner and there it was. The Leaning Tower of Pisa. We stared at it for about 5 minutes, took a couple pictures, at lunch and off we went. Not much more to see there.Next, onto Florence. Our first stop in Florence was to the Florence American Cemetery of WWII. I had never heard of this place, but my dad asked me to stop by the funeral home and get a picture of my Great Uncle Eddie's Grave (who my dad is named after). He fought in WWII and was killed in action in Italy in November 1944. So I emailed the cemetery, told them we were coming and ordered some flowers. We drove up to the cemetery and three men were awaiting our arrival. They gave us information about the cemetery, information about my great uncle and then toured us through the cemetery. What a site to see! Probably one of the most amazing things we have ever seen; Christian says it was the highlight of the trip. If you ever make it to Florence, I would highly suggest stopping by...you will not be disappointed.Next into the city center we go. The first stop was the Duomo...beautiful church. We stand in line to go into the church to look around; Christian buys tickets and the next thing I know I'm climbing up stair, after stair, after stair. We didn't know it but the line was to go all the way up to the top of the Duomo to see the city, 463 steps up. I made it 263 steps and had to call it quits...poor baby was getting tossed around. Christian being the good husband that he is, started back down the stairs to the bottom so I wouldn't have to go alone. Kristen & Domenic ventured on all the way to the top. Way to go guys!

Lunch was next on the list for things to do. We went to a restaurant that was recommended by our hotel and it was the best, best, best Italian meal that any of us have ever had in our lives! We will never forget our waiter and the food. We love you restaurant!

Yes, I still have one more city to write about!

For Pat...

So close!!

Assisi & Artimino, Italy (Tuscany)

After spending two wonderful days in Rome, we set out for Tuscany. On the way we made a stop in Assisi to grab some lunch and to check out St. Francis of Assisi Church. Upon arrival in Assisi, we were a bit confused as to what was going on because nobody was in sight. It literally felt like we were walking through a ghost town, but an amazing one. We were awed at how beautiful the town was.We made our way through the quite, brick covered streets to St. Francis of Assisi Church. What a walk down hill, after hill. I was exhausted by the time we got there but it was well worth the trip.

Upon leaving the church, we all realized that the whole hike to the church was downhill which meant I was walking up hill on the way back. Note to self: Don't ever go on a hiking trip being 5 months pregnant again!!!

Later that night we arrived in Artimino to our Tuscan villa, but it wasn't an easy hike. We first had to go under a single car bridge and then over a single car bridge...yes I really said that. The bridge was no wider than our car and it was pitch black out. Kristen and I were in the back with our eyes closed praying we made it safe.

Our Artimino apartment was fantastic...a two bedroom, 2 bathroom, kitchen, living room and dining room was perfect for all 4 of us. The view was also amazing; we can only imagine how beautiful it was without the rain.

For two nights we ate at the highly recommended Biagio restaurant located on the hotel grounds and it was beyond fantastic. During dinner the second night, our evening was special for all the wrong reasons. Allow me to explain...

As the waiter approached to take our dinner order Dominic asked "Can you explain what Polenta is?". The waiter shot back in very broken English and with a thick Italian accent "It's mice." Half puzzeled yet very intrigued we all broke out in a bit of laughter. Dominic asked if the "mice" was chopped up or fried to which the waiter replied "isse goode, juice try it". Reluctantly, Dom agreed.

Now it takes a special person to agree to eat vermin, I've never been in that position but in a rare show of support for his wingman Christian decided to join Dom and agreed to try some. As the minutes drifted by, fingers started tapping the table and sweat started to show on both Dom and Christian's forheads as they awaited their chopped and fried "mice". Then...out of the kitchen...it came.

In what seemed to be slow motion our waiter busted through the kitchen doors with a dish we couldn't see into. The sweat now dripping off the forheads of both boys the moment of truth arrives...he puts the plate down in front of Dom as we all gasp. The mice arrive in a bowl of yellow, cornmeal type mixture. Slowly, Dom raises his spoon and takes a taste.Before Dom takes his leap of faith into the dish Christian has a puzzled look and finally puts the story together. In French the word "Mais" is pronouced "Mice" and means corn. When looking at the yellow mixture Christian determines that the dish is actually a corn based soup as opposed to vermin. To say that was a relief is an understatement. We still laugh about this event today. Too funny!!!

