Blogs from Belgium, Europe - page 2

Everyone over here cycles .... Grown ups, women in skirts and high heels, kids, cycle fanatics ... Just everyone. So i noticed the other day, a group of decked out cycle fanatics - each wearing their favorite pro cycle team spandex and with sleek racing bikes - struggling up a pretty steep hill. Behind them, a lady, probably in her late 20s or early 30s on a town cruiser was pedaling the same hill. She didn't catch them, but she didn't fall behind them either. This made me think of two things. The first thing I thought of was of a friend of mine who trained for and entered a triathlon a few years back. He did fine, but he tells the story of running along, and being passed by a lady who was probably at ... read more

Well, we had a great sight seeing day, but before I tell you about that, I wanted to tell you about an item on the menu at the restaurant last night. They had frog legs ... Now, I have never been any place where frog legs were an option to order - though Dave has had them and swears they taste like chicken - but the great thing about them was the Dutch word ... Kikkerbillen ... I can see the little guys kicking their billet right now. What a great language. The other thing I forgot to tell you from the day we got stuck in the mud, was to highlight the improvised roundabout. I stuck a picture in, but it is hard to tell what I was taking a picture of. There was a ... read more

Happy Friday! Day 2 of our vacation. First of all, I would like to tell everyone that we were REALLY tired last night, and did not spell check or reread our post before posting .... looking at it this morning, you really had to hang in there to figure it out.. The good news is that we are not so tired tonight, so this should be a better effort. Before I start about today, I wanted to tell you about the hotel we are staying at. It is about a half block off the main square in Roubaix and is an older hotel. The rooms are small but comfortable, and best of all we have figured out how to work everything. Today was a race day. The E3 Harkelbeke begins and ends in (you guessed it) ... read more

Het laatste dagje spelen in de sneeuw deze winter? Wie weet...., maar wij gingen er nog even van genieten. Miet en Kobe waren beiden ook van de partij. Voor Miet werd het de eerste keer op langlaufs, spannend. Terwijl we de parking opreden van ons lievelingsparcour, "Im Himmelchen" zagen we een kleine cameraploeg iemand filmen. Hij probeerde te vertrekken op langlaufs. Na wel wat breiwerk lukte het. Wel grappig om dit gefilmd te zien. Wij trakteerden onszelf eerst op een warm drankje vooraleer we erin vlogen. En toen werden we benaderd door dezelfde filmploeg, met de vraag of we graag wilden gefilmd worden? Niet echt een favoriete bezigheid, maar het leverde Miet en Kobe toch wel goed huurmateriaal op! Dus dank aan de VTM Nieuwsploeg. Onze eerste glijmaneuvers werden vereeuwigd op film. Amai, wat een pressure!!! ... read more

In a land known for chocolate and beer, Brussels surely did not disappoint! French fries, chocolate, waffles and beer one could lead a very happy life, fat but happy! Cobble stone streets and a palace fit for a king, Brussels lets one be swept away with its beauty and history! Arriving at 7am on a Saturday morning, one would think that there may be some people about opening coffee shops and baking waffles, waiting for the masses to ascend. This proved me wrong, these streets were dead, the only soles in the city were those of keen tourists getting early morning photos, braving the cold to do so. The Grand Place, buildings adorned with gold trimmings, gothic style steeples and cobble stone square seemed the first point of interest for those visiting this city. With chocolate ... read more