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!

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Discovering the Caves of Han

This past Monday, DS and I went to check out the Caves of Han, located on the outskirts of the village of Hans-sur-Lesse in the province of Luxembourg.











Discovered about 200 years ago and extending for some 8 kilometers (5 miles), the caves are a series of limestone galleries, carved out by the river Lesse millions of years ago.

A bit hesitant after my last outing with DS ended with my wallet being stolen! I had to "get-over-it" in order to continue our adventure of gaining more memories of Europe...

The day was looking up when we arrived at the Caves and the parking meter was out of order so we got free parking -- yeah! After a large group of school children let us pass in front of them, we were able to buy our tickets and immediately board the train which departed within minutes after boarding. We got to sit in the front seats of the front car to boot!








This panoramic train ride is actually a vintage streetcar which was a part of the country's once extensive vicinal tramway system. The train took us to the foot of the caves where we waited for our guide to take us on the 90-minute walk through the grottoes. The chambers of the caves were interesting and beautiful, especially the chambers with the lakes and the flowing underground river Lisse. There was a sound and light show in one of the largest chambers (62 metres high, 145 metres measured diagonally) and a boat ride was our exit out of the grottoes. During this boat ride, a "cannon" was shot to demonstrate the caves acoustic properties.














DS got to play in yet another playground and we visited ponies and goats on our walk back to our car.

I was quite happy to learn that DS enjoyed her day at the caves. That evening, she raved to her daddy on the phone (Daddy in Cyprus) that she saw "really neat stalagmites and stalactites in a REAL cave!" I was also a bit sad knowing that DS and I may not be having so many outings (just the 2 of us) since the school year is almost at an end and Kindergarten starts in September. This time with her has been exhausting, but oh-so-precious!










Look out Summer, here we come!
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