Brussels

My husband Scott and I are living in Brussels for a couple years now, while I am on a work exchange program.  We moved out here in late September with our dog Spunk.  We are finally feeling "settled" in a 3 bedroom apartment in the city center.  We've been able to take a few trips including Amsterdam and Cologne.  My mom and sister-in-law came over for Christmas and we took them to Paris, Bruges, Antwerp and Ghent.  We had so much fun celebrating Christmas and exploring areas we hadn't yet been to.  Paris was busy and very touristy, but beautiful and majestic.  Seeing Eiffel Tower was something I had dreamed about, and taking my Mom there meant a lot to me.  The Belgium cities were not as crowded.  Bruges was especially enjoyable.  The slow pace, fresh food and historic buildings were my favorite things.  Scott and I also visited The 3 Valleys in France just this past week for a ski trip.  An absolutely amazing place.  We had sunny, clear weather the first couple days and just couldn't get enough of the scenery.  You are skiing in valleys so the view is always of the mountain tops.

The first few months have flown by really fast.  We are getting much more comfortable with our daily routines and even learning a little French... Vouila!! (used by French to mean a number of words) It's exciting to see what life is like in other places of the world and traditions that we are not used to.  We experienced our first European Christmas markets this December.  All the brats, crepes, churros, and gluhwein you could handle! It's a really fun way to get outside and embrace the cold weather with people in the community.  We ate our first Christmas meal at a restaurant this year too.  We were shocked at the number of people out on Christmas and the number of restaurants open for business.  That night we heard Christmas music and saw a light show at the Grand Place.  A very untraditional Christmas for us but refreshing at the same time. New Years was a bit less impressive with fireworks thrown at your feet and puke in the streets, but I'm not sure that these acts are exclusive to Belgium and that I'm not getting less tolerant as I get older!  Oh well, not every moment or experience is going to be perfect.