Dunns' Fun

Return to Europe - to celebrate 10 year anniversary!

2011-06-16T04:23:00.002+02:00

May 27 was our 10 year wedding anniversary. We decided to celebrate by taking a trip to France and Belgium. It's been almost 2 years since we left Belgium and we wanted to go back to Europe, do some of our favorite things, and see some friends. My parents and my in-laws graciously accepted our invitation to care for their two grandsons while were away.

We set off on the first day flying to Belgium. When we landed, we asked an astonished tourist information booth staffer how long it took to walk to Zaventum center. Most people don't bother to visit the town where the airport is, but it's not that far from our old house and we figured we could make it there within the timeframe of our layover. We had a nice hike to Zaventum where we picked up some croissants and other good stuff at a bakery and enjoyed them by a pond where we saw quite the assortment of ducks. It felt like being home again, in a way.
We next flew to Nice, France where we found our hotel, took a walk, grabbed some dinner and rested up for day 2, when we headed to Villefrance-sur-Mer, a quick 10 min or so bus ride from Nice. (Public transit in this region is quick and inexpensive - 1 euro per person per trip!) It was a wonderfully quaint and picturesque town on the Mediterranean. We happily looked around an old fort that now serves as the center for municipal activities like the police station, the mayor's office, and an art gallery. It had lots of wonderful flowers that capture the light in just that way that artists like. And the blue blue sea was always there to stare at in wonder.

We hiked around a penninsula called Cap Ferrat, enjoying views of the sea and villas with interesting architecture and nice gardens. It was a blissful day of walking, which was my main goal for the trip since I do so much sitting between my commute and desk job.

We saw some lizards and birds, but our most interesting sight was probably paparazzi hiding out underneath someone's balcony to photograph the people on a yacht belonging to someone with the last name Ibramovich. Mystified us as to who he was.

For dinner, we found a place with a second floor balcony overlooking the sea. We had some pizza and just enjoyed being in France. We took the train home since we missed the last bus out of Villefranche. If we'd been with kids, we'd have been back at the hotel hours earlier....

Brookfield Zoo

2010-01-03T00:08:00.000+01:00

Not too many families ventured to the zoo on January 2nd, with the frigid weather, but we decided it was worth spending a morning exploring with Eliot. Many animals seemed to have been on New Year's break, but we did see a frisky polar bear, graceful sea lions, and, what Eliot for some reason most wanted to see, a llama. We enjoyed the Children's buliding where Eliot watered some plants, face painted with Grandpa, and dressed up like a lemur.

Sledding!

2010-01-03T00:05:00.000+01:00

New Year's Day, although cold, was a great day to get out of the house for a while and go sledding! We went to a nearby park with a good selection of hills. After a couple rides down a gentle hill with Daddy, it seemed Eliot was ready to handle them alone, as he wanted to do! So off he went and had a great time. I was impressed that he walked back up the hills by himself! The really big hill he and Chris did together a few times and there was also some snow angel creating that occured! Then home to a warm lunch.

Pascale visits Chicago!

2009-10-31T22:34:00.000+01:00

Pascale started at URS Belgium one day after I did. We sat next to each other in the office and worked on some projects together but, most importantly, had a lot of fun! Making a friend in Belgium was the best part of my time there. And, I was so happy that I would see Pascale again so soon after we left Brussels. She traveled here with her mom. They first went to NYC for a few days and then came to Chicago for a few days. We ate at some great restaurants and toured the city. We had a lot of fun and it was so great to spend time with Pascale and her mom. Eliot had a great time, too!

I don't know when we will go back to Belgium, but having a good friend there means it will not be too long before we return to the land of Dutch, French, charming Grand Places and far better waffles than the frozen ones I showed Pascale in Trader Joe's!

These photos are from a fun restaurant in Wicker Park called "Earwax." We also enjoyed dinner at Wishbone in our old neighborhood and Pizza Duo (gotta try some Chicago deep dish while you are here)! I can't hardly believe Pascale was here and now it will take some time to get used to her being gone again.

Holland... Michigan!

2009-10-31T22:25:00.000+01:00

Since we returned to the US, we have been really busy. Moving into a new house, keeping up with jobs, keeping up with Eliot, seeing friends and family... It is a good kind of busy. Last weekend we took a break and went up to Holland, MI to see some fall colors. Although the weather was a bit rainy, we got in some great outdoors time on the dunes and in the woods. We also went to a nature center.

We drove to the windmill island tourist attraction just to get a glimpse of the windmill because the park is closed for the season. But when we got there a volunteer was arriving to do some work. When Chris asked him if we could park and walk in, he invited us to follow him with the car and then gave us a personal tour of the windmill. We even met the miller.

It was a nice chance to enjoy one of our favorite states - Michigan (Go Blue!) - and be together.
I love this picture.

Eliot is a much better walker now - he will stay on a path and make forward progress, but ocassionally he still hitches a ride on Dad's shoulders.

This weekend was busy too!

2009-08-19T04:15:00.000+02:00

We had a great weekend seeing more friends. First we went to an air show party at a colleague of Chris's home. (But I forgot the camera in the car.) THen we went to Darien (after a really fast stop in the city to see Ana and Matt and their children) to our friends' wedding. Kate and Pete met when they lived in a house in Ann Arbor that Chris lived in for one year along with a few other people. It was a really fun house. All the residents took turns cooking and made great food! Kate was especially good at cooking up yummy vegetarian dishes. I got to eat over there a lot since I was an honorary house member. One of my favorite memories of that house (even though the outcome of this memory was not so great) was watching the 2000 election returns come in. My Chem Eng classmate Chris Brinkerhoff is standing next to Chris (Dunn) on his right. It was so fun to be at the wedding and reconnect with a lot of Michigan friends.

While Chris and I were driving all over Chicagoland, my parents took Eliot to see Thomas the Train at the Illinois Railway Museum. Hopefully I can post some photos from that. On Sunday morning we met them for church and lunch with my Grandpa John. He and Eliot rolled toy cars across the table to each other at IHOP (bottom photo).

And we're back

2009-08-19T04:08:00.000+02:00

I have fallen dreadfully behind with this blog - too much moving, getting caught up, and social engagements. The social engagements have been great since we spent a year essentially on our own and although we enjoyed the sights and culture of Europe, we did miss our friends! Our first two nights we stayed with my parents. Eliot did just fine with jet lag but Chris and I were up very early for a few days. We're just glad no one was sick. Then we headed to South Bend where we enjoyed being with Carol, Pat, Andrea, Jeremiah, Brian, and Gwynn (the dog). And, as an extra bonus, our friends from Ann Arbor, the Mayos, stayed at Carol and Pat's house too while they were doing a bike ride in the area. The first photo is of Eliot with their son Nathan. Their son Ryan was with them, too. Eliot really enjoyed playing in the kiddie pool and even wanted to stay in when Gwynn took her bath!

In a couple of days we will move from the Residence Inn where we are staying in Schaumburg to a house in Arlington Heights. We can walk to the train and to Eliot's school. Slowly but surely we are getting our schedule and living situation in order!

Stockholm architecture museum

2009-07-08T22:14:00.002+02:00

Stockholm had a very nice architecture museum with a good area for kids to play in with architecture-related blocks and books. Chris and Eliot set up some dominoe games with the blocks. Chris is a domino expert.

Stockholm

2009-07-08T22:10:00.002+02:00

A few weekends ago we had a great trip to Stockholm. I will put up the photo album but the actual blog posts need to wait until Chris can spare his laptop for a few hours. In the meantime, here are some videos. The first two three are from Skansen, an outdoor museum that showcases Swedish homes and other buildings that have been transplanted from their original locations in the country. Kind of like Dearborn Village in Detroit.

We were in Stockholm for the midsummer's festival so there was music and dancing at Skansen to celebrate. Eliot loved both, dancing for the music and insisting that I take him into the dance area for some more "formal" dancing.

The Sing-Along at Eliot's School

2009-07-08T22:07:00.001+02:00

This event was one of the best memories from the year. All parents were invited to attend a sing-along with Eliot's class. Eliot sang and did motions enthusiastically. I was seated next to him which was not the best vantage point for filming, but these videos show his enthusiasm pretty well.

My drive to work

2009-07-08T22:06:00.001+02:00

One Saturday we went to a park near my office (Kessel-Lo post) and took my route home so I could take some photographs/video. I think it is a beautiful drive (for part of it) and have loved seeing the rolling farms transition through the seasons of our year here. Here's a taste.

A taste of Lucerne

2009-07-08T22:05:00.002+02:00

Here is a short video of Lucerne, Switzerland from the vantage point of a paddleboat.

Eliot and Chris have philosophical discussion on friends and sharing

2009-07-08T22:03:00.001+02:00

Eliot is, according to what I've read and other children I have observed, a typical 2-year-old in that sharing is not his favorite thing. With some coaching, however, he can generally come around to sharing. Here we are back in Lugano where Chris and Eliot had a discussion about sharing a dinosaur statue with other children.

