Jour cinquante-quatre

...began with another great day at church. Later that afternoon the Vesinet girls decided to take a walk by the Seine.

Ally and Lexi led us along the trail in front of their house and we ended up on the most picturesque dock sitting and chatting until it got dark.

Daydreaming I could lay here everyday of the summer drinking lemonade and sketching.

A demain,

b

Jour cinquante-deux

...began with such a yummy breakfast at the hotel (made by our Italian multi-talented concierge, door man, and apparently head chef...)and a train ride to our next town...

Brussels!!

We packed a lot into one day:

went to this museum consisting of Flemish art

saw this incredible cathedral resembling Notre Dame

got to know the locals

ate more waffles

had a photo shoot with these little friends

saw the Royal Palace where the King and Queen still live

finally found a trace of Halloween in this country

took lots of pictures

saw the most photographed statue in the world (I wish I could say I was kidding)

ate Godiva chocolate strawberries

rubbed this statue for good luck (not the other one)

spent a lovely afternoon at the park

and suddenly, after a tube of pringles and a couple episodes of modern family catch up, we were back home.

Thank you Belgium, we miss you already!

A demain,

b

Jour cinquante-un

...began literally two hours later than cinquante ended due to packing, skyping, fanatical blogging, and the crying children staying at our house. But it also began with a train ride filled with so much excitement for our Belgian Voyage!!!

And finally, the Venice of the North, the petite ville of Bruges, Belgium.

We were all enthralled by this incredible little town. We walked around for hours with our necks back, and mouths opened, so happy to be there.

First Belgian Waffle! (First of many)We were quite thrilled with our room at Hotel Jacobs. Comfiest beds we've had in Europe.And so it began. Hours on end of running in and out of chocolate shops. Delicious.

Madame got us tickets for a boat tour on the canal through the city.

It felt like my brother's favorite ride at Disneyland, but much cooler. I could not believe how perfect this town was.

Then we just wandered through the grand square, into lace shops, more chocolatiers, to the windmills, along the river, ate great frites, said goodnight to Bruges, slept so well.

Oh Bruges, how I adored you. I'll see you again.

A demain,

b

Jours quarante-sept to cinquante

...began with some sleep catch up and then the most tedious art history exam for the next twelve hours. When that was finally over, we were able to:

celebrate Anna Marie's 13th birthday

act like nerds

and, sadly, say bye to sweet Olivia, and Chalita, who took really good care of us the last couple weeks, and who we miss dearly.

Then, off to Belgium!

A demain,

b