Watery Wednesday - Fiji

While visiting Fiji in December 2007 I came across these children playing in the water.

What a great place to be a kid!!

Click Here to visit Watery Wednesday where you will see more pictures from around the World!

Europe In 30 Days - Our First Day In Provence

Because yesterday was such an exhilarating yet exhausting day we decide that today we would take it easy and stay close to home with as little driving as possible.

Home for the next 4 days is Venterol France and it is an absolutely beautiful little village nestled on a foothill just above a vineyard. The sun is shining and the temperature is perfect.

The house is also perfect! The 3 floors consist of a living/dining area, a full bath and a bedroom on the main floor, the kitchen, a small bathroom and an eating area with french doors leading onto a terrace on the second floor and a huge bedroom on the third floor.

After a little breakfast we enjoy the sunshine from the terrace and get our first glimpse of what we will be experiencing over the next few days. Breathtaking! Well believe it or not we are ready to take a little drive! We take a look at the books on Provence that we have and decide to visit Valreas. It wins our vote because it is only about 10 miles away! So away we go, but of course we spot a little village on our way to Valreas and we must explore. Right? This little village is called St. Pantaleon-les-Vignes and is surrounded by vineyards. We park at the Town Hall and start to walk towards a little square. We come upon this bridge that is crossing over a river and the view is amazing, so we stop to take pictures.
We spot a bell tower and start to walk towards it through the cobblestone streets, passing Provencal homes that are surrounded by low stone walls. After seeing the church we decide to head back to the car but on the way Stijn spots a sign and informs me that it reads "Wineries". Cool! I'm in France and I'm going to get the chance to do some wine tasting! Then I am reminded that today is Sunday. You see in Europe pretty much everything is closed on Sundays and I do remember this from my previous travels to Europe. But hey, doesn't hurt to go check it out, right? So back to the car we go and we drive in the direction of a winery. The first one we see is Domaine Gigondan so we pull in and park. I want to at least take some pictures of the winery and the vineyard and the added bonus of a lavender field, even though I'm not going to get to do any wine tasting. There is a dog barking in the yard of this magnificent villa and when I turn my attention in that direction I see a man standing on the balcony. So I wave hello and he waves back and goes inside and within a few seconds he comes and greets us. Of course now Stijn must do all the talking because I don't know a lick of French. Well I can say Bonjour! So they are chatting and I said to Stijn, "ask him if we can do a wine tasting". Stijn asks, and we are walking through the doors of a winery in France!!! I am a happy girl!
The tasting room was a little part of the whole operation tucked in one corner along with gifts to purchase while cases of wine covered the floor in the center of the building and the production was at the back. Our host, the vintner was magnificent and answered all our questions. After spending about an hour tasting all the great wines we decide we better head out to our original destination.

We arrive in Valreas and follow the signs to the historic city center, park and start our next walk through some more cobblestone streets. As we walk along the Grand Rue we pass several beautiful homes built in the 17th and 18th centuries. We are impressed with the Norte-Dame-de Nazareth built in the 12th century and the Chateau des Simiane built in 1640 which now houses the Town Hall.

The sun is setting and it is getting a bit chilly so we decide to head back to Venterol. But not before stopping at a little bakery, which by the way will become the first stop of many bakeries during our time here in Provence.

So what do we get? A great looking meringue dotted with some strawberries. This thing was huge. I think this was a good choice.

We head home, start a fire, pour some wine and plan for our next adventure tomorrow.

Click on the albums St Pantaleon and Valreas at Wheres Debbie to see more pictures of our day.

Europe In 30 Days - Are We There Yet?

It was so great to see Tennille again, we just couldn't seem to stop hugging each other good-bye as Stijn and I were leaving this morning.

So we are off to Provence France to a little town called Venterol for our home exchange. Now there were some time lines set last night for our trip today. Stijn asked what time I would like to arrive in Venterol and we decide together that arriving before dark would be very beneficial. First because I'm not big on trying to find my way somewhere in the dark and we know that when we arrive we need to find the power box, flip the switches on and turn the water on. Remember, this is a vacation home so it's not used all the time and it's COLD in Provence in the middle of January! With that in mind, Stijn gets out the "trusty" TomTom (GPS), enters our desired destination and it is determined that the drive will take us about 10 hours or so including stops. Departure time is then set for 8:00am for an estimated arrival time of 6:00pm.....before dark.