Eliot's last day of school

2009-07-03T23:05:00.000+02:00

June 23 was Eliot's last day of school. There was a potluck picnic and it was bittersweet because we have been very happy with the school, the teachers, and families. The setting, an old farmhouse, is wonderful. Here is a picnic table with Eliot and some buddies.

The picnic is in what the school calls the garden. The final picture is of his class. Peaceful, organized, and fun. Soon I will post videos from the sing a long that was at his school a couple of weeks before the last day.

Kessel-Lo

2009-07-03T22:07:00.000+02:00

A few weekends ago we checked out this big recreational area with farm animals and a great playground. First, we made friends with some animals.

Then we checked out the big playgrounds!

The first playground was wooded and had lots of hanging bridges and big slides. The other playground had lots of ways to move and play with the sand that made up the playground floor. It was essentially a little industrial-themed playground for sand play. Eliot did not want to leave when it was time to go.....

Eliot is not a linear walker

2009-06-30T22:11:00.002+02:00

Warning to all who may try to take a walk with Eliot. He makes progress but not necessarily in a linear fashion.... In this video we are looking for somewhere to eat dinner in Antibes, France.

Eliot plays on the beach

2009-06-30T22:09:00.002+02:00

Eliot really likes the beach. He likes to be a worker man as you will see....

Coastal drive

2009-06-30T22:08:00.002+02:00

The road along the coast to Antibes was really pretty. Sometimes a bit scary with the curves and the cliff hugging sections....

At the beach in Cassis, France

2009-06-30T22:07:00.004+02:00

The first place we dipped our toes in the Mediterranean was Cassis, France. Here are Chris and Eliot enjoying it.

Marseille Carousel

2009-06-30T22:07:00.002+02:00

Here are Eliot and I on the carousel in Marseille.

Eliot sings, in French

2009-06-30T22:04:00.003+02:00

Here is Eliot singing on the Pont d'Avignon, which has its own song. We visited the bridge which had a little exhibit about the history of the song. I tried to sing and dance with Eliot to encourage him to sing the song, but the only thing that did it was to have him listen to the audio guide, which played the song. Here is is, not quite in full voice, but very cute.

Eliot hikes in Orange, France

2009-06-30T22:03:00.004+02:00

So, we have been to Stockholm and back and had a great weekend with Uncle Brian, but since I have to borrow Chris's computer to do photo uploads I have gotten much slower at blogging.

But - I can do videos quickly so the next few posts will be from our vacation video collection. Here is one of Eliot hiking in Orange, France.

Strasbourg, France

2009-06-08T21:50:00.001+02:00

Strasbourg, France was our next stop (after a brief pause in Basel, Switzerland for lunch). It is amazing to me how different these countries are with being so close to each other. Strasbourg had many half-timbered buildings like these.

It also has a gorgeous cathedral that we visited. Eliot really, really wanted the organ to play and I was explaining patiently that the organ probably would not play. There was a mass going on and the priest was talking in French when I heard him mention Bach and the organist let loose. Eliot was very happy to hear the organ!

We saw a carousel on our quest for dinner (my least favorite part of traveling) and I indulged Eliot probably his last French carousel ride for now. I'm sure he'll be back in France some day - but don't know if he will still be so passionate about carousels.

The next morning we rented bikes and went to a great park called l'Orangerie. It had many playgrounds, a small zoo, and some rides. Plus it was very pretty. Strasbourg is very bike friendly and it was such a pleasure to bike after over a year without biking. We took Eliot in a little bike seat and both gave it a shot. It was actually easy to ride with him in back and we are going to look for a bike seat for Eliot when we are back in the states.

This trip was amazing and will certainly be a favorite memory from this year.

Lucerne, Switerland

2009-06-08T21:47:00.002+02:00

I am late finishing up these posts about our vacation, but here I go....
We drove through Switzerland stopping first in Lugano, where Eliot met this rhino. He got fairly upset when other kids tried to sit on it because of course it was "Eliot's." Lugano was a lovely town. We grabbed some lunch at a bakery and ate by the lake.
Then we finally made it to Lucerne, our stopping place for the night. It was a great town, very picturesque and Swissish, to coin a phrase.

The mountains were beautiful! Still some snow-capped peaks. I did not want to look away and just tried to soak it all up.

The next day we had time to take a paddle boat for a spin. Eliot enjoyed "steering" and insisted on sitting in the back for awhile. I kept a wary hand on his life jacket just in case... But we made it back to the dock just fine and headed to France.

Cinque Terre, Italy

2009-06-08T21:45:00.001+02:00

And then we went through a long tunnel and came out in Italy. Oddly, we knew we were in a different country right away. Buildings were different, there were more vineyards. I would never guess that a border could be so definitive but I guess before the tunnel the two countries were divided by mountains for centuries. It took us much longer than we thought to get to the national park that was our destination, Cinque Terre. When we got off the highway for the final leg of our journey, we found that leg was a sinewy road that did not always permit the driver (Chris) to see what was around the corner. So a lot of honking (to let any oncoming cars know we were coming) and sharp inhales later, we arrived at our destination. I should note that along the nail-biting inducing road were spectacular views, so the drive was not all bad. Thankfully Eliot was OK with being in the car for longer than we had planned. In fact, never once did I have to pull out the DVD player on this whole vacation. I did have to read a lot of Richard Scary and from a book called 50 bedtime stories.... but that was no problem.
Cars are only allowed in the 5 towns that make up this national park for a few hours in the evening. Luckily, we made it to the town we stayed in, Manarola, just before the no car rule (which we did not know about in advance) came into force. So we drove down the steep hill into town, quickly unloaded our gear which we had thankfully organized the night before, and hustled it into the (very) small apartment we rented. The first picture of this post is Chris and Eliot standing outside and up the stairs from the apartment. Then, Chris had to go park the car in the lot at the top of the very steep hill and walk back down. We had a very yummy Italian pasta dinner and then fell asleep!

The next day we set out to do some hiking, assisted by the train that runs along the coast. We walked along the most famous part of the trail that links these towns to the southern most town. Eliot rode in the backpack happily and walked a bit, too. Then we took the train to the northernmost town, toured its quaint streets and a couple churches, got lunch, and then set out on the trail for some real hiking. It was hilly and the day was sunny and hot, but the views were so great. We saw vineyards, lemon trees, olive trees, the sea, and the towns that were our start and end points. It was a very memorable hike. Chris got many comments as he carried Eliot (who dozed part of the way) on his back. In the next town, we had some gelato on the beach as a reward. Eliot played in the sand and water and got his clothes totally soaked. Luckily I had a spare set. He got a kick out of watching some Italian teenaged boys kick around a soccer ball. We enjoyed talking to a mother and her daughter (a recent college grad) who were touring Europe together. They were from Ann Arbor. In fact, Cinque Terre was teeming with Americans, which we ascribe to a recent Rick Steves documentary on the area.

We used the train to get to the next town where we had a quasi dinner since the same hours of operation problem that I described in Avignon applied here. Then I carried Eliot in the backpack to our base of Manarola. This last picture is with sunlight-bathed Manarola in the background. Cinque Terre was great. Hopefully next time Eliot will do his own hiking and we can do the whole trail!

Monaco and Menton

2009-06-08T21:41:00.001+02:00

And then one day we had to leave Antibes. We drove along France's coast enjoying the views. We knew we would pass Monaco and thought about driving through to add to Eliot's list of visited countries. But - it turned out that Monaco was visible from a gas station we stopped at. So, we decided to forgo a visit to save time. We snapped the first picture from the gas station.
We did stop at the last town before Italy which was another winner, Menton. Beautiful town, beautiful rocky beach. Nice playground, too. A six-year-old quizzed me (in French) about Eliot, where we were from, etc. I think I answered to his satsifaction but not really sure.... It was one of the toughest interviews I ever had.

Eliot is cute

2009-06-08T21:40:00.001+02:00

We interupt this travelogue for a bulletin regarding Eliot's cuteness. Sorry, Mommy's perogative. Chris snapped the first two photos on the ferry. The third is Eliot playing on the beach.

Ile St Marguirite

2009-06-08T21:38:00.001+02:00

One of the fun things we did in Antibes was take a ferry over to a nearby island, Ile St Marguirite. I was a little disapointed with the island because the man at the ferry ticket counter oversold the beach quality to me. (Madame, the whole island's coast is great, you will have your pick!) Inaccurate to say the least. But, while we were looking for the promised wonderful beach for Eliot to frolick on, we enjoyed amazing views.

Most of the beaches were rocky or too cliff-like for us. We gave up our pursuit for a while to eat lunch. A couple walked by and we decided I should ask them if they had seen a good beach. I discussed beach options with them in French and they said that they had seen some good beaches on the other side of the island. Beaches on this side, they said, had something for which I did not recognize the French word. But, their description eventually led me to say, "Jellyfish?" They shrugged but when we found the beach they were discussing, we saw my translation was correct. One beach was just inundated with jellyfish, which the French word for could directly translate as pink medusa. Finally we found a better beach and, although it was rocky rather than sandy, Eliot and Chris had a great time building some rock fortresses, etc. For a time, the island was a military site (like hundreds of years ago) so we also walked through the old fort.

