Last Day in L.A.

Well today is our last day in beautiful, warm, sunny L.A. We have been here 11 days, so it is time to head back to reality.
This week has been filled with so many fun adventures and memories. Monday I spent the day with Ben (Christian's brother) who happen to be in town the same day. We went out to Venice beach to go check out the water, but just so happens that a terrible fog had rolled in that day and we couldn't see a thing. We felt like we were in the twilight zone! Later that night, Christian, Ben, Dennis (Christian's co-worker) and I headed out the to L.A. Kings vs. Toronto Maples Leafs game. What are the chances that the Leafs play in L.A. that very same week we are in town!! The game was a blast - Leafs won 3 - 1.

Tuesday - Friday Christian was at work, so I spent the day shopping all over L.A. I went to Santa Monica 3rd St. a couple times, Rodeo Drive, the mall and a couple other strip malls along the way. I did all of our Christmas shopping!!!!!! It was so much fun. Rodeo Drive was all decked out for Christmas!

After spending 5 days at the Radisson Inn (don't suggest staying there) we were finally able to check into the Ritz Carleton, Marina Del Rey. Our whole reason for coming out to L.A. was Christian's work Christmas party. This year it was at the Ritz and they gave everyone in the company a hotel room. I have never stayed at a Ritz before so I wasn't sure what to expect. Christian told me to check into the hotel during the day, so off I went. As I pull up to the hotel I am blown away already. Mind you, we are driving a rental Ford Focus. After looking at the cars parked out front, BMW's Mercedes, Ferari & Porche's, I'm a bit embarrassed. I tell the guy that I am leaving soon so not to put the car away, so what does he do....puts it right by all the high end cars. I was so embarrassed!

That weekend was the company Christmas party. We ate, drank and danced the night away. It was a fun trip and I was greatful to be able to spend as much time in L.A. as we did!

America

Sunday morning Christian and I got up really early for our flight to Los Angeles. Our flight from Brussels to Atlanta was 10 hours; longest flight both of us have been on yet. We were pretty tired already when we landed in Atlanta 1 hour late. By the time we got there, we had 30 minutes to clear immigration, get our bags, re-check our bags, clear security and then get from Terminal E to Termnial A before our next flight to LA. Panic set in as there is no way we are going to make the flight. We show up at the gate at 4:30, our flight was due to leave at 4:10, but for some reason the plane was still there and they let us on, last ones before they shut the door! We made it, now another 4.5 hours on a plane.

By the time we reached L.A. (LOVE AMERICA) we had been up for 22 hours. Christian goes to pick up the rental car while I waited for the bags. The bags kept coming and going and guess what...ours never showed. I finally ask for someone about our bags and they tell me they are on the next flight due to arrive in 30 minutes. Tired and hungry Christian says "In N Out Burger?" How can you say no to that? So off we went to enjoy the finest burger in California. That burger and fries was probably the best thing we have ever eaten!!!!

Time to Celebrate

In 1993 while playing in a homecoming soccer match I sprained my left ankle for the first time. Since then – on average – I’ve sprained either ankle almost twice a year. Wednesday at soccer practice while “warming up” I stepped in a rut and rolled my right ankle for what I’m calling the 25th time. That’s right folks, a quarter century of ankle sprains…that’s sayin’ somethin’. My goal by 2010 is to reach the 30 sprain plateau and submit paperwork to the Guiness book of world records.CG

Happy Turkey Day!

We just want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving from across the pond! Our Thanksgiving dinner consisted of an "American" pizza from Dominos's which is just a pepperoni pizza with extra pepperoni & extra mozzerella & an order Kick'n Chicken (Buffalo Wings). The menu here is different from the US, it is kind of funny http://www.dominospizza.be/en/pizza.php. Then for dessert a nice comedy show of the Detroit Lions; what is wrong with that team!
See you all soon.
Love,
C & M

Futbol, or as we call it, Soccer

All of you know that Christian is an avid (chronically injured) soccer player and has played for years and years. We moved here in July so Christian was unable to finish his season back in Michigan with the Livonia Thundercats (by the way took the championship again this year.) Soon after moving, Chrisian got right on the horn to find a team here in Brussels that he could play with. Things take a lot longer around here to figure out, so about 6 weeks ago he finally got the call and said there was room for him on a local British team. He was told to show up at training on Monday and Wednesday of each week and he might get picked up to play once his player pass was approved. I remember the first day he came home from training, he looked as if he had just had his butt kicked. He told me they do no take this lightly and he had his work cut out for him if he was going to get the chance to play.