Our journey begins, but I'm not leaving Kaiserslautern until after we stop in a bakery. I must have some German pastries and Stijn needs a coffee.

It's January 10th and it is an absolutely beautiful day for a drive and TomTom takes us through France via the A31 and A6. I have only been to France once before and it was to Paris by train from Ider Oberstein Germany. So to be able to drive through places like Nancy, Dijon and Lyon was a real thrill for me. No time for stopping though, we need to be in Venterol........before dark.

TomTom now tells us to take the A43 towards Grenoble. I am a little puzzled by this. Of course we do not have a good old fashion "map" with us, so we are in trusted to TomTom. However, I do have my books on Provence that Stijn bought me for my birthday back in October, and they have maps! And I have directions to Venterol printed out from an email sent to me by my exchanger. So I question this sudden detour from the written directions and Stijn surprises me with "I put in for the scenic route option". COOL! I love taking scenic routes. He is so sweet and thoughtful.

It was a great choice as this route took us through the Haute-Alps de Provence and we did see some amazing scenery.

Driving through little villages on narrow winding roads while stopping every now and then to take pictures of these incredible snow covered mountains was certainly an unexpected treat. But Stijn reminds me that if we are going to get to our destination before dark, I need to stop taking pictures. He's right, because the sun is slowly setting and just the tops of the mountains are showing the last signs of daylight.

I'm still a bit puzzled though. I have not seen a sign for Venterol in a very long time. I continue to try and compare where we are in relation to the very limited map and direction resources that I have. And I continue to voice these doubts to Stijn who at one point is very happy to assure me that I need not worry and that I certainly do not need the book anymore because TomTom will get us there. Okay then, away with the book with the map and the only directions that we have and I sit back and enjoy the ride.

Well, it's dark now and we are somewhere in France, not Venterol, but somewhere. We start a descent from our mountain drive and see the lights of a village down below. Yeah!!! We are nearly there. As TomTom directs us through this cute little town, which by the way is NOT Venterol, we see a market and decide we better stop and buy some groceries. Now I have to stop here and tell you something that I was very impressed with while doing a little shopping. Stijn got us a grocery cart because we were going to need quite a few things for our stay in Venterol. We unloaded our goodies into the car and Stijn asked if I would return the cart and he would pick me up from there. And then he said something about "don't forget to get the money back". Okay? So I am now in front of the cart return which has a canopy over it and I am looking for some sort of box or something where I'm supposed to take money from? Then I notice that there is a coin inserted in this little box that is on the handle of the cart. So I proceed to try to pull it out. It's not coming out! What the heck do I do? Then I see a chain dangling from another little box on the cart behind mine. Okay, I probably have to put this chain into the back of my box and..........COOL! The coin releases and I'm just in time to jump in the car.

Well we have certainly missed our target time of 6:00pm, it's dark and TomTom directs us to, Journey On! We drive up and over more mountains and with every village that we see illuminated in the dark in the distance we are hopeful that it would be the one, Venterol! Still no signs though reading "Venterol" with maybe a clue of how many more kilometers we need to go. Then it happens. We are in the town of Tallard and after a short drive through the narrow streets TomTom directs us to take a right and behold.......a sign with the name Venterol on it!!!! We high five each other and we are ecstatic that we are nearly there and Stijn is very proud of his TomTom.

Up another mountain we go, and go, and go. The lights below becoming smaller, and smaller, and then just disappear. I am looking as far ahead as I can after each corner that we turn in hopes of some sort of indication that the village of Venterol is just ahead. Lights? Maybe another vehicle would be nice? The road up this mountain becomes very narrow, steep and icy. And then it happens! We pull into this little village and TomTom annouces "You have reached your destination, Good-Bye". Hmmmm. So here we sit in the dark on top of a mountain and Stijn asks "which way do we go"? "Well I don't know honey because this doesn't look anything like the pictures that were sent to me" I reply. So we decide to take this street that is just ahead of us and make an attempt to continue to "climb". But we are now dealing with some more ice and we are both not comfortable with this decision. So we back up onto a side street and Stijn decides to walk back down the hill to the Town Hall we had passed on our way up and hopes to ask someone "Where are we"?