The whole day I knew we were visiting a slice of paradise and I should just soak it up and try to retain some of the images in my head. Luckily, we have a camera to help me.

Antibes

2009-06-08T21:35:00.001+02:00

Why Antibes? I was thinking of staying in either Nice or Cannes, both nearby to Antibes. When I discussed this pleasing dilemna with my friend Pascale, she suggested we stay in Antibes, describing it as cozy with a beautiful old town. Then she showed me some pictures from her trip there and I was sold.

The next "issue" was finding somewhere to stay. There are many B&Bs in the area. We like B&Bs better than hotels because we can go to the common areas after Eliot goes to bed and are not stuck reading in the bathroom. After I process this whole year, I am going to write a book called, "Reading in the Hotel Bathroom and other Tales of Traveling with a Toddler." I chose this B&B from a number of seemingly good ones. When we were looking for it from the street I was growing very skeptical because it was in an unexciting neighborhood of modern residences. Then we found the gate and drove in and found it. It was great. The owner knew all about how to make Eliot happy and seemed to genuinely like him. I know a lot of hosts feign liking children to get in good with the parents, but her affectionate glances at Eliot's curly head seemed very genuine to me. And - there were two cats, one of which had a definite fondness for bread and came visiting every morning at breakfast, which we ate outside. The host is an amazing gardner (helped somewhat by the condusive climate) and we just enjoyed looking at the flowers and trees each morning while rebuffing the bread-seeking kitty. Amber and Jade do not eat bread so I just felt wierd about giving a cat bread. Another amusing thing about this B&B is that the staircase was packed with knick knacks, nearly all of which prompted a, "What's that?" from Eliot. Our nightly trip up the stairs went like this:
Eliot: "What's that?"
Me: "A donkey."
Eliot: "What's that?"
Me: "A hat."
Eliot: "What's that?"
Me (getting out of breath from carrying a 30 pound toddler up 3 long flights of stairs): "Eliot, what is that?"
Eliot: "A pig."
And so on.
Sometimes I know he knows what "that" is. He just likes asking the question.

So, we got to do a lot of fun things in Antibes. We made sure Eliot had lots of time for beach play. He runs into the water, scoops up sand with his blue shovel, which is vastly preferable to his red shovel for some reason. (The red shovel is inevitably for Mommy.) Then he runs as though on a critical mission to another location on the beach and deposits the sand. This busy activity can go on for some time and is very amusing to watch. He builds sand castles with Chris and gets mad at the water if the tide dares come too close. Now I know why families with young children like the beach. It is easy to spend time with Eliot on the beach. He could spend the whole day there and never get bored.
And neither could I in Antibes. Looking at the blue, blue water and viewing boats, or the old town, or the mountains were really nice.

The area had lots of playgrounds, too. Eliot insisted on playgrounds each day and we happily indulged him. I am amazed at how his "gross motor" skills have improved this year. He tackled this climbing structure no problem! Great views from the playgrounds, too.

Cassis, France

2009-06-08T21:32:00.001+02:00

The next day we hit the road towards Antibes, France. We chose a town rather at random for a rest and our choice, Cassis, turned out to be great. Although I'm not sure there is anywhere unpleasant on France's southern coast. The town with its small harbor and beach, cliffs, square, and overall ambience was extremely charming. There was a class of high schoolers (British, we presumed) struggling to pay attention to their lesson, which was delivered next to the lighthouse. We envied their teachers.

We enjoyed the beach for a little bit then got back on the road.

Marseille, France

2009-06-07T21:34:00.001+02:00

Our next destination was Marseille, a large coastal city. As we glimpsed snatches of the blue, blue Mediterranean from the highway we grew increasingly excited about being by the sea. On the drive we also saw hilltop castles and cities. Much more to see in Provence some day.

In Marseille, we went by the old port and then walked around in the historic district, called Le Panier, during Eliot's nap. It was full of ambience and felt very old-France.

Then we headed up to a park on a big hill. Eliot rode a carousel there. The operator gave us and another mom and young childe two rides instead of one. Eliot rode this horse first, then a butterfly. (For butterfly photos, visit the album.)

Towards the end of the day, boats started streaming back into the old harbor.

We stayed in a B&B just on the edge of town. When we arrived, the owner asked me many questions about Eliot's sleep habits and said there was a small problem. I was feeling rather nervous when he said that the heater in our room was broken so he had another arrangement for us. He was especially keen to know if Eliot cried at night. Assured that Eliot sleeps soundly, the owner was pleased to install us in a nice apartment for the night. Other guests aparently could have heard Eliot crying from the apartment. I never found why the heater in the original room mattered at all since it was so hot, but given the agreeableness of the alternative arrangements, I did not bother with it. The final photo is the stairwell in the main house of the B&B that we climed to have breakfast on the balcony. Very nice. Marseille would be a very interesting place to spend more time in, but I was not anxious to spend more time in the busy city with Eliot. We were ready for the beach!

Avignon and environs

2009-06-07T21:32:00.001+02:00

The following day we took a trip to the Pont d'Avingnon, a famous bridge about which there is a song (in French). The bridge was partially destroyed by a flood hundreds of years ago so it no longer spans the river. Eliot's favorite part of the bridge was in the mini-museum, where there was a piano that, when its keys were depressed, made pictures come up onto a screen while the Pont d'Avingnon song played. We did get him to sing the song (video to come) by having him listen to it on the portable audio guide.

Chris and I walked along the river during Eliot's nap, enjoying the weather and the views of the city. After Eliot's nap we drove about 10 min to the city of Villeneuve, a small, less touristy town where the cardinals associated with the pope used to live because Avingnon was unpleasantly urban. The last photo is a snapshot of the gazebo at our B&B where you could nearly always find a cat. The B&B owner had about 4 cats, one of whom became somewhat enamoured of Chris and dashed into our room on more than one occasion to Eliot's shreiked amusement. He would follow her around the grounds demanding, "Pearl, come!"

Carpentras and Avignon, Provence

2009-06-07T21:29:00.001+02:00

In the morning we went to a very crowded market in a charming town, Carpentras.
Eliot got in more Provençal play time, too.

Then we headed into Avingnon, touring while Eliot slept in the stroller. We saw many quaint quarters of the walled city and the pope's palace. The pope withdrew to Avingnon in the 14th century or so because Rome had become unpleasant. The city did not actually join France until after the French revolution. The last photo in this post is of the square just outside the pope's palace.

Vacation 2009! Southern France and Italy

2009-06-07T21:27:00.003+02:00

We have recently returned from our big trip to southern France and northern Italy. It was a great trip. Great weather and beautiful places. Soon I will put up the album from the trip, but we took so many pictures there will be no duplicates between the blog posts and the photo album.

We picked up Eliot from his school and headed south for our first night on the road in Beaune, just south of Dijon where we took our Valentine's Day trip a few months ago. Our hotel was an old postal facility from the 17th century (center building in photo) just like in Dijon.

The next day we made it into lunch in Provence in Vienne. We ate near some roman ruins and took a walk along the river. Here are Chris and Eliot near an old wall by the river.

By dinner we were in Orange, France. We parked right by a park so Eliot played a while. This fountain is in the park. We were starting to feel the relaxed Provence atmosphere already, watching the families enjoying this park.

Dinner was just outside a large Roman amphitheater. (Eliot displays his fork!) Then we drove to Avingnon, where we stayed for three days. We got a little bit lost on the way to the B&B which was on a rural island across the river from Avingnon.

Video from Einghen, Wallonia

2009-06-07T21:23:00.003+02:00

Here are some playful scenes from a chateau that we visited in Wallonia.

Eliot sings on Brugge boat tour

2009-06-07T21:22:00.002+02:00

This serenade made the boat tour all the more lovely.

Visiting Chateau La Hulpe with Andrea and Renee

2009-06-07T21:17:00.001+02:00

While I am waiting for our vacation photos to upload, thought I'd update the videos with some from Andrea and Renee's visit.

These are two showing Chris, Andrea, and Renee attempting to get Eliot to move across the large lawn to the chateau.

Renee and Andrea

2009-05-19T22:05:00.003+02:00

Andrea and Renee finished up their visit with us last Monday although it seems like they just left. We had a great time but I have not had time to write about each of our excursions so the photo album will have to do along with these snapshots. We made it to Keukenhof, Brugges, Paris, Wallonia, and Oostende. On their own they toured Gent and Brussels. Eliot loved being with them!

We are off on our vacation. This whole year is sort of vacation but for this period we actually do not have to do any work and will be with Eliot non-stop. Perhaps I will be able to update from the road.

Keukenhof revisited

2009-05-08T22:01:00.007+02:00

We went back to Keukenhof with Andrea and Renee and found indeed tulips had replaced daffodils. Andrea and Chris called Carol and Pat from Keukenhof so their parents could hear the famous calliope.

