from "In Bruges" to "Sound of Music"

On our way to Salzburg, Austria for the long weekend. It's about a 8 hour drive, so we left this afternoon after work and drove part way. My kids, awesome travelers that they are, are tucked into their beds and since I am without the TIVO for the evening thought it'd be a good time to take a look back....

Back in March, we left the bitty ones home with daddy and went on a grownup day to Bruges. What an awesome little city. The weather was cold and rainy, but Bruges itself... charming! I can't wait to go back when the weather's nicer. The kids and I can stroll, get some waffles, maybe even take a boat ride while daddy climbs the Bruges belfry, (which I did. The pic below is the view). And, just for the record the Colin Farell movie, In Bruges, totally inaccurate; there's no way one can fall (or be pushed?) out of that tower. But 'tis still a fun movie to watch before and after going to Bruges so you can place all the landmarks that go by.

speaking of watching movies for landmarks --- made eldest watch Sound of Music this weekend. I've been humming Do, Re, Mi ever since. "mommy", he says, "I don't want to sing Do, Re, Mi anymore" Can you tell who this weekend is really for? Anyway, back to Bruges.....

We took a city bus tour, which was nice because it drove us up by the windmills, which we wouldn't have gotten to on our own. I climbed the Belfry and then we simply meandered the squares, stopped at cafes for coffee and waffles, ducked into the brewery and strolled through the old convent, before making our way back to the charter bus for the ride home.

Bruges is the kind of city I like, the kind of city that's small enough to walk thoroughly, small enough to be charming in its whole, (at least in its whole historic district) rather than in parts. Lots of folks come to Europe for London, Paris and Rome. Not me. My money is on Florence, Prague, Cambridge, and now Bruges. I'm hopeful Salzburg will have the same, love to wander it, feel to it. And even if it doesn't.... it does have the Faulein Maria's Sound of Music tour, so what's not to love?

They say the "Hills are Alive" -- check back in a day or two and I'll let you know.
So long, Farewll, Aufwiedersehen, Goodnight!

Tiptoe through the Tulips

We made it to the world famous Keukenhof Gardens this weekend. We did it as a day trip, yet forgot to factor in the Mc Family travel rule while in Europe: There will always be a traffic jam. *EVERY* single road trip we've taken since we've been here, short or long, has been lengthened significantly by a traffic jam. The trip to Keukenhof, which should've taken 2.5 hours, took closer to 5. Thank goodness the other two couples we were meeting (who had our tickets and who had gone up the night before) didn't mind waiting and thank goodness my kids are phenomenal travelers. Oldest is skilled at entertaining himself with road games and can alternate between holding youngest's bottle for him and giving him toys. Baby sleeps better in the car than almost anywhere else and if C gets too antsy I simply pop in the German CD. He doesn't like the CD series that teaches you actual phrases and sentences, but he listens with rapt attention to the one that simply goes over words: we've got the days of the week, months of the years, numbers and colors just about mastered.

The gardens themselves were beautiful. This year's theme was New York, NY. That part was a little over-hyped. Supposedly you could see the Statue of Liberty drawn out with different colored flowers, and maybe you could from a helicopter, but the viewing platform provided by the park wasn't tall enough to really make anything out. If we go again, we'll pack a picnic lunch. They didn't care if you brought your own food and their food was not so good, overpriced, and shut down at 4 in the afternoon. We actually ate stand waffles for lunch and for dinner (C was in heaven). They had a petting zoo and two playgrounds for the kids. C actually thought we were going to the zoo, and he just had to look at some flowers first.


I'm not sure we'll go back every year, but I'm glad to have gone and would certainly encourage anyone who was ever in the area during the spring time to make the effort to get to Keukenhof.