He returns to the car with no answers. So I told him that I noticed some lights on in this little house here to our right, "maybe you could go and ask them", I suggested. So he does just that and when he returns he shares with me that this is indeed Venterol, however there are two Venterol's and this isn't the one we want. Hmmmm. So he turns TomTom back on puts in Venterol again and indeed there are two Venterol's listed. He just happened to choose the Venterol in the Hautes-Alpes de Provence as opposed to the Venterol Drome. Who knew? I did ask though, but you said you put in for the scenic option. This is when I learned there is no such option. Funny guy!

Before we leave this mountain top village Stijn re-programs TomTom and our directions are set once more. But, he asks if I would get the book out with the "map" and see if I can tell exactly where we are and which way we should go to get to Venterol. Hmmmm. Capitol idea!

We make it back down into the valley and TomTom and I are in agreement with the direction we should take. I must tell you though I am ready for a potty break! This would only be my second one during this entire 14 hour trip. So when we come upon a rest stop Stijn stops and I run to the restrooms only to find this.........

Okay, well do I really have to go that bad? Luckily there was another stall with an actual toilet in it, just missing the seat though.

We are absolutely starving now so we pull some bread, cheese and meat from our groceries and enjoy eating it while heading to Venterol, which is about another hour or so away. We actually thought about even opening one of the bottles of wine we had purchased to have with our meal. It was a fun thought but we decided against it. And thank goodness we did. As we came upon another small village we notice up ahead that there is a road block. Of course we just thought this was because there might have been an accident or something. We are stopped by the police officer and Stijn is asked to do a breathalizer test. Turns out that tonight happens to be the night they want to do spot checks for drunk drivers. All we could say was "Thank goodness we didn't open that bottle of wine"!

Now we're seeing signs! I am a happy girl. We arrive in the town square and park the car and take a walk to try and find our house. We actually only had to turn one corner and we were there. I unlocked the door and we fumbled our way in the dark to the power box based on the directions I was given. A flashlight would have been real handy for this, but we persevered. Then down to the lower room of the house to turn on the water and we are set! After we unloaded the car, Stijn started the fire that had already been set for us and all we needed to do was strike a match to it.

It's now about 10:00pm and we are settled in and exhausted. But we can't help but look back on our day and laugh together about what we had to go through to get here. And from what I can see so far, it was worth it!

If you would like to see more pictures of our drive through France go to Wheres Debbie and click on the album "On Our Way"

Europe In 30 Days - A Home Exchange in Provence

A home exchange in Provence France.....Who Knew!

When I tell people that I do home exchanges it seems the first thing they always say is "Oh, like that movie" or "Wasn't there a movie about that?" Yep, The Holiday . And oddly enough it came out Dec 8th 2006, just before I left for my first exchange.

Provence will be my 7th home exchange since my first one in December 2006, when I went to Australia on the Gold Coast in Surfers Paradise.

What an amazing experience! Home Exchanging has given me the opportunity to visit so many places that I really didn't think I would ever visit. Especially places I had never even heard of before, like Lymington England.


If you want to travel and really save a ton of money, home exchanging is the way to do it. The benefits are numerous. In addition to the normal touristy things you would do while on vacation, home exchanging gives you the opportunity to really immerse yourself in the places that you visit. Basically you experience the area as a local, not a tourist.

The concept is simple, you stay in my home while I stay in yours. It works for families with children, retired people, singles, international vacations, regional vacations and even long weekends. You can even do non-simultaneous exchanges if you and your exchanging party agree. The best part is when you arrange an exchange, your accommodations are FREE!

There are several sites like Digsville.com, HomeLink USA.com and HomeExchange.com where you can list your home. There are even sites geared specifically towards singles or retirees. Typically these sites require an annual membership fee. You post pictures of your home, describe your home and the city where you live and a little bit about you. Then list the destinations you would like to visit!

So this is how I get to Provence! Actually, I was really looking for another possible exchange to England. After my exchange to Lymington in March 2008 I absolutely fell in love with England and I was looking into other areas I might like to visit when I came across a listing that sounded like it would work for me. As it turned out this one had an additional listing, Provence. I emailed the member regarding a possible exchange to his home in England and in the process he suggested that I might also like to incorporate a stay at his vacation home in Provence. With a few emails back and forth working on some possible dates, I finally come up with January. Well, I must give credit where credit is due. Actually it was Stijn who came up with the idea of suggesting that I ask my perspective exchanger if we could do the exchange in January. Stijn thought this would be a great idea for a little trip while I was in Europe for 30 days.