Andrea came up with the idea of taking photos enveloped in a tree.

Andrea and Renee helped Eliot get the sand out of his shoes after his playground stint.

Eliot tries out a gargantuan Adirondak chair.

Andrea and Renee visit us!

2009-05-08T21:49:00.004+02:00

Andrea and Renee have been visiting us since last Friday. We have been traveling around Belgium, France, and the Netherlands with them. Here are some photos from their first day here - the obligatory waffle at the market and a trip to the green space Woluwe park after Eliot's nap. During Eliot's nap, Andrea, Renee and Chris toured Brussels a bit.

Also, as an aside, my laptop has died (banking on Brian's opinion that I will be able to retrieve files) and I can't use Picassa on my work computer. That means that the photos will be less organized and will probably appear haphazardly throughout the posts for a while.

Prague, Day 4

2009-05-01T22:01:00.000+02:00

On our last day in Prague, we toured the Prague castle, a big complex of courtyards. The first picture shows the entrance to the first courtyard. Some government work is still done in the castle complex.
The interior of the castle's cathedral, St. Vitus. The web album shows more of the fantastic stained glass windows inside the cathedral.
We went back to the main city through the garden on the ramparts, which would have been a leisurly stroll down the castle hill through nicely sculpted gardens without a stroller. With the stroller it was a mini-olympic event that woke Eliot from his nap. At the bottom of the hill, we continued to see the gardens at the Czech senate. There were loud peacocks roaming about and some owls in a cage.
It was then time to wander back to Natalia's to get our cab to the airport. We passed this museum that must have been a modern art museum. Eliot liked these "big baby" statues outside the museum. (There were 3 of them.) Make of the face what you will.

In all, we a great time in Prague, lucking out again with the weather. It was fun to spend time with Natalia, who Eliot calls "Talia." There is so much to see in Prague, I hope we make it back again some day.

Prague, Day 3

2009-05-01T16:10:00.000+02:00

We began the day at the zoo, where as I mentioned we saw many dogs. There were even water dishes set out for the dogs. Eliot had a great time and especially liked the gorillas and tigers. He wanted to take a tiger home to Natalia's.
Mandarin ducks at the Prague Botanical Gardens, our next stop.
We then went to a big city park - beautiful and would be great for biking if I lived in Prague.
Then Natalia took us to one of her favorite squares in her neighborhood. She and Chris had a beer and Eliot and I explored the fountain. Then we all had a great pizza dinner chez Natalia.

Prague, Day 2.2 Karlsheim

2009-05-01T15:59:00.000+02:00

We met with Natalia in late afternoon and took a train into the countryside to see a castle. The train ride was along a beautiful river with people fishing, biking, and camping. Seeing the castle involved climbing a large hill. Chris was up for the challenge.
View from the castle. We missed the last tour by 15 min, but it was OK with me since Eliot is not one for castle tours anyway.
Eliot did find a pinwheel (long story) and was fascinated by it.
Here is the river we crossed on the way to/from the train station. Very pretty. Dogs were swimming in it chasing sticks their owners threw. The same dogs were on the train with us on the way back to Prague. Them and many, many other dogs. Dogs were lots of places in the Czech Republic that you would not find them in the US, including the zoo!

Prague, Day 2.1

2009-05-01T15:55:00.000+02:00

On our second day, the Dunns set out in the morning for an adventure, planning to meet Natalia later for a trip out of the city. We headed to the Jewish quarter to visit some of the synagogues, but it was a poor choice of days. It was Saturday, the Jewish sabbath, and all sites were closed. So, we opted for a walking tour of the old town and ran across this lovely lilac-framed building.
Eliot plays atop a well in a Prague square. We entice him to look at the camera by asking him to wave to one of his family members e.g., Grandma Lydia. It works most of the time.
The famous astronomical clock in the main square. We never happened upon the main square at the top of the hour to see its figures rotate and we never wanted to wait the at least 20 minutes we would have needed to both times we were in the main square. Crowds, staring at a clock, and sitting in the stroller aren't a good mix for Eliot.
Jan Huss memorial in the main square. Each time we passed it a pigeon crowned Mr. Huss's head.

Prague, Day 1

2009-05-01T15:50:00.000+02:00

Last weekend we took a great trip to Prague to visit Chris's PwC colleague, Natalia. She was a gracious host and unfazed by a toddler invading her home for four days. She won him over instantly with a gift of animal crackers. On our first day out, we went to the river front with stops at a few parks to stretch Eliot's legs. Here is one playground that had a pleasant group of kiddos enjoying the equipment on a sunny day. The playground was on an island.
Here is a view of Prague Castle and the Charles Bridge, two Prague landmarks, from the playground. If I lived in Prague I would take Eliot to this park all the time so I could enjoy the view.
Probably the most famous cathedral in Prague in the main square.
We met Natalia after her work day on Friday to enjoy a beer on PwC's rooftop deck. Well, Chris and Natalia enjoyed a beer. I sipped one but still am not a beer fan. Shocking after nearly a year in Belgium, I know.

More pictures in a web album soon.

The park by Happy Feet

2009-04-21T19:29:00.000+02:00

This is a mansion that is now a restaurant at a park that I really like. The park has this lake, two playgrounds, basketball court, restaurant, and tennis courts. Eliot likes watching tennis. I'm looking forward to him trying out a racket for the first time!

Royal Greenhouses open to the public

2009-04-21T19:27:00.001+02:00

On Sunday, we headed to the Royal Greenhouses, which are open to the public for about 2 months per year. It was crowded but not too bad. We allowed Eliot to touch plants with one finger (pointer only, not thumbkin), which he found difficult to comply with but he did a good job for a 2-year-old!
The outside of the greenhouses are as nice as the inside. One thing we noted during this visit is that, although these greenhouses were much bigger than those in Chicago, Lincoln and Garfield Park conservatories almost seem as good because they have great architecture and really good displays. Plus they are free and open to the public year-round!

Here is a garden that was off limits to guests, we could only view it down a corridor. Chris got some great flower shots during our tour. Hopefully some will end up on our wall when we have our new home.

Brussels Toy Museum

2009-04-21T19:19:00.000+02:00

Last Friday there was no playgroup for the Easter holiday, so Eliot and I headed into the city to visit the toy museum, which the guidebook promised would have many opportunities for hands-on exploration. The toy to the left is one such example. There was also a row of toy kitchens and many other games to play over the four stories of the museum.
Housed in a great building, the museum was packed to the gills with toys of yesteryear. Unfortunately, the toys seemed to have been thrown into display cases and were not well labeled, but I didn't have much time to look around anyway as I had to keep a careful eye on Eliot as he enthusiasticly sprinted from toy to toy.
There were lots of big metal vehicles that kids used to play in. It was amazing to think of the complete changeover to plastic with some wood toys still in the toybox/backyard. Also, this toy maker wisely put in three steering wheels so more than one kid could have the driver role.
Some teddy bear x-rays. The museum has a teddy bear clinic once a year. These are remnants from a previous clinic.

Eliot had a funny interaction with a slightly older museum visitor who insisted we sit down for pizza at one of the toy kitchens. She served us the wooden pizza but insisted that we not touch it as she searched for the perfecting touches like the pizza cutter, then plates, etc. Eliot, after the second "ne touchez pas!" was done. So, we were off for a different area to the somewhat dissapointed requests to stay and eat from the little girl.

Parc de la Villette playgrounds

2009-04-21T18:50:00.001+02:00

Eliot gets in some jumping practice at Parc de la Villette in Paris.

Notre Dame bells and singing of Easter

2009-04-21T18:49:00.001+02:00

Inspiring to hear these bells!

Beautiful singing at the 15 minutes of the service we managed to sit through (or stand through among the tourist throngs)

Eliot interprets bird song

2009-04-18T07:52:00.002+02:00

We had a lovely spring evening at a local park recently and Eliot was moved to do an interpretive dance about the birds singing.... Some of the moves are from a song they sing at his school. And, he says Octopus in his cute, two-year-old way.

The Easter Bunny did come

2009-04-17T22:47:00.000+02:00

I was on the look out for an appropriately-sized chocolate Easter bunny in Paris, but a couple of the shops I popped into did not have bunnies! I just didn't want to get Eliot something else and kind of gave up. Then, at work on Tuesday, a coworker brought a package with a chocolate bunny and eggs to my desk. Turns out the Easter Bunny came to my office on Friday while we were in Paris. So, Eliot got to enjoy a chocolate bunny anyway. As you can see, he did not inherit his mother's qualms about eating a chocolate bunny's head. (I know it can not feel it, but for some reason I just prefer to start with the feet and perhaps never make it to the head.) He started with the face.

