After a great night's sleep at the Gerber Hotel, we were able to enjoy their light breakfast buffet and start off on our sightseeing. We decided to walk toward the Vatican, since it was the closest landmark, and go from there.
We got as far as Castel Sant'Angelo, before our son decided to meltdown. We'd been out for about, 20 minutes. As embarrassed as we were of his behavior, the locals didn't seem to mind, neither did the other Europeans. The only ones that gave us dirty looks were obvious Americans, like us. We may, MAY, have fit in, if our son wouldn't have been wailing, "I don't want to walk....." at the top of his English speaking lungs. Oh well, carry on.
Once we got on the double-decker tour bus, he was much better. We did the hop on/hop off tour in Paris also, it's not the most glamorous way to see things, but it's easy, relatively inexpensive, you get to hear about the sights you're riding past in one of 8 languages on your head phones, and it makes the little boy happy. Happy toddler equals happy parents.
The second stop on the tour was Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II, an absolutely beautiful piece of modern architecture made to look historic. There were many other things that we were able to see from that spot, but I honestly, can't remember the names of anything to even look it up. What you need to know is that it was amazing. Behind Vittorio, there are some older monuments to see, two of our son's favorites are a similar pair of fountains. They each have a lounging man on them holding cornucopias, which he thought were either an ice cream cone or a snake. Found it, Piazza del Campidoglio, with the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is what is behind Vittorio. Somehow, our son found the ice cream cone in the statue, but missed all the "realism" in the other statues in the area. When you walk to the side of the fountains, there are some of the ancient ruins. From the side, you can see the place where Julius Caesar was assassinated.
We had lunch in that area, what should have taken about 40 minutes in Belgium, 20 in the US, took us over an hour. Our waiter was horribly crabby and rude, he practically grunted when taking our order. One single woman next to us left her table to go to the restroom and when she came back, he had cleared her table and given it to someone else. We ate and we left to grab the bus to see what else we could see.
The next major stop was the Colosseum. WOW is all I have to say. There were many people taking wedding photos there, we joked that it was such an ironic place for wedding photos. The sight of senseless, brutal killings, what a great photo spot. Nothing says love like send your spouse to the lions. An impressive backdrop though, I must say. We did not pay to do the tour this time, the little boy was quite...wiggly, so it will be on the agenda for next time.
After waiting for our bus for about 30 minutes, we hopped back on, finished our tour without hopping off, and went back to The Vatican. We took a little bit of time to look around the outside, again, we didn't have the ideal opportunity to wait in line to see things this time. When we had our fill of nuns and beggars, we walked over to the Castel again and looked through the market, had a tasty German beer and let the little boy ride the carousel. Next, we took our time walking back to the hotel and relaxed before we went back to Pizzeria San Marco for dinner.
We were able to get some great photos of The Vatican, The Colosseum, Vittorio, and many of the ruins that Rome has preserved. It was a very pleasant day after the first major meltdown. We had other little hiccups, but he was much better, all things considered. After dinner with a nice Italian pizza and Irish beer, we called it a night. We had an early start the next morning to get back to Belgium and we had had a huge day. My husband and I both can't wait to get back.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Rome Take 1/Day 1
So, we make it to Rome from Latina in the rental car, thankful that my husband had a stick-shift for the first two months we were here. Our son's ear was really bothering him and he had been running a fever off and on for the past 3 days. After losing the tube in his ear a few days before and swimming for long periods of time, I was sure he had an ear infection. My husband had talked around with some of the American's in Latina and got the name and address of a Connecticut Doctor in Rome. (sounds like a novel, doesn't it?) We make it through the first 6 directions of a 30+ list from Google and decide that maybe we will take a taxi.
Now, getting into Rome was no big deal. We know we got turned around once, but found our place, but then with traffic and my painfully full bladder, we stopped. We parked, conveniently, in front of a pyramid. Pyramid of Cestius, to be specific, though we didn't know that at the time, it was just darn lucky that we found a parking place close to a bathroom, a metro station, a taxi stand and easy to get back to since we speak less Italian than French. We took care of business and found a taxi to take us to the doctor.
Thank the lord we decided to take a taxi. There is no way, even with my expert navigator skills and my husband's ability to take direction on very short notice, that we could have found it. No way. On our absolutely death defying taxi ride to the doctor we past the Colleseum, Circus Maximus and Vittoriano, and many ancient ruins that have been saved. It would have been a gorgeous tour if we weren't preoccupied with our lives.
The office/apartment of the doctor, who is an OB/GYN turned general practitioner for Americans in Italy, was way up past Trevi Fountain, up on some narrow, twisty, old hill that tourists get lost to see. Again, thank the lord we took a taxi. We met the doctor, he took care of our son and that was that. Just a case of swimmer's ear, no biggie. We left him with these instructions to the bus that would take us, easily, to the pyramid, "You'll find the bus stop just down the hill." Um, which hill? Not the hill or direction we took, but hey, we found a great gelato shop AND Trevi Fountain. The camera was in the car back at the pyramid, but we saw it, we were there.
We took a bus back to the pyramide without problems and found our car. From there, we had to get the car back to the airport, about 45km from where we were. The airport wasn't a problem to get to (kinda), but it was harder than heck to find the rental car return! Once we found the place to take the car back, it was time for a little toddler meltdown, then on to the airport terminal to get the train into Rome again. I had found a great deal on booking.com for a hotel in Rome, close to the metro station and the Vatican. The train into Rome is a racket, I swear. It's really the only way we knew of to get into town again, so we paid their 27EU.