So for the past 6 weeks he has been training with them and this past week he was finally given the go ahead to play in his first game. We got to the field and it was an absolute mud pit. This is right as the game started (that is CG in the middle)

By half time, Christian was getting pretty dirty.

After half time, it rained, sleeted & then snowed making the field even worse. All the guys were just covered in mud, it was digusting! Anyways, it was a great game, but Christian's team lost 2-0. There is always next week...and more training!

How much would you pay for a Mango?

Christian and I went to our market, like we do every Sunday, and went to our fruit guy to get some yummy fruit. He had some mango cut up and asked us to try a piece. Christian took a piece and his face lite up like a Christmas tree and right away he said "we will take 2." Meanwhile the guy picks up these softball size mangos

and my eyes look at the price, 13.80€/kg. I'm thinking that is pretty expensive, but they are mangoes, how much could they really be? Well, the total came to 28.00€ = $35.00 for two mangoes. By then we were both choking on the price, but Christian said now we have to get them to see how good $35.00 worth of mango is.

We came home and I got to work cutting one up into pieces. It took forever to cut it up because there was so much fruit on the pit.

All in all, it was totally worth the money this one time. We have never tasted anything like it, the mango just melted in your mouth.

Thanks for the Goodies

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to Mike & Jessie for the AWESOME goodies!! Ranch dressing has never tasted so good.

Jessie & Mike Visit Brussels

After being in Paris for a couple days, Mike & Jessie decided to pop over the Brussels to spend a day with us since they were so close. Wednesday morning they took the train from Paris and arrived in Brussels early in the morning.

For lunch I put out large spread of food & wine and we ate until Christian needed to pop open his belt/pants button (the usual sign that everyone has eaten too much). Since we only had a few hours before sun down, we did the quick tour around Brussels. Christian had a co-worker Rebecca in town so she joined us to take in the sites as well.

For a quick snack, we went to Place Jourdain and ordered up some of the best fries in town. Just to give you a good idea how good they are, we usually half to wait 30 minutes in line to order them. The worst part about waiting is watching all the people order them with a cup full of mayo on them - so gross. Christian almost hurls everytime he see it.

After putting back a pound of fries, we drove over to the Atonium to take a quick peak. We debated on going to the top, but after my episode with the Eiffel tower a few days before, we decided not to go up. Hearing the structure creak like a wooden porch as the wind picked up sealed our decision to skip the climb up.We went inside the building for a minute and we came across an old Mini and a classic 1964 Fiat Cinquecento. Right away Christian had an idea... Mike (being 6'4") was ushered over to the tiny car and was (politely) urged to get in and after a few threats from Jessie thought about what life might be like without his left arm. (Yes those are real cars)

Christian went to ask the manager on duty if Mike could get into one of the cars just so we could acutally see if he could fit and to get a quick picture. After some conviencing from Christian and the fact that we were American(sort of), the manager said ok only because "Obama was our President." It is funny how much of an impact Obama has on the world. We had a good laugh...

Later that night, we took them buy Grand Place to grab a quick Leffe before we had dinner at our favorite Lebanese restaurant. We made Mike, Jessie & Rebecca walk in front of us so we could get their reaction - it was priceless (yes, stagged)!One more thing we had to have that night was a Belgian waffle. Christian and I went for the plain and simple, but Jessie and Mike had ice cream, chocolate & bananas! They did it up right.
Lots of fun having all three of you in town. Come back and visit.
Love you all.
C & M

Paris, France

So this past weekend Christian and I took off to Paris to meet up with Jessie (Christian's sister ) and her husband Mike. We took the early train out of Brussels Midi Station and 1 hour 22 minutes later we arrived at the Paris Nord Station. What a piece of cake train ride that was!

After checking into our hotel, Mike called and asked us to meet them at their hotel in an hour. So, we head out towards the subway station to get to their hotel. We get there and wait and wait and wait - where are they? An hour later they tell us that they are lost and have been walking around in circles. We look on the map, find where they are and tell them to stay put until we get there. After realizing that they were only a couple blocks away - we head out to find them and when we get there Mike is standing outside in the pouring rain, soaked and we can tell it has already been quite the morning for them.