Paris, Day 3

2009-04-17T22:44:00.000+02:00

We started out our last day in Paris at one of my favorite Parisian parks, Jardin du Luxembourg. Ever since I first saw this park over 10 years ago (!) I knew I wanted my child to run on its tree-lined, crushed rock pathways. I wanted him/her to see the boats floating in the pond. It would have been nice if Eliot could ride a bike, but at least most of my college-self dreams about bringing a child to this park came true. As it turned out, the playground here probably fulfilled some of Eliot's playground dreams so it worked out well for both of us.
Many trees in bloom made it even better.
After a relaxing morning at the park we headed for the modern art museum which I knew had an exhibit geared for kids 2 and up. Plus, I knew Eliot would love the escalators that run exterior to the building (see the photo album). We actually have such an external escalator at our grocery store since there is a parking deck on the roof. But that is only one level and here there are 5. This photo is of the square just outside the museum, a popular hang out.
Here is Eliot living it up in the kids' exhibit on an American artist who worked in kinetic art, so to speak.

In all, it was a great trip although we were quite tired from all of our walking. I was tired from sleeping with an ear cocked to see if Eliot was emerging from his non-crib bed. But - Paris in spring, for us, was all it is cracked up to be.

I have one trip left to Paris before we fly home. I will go with Andrea and her friend when they come to visit us in just two weeks!

Paris, Day 2

2009-04-17T22:34:00.001+02:00

Day 2 in Paris was Easter Sunday. We lined up to attend Mass at Notre Dame. I forgot my black pants and was a little self concious about wearing jeans until we got there and there were people in quite casual clothes, some rolling their suitcases behind them. I needn't have given it a second thought. It was very cool to hear the bells ring to announce the service. I will post some video.
Inside it was packed and there were flat screen TVs so everyone could "see" the altar. After about 15 minutes, Eliot was done. (I was impressed he made it that far.) So, we lit some candles, as is now our custom in churches, and left. It was a great experience to hear beautiful organ music and singing on Easter Day at Notre Dame cathedral, which has been in existence since around 1200. Before that there was a different cathedral or worship site (my reading on Paris history has faded rapidly from my mind) in the same spot. I found it inspiring to think of the centuries of people who had celebrated Easter (although probably in a much more disciplined and serious way than we do today) in that very location, the voices that had echoed off those walls. In summary, I like thinking about all the people who have come before me when I visit places with such rich history, and Easter was a great time to do that.

After church, we headed to the eastern side of Paris to a big park that houses a lot of museums. Sort of the Paris museum campus to make a Chicago analogy. I wanted to go for this playground that Eliot did love. Video of the trampolines to come.
We walked and walked all day and had this nice sunset view of the Eiffel Tower on our walk home. Many more photos are on the web album I will post. In general, this trip was more about experiencing the city than visiting the museums and historical sites. Chris and I were lucky to do that a few years ago. Now we just wanted to take Eliot to parks and walk around during his naps, which the weather graciously let us do.

Paris, Day One

2009-04-17T22:24:00.000+02:00

We went to Paris over Easter weekend. It was great! Weather was warm but not hot. It was packed with tourists, but not too bad in the places we chose to go. And, although our hotel somehow did not have a record of our reservation (a reminder to always phone first!) they did have a room, that was in fact less expensive than the one I had first booked. Eliot slept overnight in a non-crib bed for the first time and actually stayed in it all night, both nights. He did take some extra convincing to go to bed, though. The first photo is in Place des Vosges, a great hang out on a nice day, which clearly a lot of people think. I had never been here before.
Eliot made a friend at this park, bringing the baby leaves and flowers that had fallen from trees. The baby's parents were getting a kick out of it. Eliot also tried to distribute leaves to pigeons, but they eschewed his efforts, to his frustration.
Eliot and Chris feel the soft leaves of the trees in a different garden.
And, we happened upon this little concert. Eliot is a fan of classical music and especially likes the violin, so he was listening attentively.

Spring

2009-04-17T22:17:00.000+02:00

Spring has definetely sprung here, glorious and flowery. Here is the tree we see from our windows although it is technically not in our backyard.
Here are the woodland flowers at a park by our house.
More spring blossoms.

The Keukenhof Petting Zoo

2009-04-10T07:04:00.003+02:00

We all enjoyed the great petting zoo at Keukenhof. Here is one video of Eliot meeting an lamb and a turkey. A short video of Eliot petting a goat is also on the youtube site.

Leiden church bells

2009-04-10T07:01:00.002+02:00

Get a feel for Leiden with the sounds of church bells heard while overlooking the city.

Eliot!

2009-04-08T22:19:00.000+02:00

Eliot continues to grow and change and amaze us. He makes these rolls with a teacher at school. I have bought the supplies to try it at home, maybe later this week. He is always so proud of his baked goods and, frankly, they are quite yummy!
Here is Eliot playing before we went to the Easter party at play group.
At playgroup, where kids were invited to dress up either in fancy clothes or costumes, we attempted a group photo fairly successfully. I do not have a costume for Eliot besides the Irish soccer player outfit so I opted for a dress-nicer-than-usual approach to the party. It was fun to see the girls in their princess/fairy dresses and I really liked the little boy who came as a bunny. (He is seated on the armrest of the blue couch.)
A friend snapped this photo of Eliot and I. Mommies/Daddies were supposed to dress up, too, so I wore what a friend calls my Belgian outfit. Eliot made a little Easter basket as a craft and got some chocolate eggs.

Dordrecht, Netherlands

2009-04-08T22:10:00.000+02:00

On the way back to Brussels, we stopped in Dordrecht, which turned out to be one of my favorite Dutch towns. Nice canals, nice boats, some interesting shops (all closed, of course).
Chris took this great photo with the building reflections.
Eliot and I by the boats.
The guidebook mentioned this bridge and said kids love to run up and down it. Ours was no different.

Netherlands Shore

2009-04-08T22:05:00.000+02:00

After Keukenhof, we took Eliot up to the beach since he is a big fan. He really enjoyed this hole someone had dug, jumping into it, sliding down the sides of it, and running around it. He was very happy hanging out in the sand. We were a bit cold....
It was very foggy at the beach, unlike at the gardens.
This church looked like it was Spanish influenced and looked neat in the fog.
Eliot playing around in the sand. I can't wait until our summer trip when he can just enjoy the beach in the warmth of the southern France sun!

Keukenhof

2009-04-08T22:01:00.000+02:00

On Sunday we headed to Keukenhof, billed as "the world's most beautiful spring garden." It was indeed lovely with these indoor displays with many tulips. The outdoor flowers were mostly daffodils at this point. We are coming back to Keukenhof when Andrea visits and the floral profile will probably be different. I am going to post a web album with many pictures soon.
Here are Eliot and I enjoying one of the prototype gardens. I got some good ideas and can't wait until we have a garden of our own.
There was a fantastic petting zoo. I will be posting videos of Eliot's great interaction with the animals. He did so well with petting gently.
After touring the gardens we took a great walk among the surrounding flower fields while Eliot snoozed in the stroller. This field is right by Keukenhof and when we were returning from our walk this field had about 15 people tromping (not tiptoeing) through the tulips for photo opportunities.

Leiden, Netherlands

2009-04-08T21:55:00.000+02:00

Last weekend we had a lovely lunch at Chris's colleague's house. He and his wife have 3 girls, the youngest of which is Eliot's age. He experienced his first big backyard trampoline although he waited until the girls got off and wanted Chris and I to go on with him.

Then we drove up to Leiden while Eliot took his nap. Although Eliot opted out of the nap.... We checked into a nice B&B and then headed into town. We did a walking tour that included the canals....
And a hilltop fortress.
Here are Chris and Eliot at the gateway to the fortress that the town grew to surround.
We enjoyed Dutch pancakes at a restaurant where the Dalai Lama ate. Yum!

Don't forget to smell the flowers!

2009-03-31T22:10:00.000+02:00

A reminder from Eliot to stop and smell the flowers. Perhaps spend 15 minutes or so at it if you have the time... Oh - isn't that the point of smelling the flowers? To take time for life's pleasures? Thanks for the reminder, Eliot.

Some Eliot Videos

2009-03-31T22:02:00.003+02:00

Here are some videos of Eliot being Eliot. Perhaps of special interest to the grandparents.

In this video, Eliot proclaims that he is looking for gorillas at the beach. It's hard to hear him, though, with the wind and all.

Namur

2009-03-31T21:59:00.000+02:00

On Sunday, we went to Namur, a major town in the French-speaking region of Belgium. First, we went to the citadel perched high above the two rivers that meet in Namur. Eliot liked playing with the shields in the tourist information center. The woman who worked there showed them to him in addition to the bead sliding toy.
Here is a view down on Namur from the citadel.

After coming down from the citadel we toured the old town on foot. The best parts were strolling by this river and visiting a park with a small duck pond.

Venice in Wallonia? Not quite, but pretty nonetheless.
A narrow street in Namur ending with a good view of the citadel.

Popperigne

2009-03-27T15:39:00.000+01:00

The final town on our stop was Popperigne, which was behind the fighting line and where British and Belgian troops "rested." Talbot House (pictured left) was where many of them stayed.