Our son entertained some very nice nuns, about 23 years old, if that. He was in full ham mode, so they got a chuckle and we were able to relax since he was a in a great mood again. After a little bit of walking around Termini Station and with the assistance of a very honest taxi driver, we found our next metro station to get to The Hotel Gerber. It was about, 2000 at this point, we were ready for the hotel. Because of the taxi driver, we saved about 23EU taking the train over there.
The hotel couldn't have been easier to find, off the metro line, down one block and around the corner. The desk clerk was wonderful, sent us to a fabulous pizzeria, so we were able to fall asleep, each in our own twin sized beds, fat and happy.
Now, getting into Rome was no big deal. We know we got turned around once, but found our place, but then with traffic and my painfully full bladder, we stopped. We parked, conveniently, in front of a pyramid. Pyramid of Cestius, to be specific, though we didn't know that at the time, it was just darn lucky that we found a parking place close to a bathroom, a metro station, a taxi stand and easy to get back to since we speak less Italian than French. We took care of business and found a taxi to take us to the doctor.
Thank the lord we decided to take a taxi. There is no way, even with my expert navigator skills and my husband's ability to take direction on very short notice, that we could have found it. No way. On our absolutely death defying taxi ride to the doctor we past the Colleseum, Circus Maximus and Vittoriano, and many ancient ruins that have been saved. It would have been a gorgeous tour if we weren't preoccupied with our lives.
The office/apartment of the doctor, who is an OB/GYN turned general practitioner for Americans in Italy, was way up past Trevi Fountain, up on some narrow, twisty, old hill that tourists get lost to see. Again, thank the lord we took a taxi. We met the doctor, he took care of our son and that was that. Just a case of swimmer's ear, no biggie. We left him with these instructions to the bus that would take us, easily, to the pyramid, "You'll find the bus stop just down the hill." Um, which hill? Not the hill or direction we took, but hey, we found a great gelato shop AND Trevi Fountain. The camera was in the car back at the pyramid, but we saw it, we were there.
We took a bus back to the pyramide without problems and found our car. From there, we had to get the car back to the airport, about 45km from where we were. The airport wasn't a problem to get to (kinda), but it was harder than heck to find the rental car return! Once we found the place to take the car back, it was time for a little toddler meltdown, then on to the airport terminal to get the train into Rome again. I had found a great deal on booking.com for a hotel in Rome, close to the metro station and the Vatican. The train into Rome is a racket, I swear. It's really the only way we knew of to get into town again, so we paid their 27EU.
Our son entertained some very nice nuns, about 23 years old, if that. He was in full ham mode, so they got a chuckle and we were able to relax since he was a in a great mood again. After a little bit of walking around Termini Station and with the assistance of a very honest taxi driver, we found our next metro station to get to The Hotel Gerber. It was about, 2000 at this point, we were ready for the hotel. Because of the taxi driver, we saved about 23EU taking the train over there.
The hotel couldn't have been easier to find, off the metro line, down one block and around the corner. The desk clerk was wonderful, sent us to a fabulous pizzeria, so we were able to fall asleep, each in our own twin sized beds, fat and happy.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Latina, Italy. Color me Unimpressed (mostly)
Now, let me start out by saying that I am very blessed to be living in Europe and fulfilling a lifelong dream. I do not want to complain about the gift that my husband and the US Army have bestowed upon me. However.....
I understand that not all places in Europe are going to be lovely, wonderful and live up to my expectations/delusions of what European cities are suppose to be like. The first one though, to tarnish my sparkly, optimistic shades is Latina, Italy. Ugh. What an ugly place.
We were there for a week with my husband while he attended class/training. Everyone has told us that we need to take every opportunity to travel, and with the TDY trips, take the family. The sponsor's part it paid for, and the remaining portion is small enough, you can't just not go. So, when we found out that not only was he going to class near my birthday, but it was going to be to Italy, I absolutely could not wait to get there. I have dreamed of Italy since I was in Kindergarten and my Uncle's family was stationed there, the whole reason for my lifelong dream!
Well, he was not stationed in Latina. Latina is a town that Mussolini founded in 1932, dug out a swamp to build this town. It sits at the base of some low mountains, so it was probably beautiful when it started. Mussolini wanted this to be a "modern city," so it has square blocks and "wide streets." It's close to the coast, the weather is gorgeous. It is not 1932, and we know that things didn't really end well for Mussolini. Things aren't going well for this town.
The train from Rome runs to Latina, the outskirts of Latina, 10km away from Latina. They do appear to have a good bus system, but we didn't need to ride it this time around. The streets were filthy on the hair-raising trip to the hotel. Garbage on the road into town, and garbage on the city streets and vandalism everywhere. About the only building that wasn't covered in spray paint was our hotel and I think that's because of two things. Security cameras and hardworking cleaning/maintenance staff. The building had security cameras everywhere and was very well lit at night.
There were several little parks, grassy areas that the Italian word for just slipped my brain. Many of them had benches, statues or fountains. They were also full of garbage and dog poo. Many people have dogs in Europe as a whole, Italy was no different. Perhaps I haven't noticed it in other cities, but in Latina, no one cleaned up after their dog. In one 20 minute trip to "the fountain park" as my son called it, we saw two different doggie bombs being planted right in the park. Of course, the owners saw it happen. Who doesn't watch their dog poo when they're out for a walk? Odd, but you know it's true. My three year old knows it's gross to leave the poo on the ground where other people can step in it. Good thing that the owners didn't speak English because my loud American kid was telling them how gross it was and that it needed to be cleaned up. After our "rocket" almost landed in a pile, we decided to head back to the hotel.