Hmmm, catchy title.

So all is agreed, the key is mailed to me and our trip to Provence begins!

Europe In 30 Days - Off to Provence via Germany

Well it's January 9th and we are headed off to Provence for our home exchange!

But we are stopping in Kaiserslautern Germany to stay the night with a dear friend of mine before making the long drive to Provence. Tennille and her husband Pat are from Las Vegas and are now living in Kaiserslautern and they have invited Stijn and I to stay the night to help break up our trip to Provence.

Tennille and I met at the gym in spin class this past year and we became very good friends. And then go figure, she ups and moves to Germany.

Right after Stijn and I arrive bearing great Belgium beer and chocolates for our hosts, we all head out to dinner. Hmmmm, where shall we go? Italian, Thai, Chinese, Mexican? I am in Germany people, I want German food in a German restaurant! But you probably already guessed that, huh? So Tennille being the great friend that she is and Stijn who just always wants to make sure I'm happy agree with my theory. Pat and Tennille suggest a restaurant that they have been to before and had really enjoyed. So without making any reservations we head to St. Marteen, a traditional German restaurant in the St. Martin Platz. This is a perfect typical German restaurant with low wood beamed ceilings, wooden floors, pictures all over the walls and a great bar as soon as you walk through the door. Now the downside to not having reservations is that we had to wait well over an hour to be seated. The upside was we got to sit in the bar and have some German beer and catch up with each other.

Two beers later, we are finally seated for dinner. Knowing how much I love to try different types of food, Tennille is emphatic about (in her words) the "anything but typical" onion soup as an appetizer. Oh my gosh! This was a great twist on a French Onion Soup. A whole lot more cheese and a lot less bread. Well we all order our dinner and I think that I am the only one who orders a typical German meal. Pat had a curry chicken dish, Tennille had pasta with salmon, and Stijn also had a pasta dish. So here comes mine. Meat, potatoes and gravy.....of course the name of my meal escapes me now. I know what you're thinking, Debbie, you don't even like to eat meat, potatoes and gravy. I say "When in Germany, eat like the Germans"! Now another must have is some Apfelstrudel (apple strudel). So who has dessert? The girls.

Our day comes to a close back at Tennille and Pat's apartment, sipping on some hot Gluhwein and sampling the Belgium chocolates.

If you would like to see pictures of our German night out just go to Wheres Debbie and click on the "Germany" album.

Europe In 30 Days - Off to Provence for a Home Exchange

I know when I started this blog you read that I would be sharing with you my home exchange experiences. You've been wanting to know "How does this home exchange thing work?", "Is this like that movie, The Holiday?", "Do you exchange cars?", "Is there really a house when you get there?".

Well I'm headed to Provence France now and you can read about it in my upcoming posts! So be sure to come back and have some answers to your questions and see where I went, what I did and what I saw.

Europe In 30 Days - A Sunday Drive through the Countryside

Today we had planned to go to Brugge, but after being a part of the "First" day of the after Christmas sales yesterday in Antwerpen, Stijn knows that Brugge would offer some more of the same. So we decided that we would save Brugge for another day.

Stijn has suggested that we drive out to the area where he grew up, Moorsele. I think this is a wonderful idea and it gives me an opportunity to see a part of Belgium that probably most visitors never have the chance to experience. And besides, it is good and cold today so it's the perfect day to sight see from the car!

We head about 70 miles out of Brussels to the more northwestern part of the Flanders Region. The countryside is absolutely beautiful with its farm land and rolling hills. We drive through so many quaint villages and I am pointing out to Stijn every cute little brick house that we pass.

But more interesting and certainly more surreal is discovering all of the WWI cemeteries that can't seem to help but remind you of what happened in this region during the "Great War". Now you must understand that this is all "News" to me. I had no idea that in this area of Belgium so many battles were fought during this War.


We stop at the Sanctuary Wood Cemetery, one of the many cemeteries in this region and take a walk in silence through the numerous white headstones and pay our respects.