Rome, Italy

Our week vacation in Italy started off with a quick two hour flight over the Swiss Alps to the capital city of Rome. Our good friends Kristen & Domenic flew over to join us on the European adventure and boy were we happy about that!After checking into our boutique hotel, we set out to explore the city and to check out all the tourist spots. Our first stop was the Basilica of St. Peter's...probably the most beautiful and well preserved church on earth. We spent about 2 hours in the church taking millions of pictures, the sites were very impressive. Here are just a few of the highlights.

Next it was onto the Vatacian and the Sistine Chapel - unfortunately we didn't get to see the Pope as he didn't return any of Christian's Blackberry Messenger or text messages.The hallway leading into the chapel was amazing; painting, after painting, after painting. We were quite amazed at the site but as you can imagine our necks were beginning to hurt from starring at the ceiling.Upon entering the chapel, all we kept hearing was "Shhh" and "No photos." This has been replaying and replaying in my head since we were there. So annoying, but the chapel was priceless. Christian somehow did manage to capture a quick pic before being called out and getting yelled at with by a little man with a jacket and a badge. At least he can say he left an impression on the staff...

You can only imagine how much walking we did in the first few hours we were in Rome - mile after mile, stairway after stairway. Being 5 months pregnant I was doing pretty good keeping up with the others, except for later in the day we seemed to have climbed thousands of stairs and I was beginning to fall a little behind. Just when I thought it was over with, we turn a corner and we all literally fall to the ground laughing...Our last site was just at the top of this immense staircase. It still hurts to look at this!

I had had enough, Kristen and Domenic had to help me on this one. Thanks guys!!!

The next day we headed out bright and early and walked our way to the Colosseum. We can't even explain to you the size of this place, it was much bigger than we ever could have expected! The sad thing is, none of us knew anything about this place expect for what we learned from watching the movie Gladiator.

You would think after visiting all these places that there wasn't much left to see, but you would be wrong. We still had a couple places left to visit. Next it was onto the the Ruins for a quick look...amazing.

Then unto the Tomb of the Unknown Solider, this whole building for just one person.

And the Trevi Fountain

That night our friend Danilo, who lives in Rome, picked all of us and gave us the "Roman" tour that is not on the map, he was our own personal tour guide. When then met up with his girlfriend for some of the greatest pizza in Italy. We had a fantastic time with them and want to thank Danilo for his generosity.
More to come on Italy...

Our Car

I've forgot to update you on our car, but we do have one now...
a Toyota Yaris. Small, but cute.

Christian really likes this car, can you tell?

The Movie Theater

Well, have to say I was really skeptical about going to see a movie here in Brussels because nothing ever ever goes right for us when we try something new. We were a bit late showing up getting stuck in traffic and then not finding the place, but we made it. Christian stood in line to get tickets while I went to grab the popcorn & water. Christian finds me and tells me that was the most expensive movie tickets he has ever bought, it cost us $25.00 for our tickets. Wow!!

We find our theather and go in, we were utterly shocked by what we saw. It was probably one of the nicest theaters I have ever been in. It sat a little over 500 people and we were going with friends who were already there so it took a minute to find them. The seats were big, soft and very comfortable; pretty nice!!

We ended seeing The Curious Case of Benjamin Button because it was 1 of the 2 movies that were playing in English. The movie did have French & Flemish subtitles.

After the movie was over, everyone started clapping and Christian and I just looked at each other. Our friends told us that was what they did, but then laughed so I wasn't sure to believe them or not.

We then we out for a coffee and ice cream, because I am just craving hot fudge sundaes right now. Our night was fun and we had an excellent time with Simon & Flor.

Oostende, Belgium

For Valentine's Day this year, Christian and I decided the best way to spend it was by taking a road trip to the North Sea, not something you do everyday! Neither of us have ever been to the North Sea, so we headed out to Oostende, a popular little beach and shipping town that's located about an hour and a half north of Brussels.The coast line was a beautiful site to see, of course the weather helped because the sun was out for the first time in weeks, what a break. We walked up the pier to check out the sites and while there a large ship (presumably a car carrier or ferry from the UK) came into port. Despite it being a bit on the brisk side, there were so many people out walking along the beach to enjoy the day. You can only imagine how many people are here during the warm summer months.