OK, all that being said, the people that we did interact with, were so friendly and helpful. Many don't know English, though more Italians seem to speak it or try to than Belgians or the French do. The wait staff and cleaning staff at our hotel were fantastic. The women in the "wellness spa" were in love with my son. Many strangers, particularly the seasoned citizens, were quite in love with my son and stopped to talk to him, or ruffle his hair or smile at him and try to get him to smile back.
Now, how different is this than in the States?!? Latina did seem to be very short on children, really short on children actually. We never did see a school, other than the University, and we looked. We saw one playground on the outside of town, but never a school. Italy does have an aging population, but it was so heartwarming to have strangers come up and smile at my child. We are use to getting scowled at because he is a loud, whiny, strong-willed American boy. In Italy, people who would be scowlers in Belgium or the States were very taken with him. I loved that.
My son was having some ear problems when we were there also. After getting some help from the front desk, the waitress, who loved my son, gave him chocolate cookies at breakfast, sent us to the pharmacy for help. The pharmacies are often owned by doctors that can help. We had a great experience at the pharmacy. They were very helpful and the many people working there were worried about his ears and our impending flight home.
That same waitress helped us find the laundromat. The front desk didn't know much about the lay of the land in Latina. My assumption has to be that none of them live in Latina, because of all the people who worked at our hotel, the front desk crew knew the least and were the least friendly.
So, here's the gist Latina, in my opinion (gotta throw that in there, really it's my blog, isn't this all my opinion) The town itself is yuck. Absolutely, not the gem of Western Italy and I probably won't go back the next time my husband goes. The people of Latina are wonderful, except for the lazy dog owners. However, that seems to be cultural, along with scraping poo from your shoe, so I can't hold that against them. Really, the people were great. If for no other reason than they loved my obnoxious toddler.
Ok, we may go back in the summer so we can swim in the Mediterranean Sea.
10/23/11
I understand that not all places in Europe are going to be lovely, wonderful and live up to my expectations/delusions of what European cities are suppose to be like. The first one though, to tarnish my sparkly, optimistic shades is Latina, Italy. Ugh. What an ugly place.
We were there for a week with my husband while he attended class/training. Everyone has told us that we need to take every opportunity to travel, and with the TDY trips, take the family. The sponsor's part it paid for, and the remaining portion is small enough, you can't just not go. So, when we found out that not only was he going to class near my birthday, but it was going to be to Italy, I absolutely could not wait to get there. I have dreamed of Italy since I was in Kindergarten and my Uncle's family was stationed there, the whole reason for my lifelong dream!
Well, he was not stationed in Latina. Latina is a town that Mussolini founded in 1932, dug out a swamp to build this town. It sits at the base of some low mountains, so it was probably beautiful when it started. Mussolini wanted this to be a "modern city," so it has square blocks and "wide streets." It's close to the coast, the weather is gorgeous. It is not 1932, and we know that things didn't really end well for Mussolini. Things aren't going well for this town.
The train from Rome runs to Latina, the outskirts of Latina, 10km away from Latina. They do appear to have a good bus system, but we didn't need to ride it this time around. The streets were filthy on the hair-raising trip to the hotel. Garbage on the road into town, and garbage on the city streets and vandalism everywhere. About the only building that wasn't covered in spray paint was our hotel and I think that's because of two things. Security cameras and hardworking cleaning/maintenance staff. The building had security cameras everywhere and was very well lit at night.
There were several little parks, grassy areas that the Italian word for just slipped my brain. Many of them had benches, statues or fountains. They were also full of garbage and dog poo. Many people have dogs in Europe as a whole, Italy was no different. Perhaps I haven't noticed it in other cities, but in Latina, no one cleaned up after their dog. In one 20 minute trip to "the fountain park" as my son called it, we saw two different doggie bombs being planted right in the park. Of course, the owners saw it happen. Who doesn't watch their dog poo when they're out for a walk? Odd, but you know it's true. My three year old knows it's gross to leave the poo on the ground where other people can step in it. Good thing that the owners didn't speak English because my loud American kid was telling them how gross it was and that it needed to be cleaned up. After our "rocket" almost landed in a pile, we decided to head back to the hotel.
OK, all that being said, the people that we did interact with, were so friendly and helpful. Many don't know English, though more Italians seem to speak it or try to than Belgians or the French do. The wait staff and cleaning staff at our hotel were fantastic. The women in the "wellness spa" were in love with my son. Many strangers, particularly the seasoned citizens, were quite in love with my son and stopped to talk to him, or ruffle his hair or smile at him and try to get him to smile back.
Now, how different is this than in the States?!? Latina did seem to be very short on children, really short on children actually. We never did see a school, other than the University, and we looked. We saw one playground on the outside of town, but never a school. Italy does have an aging population, but it was so heartwarming to have strangers come up and smile at my child. We are use to getting scowled at because he is a loud, whiny, strong-willed American boy. In Italy, people who would be scowlers in Belgium or the States were very taken with him. I loved that.
My son was having some ear problems when we were there also. After getting some help from the front desk, the waitress, who loved my son, gave him chocolate cookies at breakfast, sent us to the pharmacy for help. The pharmacies are often owned by doctors that can help. We had a great experience at the pharmacy. They were very helpful and the many people working there were worried about his ears and our impending flight home.