Knowing that I like to cycle, Stijn wants to show me Mt Kemmelberg. This is part of the 200 mile route that the Gent-Wevelgem race covers each year. Looking at the cobblestone over the steepest part of this route at about a 20% grade and trying to imagine riding down this was quite impressive, but at the bottom of this summit once again I am reminded of the battles that were fought here when I see a monument that is dedicated to the French soldiers who fought in the Great War.

Well it's time for a little snack break so we stop in the village of Kemmel and settle in at Het Labyrinth and order a platter of cheeses and pate, and I want another Irish coffee to warm me up. This is the cutest place with wooden floors and high ceilings. I spent the entire time admiring all of the antique collectibles that were displayed and that covered every inch of the walls. At every table there were antique game boards that you could play while enjoying your meal. After a bit the waitress came by with a basket she was carrying and had us pick out one of those little puzzles that have two pieces interlocked and you have to figure out how to get them apart. So of course we had to try and master that immediately.

We are now ready for a little more exploring and Stijn knows just the place to take me to top off my day. We drive a very short distance and we are in Ieper . Okay people, I now know where I want to live in Belgium!!! Ieper (or Ypers) is a beautiful medieval city with amazing architecture, cobbled streets and a magnificent Grote Markt (square) that is dominated by The Lakenhalle (cloth market). The Grote Markt is lined with restaurants, bakeries, waffle vendors, souvenir shops and most importantly, chocolatiers. How does one choose which little chocolatier shop to go into....the one with the "huge" chocolate covered cherries with stems still attached displayed in the window, that's how!

But the past history of this storybook town begins to take over as soon as we come upon the Menen Gate. This is a huge memorial arch at the entrance of Ieper and is dedicated to the 54,896 soldiers who were missing in action after the battle of Ieper in WWI. Stijn and I stood in amazement while reading the names of the soldiers under the roof and on the walls. Every day at 8:00pm the "The Last Post" is played as a tribute to the fallen soldiers.

It is so hard to imagine after seeing such beautiful scenery, an area so peaceful and quiet, with its canals and bell towers, its windmills and grazing cows, that no other area in the country of Belgium is as drenched in blood as this one. This area called Westhoek was the most horrible battleground of World War I were tens of thousands of young men from England, Germany, France, Canada and Australia met their deaths.

Our day has come to an end and as we head back to Brussels I reflect on all that I saw and learned today. I can't help but think this day sure gives new meaning to the phrase "Taking a Sunday Drive".

If you would like to see more pictures of our day please go to Wheres Debbie and click on the album "Belgium Countryside"

Europe In 30 Days - Shopping in Antwerpen Part 2

Okay, I think I have taken a picture from every angle possible of the Cathedral and the street performer is finished entertaining the crowd. So we pick a narrow street leading off of the square and continue to explore.

And just when I think this city couldn't possibly be anymore beautiful we come upon yet another square, The Grote Markt. The square reminds me of the Grand Place in Brussels, certainly not as big but equally impressive. In front of the Stadhuis (Town Hall) an ice skating platform is still in place from the Christmas Market and families are enjoying some time on the ice under the clear blue skies today. In the center of the square is this great statue called "Brabo" and we are trying to figure out why the guy at the top of this statue is holding a severed hand??? Statues in Europe are just so fascinating!

We leave the square and end up on the banks of the Scheldt River. As we pass a Ferris wheel, we see just ahead of us this great old castle, "Het Steen" with yet another interesting statue standing at the entrance. This one is probably the funniest statue I've ever seen and is called "Lange Wapper". We stroll along the river for a little while before heading back towards the Central Station to catch our train back to Brussels.

This has been a wonderful day of strolling through cobblestone streets, shopping, discovering and eating.

But, there is one more meal to be eaten before we end our day. We decide it is best to have dinner back in Brussels at the restaurant directly across the street from Stijn's apartment, Le Loup Voyant . The restaurant was very cozy with it's heavy timbered benches and tables and the waiter was incredibly helpful and friendly. Now I think you know by now that I am all about having traditional food wherever I am so Stijn ordered for me the Koninginnehapje (The Queens Dish). This was so good! A flaky pastry puff filled with chicken and mushrooms in a white cream sauce. Stijn had shish kabob, both of which are served with a big helping of Fries. Remember I'm in Belgium hence fries with just about every meal.

As we are sipping our wine and reminiscing about our day we make a toast to yet another wonderful day together.

