A beach in Brussels?!

We spent an enjoyable day at the "beach" yesterday right in the heart of Brussels. Well, sort of. Brussels Beach, or Bruxelles Les Bains is a summer festival held for a few weeks each summer set alongside the Brussels channel. It is set up as a simulated beach with lots of food, cocktail stands, and snack shacks set along the walkway. There's also a stage which hosts several concerts or entertainment during the event.

Tasha and I were able to enjoy a refreshing drink while watching the girls play to their hearts content in the sand and water play areas. This was a great new "Belgian" thing to do while enjoying the beautiful warm weather now upon us here in Belgium.

After we got our fill of the beach, we drove a short distance away to the Royal Park, which is located directly across from the Royal Palace. They have a nice play area for the children and the park itself is lovely with lots of green grassy areas, trees, fountains, and interesting statues. The girls were even treated to see part of a marionette show which just so happened to be playing right there at the park.

And it's always nice to see the Royal Palace -- it's such a beautiful building...

A Day at the Beach in Rhodes, Greece...

Our ship arrived into Rhodes early on the morning on July 1st. Rhodes is located just south east of Greece, in the Aegean Sea (near Turkey).





We decided to spend our day on the beach, so we packed up our bathing suits, towels and sunscreen and headed to Elli Beach, a 20 minute walk from our cruise ship.



Our stroll took us past the Harbor Gates, the old city fortifications and some beautiful coastline.





By the time we arrived, it was so hot that everyone was anxious to get into the water! We rented lounge chairs with umbrella's and spent a relaxing day out in the sun. It was a great time swimming with the kids -- the only downside was that the beach was covered with pebbles. Ouch!!



We decided to have lunch at Elli Beach Restaurant, which was just a few meters from our beach chairs. The goat cheese salad that I ordered was simply delicious!



After lunch, it was more beach time for the kids before heading back to the ship.



The men were nice enough to take the kids back, while Karen and I headed into town to do some shopping. Before we knew it, it was time to go back onboard and rest up before dinner, which was our last formal night.

Demitrios serving up some Baked Alaska!


After our daily sunset walk on deck, we headed straight to the Show Lounge. DS had arranged to meet her new shipboard friend from Australia for a "playdate" just before the evening's show.



Then, we all sat together to watch the evening's entertainment, "Enigma", a magic show. Although the show was mediocre, the highlight was when David was picked to go on stage to "star" in one of the acts. That was the evening's true entertainment!



After a long day, it was "lights out" for the girls as we sailed off towards Crete. This cruise is just going way too fast...!!!