That same waitress helped us find the laundromat. The front desk didn't know much about the lay of the land in Latina. My assumption has to be that none of them live in Latina, because of all the people who worked at our hotel, the front desk crew knew the least and were the least friendly.
So, here's the gist Latina, in my opinion (gotta throw that in there, really it's my blog, isn't this all my opinion) The town itself is yuck. Absolutely, not the gem of Western Italy and I probably won't go back the next time my husband goes. The people of Latina are wonderful, except for the lazy dog owners. However, that seems to be cultural, along with scraping poo from your shoe, so I can't hold that against them. Really, the people were great. If for no other reason than they loved my obnoxious toddler.
Ok, we may go back in the summer so we can swim in the Mediterranean Sea.
10/23/11
Trip to Italy
My husband had class/training in Italy for a week, so my son and I decided to tag along. My husband had his itinerary set for him, I bought tickets for our son and me on a ticket website. The big cheapie airline here that you always hear about it RyanAir, but it has many restrictions. The fees can kill you, one of them is that our tickets would cost us each an extra 15,50EU because our place of origination was in Belgium. I was able to get our tickets with a bigger airline, we could check bags up to 50lbs each without an extra charge and we still saved 50EU.
My son and I left the day after my husband did. This gave him time to check out the airport a little bit, get to the hotel and settle in before we invaded. We travel pretty well together when there aren't timelines that have to be met. We would have been fine traveling together, but the tickets for a Sunday leave date would have lost me my 50EU. Anyway, we had to catch the train from a neighboring town, about 15km away, at 0624. I had the car all packed except for my personal carry-on and us. My son wore his pajamas, and was still groggy most of the way to the station. I had bought the tickets the day before just in case we were running a little behind. Now, this train station we use is undergoing some construction, but we use it because the people are so nice and it's small. Because of the construction, there aren't ANY trains that use the platform nearest the station house. To get to the platforms, you have to climb about 80 stairs. 80 stairs, early in the morning, with a groggy 3 year old and a 30lb bag was going to present some challenges. Fortunately, for us, a good Samaritan helped us out and carried the bags for us up the stairs, down the stairs and over to a good standing place. Then he climbed up and down them again to get to his platform. Thank you!! It saved me so many problems because little boy was not going to climb them himself at 0620.
The train was very nice, a double decker with great seats, so both of us were happy. We got to the station in plenty of time, through check-in and security. The little boy was an ace at security, taking off his shoes and coat and walking through the magnet alone and putting every thing back on. Excellent.
We had time to get breakfast and eat before we went to our gate. Everything was great. The plane trip was ok, he did well, but the descent really bothered his ears. We flew into Milan and out to Rome with no issues.
Then we got to Rome. I knew I had to get the train from the airport into Rome's Termini Station. There are no trains from the airport going anywhere else except Rome. This was no big deal, but it was out of our way. The other option was to wait for my husband to get out of class and drive the hour up to the airport to get us, waiting for 5 hours, or we could get a taxi and pay about 100EU. Getting from baggage to the train terminal is easy, everything is well labeled.
The Leonardo Express from the airport Termini was fine, we sat with some very nice women from Romania that spoke great English and were entertained with the antics of a cooped up 3 year old. He was quite the ham on the train.
THEN, we tried to find the stupid train from Termini down to Latina. "Good Gravy!" to quote a friend of mine. It was a pain in the rear. Thank the lord for a bag with wheels, big enough to cart around a child too! He hopped a ride until we got to the movable walkways, then ran, then hopped back on. We walked and walked and asked and asked (don't ask Interpol, they were rude, unhelpful and unfriendly) until we finally found the customer service counter. Termini houses the metro lines and the train lines, they ARE NOT THE SAME. We were able to get our ticket, kids ride free, and got to our train with 3 minutes to spare. Ahhh. All that craziness tired the little boy out and he fell asleep about 20 minutes into our hour long train ride. He was a great boy, but he needed the rest.
When we got into Latina, I knew that we'd need a taxi to get the 10km into town. I was going to take the bus, but he was still sleeping and with the bag and him, it was easier to part with the money than waking him up and wrestling the bag. A very nice man took it upon himself to carry our bag down and up the stairs to the taxi station and helped with get the price right for the trip. He only spoke Italian, but the girl sitting next to us translated some questions between us and he was a blessing. Many stairs in train stations and the escalators don't always work. No IDEA in Europe.
When we got to our hotel and the husband was getting ready to hunt us down. I'm not sure how he ever would have found us. My phone only works in Belgium. There's some quirks with jail breaking it, so I have no communication when we're not in Belgium. A problem that will be remedied before we travel separately again.
We could not have been luckier with our traveling that day. We learned many lessons about traveling on public transportation in Rome, who not to ask, and the generosity of strangers when you are carry a whiney and/or drooling toddler.