There are plenty of pictures of our day in Antwerpen. Just visit Wheres Debbie and click on the album "Antwerpen"

Europe In 30 Days - Shopping in Antwerpen Part 1

Antwerpen is a medieval city on the Scheldt River and only 30 miles north of Brussels.

So why is it decided that we will take the train today for such a short distance? Because Stijn knows that traffic is going to be horrific and being able to park will be next to impossible. Why?

It is January 3 and Belgium's after Christmas sales have officially started! That's right, there are no after Christmas sales until the first Saturday after New Years and they last all month long. So what better place to be than the diamond center of the world and the fashion capitol of Belgium.

Antwerpen was named the "Top City To Visit in 2009" by Lonely Planet, and the minute we step off the train I can see why. The Central Station where we arrived took my breath away. Now the first place we head to is "The Meir". This is a shopping street where only one type of traffic is allowed......foot traffic. Which was probably more difficult to maneuver through because of the thousands of people who were looking for the best deals. As we walked along the Meir we did a lot of window shopping because the stores were just packed with people. That is of course until we come upon an electronics store. You know how excited a man can get when he sees electronics on sale. So excited that it does not matter now how long the lines might be or how many people are in this store. It was a great chance to take however. Stijn found the mouse of his dreams for his computer.

As we nudge our way out of the store and merge back into traffic, we continue walking down the Meir and it suddenly opens up into this magnificent square called the Groen Plaats (Green Square). Okay, so a lot of pictures are taken here. I couldn't get over the "Hilton" hotel. And then my eyes are drawn upward to this unbelievable view of this tower with a clock. As soon as Stijn can pick my jaw up from off the ground and get me to stop taking pictures, he suggests that we have yet another Belgiun traditional snack. Frietjes. That would be French Fries. No we didn't stop in at McDonalds, whose french fries by the way are not my favorite anymore. So we walk up to a little place in the Plaatz called "Fritkot Max". It's amazing to me that in this square of all kinds of great restaurants and cafes' the longest line is here.....for Frietjes. So what do Belgians put on their Frietjes, well it's not ketchup. So for the first time in my life I am eating french fries with mayonnaise and to my surprise it was pretty darn good! And I love the way they are served in a piece of paper wrapped in a cone shape. Now, we don't have a burger with our fries, we have a curryworst which is a stick of deep fried ground meat that Stijn says is another one of his favorites and knowing that I want to try different foods, he orders up a few of these for me to try.
Our gourmet lunch is over and we continue to explore. I want to head in the direction of that magnificent tower and see what lies beneath. This brings us to the square Handschoenmarkt and I discover that the tower is part of the "Cathedral of Our Lady" Can you guess?........that's right, more pictures. As Stijn watches a street entertainer in front of the Cathedral I venture away to try to capture as much of this massive Cathedral as I can with my camera.

Check back here soon to see how we finished our day in Antwerpen.

Please visit Wheres Debbie if you would like to see pictures of what we saw and what we ate during our day in Antwerpen.

Europe in 30 Days - Visiting Namur Jan 2

When I travel I love to see and do as much as possible and Stijn is well aware of this "Need to Explore" bone I have in my body. So he has planned out the next few days to satisfy my desire to see and do as much as possible. First on the list is Namur, about 35 miles southeast of Brussels and is situated on the confluence of the Meuse and Sambre rivers.

We spend the day walking through the cobblestone streets and I am just awed by the architecture and I can't seem to take enough pictures. I smell a Belgium waffle in the air and I must have one! Belgium is such a great country. I mean where else can you go and walk up to a little vendor on the street and just buy a hot waffle? We continue to just wander around peeking in windows filled with pastries, meats, cheeses, and prepared dishes that I have just never seen before and of course must take pictures.

We decide it's time to have something warm to drink and we find a little place called A Table! that looks like the perfect place to do just that. I had a Grog, a nice hot drink with alcohol in it! A Table! sits on the banks of the Meuse River and offers dining with a view of the Citadelle.

As we continue walking we come upon a bridge and from there we have a magnificent view of the Citadelle. Now this is something we must see so we spend a couple of hours exploring following the cobblestone paths to the top. Well it's time for another hot toddy and as luck would have it, at the top was a little cafe called La Panorama. Here I have an Irish Coffee and Stijn has a beer. I'm not sure how he warms up with a cold beer, but it works for him. As the name might suggest, we had a great view over looking the city below while sitting there warming up and reflecting on our day.