A street in Popperigne, which was having a carnival unbeknownst to us before we arrived.

Ypres

2009-03-27T15:36:00.000+01:00

A lot of expats we talk to like Belgium because it is right in the center of western Europe - so easy to get to other countries. Unfortunately, that same centralness is the reason why Belgium found itself in heavy conflict during both world wars. On Sunday, we went to Ypres, where the heaviest, longest fighting of WWI occured. The town was practically wiped out, surrounded by trenches and fighting. It has now been rebuilt and it is very nice. We came mostly for the museum about WWI, which we toured while Eliot slept.

Here is an arch the British constructed after the war. Inside, the names of soldiers who were known to die here but were never found are inscribed. I have a picture up of some names in the web album I will post.
The flag for the excellent museum about WWI in Ypres.
After the heaviness of the museum, it was great to enjoy a walk on the old town ramparts on a sunny late afternoon.

De Panne

2009-03-27T15:31:00.000+01:00

Between Veurne and Ypres, we stopped at the coast in De Panne. Still a little chilly for the beach but it was nice to preview summer and see wind-powered buggies.

Veurne

2009-03-23T21:38:00.000+01:00

On Sunday we went to three towns in the area of Belgium that saw the heaviest fighting during WWI - Flanders Fields. We started in Veurne, which was the least affected town of the three. It had a lovely square.
And, the trees were starting to flower!
This is the city park that had a few statues.
Another shot of the town square. Belgium has so many nice little towns like this. They are little surprises just waiting to be found.

Last morning in Krakow

2009-03-23T16:04:00.000+01:00

Our last morning in Krakow was not very toddler-friendly as we opted for two tours. Eliot hung in there, though. We first took at tour of the area of Krakow that was designed and built under communist rule. It is a large residential community and steel mill. We drove out to the area in this Trabant, supposedly a family car, that was the most common car in Eastern Europe under communism. It's engine was very basic, dropping gasoline in by gravity...
Here is the main square of the well-planned area. The buildings were a little bleak, however. We had coffee at a restaurant where our guide gave us some more history and showed us some photos. Then we visited an apartment in the residential area that the tour company owns and furnished circa 1970. ELiot liked the ride on old-fashioned rollerskates that the guide gave him. He was dissapointed that we did not buy one of the mini-Trabants that were for sale, but they just did not seem very sturdy for him.
Returning to the old town, we walked over to this university with a very difficult to spell name. I could google it, but Eliot is going to wake up any minute now.... The main point of the tour was to see the tools Copernicus used when he was a student here. The historical tour was fascinating - see the web album for photos of some of the beautiful rooms. Classes had to continue in private homes during WWII and the university pulled through with its building, treasures, and traditions in tact.
Eliot and I exploring some of the science exhibits. This one was on the sense of hearing.

Krakow Aquarium

2009-03-21T13:54:00.000+01:00

After dinner we took Eliot to a kid-friendly aquarium. He appreciated the break from sites of historical significance. Here he greets an eel.
He took a creative pause to color!
Very interesting snakes.
Eliot and Chris examine baby sharks.

Eliot feeds pigeons, Tarnow Poland

2009-03-21T13:52:00.001+01:00

Tarnow

2009-03-21T13:43:00.000+01:00

If we can we like to take little day trips from our big city destinations to help us get a feel for life beyond the city. For our Krakow visit, we chose a day trip to Tarnow, which is 50 km east of Krakow. Choosing this town solely on the recommendation of a tourist information office was a little risky since the town was not mentioned in our guide book. But - it only cost us about $5 for train tickets and we were off. We met a nice young woman on the train who was studying biotechnology and headed to Virginia in a few weeks for a conference. She gave us some tips since Tarnow is her home town. She pointed out there was no way she could live in Tarnow after her studies were over - just not any job opportunities for her. It was nice to have her around when some police came through the train asking for passports. She explained that she had never seen the police bothering with passports before and indeed the other women in our car just blew them off without handing over any documents. Interesting. Once off the train, we headed for the main square. Eliot charmed another woman, who gave him some chocolate. Finally, we made it to the square where Eliot rolicked with the local kiddos feeding the pigeons. Another mother gave him some bread to feed them because, as ususal, I was woefully unprepared to feed anyone besides our family.
A view of the square.
After persuading Eliot the pigeons were full, we took a short walk around town before lunch. We saw the remains of the Tarnow synagogue, destroyed by the Nazis. The town was once half Jewish.
This museum had an exhibit on gypsy life, including the wagons you can see in the background of the photo. Unfortunately, we missed it being open by ten minutes.

We had lunch in a nice little place - more pierogies. Eliot made a little friend, a four-year-old named Claudia who he was talking about into the evening. It was nice to see a slice of completely non-tourist Poland. He took a long nap and was sleeping when we got on the crowded train back to Krakow. He woke up on the train and asked if we could get off nearly every time the doors opened.... Finally we were back in Krakow where we went back to the great vegetarian place we ate at the first night. Yum!

Police crossing meadow......

2009-03-18T22:02:00.000+01:00

Krakow IV - Walking during Eliot's nap

2009-03-18T22:01:00.000+01:00

After a lunch of pierogies at the castle, Eliot settled down for a comfy nap in the stroller and Chris and I set out on a walk. We saw this hot air balloon that is tethered in one spot. I thought my dad would surely want to go on this if he were to visit Krakow....
We walked through one of Krakow's universities and saw students studying surveying.
We stopped to rest on a bench overlooking a large meadow. Upon hearing some commotion behind us, I turned around and saw a group of police dressed in riot gear walking with many, many men. They began to flood around the bench we were sitting on before we could move. We stood on each side of Eliot's stroller and watched in confusion as the quiet and calm flock of men passed around us. One jokingly stood by Chris, pretending that he was with us. Then he moved on. After the wave of police and men passed, I approached a dad standing nearby with his son and asked what was going on. The men, he said, were going to a soccer game under police escort so they did not tangle with the opposing team. Oh. We saw the stadium across the meadow and for the first time noticed all the police vans. As the cluster of men in black reached the stadium, there was some shouting and running and general commotion. People near us hardly seemed to notice, so this must be a common occurence. Seems like an interesting way to spend tax dollars - police protection for sports fans. I guess I would say it was quite a cultural experience.
Statue outside a university.

Eliot unwinds after the private apartments tour at the castle

2009-03-18T21:52:00.000+01:00

Krakow III - Wawel Castle

2009-03-18T21:50:00.000+01:00

After the market we headed to Wawel castle, perched above Krakow on a hill. Chris got some excercise pushing Eliot up the hill.
The cathedral was beautiful inside and out. I can't tell if Eliot is leaning towards engineering (he loves to examine the doctor's scale causing the doctor - not me! - to proclaim him a future engineer) or the clergy. He insisted that we go in the church, growing impatient as we waited for Chris to buy the tickets. He often insists on visiting churches and seems to like to be in them. Once inside this particular cathedral, he spotted the throne where the Polish kings were crowned for centuries and declared it "Eliot's!" Perhaps he is envisioning a career in royalty? Whatever he chooses, he has our support....
Part of visiting the cathedral is climbing the tower to see the really, really big bell. Eliot liked it. I was smiling thinking of my pet parakeet who liked to play with the clapper of his bell. This would have been a challenge for him.
The castle courtyard. We toured the royal apartments. Eliot was not too impressed with the seemingly (at to a toddler and his mother) endless rooms stuffed with treasures of artwork and furniture. The most interesting part for me were the tapestries that a Polish king had imported from Brussels. We went all the way to Krakow and saw tapestries made in our temporary hometown during its heyday of tapestry making. Eliot was most interested in the large bathtub that was installed for a country leader (no longer a monarch) in the 1930s. He wanted to investigate but, alas, a rope prevented him from clambering into the tub.

Krakow II - Markets

2009-03-18T21:38:00.000+01:00

The inside of the cloth hall had many souvenirs. Krakow's "mascot" is a dragon, so many of the items were emblazoned with a friendly green dragon.
We stopped at this food market on our first morning in Krakow. Eliot charmed a grandmother who spoke to him gently in Polish and pinched his cheeks. Eliot was all smiles. A woman selling some sort of cream-like dairy product tried to convince me that Eliot needed it. Don't know if it was yogurt or butter or something else but I definetely did not want to carry it around all day, so I will never know. We did get some good bakery items and some fruit to carry us through to lunch.

Eggs for sale at the market.

Eliot enjoying Krakow's perimeter park, Planty

2009-03-18T21:29:00.001+01:00

Krakow, I

2009-03-18T21:26:00.000+01:00

This weekend we had a great trip to Krakow, Poland. The weather was great, despite the BBC's prediction of snow, rain, and clouds for our entire stay. When our plane was taking off, the pilot said it was snowing, cloudy, and cold, but just before landing he said the weather had improved and was getting sunny. Here are Chris and Eliot posing outside one of the city gates. Most of the city walls were taken down a couple hundred years ago and the wall area and what was the moat became a very nice park that encircles the old city. Some parts of the wall, like this gate, still stand.
Here is St. Mary's church, which dominates Krakow's market square. Every hour, a bugle call filters from the left hand tower to the square.