10/17/11
My son and I left the day after my husband did. This gave him time to check out the airport a little bit, get to the hotel and settle in before we invaded. We travel pretty well together when there aren't timelines that have to be met. We would have been fine traveling together, but the tickets for a Sunday leave date would have lost me my 50EU. Anyway, we had to catch the train from a neighboring town, about 15km away, at 0624. I had the car all packed except for my personal carry-on and us. My son wore his pajamas, and was still groggy most of the way to the station. I had bought the tickets the day before just in case we were running a little behind. Now, this train station we use is undergoing some construction, but we use it because the people are so nice and it's small. Because of the construction, there aren't ANY trains that use the platform nearest the station house. To get to the platforms, you have to climb about 80 stairs. 80 stairs, early in the morning, with a groggy 3 year old and a 30lb bag was going to present some challenges. Fortunately, for us, a good Samaritan helped us out and carried the bags for us up the stairs, down the stairs and over to a good standing place. Then he climbed up and down them again to get to his platform. Thank you!! It saved me so many problems because little boy was not going to climb them himself at 0620.
The train was very nice, a double decker with great seats, so both of us were happy. We got to the station in plenty of time, through check-in and security. The little boy was an ace at security, taking off his shoes and coat and walking through the magnet alone and putting every thing back on. Excellent.
We had time to get breakfast and eat before we went to our gate. Everything was great. The plane trip was ok, he did well, but the descent really bothered his ears. We flew into Milan and out to Rome with no issues.
Then we got to Rome. I knew I had to get the train from the airport into Rome's Termini Station. There are no trains from the airport going anywhere else except Rome. This was no big deal, but it was out of our way. The other option was to wait for my husband to get out of class and drive the hour up to the airport to get us, waiting for 5 hours, or we could get a taxi and pay about 100EU. Getting from baggage to the train terminal is easy, everything is well labeled.
The Leonardo Express from the airport Termini was fine, we sat with some very nice women from Romania that spoke great English and were entertained with the antics of a cooped up 3 year old. He was quite the ham on the train.
THEN, we tried to find the stupid train from Termini down to Latina. "Good Gravy!" to quote a friend of mine. It was a pain in the rear. Thank the lord for a bag with wheels, big enough to cart around a child too! He hopped a ride until we got to the movable walkways, then ran, then hopped back on. We walked and walked and asked and asked (don't ask Interpol, they were rude, unhelpful and unfriendly) until we finally found the customer service counter. Termini houses the metro lines and the train lines, they ARE NOT THE SAME. We were able to get our ticket, kids ride free, and got to our train with 3 minutes to spare. Ahhh. All that craziness tired the little boy out and he fell asleep about 20 minutes into our hour long train ride. He was a great boy, but he needed the rest.
When we got into Latina, I knew that we'd need a taxi to get the 10km into town. I was going to take the bus, but he was still sleeping and with the bag and him, it was easier to part with the money than waking him up and wrestling the bag. A very nice man took it upon himself to carry our bag down and up the stairs to the taxi station and helped with get the price right for the trip. He only spoke Italian, but the girl sitting next to us translated some questions between us and he was a blessing. Many stairs in train stations and the escalators don't always work. No IDEA in Europe.
When we got to our hotel and the husband was getting ready to hunt us down. I'm not sure how he ever would have found us. My phone only works in Belgium. There's some quirks with jail breaking it, so I have no communication when we're not in Belgium. A problem that will be remedied before we travel separately again.
We could not have been luckier with our traveling that day. We learned many lessons about traveling on public transportation in Rome, who not to ask, and the generosity of strangers when you are carry a whiney and/or drooling toddler.
10/17/11
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Absolutely Beautiful
We woke up today to an absolutely beautiful morning. There was frost in the grass, you could see Marie's breath as she ate and we had a rooster pheasant on the top step of the patio. We tried to get photos, but he was very skittish. Oh yeah, and the sun was out!
Another sunny day in Belgium, it's 3 in a row now and the weather is in the high 50s. Almost perfect for Homecoming Weekend. The Spartans are hosting AF North and if they win, they are in the playoffs. They are currently 1-3, having only one a game to a Brussels club team. The frost has dried off and the weather will only get warmer as the afternoon goes along.
Something fabulous that SHAPE has going on today, to coincide with Homecoming, is the Fall Bazaar. The bazaar is the biggest fundraiser for the PTSA, Parent Teacher Student Association. It was wonderful, I did a little shopping while the boys were at the football breakfast. There were many artisans from Belgium, but we also had people from all over the NATO area; Turkish rugs, wool products from the UK, cheese and jewelry from The Netherlands, gorgeous hand painted glass ornaments, painted leather goods, and many, many other desirable things.
I might just have to drag my husband (scary) to check out some of the products, since I really didn't get him anything. He can share my gluhwien tonight and use one of the NATO flag wine charms I purchased. The strangest thing I did see, and this is the second time and a different seller, were donkey's milk soaps and lotions. The Mongols milk their horses, so donkeys make sense, but its just different enough to be odd for me. Goat's milk, heard of it, donkey's milk, nope.
Now, the sun is out, my son is sleeping soundly, so I need to take advantage of those two things and go read my book on the patio.
Another sunny day in Belgium, it's 3 in a row now and the weather is in the high 50s. Almost perfect for Homecoming Weekend. The Spartans are hosting AF North and if they win, they are in the playoffs. They are currently 1-3, having only one a game to a Brussels club team. The frost has dried off and the weather will only get warmer as the afternoon goes along.
Something fabulous that SHAPE has going on today, to coincide with Homecoming, is the Fall Bazaar. The bazaar is the biggest fundraiser for the PTSA, Parent Teacher Student Association. It was wonderful, I did a little shopping while the boys were at the football breakfast. There were many artisans from Belgium, but we also had people from all over the NATO area; Turkish rugs, wool products from the UK, cheese and jewelry from The Netherlands, gorgeous hand painted glass ornaments, painted leather goods, and many, many other desirable things.
