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!

Monday, December 21, 2009

Au Revoir, Belgium!



Although it was sad to leave, we were still able to enjoy our last few days in Belgium. It was a blessing to experience the several snowfalls that blanketed the city (which by the way, is not common in Belgium!)...

In between taking care of last minute details in preparation for our move, here are a few of the things we did during our last week in Brussels.

A snow stop to Parc du Cinquanteniere...


Hanging out at the Grand Place (pre-snow)

And post-snow...

Meals at old favorites like Chez Leon...

And new ones such as La Kahbaz, where we enjoyed an excellent Moroccan meal...

Browsing the Brussels Christmas Markets...

PS & DS riding the Le Manege Magique and La Manege d'Andrea Carousels...

The Shinozaki Girls enjoying another round of ice skating (even after it started snowing)...

Posing in front of the Bourse (directly across the street from the Marriott)...

Enjoying yummy Liege Waffles at Elisabeth and LaFunambule...

And one last visit to "Santa" Manneken Pis (until we visit again, that is!)

We even managed to squeeze in a visit to Musée de la Ville. Here the girls got a kick out of seeing all of Manneken Pis' outfits which have been donated by several different countries. Amazingly, he is said to have more than 800!

Au Revoir, Belgium! We are definitely going to miss you!!

Now onwards to London for the holidays!!

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