Bagels are Krakow's street food. Yum! Here a vendor plies his bagel stock in the perimeter park (which is called Planty).
The cloth hall is the other dominating structure on the town square. Once used for (surprise, surprise) trading cloth, it is now a souvenir market where we picked up a couple toys for Eliot and a few painted wooden eggs for me.

Weekend in Brussels

2009-03-10T21:11:00.004+01:00

We stayed close to home this weekend and enjoyed a few things on offer in Brussels. First, Eliot and I took Chris to the toy and English book library we found this week. The toy library is Francophone and offers toys for babies to pre-teens. We've borrowed puzzles and a few simple games. I was just wondering if it was time to buy new toys because, even with toy rotation, Eliot is too familiar with the toys we have here. But - I don't want to buy toys because I will just have to sell them when we leave. A library offers the perfect solution! In the same building is a children's library with all English books. Now we can get new books more regularly. Eliot has shown that he can sit through long picture books, which is really fun - although bed time can take a lot longer. We got some different toys and books at the libraries and took one of the toys - a plastic ride-on motor scooter - to a park near the library. We enjoyed the mild, sunny weather and then it was time for nap. Shopping and skyping rounded out the day.

Sunday, we were planning to go to Western Belgium to tour some WWI sites if it was sunny or to some Brussels museums if it was rainy. In the morning it was pouring, so we set our sights on the museums. As we were driving into the city (parking is easy on Sundays) with rain pelting the car I was so glad we would not be outside the whole day. The rain let up by the time we'd parked the car and the rest of the day was sunny if a bit windy. Hmmmm. Sneaky weather. We stopped first at the Belgian comic strip museum. We forgot the camera, so the website is the best I can offer. The best part of the museum was the Smurf exhibit. Yes - the Smurfs are Belgian! Eliot enjoyed watching some Smurf clips, giggling through the slapstick parts. We saw little models of a Smurf house, piano, excercise equipment, and clothing. The other part of the museum that made the most sense to us was the TinTin exhibit. TinTin is one of the most famous Belgian cartoons although it was new to me when we arrived. The metro stop closest to us is decorated a la Tin Tin. (See photo)

Next stop was the BellVue museum of Belgian history, located in the Royal Palace, which was reason enough to go. We learned a lot about Belgian history. I'd forgotten that the country was so young, created in 1830. They had to find a king and chose a German prince. We learned that the park where we have enjoyed strolls, waffles, and the playground was a battleground between the Dutch and the Belgian bourgeoisie. The line of battle went around the fountains. Here is a photo of us eating in the park back in the summer. (Can't wait for summer's return!) It is peaceful now. We played there again after Eliot awoke from his stroller nap. Other museum exhibits explained the conflicts between French- and Flemish-speaking Belgians in a helpful and non-judgemental way.

Next weekend we head to Krakow, Poland. Should be interesting - and cold according to weather forecasts.....

Birthday Party at Little Gym

2009-03-04T07:02:00.000+01:00

Eliot was invited to a second birthday party this weekend. This one was at Little Gym, very like Gymboree in the US. There were matt activities with singing, scarf playing (see first photo), and catching bubbles, which Eliot loved (video upcoming).
Eliot liked the rock wall.
And did well on the balance beam.
He loved the cake and edged out the little girl on his left to sit next to the birthday girl on his right. Fortuntately, the little girl did not mind moving one seat over. The birthday girl is his friend at school - her mom told me she talks about Eliot. Eliot is not really to the point where he talks about anyone other than his teachers, but he has mentioned this girl's name once or twice. She gave him a goodbye kiss when we were leaving. Awww.

A day out

2009-03-04T06:55:00.000+01:00

This weekend offered nice weather and we were itching to be outside. On Saturday, we did some practical shopping and errand running followed by a pleasant afternoon birthday party at a classmate of Eliot's house. Eliot enjoyed playing with his toys! (And he liked the cake.) On Sunday, we headed out to this mansion and grounds that has been turned into a public space with playgrounds and, for the warmer months, swimming pools, go carts, and mini-golf. Here is the mansion. It now houses a restaurant.
We walked around the manicured grounds that had a little stream. Eliot was very interested in swishing sticks around in the stream and Chris took on the difficult task of balancing on rocks while holding Eliot to prevent a very wet end to our visit.
The playgrounds were great, but this was the best picture I could get because the camera battery ran out....

Natural History Museum

2009-02-28T07:47:00.000+01:00

On Friday I felt like an adventure so instead of going to playgroup, I took Eliot to the natural history museum in Brussels. We took the train and hiked about a kilometer (me carrying the nearly 30 pound Eliot since there was too much traffic for my taste to have him walk on the narrow sidewalks). I did not take the stroller because you never know when a metro station will not have an escalator and you will be stuck somehow trying to get Eliot and a large stroller up a tall flight of stairs. I think I am going to have to invest in an umbrella stroller although I was trying to avoid it. We have such a nice little red one back in Chicago but not enough space to bring it with us.... Here is Eliot pointing to the T-Rex that he really liked.
A kind woman noticed me trying to capture Eliot's interactions with the dinosaurs and offered to take this photo of us. She was with her husband and their grandson who was just about 3 and was having a great time just like Eliot.
Eliot thinks about those big bones.
These bones were laying as they had discovered them (in Belgium, apparently quite the hotspot for dinosaur activity) and a man was working on them, painting them with something and brushing them off with a cloth.

Aalst Carnivale

2009-02-28T07:31:00.000+01:00

Last weekend, towns all over Belgium had carnivales to celebrate a bunch before the somber weeks of Lent. (Well, they probably used to be somber a while back.) We went to the Carnivale parade in Aalst, one of the most famous in Belgium, despite warnings from my co-worker Pascale of the rather drunken and crazy revelers. We got there before dark and people were a bit inebriated, but nothing too bad. I did want to leave at dusk though. All the shops were boarded up in anticipation of the "festivities." It looked like the town was expecting a Florida hurricane. But, while we were there, the whole town was out to see the parade, with kids dressed in costume and shooting silly string at the floats. People watched from the upper floors of buildings and had commandeered first floor businesses as party centers. It is clear the development of this parade is very involved as there are the complicated floats, music, costumes, and dancing. This is just a sampling. I will post a web album and some videos (really, I will). It was definetely a Belgian experience not to be missed.

Eliot watched intently the whole time from the backpack, which he was glad to see again after months of disuse.
There were still a few floats expressing displeasure at the former US President.... There were some about Obama, too.

Ixelles Market

2009-02-27T07:36:00.000+01:00

Ixelles had a great market. We bought some different quiches and of course had to sample the waffles. The vendors at this fruit market were dressed up for carnivale, although it's kind of hard to see the person in the green hat bending over and the person in the yellow-flowered robe in the middle of the photo towards the back.

A poster to promote energy conservation with door insulators in the shape of daschunds stacked up in front of the door.

Ixelles

2009-02-27T07:32:00.000+01:00

On the 21st, we went to a neighborhood of Brussels called Ixelles. There is a lot of shopping, nice parks, and nice homes. I can't believe I hadn't been here yet - really liked it. There were also these bunnies that were public art. Eliot liked them!

Here are some art deco homes in Ixelles.
A park, a pond, and nice homes.

Yoda no longer lives next door

2009-02-26T16:22:00.002+01:00

Yoda is the Great Pyrenees who lived next door to us since we moved here. He was about 10 years old. Eliot loved seeing him and asks about him sometimes, "Yoda sleeping?" Tuesday we saw Yoda's owner, who Eliot calls Yoda's Mommy, talking to some other neighbors. Then yesterday we saw her again and she told us Yoda had died. She was very sad and she said one thing that bothered her was what Eliot would say when he wanted to see Yoda but he was not there. I feel sad for our neighbor because she and her husband really liked Yoda and he was a sight to see about town out on his walks. He was always very friendly to Eliot. A gentle giant. It was a reminder that there are some tough lessons to learn in life and that it's a big responsibility to help Eliot learn them. It was also sweet that our neighbor was concerned about Eliot's happiness during a time of loss for her.

Metz, France

2009-02-26T16:18:00.000+01:00

We had to choose between stopping in Nancy or stopping in Metz during our drive home. We chose Metz because our guidebook said it had a branch of the modern art museum in Paris, the Centre Pompidou. The guidebook said it would be finished and opened in 2008. We figured, well, it's 2009 so it should be open. When we saw it, we opined that it could possibly open its doors in 2011. So, back to the city center we headed. The other attraction that drew me to Metz was its cathedral with, the guidebook proclaimed, its curtains of stained glass windows. The cathedral was definetly worth the stop. Bathed in the glow of the setting sun, the cathedral's front was glowing and the stained glass inside was beautiful. There were some other kids inside that Eliot got a kick out of, so it was worth it for him, too. See what you think of the stained glass below.