I might just have to drag my husband (scary) to check out some of the products, since I really didn't get him anything. He can share my gluhwien tonight and use one of the NATO flag wine charms I purchased. The strangest thing I did see, and this is the second time and a different seller, were donkey's milk soaps and lotions. The Mongols milk their horses, so donkeys make sense, but its just different enough to be odd for me. Goat's milk, heard of it, donkey's milk, nope.
Now, the sun is out, my son is sleeping soundly, so I need to take advantage of those two things and go read my book on the patio.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Time is Relative
*sigh* I'm currently stuck at home on this beautiful, sunny, unseasonably warm October day waiting for the landlord and the "plumber" to come and look at our furnace. Now, I was lucky that they could come today, I just stopped in to housing today. So, that's something. However, I hate being given a wide open window of time that is probably not going to work for them. They can come, "in the afternoon." Well, I have to pick up my son, I have a scholarship committee meeting and have guests coming over this evening and need to prepare all "this afternoon." Oh, and I'm missing my workout also because of the wide open window of time.
If they do come today, which is a big if, it might be 1700, still the afternoon here in Belgium. I am lucky that my son can go to nursery care after school and I'm not an essential member of the committee this month. I can prepare for guests while I'm waiting for the landlord and the "plumber." Missing my workout makes me sad, but since I was cleaning like a mad woman for several hours, I'm sure I burned some calories.
The real problem is this: I don't like having my time wasted. I like knowing when someone is coming and I'd prefer it to be within a 10 minute window. This happens to be a problem when we're in the states too, I hate being given that, "Anytime between 8 and noon" crap. It drives me crazy, BUT I know that they'll be there. In Belgium, today in the afternoon might just mean next week and I won't be a phone call to let me know anything. They just won't show. The culture, which we were told about by a Belgian, is just very laid back. Life needs to be lived and work, sometimes, gets in the way. *deep breath*
If they do come today, which is a big if, it might be 1700, still the afternoon here in Belgium. I am lucky that my son can go to nursery care after school and I'm not an essential member of the committee this month. I can prepare for guests while I'm waiting for the landlord and the "plumber." Missing my workout makes me sad, but since I was cleaning like a mad woman for several hours, I'm sure I burned some calories.
The real problem is this: I don't like having my time wasted. I like knowing when someone is coming and I'd prefer it to be within a 10 minute window. This happens to be a problem when we're in the states too, I hate being given that, "Anytime between 8 and noon" crap. It drives me crazy, BUT I know that they'll be there. In Belgium, today in the afternoon might just mean next week and I won't be a phone call to let me know anything. They just won't show. The culture, which we were told about by a Belgian, is just very laid back. Life needs to be lived and work, sometimes, gets in the way. *deep breath*
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Blustery Day
I feel like Pooh in the 100 Acre Woods today, and yesterday and the day before, "It is a very blustery kind of day." The temperature has dropped and autumn is definitely here. My wind chimes, that my husband so graciously climbed the ladder and hung in the tree for me, is chiming like mad. The trees across the road in the chateau are spewing leaves like they taste bad and the sky is a lovely dove gray. (lovely being a relative term, of course)
Autumn is my favorite time of year, I love the colors of the leaves and the cooler temperatures, but I have to be Eeyore here, it is too early in the autumn to be this darn....fall like. The sky can't decide to spit or not, it's there, I can see the drops just waiting to fall. It's been cool and windy and almost rainy enough that I haven't gotten in the yard to mow in 2 weeks. The gophers/moles/varmits are having a heck of a time out there since the grass is so long that I can't see the smaller hills they've created. The mushrooms have sprouted their own little forest and are really taking off. Next, I expect to see garden gnomes building little houses in amongst the crazy bushes and out of control lawn.
So, now I get to be Pooh again. While the temperatures have been cooler, we haven't HAD to turn on the radiators yet. Good thing since we can't figure them out. And we haven't HAD to build a fire. Good thing since our super cool fireplace is a total fail since there is no way to encourage the smoke to go up instead of out the two openings. It is mild enough that we can be comfortable in sweatshirts in the house and cozy on the couch with a blanket. Those are blessings, are they not? We are saving money, right?
Autumn is Belgium is quite Nebraska-like, so now I'm waiting for those perfect Nebraska-in-Autumn sunny skies to shine on us. It'll come, I have faith.
Autumn is my favorite time of year, I love the colors of the leaves and the cooler temperatures, but I have to be Eeyore here, it is too early in the autumn to be this darn....fall like. The sky can't decide to spit or not, it's there, I can see the drops just waiting to fall. It's been cool and windy and almost rainy enough that I haven't gotten in the yard to mow in 2 weeks. The gophers/moles/varmits are having a heck of a time out there since the grass is so long that I can't see the smaller hills they've created. The mushrooms have sprouted their own little forest and are really taking off. Next, I expect to see garden gnomes building little houses in amongst the crazy bushes and out of control lawn.
So, now I get to be Pooh again. While the temperatures have been cooler, we haven't HAD to turn on the radiators yet. Good thing since we can't figure them out. And we haven't HAD to build a fire. Good thing since our super cool fireplace is a total fail since there is no way to encourage the smoke to go up instead of out the two openings. It is mild enough that we can be comfortable in sweatshirts in the house and cozy on the couch with a blanket. Those are blessings, are they not? We are saving money, right?
