Leuven, Belgium

On Friday, we headed for the university town of Leuven. It was quite a surprise when we discovered there was a huge flea market going on when we arrived. Stalls were selling just about everything including shoes, clothing, waffles, cheese, floral arrangements and rotisserie meats just to name a few. You will find that the prices are VERY reasonable when you shop at these types of markets.

After we finished browsing the flea market, we headed on foot to find the Town Hall and Saint Peter's Cathedral. We were all hungry so we stopped at Restaurant Domas for lunch which was on the way. A very good restaurant -- good food and good service in a casual pub-like atmosphere. We later found out after reading our guide book that this particular restaurant has its own brewery in the back and is famous for its honey beer. Unfortunately, we didn't know this while we were there.

The town hall (Staudhuis) was just a short walk away from the restaurant. Completed in 1469 after 21-years in the making, this three-story building has six exquisite carved octagonal turrets (Brabant architecture) making for a beautiful exterior. Notice the incredible detail in the niches, each with its own statue. The next tour was in 2 hours (which we could not wait for), but from what we could see, the interior was filled with working offices and most rooms closed off to the public.

Directly across the town hall stands Sint-Pieterskerk (church of St. Peter). Typical of the churches we've seen thus far, it is quite beautiful inside.

Leuven is just 10-15 minutes from our home in Tervuren, so I'm sure we'll be seeing much more of this town while we are here.

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.

Arrival and First few days in Belgium

Well, we made it to Belgium! After 16 hours of travel time and with PS recovering from an ear infection, I'd say that was quite a feat in itself! (All I can say is thank goodness for Grandpa coming along and also for the on-board cocktails!) All in all, we had a nice travel day and in the end, it was such a joy to finally be reunited with Ray.

The girls seem to fit right in and are acclimating quite well. Aside from the jet-lag we experienced the first few days, we are getting acquainted with our new home. Ray did a great job preparing the house for our arrival. It was such a blessing being able to move in with the bulk of the work already taken care of -- thank you, Ray! For those of you who know us well, Ray always spoils us by making our lives as easy as possible. The Belgium move was no exception. That being said, these past few days have been busy unpacking the remaining boxes (quite a few, I must say) and organizing all of our stuff.

It indeed is quite cold this week in Belgium. I'm not used to being around snow if I don't have a pair of ski's to go with it, so this came as quite a surprise. It's not bad if your dressed for it, but it sure is nice to stay indoors! The girls, however, LOVE it and have enjoyed quite a few snow ball fights this week.

We took GP and the girls to downtown Brussels to see the Grand-Place, Manneken Pis, and the chocolate museum. For those of you who want to know, the Grand-Place was once the civic heart of the city and it is here where you will find the Gothic Town Hall, several guildhouses, cafes, bars, and a few museums. It truly is quite a spectacular feast for the eyes when you step into the square.

Since DS is the boss, she wanted to check out the chocolate museum where we spent some time learning how chocolate is made and how it originated in Europe. Of course we got to taste the samples as well. And do you know that dark chocolate has high levels of anti-oxidants? Pair that up with a glass of red wine and say au-revoir to free radicals!

After a nice lunch at a greek restaurant near the square, we introduced Grandpa and DS (PS was sleeping) to the yummy Liege waffle. It was just as delicious as I remembered it to be. As you can see, DS is having a great time trying the local Belgian cuisine!

The prices here in Belgium can be quite expensive. Just to give you one example, at a local discount grocery store, after careful shopping (you know what I mean, Karen), the prices were not that bad. However, the one item that I did not check the price for until after we paid the bill was the bottled water. We bought 2 cases of bottled water which came out to over 1/2 the cost of the bill at approx 25 US dollars. Yowzers! With beer being less expensive than water here, I think I'm going to have to try the Belgium beer after all!

The Girls Arrive in BRU

The Shinozaki girls have arrived safely at Brussels International Airport early on Saturday morning. Along with Grandpa and eight check-in bags, the girls were re-united with daddy and were introduced to their new home in Tervuren. DS and PS were happy to see all of their toys, books and other belongings that were packed up from our home back in January.

The Belgium winter has been pretty mild since I have been here. But then, as luck would have it, it snows on the day of their arrival...!!!

What better way to start our adventure than with something new?

Belgium, Here We Come!!!

Guess who's ready to come over to Europe? Yup, the girls are just about ready to leave LA and make the move to Brussels!

Daddy has been busy getting the house ready: boxes unpacked, beds made, clothes put away and toys organized! Hopefully, by the time the girls show up this Saturday morning, they will be ready to "hit the ground running".

Daddy better get his sleep in now...

US Shipment Arrives!

On Monday, our shipment from the USA arrived at our home in Brussels. The moving crew of 5 arrived a little after 9AM, and they were all done by 2PM. They also made sure they had time to take a 1.5 hour lunch!!!


Jo and the girls will be here in less than 2 weeks, so I really have to get moving and put everything away...

But, then again, it sure is nice to relax on a real couch again...!!!

Toyota Motor Europe Welcome Dinner

The gang at Toyota Motor Europe organized a welcome dinner for me at Knossos, a highly recommended Greek restaurant in Brussels. As is the custom at Toyota, any excuse to go out and celebrate on the company's dime is a very popular and highly anticipated event.

Two Senior Vice Presidents from Toyota USA just happened to be passing through town, so I asked them to join us for dinner. My European colleagues were very impressed that these two high-level executives came all the way to Belgium to attend my welcome dinner!!! (I didn't tell them that it was really because of the free meal...)



The appetizers were wonderful, the meats were grilled right next to our table and we finished the meal with an assortment of desserts, served family style. And of course, plenty of beer and wine.



I finished off my meal with a Turkish coffee (ugh!) and performed the designated driver duties for my two VIP guests.

Many thanks to all of my coworkers for planning and attending this wonderful evening. You have truly made me feel welcome here in Brussels!

"I've Never Seen That Before", Part I

While driving home, I saw a long line of people standing on the side of a trailer, so I decided to stop and check it out. They were selling rotisserie meats!



I figured I HAD to try this out, so bought a small chicken and a slab of ribs... Although it wasn't bad, I think El Pollo Loco and Tony Roma's have nothing to worry about....


What do you suppose they are selling here?



It's MILK! It comes in plastic liter bottles and can be stored at room temperature until you open it up. Then you have to keep it refrigerated! No wonder the refrigerators are so small here!