As we strolled through town after visiting the cathedral, we liked what we saw. Cute shops, carousels (none of which did we stop for despite Eliot's protests - how do you teach that you can not ride on every carousel you see?), restaurants, other churches. Very nice. Our goal, unbeknownst to the rather upset Eliot, was this giant city park that we knew must have a playground to reward Eliot for his patience with the car trip. Once we got to the park, moans of dissapointment over the lost carousels turned to happy sounds and he hung out with the kids on the playground until it started to get dark (and cold). Then it was back on the road to Brussels. A great trip to France in our memories.

Since we got back, Eliot has been playing a game with his stuffed animals and toy train. He puts the animals on the train, says they are going to France, and then demands jackets for them because it is cold in France. Poor kid. When we go back to France this summer he will probably want to bring his winter jacket. He can now pick out France and Italy on the map of Europe on our wall.

Cote d'Or

2009-02-26T16:06:00.001+01:00

Just south of Dijon is the Cote d'Or, which produces some of France's most famous wines. We took a short driving tour on Sunday morning of the area, stopping in this small town to walk a bit among the sleeping grapes. No wine tasting for us since it was Sunday and most things are closed, but Eliot probably would not have enjoyed wine tasting anyway. I was kind of surprised how close to a major road these vineyards are. I wonder if the volatile organics emissions from the cars flavor the grapes? I will never look at things like this the same way again after working in the air quality field.

This is the town square of the largest Cote d'Or town we stopped in, Nuit St Georges. Eliot liked circling the statue and pushing on the bushes. Apparently, a bottle of wine went from a vineyard near this town to the moon on an Apollo mission. It was Sunday, so everything was closed but one bakery. We needed food for lunch and it dawned on me that the one open bakery would probably close at noon. I hurried back to it and only to find that they were out of bread. They had plenty of chocolate tarts, but that was not what I wanted for lunch.... We ended up getting food at a well-stocked gas station. Good croissants, cheese, and some raisin bread for Eliot. Things I would not find at an American gas station. We continued on through much more interesting countryside than we passed in our journey to Dijon. Our next and last stop was Metz, subject of next post.

Dijon, IV - The rest of Valentine's Day

2009-02-23T21:51:00.000+01:00

Dijon was a great place to spend Valentine's Day (we were there Feb 13 and 14) but the people to the left did not seem to feel that way - from what we could figure out. We saw them a couple of times during our walk through the city. They were in high spirits and occasionally would stop and sing, "This is not a love song!" over and over. We were puzzled but amused.
Eliot was definetely amused by this carousel ride in an airplane that seemed to be made just for him. It was a joy to watch him "steer" and smile his way through the ride. He seemed to accept when it was time to get off, although he made it clear he would have liked to have another go riding on a trolley on the carousel.
The antiques quarter of Dijon was especially quaint and medieval.
We managed to find a restaurant that was not completely full. Eliot and Chris enjoyed special Valentine's Day sundaes. Happy boys.

Dijon photo album is working. In case you've not seen enough photos from this trip, check it out.

Dijon III, Touring the City

2009-02-23T17:07:00.000+01:00

After the gardens, we headed back into town and got a guide for a walking tour that follows little owls set into the ground all around town. We started out here at Place D'Arcy, Dijon's first public park.
On the left is the post office, the right an art deco building with "pagoda roofs." In all, Dijon had great architecture - many old (like 1700s) mansions because it was the seat of the Burgundian Dukes for centuries. It felt very old-world France. This walking tour made me so glad we came to see this part of France.
We gathered goodies for lunch at this covered market, which was still cold since it was not heated. But - there was great cheese, fruit, and bread. Eliot gobbled up honey bread, a croissant, and some clementines. He did not like the cheese I selected. He has cooled his love affair with cheese although he still relishes mozzarella.
A half-timbered building in Dijon on a main shopping street.

I did put up a photo album for this trip but the slideshow is not working quite right (time sink). In the meantime, click on the picassa albums link and choose the Dijon Trip album.

Dijon, II - Botanical gardens

2009-02-20T22:21:00.000+01:00

Our first stop on Sunday was the Botanical Gardens in Dijon. Our aim was to give Eliot some romping time since most of the previous day was spent in the car. It was small but nice.
Eliot's favorite thing about the whole place was this tree.
He sat at its base, inspected twigs, dug his feet into the soil, and, at times, even rolled around a bit.
Then he became interested in sticking small twigs in this banister. Just goes to show that you can be in France, you can be in your backyard, toddlers like twigs and will likely be unimpressed with the cultural heritage surrounding them. So, we try to balance our desire to see and do with his desire to be without agenda. Works most of the time.

Dijon, I

2009-02-20T22:12:00.000+01:00

I'll do several posts about Dijon since I am limited to four photos per post... Here is the courtyard of our hotel, which dated to the fifteenth century but, since it was a two star hotel, was extremely reasonable. Here Eliot and Chris inspect the vines.
So quaint.
Here are Eliot and I on a street in Dijon.
Here is the inside of one of the Dijon cathedrals. Eliot likes to light candles in cathedrals so we usually get one for him and say we are leaving it as a prayer to God for our family. The first couple of times he wanted to take the candles with him, but now he gets it that we leave the candles there.

Rheims

2009-02-20T22:05:00.001+01:00

Last weekend we took a trip to France. It's been a busy week and the posts about this trip will trickle in over the next couple of days. We set off through a snowy Belgium on Saturday, stopped at a French town for lunch that was nice but not in our guidebook so I have thus forgotten its name. But - our first destination was Rheims (pronounced rahns with a nasal accent) for its famous cathedral. All French students, including me, learn about the cathedral at Rheims. It was huge, as you might expect, and French kings were coronated here for centuries. One of them was coronated sometime in the 1400s and had Jean d'Arc at his side. There was a statue of her in the cathedral. It was awe-inspiring on the inside. We especially liked the rose windows (third photo).

Eliot was OK with the cathedral and all, but after our visit to the cathedral we wanted to check out the cool library that was just across the square from the cathedral. The cathedral was reflected in the floor-to-ceiling windows at the library. Eliot ran right in the library, zipped past circulation, and careened straight to the childrens' section. Not sure if he has a homing device for childrens' libraries....? He started investigating all the books. Here he is flipping through one. We found the french version of Goodnight Moon (Bon Soir Lune), too. After the cathedral it was back in the car for Eliot's nap and the rest of our trip to Dijon. For the most part, the scenery in France between the Belgian border and Dijon was like Kansas, but just a smidgen quainter. I will eventually post a photo album from this trip.

Chinese Pavillion and Japanese Tower, Brussels

2009-02-11T07:00:00.000+01:00

King Leopold II requested that these examples of Chinese and Japanese buildings be built, but to be honest I forgot why. I think he saw something like these at a world's fair and liked them. We had seen the Japanese tower from the highway one day and went to satisfy our curiosity about it on Sunday. To the left is the Chinese Pavillion. Inside there were displays of ceramics and pottery in opulent surroundings.
Across a busy road is the Japanese tower. We could not go in the red tower, but did enter the brown building in the foreground.
Inside was Japanese pottery and lots of beautiful stained glass along a stairway. Eliot climbed all the stairs himself.

Farm in Brussels

2009-02-11T06:54:00.000+01:00

On Sunday, we visited a garden store/farm in Brussels. It amazes me how much green space (and actual farming) is within the city limits of Brussels. Each animal would run to the fence as we walked through the farm - later we learned from observing other families that most visitors feed the critters. I will post some video later that better depicts the animals' enthusiasm for visitors and Eliot's amusement at it.
This looked like a scene from Bethlehem to me.
Very, very enthusiastic piggies. A family donated some bread to Eliot and then commented on how fearlessly he fed the squealing and grunting piglets. Then I saw the signs requesting that visitors not feed the animals bread, but vegetables. Next time, I guess.
Here is a photo we took on a walk later that evening. Eliot still loves to search for, pick up, and carry (sometimes rather large) sticks. As we were on this walk we came across a mom with three boys. The two eldest were also carrying sticks. They were a fair bit older than Eliot so I could tell the stick fascination is going to go on for a while.

Family TIme

2009-02-11T06:48:00.000+01:00

Saturday was a relaxed and practical day for us. We went shopping, cleaned, and hung out at home. Here are Chris and Eliot putting up Valentine's Day decorations from Grandma Carol.
Eliot and Chris resting. Eliot started asking to take his nap in the playroom with Daddy, but we convinced him Pooh Bear (who sleeps in the crib) would be too lonely without him.

Eliot plants some seeds

2009-02-05T07:42:00.000+01:00

Here are Eliot and I in some masks we made at playgroup.
Eliot and Chris planted lettuce and tomato seeds. First step was distributing the dirt. Second step, insert seeds. Third step, water! Chris has many fond memories of gardening with his dad and wants to carry on the tradition. I used to help my grandma with her garden, but to my dad's bewilderment, I was less excited about having a home garden. Something special about grandma's, I guess.