Au Revoir (french); Tot ziens (flemish); Sayonara and Aloha L.A! ______________________________


Hi everyone!

As most of you know, Ray has accepted a 2-year assignment with Toyota's European Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. For those of you who do not know, Belgium is located next to France, Germany and the Netherlands. The home of NATO and the European Union, it is considered the "gateway to Europe" with its easy access to many European countries. (Hint, hint--good excuse to come and visit!)

Ray started his new position in February, 2008. The girls and I arrived here in late March. We are living just outside the city of Brussels in the commune of Tervuren, Belgium.

Although we are sad to temporarily leave our family and friends, we are excited for this adventure. What an opportunity to leave our tiny box and experience life outside of America!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

A day in Ghent...

Today we started our day at a local friterie called Maison Antoine in Brussels. Ray and I have been meaning to check this place out since we saw it featured on a TV show focusing on Belgium. For just under 2 euro's, you get a large cone of fresh twice-fried frites (first blanched at a low temperature and then, fried again to a crisp golden brown, one order at a time). For an additional charge, you can pair it up with your choice of sauce either on top of your cone or on the side. We chose the mayonaise and ketchup on the side. As you can tell by the pics, we all enjoyed the frites and are looking forward to going there again...



























After finishing our yummy snack, we hit the road and about an hour drive later were in the beautiful town of Ghent. It was like walking through a postcard with its beautiful buildings and picturesque rivers/canals. We took a 40-minute covered boat ride cruising the River Leie giving us a brief tour and glimpse of the town from aboard a boat. The girls seemed to be more interested in what was "in" the water rather than what surrounded the water. They had fun nonetheless.
































We then proceeded on foot to do some sight-seeing. We walked passed Belfort, the town's bell tower and stopped at Saint Bavo's Cathedral. As we walked into the Cathedral, I was amazed at how beautiful it was inside. After leaving the cathedral, we set out for Gravensteen Castle, but unfortunately it started to rain. In addition, it was late in the day and the girls were tired. For now, I have to be satisfied with the exterior view of the castle which we encountered while cruising along the river.



















































After our day in Ghent, we discovered that our "great" parking spot wasn't so great after all when we found a parking ticket on our window. We will have to study the rules of the road more carefully -- this is just one example of finding out how things are so different here in a foreign country.

Even with the parking ticket, I am glad we stopped at this pretty town. I am looking forward to seeing what else Belgium has to offer.

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