Belgium

We had a great time in Belgium. We drove there, and it took just a couple of hours. Our first stop was Bruges. It was amazing and we loved it. It is a small town, and very beautiful. There were many canals, and tons of tiny streets that only one car could drive down.


We walked to the city center to see the Christmas market. I wish I had a tripod so I could have captured how pretty it was. It was all lit up, and had an ice skating rink set in the middle.
We visited an aquarium while we were there as well. We stayed in Bruges for 2 nights, and then drove to Brussels for one night. We loved Bruges, but Brussels was suprisingly disappointing. We visited the Beersel Castle first. It was pretty awesome.
On our way back to the hotel, we entered the city and got about 1 mile from our hotel and got stuck in traffic. This was the beginning of our bad luck. It took us 1.5 hours to get to the hotel. After that, we decided we would not drive again. So, we walked out to find a place to eat dinner.

Hmmmm... for some reason, the ATM's run out of money on the weekends. That's just great. We finally found a place to eat that we could pay with a credit card. During dinner, Mason spilled his water on Efe's lap. The next morning, we realized Efe was missing his cell phone. We went back to the restaraunt, but it was no longer there.

Next, we walked almost a mile to visit a very famous tourist attraction, called the "Manneken Pis". The name is Dutch for "little pee man". At the hotel, I wanted to ask how to get there, and I wasn't sure how to pronounce it. So, I asked how to get to the "manneken". The concierge, says "You mean the Manneken Pis?", prounouncing it as "piss". Awesome.
So, we decided the best part about Brussels was the waffles. The waffles in Belgium are to.die.for. Click the link on the right side bar to view our entire album.

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!

Copenhagen

We flew to Copenhagen on Thursday. Unfortunately, I started coming down with a stomach bug late the night before we left. The night we got there, Efe and Mason went to dinner without me because I wasn't feeling well.

The next morning, I was still not feeling great, but a little better, so Mason and I ventured over to Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli is an amusement park that was built in 1843. When you first walk in, there is a palace with a nice fountain in front.

Mason rode some rides, went to the aquarium and sat in Santa's sleigh (the only reason he wanted to go to Tivoli).
We went home to meet Efe (he was working during the day on Friday), and came back to see the palace completely lit up at night.
Then, we went to dinner with Efe's co-worker and his wife.
We bribed Mason to be good at dinner, with the promise of a boat ride, which must have been one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Efe kept crashing into everyone else's boats, and could not get the boat to go in the direction that he wanted. It was hilarious.
Saturday we went to Helsinger, Denmark to see the Kronborg castle. This is supposedly the inspiration for Shakespear's play, Hamlet. The castle was originally built in 1420, and was reconstructed after a fire in 1629.

This is Mason looking out from the castle, onto the courtyard.

We made one final tourist visit to see Denmark's "Little Mermaid" statue. Mason had been talking about seeing it for a week, and he was lucky I quickly snapped a picture when I got there.

Mason and Efe were trying to pose for a picture beside the mermaid, when a van full of drunken men, holding beer cans and wearing santa suits, got out and put a santa hat on her. Disappointed, I snapped a shot anyway.
When we got back to the hotel room, much along the lines of our trip, Efe started breaking out in a rash. He had some kind of allergic reaction. So, I popped him full of drugs and Mason and I had to go off to dinner by ourselves.

We managed to find a spot that had a band playing American music. I'm pretty sure it was a bar, but they claimed it was a restaurant and kids were allowed (there were several kids sitting in there). We had a fun time listening to music and hanging out. I wish I could have gone to a bar when I was 3 years old.

We flew back home this afternoon. Efe's rash seems to be gone now, and I'm feeling better. What a trip. Now, we have a few days to rest, and we will be taking off for Belgium!

2 Minutes of Quiet

That is never good. You know something is wrong when you don't hear any noises coming from your 3 year old. I sneaked up on Mason this morning. He was "quietly" playing up in his play room, and I knew he must be up to something. He was "cleaning the windows" with the dirty water that was used with his paints. He had climbed on top of his desk to do it. He was so proud of himself for "helping me clean" that I couldn't tell him not to do it.
Mason and I went downtown today to The English Bookshop. It was nice. They have story time in English every Friday. Mason wanted a picture on this bridge. The city is so pretty, and you will see a canal like this almost every other street.