Autumn is Belgium is quite Nebraska-like, so now I'm waiting for those perfect Nebraska-in-Autumn sunny skies to shine on us. It'll come, I have faith.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
American Football
Today, the SHAPE American High School football team (football, not futbol) had their first win in two years! It wasn't district play, they were up against a club team from Brussels that only practices twice a month. But they won! The Brussels team is made up of 14-20 year olds that just like the game, most of them were not Americans and have never visited America before. The older players were not allowed to play today for rules purposes, but it was still a fun game.
When my son and I got to the game halfway through the third quarter, we were ahead 26-2. The final score was 33-22. Amazing. The kids and parents were so excited, but most of the spectators were gone after halftimes since it was cold, damp day. The player even doused the head coach at the end of the game. Something he wasn't expecting, at all.
It's nice to go to the games and see so many people there that don't have kids playing. We go because my husband helps coach, but I think we'd go anyway. The SHAPE community is so small, it's nice to be able to go support the kids and have that increased sense of community. Another way to meet people and be social. We're very lucky to be able to be so involved.
Great Game, Spartans!
When my son and I got to the game halfway through the third quarter, we were ahead 26-2. The final score was 33-22. Amazing. The kids and parents were so excited, but most of the spectators were gone after halftimes since it was cold, damp day. The player even doused the head coach at the end of the game. Something he wasn't expecting, at all.
It's nice to go to the games and see so many people there that don't have kids playing. We go because my husband helps coach, but I think we'd go anyway. The SHAPE community is so small, it's nice to be able to go support the kids and have that increased sense of community. Another way to meet people and be social. We're very lucky to be able to be so involved.
Great Game, Spartans!
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Finally!
I don't know what happened, but I finally got an email from the HR department saying that I had paperwork to do if I wanted to substitute teach. Now, I've tried subbing before and it wasn't my cup of tea, but....it pays well and I can decide my days of work.
Substitute teaching here is a Department of Defense job, so I have a poop ton of paperwork to do. However, it is also considered a Spouse Preference position. Since I am an active duty spouse, I should have preference. Since I have a current teaching certificate, I should have more opportunities to be called over people with degrees in another field. Those two things have not been happening at our current post, until now, I guess.
When I took my paperwork in, then did it again online in August, I was told that they too many substitute teachers and I'd have to wait until most of the 23 subs stopped coming in or didn't want to sub anymore. After talking with a few of the people here, many of the subs were contractors wives who had been here for a long time. They didn't have military spouse preference, but they had friends in the right places and I didn't.
I'm not sure what happened in a month, but I'm very happy that it did. Somehow I doubt that many of the 23 current subs left, but if they did, Good Luck in your new duty station. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do something more constructive with my time than washing windows and doing laundry.
Substitute teaching here is a Department of Defense job, so I have a poop ton of paperwork to do. However, it is also considered a Spouse Preference position. Since I am an active duty spouse, I should have preference. Since I have a current teaching certificate, I should have more opportunities to be called over people with degrees in another field. Those two things have not been happening at our current post, until now, I guess.
When I took my paperwork in, then did it again online in August, I was told that they too many substitute teachers and I'd have to wait until most of the 23 subs stopped coming in or didn't want to sub anymore. After talking with a few of the people here, many of the subs were contractors wives who had been here for a long time. They didn't have military spouse preference, but they had friends in the right places and I didn't.
I'm not sure what happened in a month, but I'm very happy that it did. Somehow I doubt that many of the 23 current subs left, but if they did, Good Luck in your new duty station. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do something more constructive with my time than washing windows and doing laundry.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
The Time, it is a Changing
When we first got here in June, the sun was still up and bright at 11:00pm. We were so confused and our internal clocks were off for a bit, but the lovely black-out curtains in the lodge were very helpful. The first thing we bought for the house were dark curtains for our son's room. There was no way he could sleep when it was so light outside. Light equals awake for him, at least in the evening. His mornings don't seem to matter if there's sun or not.
Now, however, the daylight lessening. Quickly lessening. It is now 7:24am and it is still pitch black outside. The sun might be coming up, but we can't see it because of all the trees on the chateau grounds. It is made darker by the grey clouds we have this morning too.
We were told that in the dead of winter, my mother's birthday, it won't be light outside until way past 9:00am and dark by 4:00pm. UGH. I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for that change, coming soon with stupid daylight savings time. I've stocked up on vitamins B12 and D to help me cope with the lack of sunlight. I don't want to be Wendy Whiner, but I've never been a fan of winter or lack of sunlight and it's been ingrained in my by my mom. Daylight and sun are good things. My body almost goes into hibernation mode when they aren't present.
I can totally understand why all the Belgians have such lovely yards and gardens now. It's just another reason to be outside when there's light and the weather is nice. This is another reason why they're all out rambling and biking in the evenings. The Belgians are teaching us, "Take advantage of it while you have it, because winter is dark and long."
To quote one of my new favorite books, "Winter is coming."
Now, however, the daylight lessening. Quickly lessening. It is now 7:24am and it is still pitch black outside. The sun might be coming up, but we can't see it because of all the trees on the chateau grounds. It is made darker by the grey clouds we have this morning too.
We were told that in the dead of winter, my mother's birthday, it won't be light outside until way past 9:00am and dark by 4:00pm. UGH. I'm trying to prepare myself mentally for that change, coming soon with stupid daylight savings time. I've stocked up on vitamins B12 and D to help me cope with the lack of sunlight. I don't want to be Wendy Whiner, but I've never been a fan of winter or lack of sunlight and it's been ingrained in my by my mom. Daylight and sun are good things. My body almost goes into hibernation mode when they aren't present.