After a quick change of clothes, our first mission was to find some food so we set out for lunch. We found a quaint little bistro and ordered up some of Paris' finest French Onion Soup, French Fries and Croque Madame's - they were excellent, some of the best French Onion Soup ever.

After lunch we walked over to Notre Dame to check out the church (and pray for the rain to stop). We wanted to go in, but the line was out the door - it was All Saints Day. We decided to just look from the outside and move on. Given our lack of patience God continued to let the rain pour down on us...

For some reason, the rest of the day just seemed like we were looking at maps. Every couple of minutes I look back, Christian and the crew are staring at maps.

Next stop was Sacre Coeur (or Sacred Heart) which is located at the top of this huge hill that had two ways to get up, take the tram or walk it. What do we decide? We walk it of course. We must have walked about 300 steps to the top, we were all struggling to make it there, Christian passed out but was given mouth to mouth ressessitation by a local French girl in heels and a short skirt. Needless to say he woke up very happy.

What a spectacular view of Paris from Sacre Coeur!

From there, we walked over to the Arc de Triomphe and the largest round about in Paris. The Arc was a site to see...especially when you imagine what it must have been like during the war.but I think we had more fun watching the cars coming into and out of the circle. It was like bumpercars - but amazingly we never saw any accidents. Does that mean that the French can actually do something well? It can't be...

That night Jessie made us dinner reservations at the Buddha Bar which is apparently the place to be seen in Paris from what we heard. We arrive a little before Jessie and Mike and decide to order a drink; 27€ later we both sip our drinks like they're the last ones we'll ever have all the while knowing we're in for a very expensive night. For dinner we ordered sushi, tempura, steak and fish. Dinner was great - the company was even better and the bill was...heavy to say the least but what the hell...we were in Paris!

Day 2: We set out for Le Louvre to see the Mona Lisa. We had decided the night before to meet there at 9:30am which is when the museum opened. Christian and I were waiting outside and around 9:45am we get a text that they had just woken up and they were running late - apparently Daylight savings time messed them up. Sure. Given their tardiness, we decide to head in and wait for them inside. About an hour late, Mike and Jessie finally show up, embarrased they screwed up! As punishment for keeping us waiting they have to buy lunch...suckas!!!
(Sorry guys, had to do it!)

We saved the best for last - the Eiffel Tower. From far away, the tower looked small, but the closer we got the more intemidating it became.

As opposed to cramming ourselves into a small elavator with other (slightly odorous Frenchies) we decide once again that we will walk up to the second level of the Eiffel tower, the farthest that you can walk up to. From there you need to take the elevator all the way to the top, which we were not allowed to do given the windy weather.

Christian knows that I'm not good with heights, but instead of staying behind, I decide to join Jessie, Mike and Christian on our way up to the second level, so we walked all 686 steps - my legs trembling the whole way. We took several pictures and then began our decent back to solid ground!About half way down the steps became quite challenging for me and my panic attack starts in. On the second set of steps, I lost it and tears started rolling down my face - all the while doing everything I could to keep going and not pass out.

By now, I'm embarrassed and can barely see because of my tears; Christian grabs my hand and I made it all the way down. Christian can't help himself and has to have a picture:Jessie wanted to make me feel better, so we jumped on the carousel and went for a ride. She was right it did make me feel better. Thanks Jessie!
Our Paris trip ended that night with a nice French Cuisine dinner and some great company! Thanks Mike & Jessie for inviting us to be part of your European vacation. What a weekend.

We love you both!

Take your wife to work day

So yesterday Christian told me it was "Take your wife to work day." At first, I thought it was actually called that day because they do have "take your kids to work" day, but under further investigation, it was just Christian's way of getting me to his office to help him out. I was all for going with him because he had a couple projects that were right up my alley; I photo copied, organized, filed and labeled things. I LOVE doing that stuff; anything that has to do with organization, I'm there. It was a lot of fun to be back in the "office" atmosphere and to spend some time with Christian where he is at his best (not true, I'm at my best - elsewhere. CG)

Here are a couple pictures of where Christian works, AMCI Brussels"

