Christmas in Paris, 2010

I had been to Paris in 1998, but it was just for a day.  Yep that was me...... in one day, out the next!  So how did I get this picture?

While traveling the United States earlier that year we had earned a free 1 night stay with any hotel affiliated with Holiday Inn Express.  Come to find out.....we could stay in Paris!

We had a wonderful cruise on the Seine River the second night we were there that lasted about 1.5 hours.....and we had some great views!

Paris is beautiful no matter how you choose to see it, night or day.

my honey getting me some hot wine to enjoy while strolling the Christmas Market

This is my first post to "Mellow Yellow Monday".

Who knew?

Home Sweet Home

Let me apologize for not posting any stories lately of my travels while in Europe during the last 5 months.  But on May 12th I headed back to Las Vegas and I have been busy with doctors appointments, grandson's baseball games, catching up with friends and just general sprucing up around the house.

And now I have a wedding to plan!!!  Yes, Stijn and I will be married on July 9th, so plenty to get done before the big day!

I hope you will forgive me for being absent for so long and I promise I will have some more great stories about my trip, like our getaways to Paris, la Clusaz and Wimereux France, and Cologne Germany.

There's no place like home!



Watery Wednesday - Reflections on the Seine in Paris

Towards the end of December we took a train to Paris from Belgium for two days.

Our first night there we decided on a river cruise on the Seine.

I took these pictures hoping to capture the reflections of this magnificent city on the river that runs through the heart of Paris.

I hope you take the time to visit other photographers at "Watery Wednesday" and see some more fantastic Watery photos!

Enjoying Life to its Fullest!

I'm sure you have been trying to figure out exactly where the heck I am! 

Well let me apologize for such sporatic posts, and jumping from one story about my travels to another.  If you have been following this blog you know that back in October I left you with stories about my trip to Portugal that I took back in February 2010.  But then I started writing about my trip to Tennessee, and left you wondering about the rest of my days is Portugal. 

Well for the sake of keeping you completely confused, I'll stop here.  There have been a few more trips that I haven't even mentioned, like our Boston trip in November and our Paris getaway just last week.

You've read a couple of stories recently since my arrival back to Belgium, which by the way was on December 3rd.  But here I am now, back in Portugal.  Stijn and I arrived yesterday (Dec 28th) in Ferragudo Portugal, almost one year after our first trip here back in February 2010!

We celebrated our return by enjoying a nice dinner at O Velho Novo, the first restaurant we ate at in February.

Stijn remembered the great meal he had back then, and ordered it again last night.

We will be here for the month of January on what is our part of a home exchange.  What I hope to accomplish while we're here, beside sightseeing, is to catch up on the stories of our travels.

So I hope you don't mind or get confused as to where we are as I begin to attempt to write about where we've been, what we've done and what we've seen during the past several months!

Merry Christmas from Belgium

I thought it would be fun to take pictures of the Christmas trees I've seen since arriving in Europe on December 3.  I hope you enjoy these shots and maybe you can tell me which one is your favorite?

This picture was taken after Stijn's mother and I finished decorating her tree.

The rest are just random pictures I took......

Den Artiest restaurant in Geluwe Belgium



Thon Hotel lobby in Brussels

The streets of Brussels



In Starbucks at the train station in Antwerp



Wood trees on the streets of Antwerp

A.S. Adventure sport store in Antwerp





Grand Place in Antwerp



The Garden of Eden restaurant in Antwerp



Cathedral of Norte Dame Paris



Christmas Market Lille France

I hope you have enjoyed these pictures.....I sure enjoyed taking them.

Merry Christmas and a Very Happy New Year to everyone!!!

I'm Still Alive and Well

Just a quick note to let you know that I am still alive and well!

I apologize for not keeping up on my posts and for not reading yours, but I have been busy trying to prepare for an 8 month long trip to Europe that I will be leaving for on Thursday evening (Dec 2). 

So a lot of packing, preparing, visiting friends and family and the doctors visits have kept me away from my blog.

I promise when the dust clears and I'm settled in Europe I will bring you some stories of my months to come in Europe of sunny days on the Algarve coast in Portugal, skiing in France and Christmas Markets in Belgium and Paris!

Happy Holidays!!