I can totally understand why all the Belgians have such lovely yards and gardens now. It's just another reason to be outside when there's light and the weather is nice. This is another reason why they're all out rambling and biking in the evenings. The Belgians are teaching us, "Take advantage of it while you have it, because winter is dark and long."
To quote one of my new favorite books, "Winter is coming."
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Gleaning
A few weeks ago they came and harvested the potato field next to us, and a few days after that my husband had my son out there picking up left behind potatoes. It seemed quite mischievous, to be out there stealing potatoes. They've been out there since then too.
Then we started to see other people out in the fields with buckets and sacks. Do they own the fields? Do they have permission? What's going on here? Shortly after that, someone posted a question to our military base's facebook page, and the answers were given.
In Belgium, along with most other European countries, it is perfectly acceptable to "glean" the field after it has been harvested. assumption is that it started to help feed the people that couldn't afford it. So, pick up your buckets and sacks and get out there in the fields, take what isn't yours.
(We'll be eating potatoes through the winter)
Then we started to see other people out in the fields with buckets and sacks. Do they own the fields? Do they have permission? What's going on here? Shortly after that, someone posted a question to our military base's facebook page, and the answers were given.
In Belgium, along with most other European countries, it is perfectly acceptable to "glean" the field after it has been harvested. assumption is that it started to help feed the people that couldn't afford it. So, pick up your buckets and sacks and get out there in the fields, take what isn't yours.
(We'll be eating potatoes through the winter)
Pumpkinfest
So, after the high of last weekend's Oktoberfest, we thought we'd try a local festival with some friends. We all piled into the vehicle and took off. How fabulous that this pumpkin festival was only 40 minutes away! Perfect day, perfect weather, our son has a buddy to play with and we need carving pumpkins. Fabulous.
The festival was in a tiny town, smaller than my little hamlet, so we're figuring that it will be so quaint. The GPS has us going through past the town then on a teeny, tiny, one lane Roman road. Ok, not bad, we're seeing some cars and one is trying to run us off the road. Hey, it's Belgium, we deal with this every day. Finally, we see where the festival is. No, we see where the people are, it's not really a festival, it's more of an old farm that grew some gourds and unique pumpkins that we've never seen before.
Hey, something new, lets check it out. The whole thing was in this little courtyard of a farm, complete with old stalls. One stall holds the donkeys that some vendors brought along so we can see where they get the donkey milk from for their soaps and shampoos. (yes, donkey milk) One larger stall is holding a creepy puppet show. Not creepy because we can't understand a word of it, but the puppets were really creepy. To the adults and children, both. (sensitive Americans)
So, we went out there thinking that we'd have a beer and some dinner. They had beer, of course, it's Belgium. They had pumpkin soup and a cold pumpkin sausage. We tried it all, but it wasn't really anything to fill up on. Well, other than the beer, but, eh.
Wait, there's some jugglers in interesting costumes and one of them speaks really good English. The kids liked that. And then the seductive Spanish music starts playing. Odd, choice of music. It's for the equestrian show...sort of a trick rider show, but really slow moving...because of the odd seductive Spanish music.
My friend and I each brought home some organic, Belgian honey, donkey milk soap (watch your mailbox, Mary) and unique blue pumpkins. If the weather was lousy, my opinion of the day would only be mediocre, but the weather was perfect. We have blue pumpkins on the porch and our sneezes from the straw dust have subsided. The day was great.
Did I mention we think it was a hippie commune due to the large numbers of workers in bare feet and facial hair?
The festival was in a tiny town, smaller than my little hamlet, so we're figuring that it will be so quaint. The GPS has us going through past the town then on a teeny, tiny, one lane Roman road. Ok, not bad, we're seeing some cars and one is trying to run us off the road. Hey, it's Belgium, we deal with this every day. Finally, we see where the festival is. No, we see where the people are, it's not really a festival, it's more of an old farm that grew some gourds and unique pumpkins that we've never seen before.
Hey, something new, lets check it out. The whole thing was in this little courtyard of a farm, complete with old stalls. One stall holds the donkeys that some vendors brought along so we can see where they get the donkey milk from for their soaps and shampoos. (yes, donkey milk) One larger stall is holding a creepy puppet show. Not creepy because we can't understand a word of it, but the puppets were really creepy. To the adults and children, both. (sensitive Americans)
So, we went out there thinking that we'd have a beer and some dinner. They had beer, of course, it's Belgium. They had pumpkin soup and a cold pumpkin sausage. We tried it all, but it wasn't really anything to fill up on. Well, other than the beer, but, eh.
Wait, there's some jugglers in interesting costumes and one of them speaks really good English. The kids liked that. And then the seductive Spanish music starts playing. Odd, choice of music. It's for the equestrian show...sort of a trick rider show, but really slow moving...because of the odd seductive Spanish music.
My friend and I each brought home some organic, Belgian honey, donkey milk soap (watch your mailbox, Mary) and unique blue pumpkins. If the weather was lousy, my opinion of the day would only be mediocre, but the weather was perfect. We have blue pumpkins on the porch and our sneezes from the straw dust have subsided. The day was great.
Did I mention we think it was a hippie commune due to the large numbers of workers in bare feet and facial hair?
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