Just to say we'd done it, we forced ourselves to run up to the water and put our hands in to say we've been in the North Sea. Word can't express just how cold the water was. There's cold...and then there's North Sea cold.

Since it was Valentine's day, Christian made the best gift ever. (Christian: I forgot a card so this was the next best thing)

Isn't he just the best!

We then set out to explore the rest of the town to see what was to offer. We did find a store that we thought Mum would enjoy! Hope you all had a good weekend. Enjoy the rest of the week!

Love, Meg & Christian

19 Weeks

Almost half way done (Christian: Thank God!); the countdown is on! Just wanted to share a progress picture with the little brussel sprout. I'm getting bigger by the day and the little one is moving around more and more often. We are loving every minute of it.
Love, Christian, Meg & little sprout

London, England

It seems as if we are always on the go and I guess we are because we took off for London for a few days this past week. Christian had to be there for work, so I tagged along to join him since it was his birthday last Thursday. I figured what a better way to spend your 33rd birthday - in London. So we did just that.

I spent most of my time just walking around and shopping. Usually I love to shop, but being pregnant and not finding that many maternity stores, it was torture! So many things I wanted to buy, but knew I couldn't but I would never fit into them. Oh well.

Thursday night for Christian's birthday dinner with had been told by many people to make reservation for Oxo - a well know restaurant in London that overlooks the Thames River. What a beautiful site it was at night, everything lite up, just amazing. So, my whole reason for writing this exerpt, is to say you need to eat at this restaurant if you are ever in London.
http://www.harveynichols.com/output/Page128.asp

Can you believe, I didn't take any pictures while in London!?!?
Cheers

Amsterdam, Holland

On Friday afternoon, Christian called me to say his soccer game was cancelled for Saturday afternoon and how would I like to go to Amsterdam for the weekend. Of course I would!!! So Saturday morning we packed up our car and a little over 2 hours later, we were in Amsterdam. We booked a room at the Park Hotel http://www.parkhotel.nl/ in downtown Amsterdam. It was a fantastic hotel that we would highly suggest staying at. Just make sure you ask for a room that is not right above a bar - they party until 4:30am!!! Our first order of business was to grab some lunch, so headed across the street to the Hard Rock Cafe Amsterdam. Since I have been pregnant, I have been craving bacon and I can't find bacon anywhere here in Brussels and I knew they would have some there. So what did I order, yep, you guessed it, a Bacon Chesseburger w/fries. It was one of the best things...a burger and bacon! Love it. Christian went with another favorite classic, the Club Sandwich. fter stuffing our faces it was off to see the city. We had no plan, just a map and all day to explore. The first thing we came across that blew us away were the amount of bikes in Amsterdam. After looking at the map, we decided it was very important to go take the Ann Frank House Tour. We waited in line for about 30 minutes before going in and it was well worth it. I think I read Ann's diary back in Middle school and going through each room in the house made everything just come to life. It was an amazing experience for both of us. Next it was off to the flower market to see Holland's famous flower, the tulip. The flowers there were so beautiful, if only I could buy some of the bulbs to take back to the US with me.

They also sell other things at the flower market; the picture speaks for itself.

The rest of the day was just spent walking around, enjoying the scenery, all of the beautiful canals and literally trying not to get high as we walked past the coffee shops.

That night we stumbled upon a fantastic little Italian restaurant where we had some great food and a nice chat together. After dinner we headed down to the Red Light District to see what all the hype was about. All I'm going to say is, whatever you have heard or read about the district...it is probably true. Oh my!!

The next morning we had a nice English Breakfast at a cute cafe and then off to the Van Gogh Museum to see the famous paintings. The paintings were amazing to see and to learn about his life was was even better.

We ended our Amsterdam trip by walking past a English/British store. Our eyes lite up like Christmas trees and we ran into the store just in awe of what we were looking at. We bought a few things, like Cheerios, Campbells Cream of Mushroom Soup, Pancake Mix & microwave popcorn. We were so excited, until she told us the bill, I almost chocked on my gum but like Christian said it would have probably cost that much if we had someone ship that stuff over to us. Anyways, we are enjoying the food.

We would highly suggest putting Amsterdam on your places to visit list. We had a fantastic time and we hope to make it back there again.

C & M