Day trip to Bruges. The best word to describe this city is peaceful. Tree lined canals, cobblestone streets, old homes. This city requires more than a short day to really explore it. But all we have is today so off we went. The city is famous for mussels (sadly out of season), chocolate (always in season!), beer (also always in season), and lace. Since mussels were off the list we had Flemish Stew for lunch. A delicious beef stew with a dark, rich gravy made with beer. Absolutely delicious. We took a tour of the only brewery in Bruges. It has been family owned and operated for six generations. Lots of antique equipment on sight and a beautiful vista from the rooftop. The tour was quite informative. They stressed that beer is vitally necessary and contributes ... read more

We have arrived in Belgium in the University town of Leuven. Leuven is called the City of Beer. A hundred years ago the city boasted no fewer than 788 different drinking establishments. It is home to the largest brewery in the country and also the smallest. It has the "longest bar in the Europe" in Oude Markt. The impressive Town Hall dates back to 1439. The 236 statues have been in the niches since 1850, which means they have survived two world wars, So we were met at the train station by a friend of the owners whose apartment we are staying in for the week. Magda walked us to our new "home" which is a very nice third floor apartment on the main street of town. The owners are at their main home in France. ... read more

The last few days we have just been living life in Amsterdam. Taking a few bike rides, walking around the neighborhoods--just normal stuff. We were invited to a community party last night. The party was celebrating the start of the neighborhood 400 years ago. We stayed for a little while but since everything was spoken in Dutch, it was "all Greek " to us. So we went on home. We did some shopping at one of the blocks long street markets. And had tea at a neighborhood cafe. It is good to take time off from the hustle and bustle of traveling. There are some interesting forms of modern architecture in this city. So these are a few photos of ones we saw.... read more

It was time to take a day trip out of the city. So we took the train to a little town about 30 miles from here. Zandvoort is on the coast of the North Sea. We just happened to choose a sunny day, windy but at least the sun was out. We had a good time wondering the town and seeing what the North Sea looked like. We tried another Dutch treat. They love french fries, called potato chips. They serve them in a cone shaped wrapper and instead of ketchup they give you a big dollop of mayonnaise. It isn't too bad but I really think the ketchup is better.... read more

Yesterday we took a long bike ride around the city. We found a festival, a parade, a lake a couple of parks, and the library. The library is amazing. Seven stories high, banks of computers on each floor for customers to use, and a cafeteria on the seventh floor with excellent food and a great view of the city. Today topped it all. Coby took us for a tour of the city and harbor by boat. She has a boat that is about 27 feet long. She putts around the canals so easily. One bridge was so low we had to duck going under it. She took us past the cruise ships and through the locks. What a great time and with an excellent guide. One of the things we hope to do while in Amsterdam ... read more