P.S. Happy Halloween to all

Chili

Well, Fall is definetly upon us and the best thing to have when it starts to get cold is chili. Ever since we moved here I have been on the lookout for spices, they seem to be hard to come by or we've just been missing them but whatever.... About two weeks ago, at the Sunday market I finally found chili powder, Yea!! Sooooo today I set out to make a big pot of hearty chili for us since the temperature was dropping like Kwame's reputation. I made the chili like I always do, adding 3 Tbsp's of chili powder & splash of Tabasco sauce for some kick; then I sit back and let it cook for a couple hours before tasting. When the time came to give it a try I got a spoonfull and the next thing i knew my mouth was on fire. Seriously, I was fanning flames from my mouth for 25 minutes, I have never in my life tasted anything so hot that my eyes were tearing up.

I can't figure out what happened so I look at the bottle again to make sure that it is in fact chili powder - and at first it looked like it was. Upon closer inspection it was labled "red hot chili powder" use sparingly. Simply put - I added 23 times what the recipe called for...Nice.

In a panic I call Tiffanie and we get online to figure out how to calm the spice. I add some potatoes, sugar & honey like Tiffanie says hoping this will help but the true test would come when Christian gives it a shot.

A few hours later, Christian gets home from work and says he can smell the chili all the way in the garage 5 floors below! He takes a bit, throws the spoon down and grabs the water and starts chugging it like there is no tomorrow. He says there is no way anyone can eat this, but I have faith. 5 hours later, the chili is (miraculously) manageable to eat!!

Well, I guess the next purchase I will make in the US is a big bottle of chili powder to bring back here - lesson learned!

For Jenny

October 23, 2008, the Smurfs celebrate their 50th Anniversary. Ever since we moved here in July, Belgium has been Smurf crazy. When you go to the grocery, depending on how much money you spend, they give you these smurf collector cards. I think we have about 200 cards now...love them.

Thursday (Oct. 23) we went out for the night and look what we ran into, life size smurfs all around the city. Jen, you would have loved it so I took these pictures for you:

The story on the Smurfs is quite interesting; if you feel like reading it go to this website http://www.smurf.com/home-en

Happy Smurfday!

Madre and Padre

Not many people can say they went to Europe for the weekend - but Mum and Dad proved that age is just a number and they each toughed out a long journey to Brussels this past weekend.

Not long after their arrival and after a quick power nap we all journeyed out to the Grand Place for what's becoming a ceremonial Beer for all new comers to the city. After a fantastic Lebanese dinner, a good nights rest was well deserved and appreciated. Pops had brought his walking shoes and man was he getting ready to use them!We Gani's believe in Democracy and held a vote to see what lovely Belgian city we would visit and Pops was outvoted 3-1 with Gent emerging as the top choice (he wanted to see Bruges). His veto went unanswered so off we went to Gent - the city of Churches. When I'm 72 I'll consider it a miracle if I just get up in the morning and know which hand is my right and which ones my left, so the fact that Dad hung in there all day while walking up hundreds of spiral steps and cobblestone streets is commendable. Well done old man.

Before we left Gent we went back to the Castle of the Counts as Dad had prepared a surprise for me. Once we entered the main courtyard three guards in full gear pulled me aside and accused me of treason against the queen - the penalty was death by beheading. Good thing he missed...

One of our special guests was celebrating a birthday on Sunday so in her honor we bought some flowers at the outdoor market that Meg and I frequent each week. In addition, Dad's love of cheese was on full alert with the purchase of what can only be called a caldron of brie and a brick of gouda that we enjoyed for lunch with some rather tasty bread. Lets just say that it took a while for my system to "regulate" after the plethora of cheese we consumed.Our trip finished with one last trip the Grand Place this time at night when its at its most beautiful. Meg and I couldn't think of a nicer way to end a lovely visit from two special people. Love you guys - thanks for sharing your time with us here in Brussels, it was a pleasure having you here and can't wait to see you at Christmas.

Love,

Christian & Meghin

The Main Attraction

So when you come to Brussels, there is one thing that everybody wants to come see. What might this famous landmark be, well Mannekin Pis of course. Who knew that the primary thing that someone wanted to see in Brussels was a statue of a 4 year old boy taking a leak?!

You all know the world we live in today, women have to have equal rights. So the women put up a fight and they got their own statue, Jeanneke Pis.
Isn't it funny that the woman is locked up behind a cage?!