If you would like to see pictures of our day in Namur you can visit Wheres Debbie and click on the "Namur" album.

Europe In 30 Days - Let The Eating Begin

After a wonderful night at the Christmas Market walking through the streets of Brussels and stopping at so many of those great little wooden chalets to sample so many different types of food and especially the Gluhwein, we took it easy the next couple of days.
But of course by Monday night (Dec 29th) we were ready to get out and do some more eating. After Stijn came home from work we headed out to do just that! We first stopped at Cafe Bison, a small sort of rustic little bar for a drink before dinner. For those of you who know me you know that I am always willing to try something different, so Stijn ordered me a Jenever This was served in a shot glass and I had two differant flavors. The first had a slight berry flavor and the other was chocolate. We then headed out to walk the streets and see what restaurant could entice us to come in and have dinner. La Bar A Tapas did just that. This was a great little intimate and friendly restaurant. We tried to choose which tapas we wanted from the extensive menu of both warm and cold tapas. It was tough but we finally settled on stuffed grape leaves, artichoke hearts, calamari, langoustines, andalucia chicken, mushrooms and mussels. And of course a great bottle of wine! We left there completely stuffed and very happy again with our unexpected pleasure.
New Years Eve 2009 was the most memorable New Years I have ever had and will certainly never forget. Stijn is a true romantic and knows just how to really make me happy. No we didn't get all gussied up and go out on the town and watch some fireworks after some over crowded and over priced meal at a restaurant. We prepared for our romantic night that day by going to the market and deciding what we would want to cook for dinner. WHAT? Your thinking has she lost her mind, COOK on New Years Eve? ROMANTIC? But it's how we "cooked" that made it so special.


Stijn had told me about grilling on a stone. When he described this to me I thought what a great idea and how much fun this would be. We went to the mall on Sunday (Dec 28th) and he had me pick one out that I liked. I had never seen anything like this and if you have here in the States, let me know because I would love to buy one. So that evening we enjoyed some wine while grilling some chicken, meat, shrimp, salmon, mushrooms and veggies. We then enjoyed a little competitive bowling on the Wii.
Our New Year started together by just holding each other and listening to the fire works.

Please visit Wheres Debbie and see our pictures of New Years by clicking on the album titled "New Years 2009"

Who Knew?

I really want you to get to know me.

So what you need to know first and foremost is that I love to travel.

Growing up we never took a family vacation. We never went anywhere actually. I grew up in Los Angeles California and a "vacation" for us was to load up the station wagon and make the drive down to Salton Sea to visit my grandparents little getaway they had down there for the weekend. And this wasn't very often. I remember how excited I would be knowing we were going "somewhere"! I was thrilled to stay in my grandparents great little 1950's silver camp trailer and help my grandmother sell hot dogs and snow cones from her little portable food stand while my grandfather fished all day for corvina from the pier. I can remember at night sitting outside and looking up at the stars and pointing out the Milky Way and both "Dipper's".
When we had the opportunity to move to Nevada in the early 1970's, I had my mother packed and renting a UHaul "To go where no Smith has gone before". Out of the State of California! Now this was only to the neighboring State of Nevada in a little town called "Tonopah" but at the age of 14 I thought, what a great adventure!

When I was raising my family I made sure we took family vacations nearly every summer. I would get ideas of places to visit from magazines, television or even just talking with co-workers and friends. But most importantly from my children. One year my daughter learned in school that there was a place where she could stand in one spot and be in four States at the same time. So I planned a whole vacation around her curiosity. I would always figure out how to see and do as much as possible in a two week period.

During these 23 years we were able to explore so many beautiful places. Oregon, Idaho, Montana, South Dakota, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and even back to California. And then finally.....the airplane ride! My first airplane ride at the age of 37 to Nashville Tennessee to see Christmas in the Park. I remember getting there, parking the car and walking through the parking lot and I just started to cry. I was so overwhelmed with the thought that I was actually experiencing such a beautiful place. I get that way. I can't tell you how many times I have had to fight the tears when I get somewhere.

The past 12 years I have had the opportunity to visit just about every State now and about 23 countries.

I look back now and think to myself that I have always had a desire to get out and explore new and different places.

Who knew?