Exploring Brussels

After our naps on the coach to Heathrow airport :) we flew to Belgium and arrived by early afternoon on Wednesday the 8th. Charlie lives south of the city, but he took the train in since we were all staying in Brussels for the night. That way we could explore the city (which Mom and Dad hadn't seen yet) and also be close to the train station since we were catching an early trip to Paris the next morning.

I really, really like the city of Brussels. It's small enough to become familiar with the sights and easy to walk around. The Grand Place is a magnificent square with amazing buildings surrounding it and it's dotted with cafes and restaurants. From the Grand Place, we walked down the Rue de Bouchers (the lively restaurant street), visited Mannekin Pis (little boy statue who pees) and up towards the park, royal palace and cathedral.

Of course we had to try a famous Belgium waffle - delicious!









We fit a lot in a short afternoon, and then had to stop at a few cafes to enjoy the best beer in the world. We also had to introduce Mom and Dad to our fave kebab place for dinner - Sultans of Kebab (actually they spell them like kebap).








Brussels is beautiful in the evening - especially the Grand Place. So we had to have a beer or two to enjoy the beauty of the night!





























Charlie and I enjoying one of our fave Belgium beers together - it's called Kwak. Yum!

Caught Napping!

I think we tired them out! It's only 1/2 way through the entire trip. We're on our way to the airport to fly to Belgium to see Chazz and then to Paris. Ooh la la!

Road Trip!

Tuesday the 7th was going to be quite an adventure. Mainly because we were hiring a car for the day to drive around Southeast England. Two things that made me nervous about it - driving on the left side of the road and driving a manual stick shift. However, I shouldn't say I was nervous, since I didn't do any of the driving! Mom and I were the map readers, dad was front seat navigator, and Brian was the lucky driver. He knows how to drive a manual car from the U.S. (even though our car at home is an automatic) and said it wasn't too bad. Luckily, the pedals are the same and the stick gears are in the same positions as well - he just had to get used to shifting with his left hand instead of right.


About 8 a.m. he picked up the rental car and about 9 a.m. we were on our way. Our first stop was north of the village Uffington in the Vale of White Horse. This is where a mysterious prehistoric hillside chalk carving of a horse is located.It has recently been dated to about 1400 BC. Just above the White Horse is Uffington Castle, a Neolithic hill fort. It was nice to get outside and seem some lovely countryside and explore the rolling hills. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uffington_White_Horse


Our next stop was Stonehenge. It's a popular tourist spot, and it's very close to the motorway. As we approached by car coming down the hill, the most impressive sight is to see it from above. There is an audioguide tour available to tell you about the stones and how they might have been built and what the purpose might have been. They don't know anything for sure. Not too long ago, you used to be able to walk right up to the stones, but due to vandalism, they are sectioned off, and you follow a path all around the stones. I think they would be impressive to see during sun set or by moonlight or something.


Lastly, we drove to Bath to see the Roman baths and beautiful architecture of the town. We popped in the Bath Abbey, walked by the elegant Georgian architectural buildings by John Wood the Elder and the Younger, and visited the Roman Baths, built on the only natural hot springs in England. We also had a pub dinner in town before we had a few hours drive back to Oxford.

It was great to tour England via car and it wasn't as scary as I thought (but ask Brian, he might have a different answer since he drove)!

London Shopping

On Monday (August 6th), we had an open day for everyone to do whatever they wanted (i.e. shopping for Kelly and Marcy). :) Charlie had to fly back to Belgium early as his team had practice for the week to prepare for the start of their play-off season. Brian decided it would be a good day to get some work done in the lab, and Dad Boy explored some of the local establishments in Oxford.

Quick recap of the girls' shopping trip: took the train into the city and ended up doing a bit more sightseeing that shopping. I think Marcy had some shopping money burning a hole in her pocket. We were on the lookout for an nice English tea pot, and I tell you what, it's harder than you think to find a nice "English" one. We shopped in the Notting Hill area, but being a Monday, many of the shops were closed. We also toured the inside of St. Paul's Cathedral, walked over Millenium Bridge, visited Shakepeare's globe theatre, the posh Harrod's department store, Princess Diana's Memorial Fountain in Kensington Park and Kensington Palace, and King's Cross train station.










For you Harry Potter fans, we found platform 9 3/4!















Ate at Wagamama noodle bar for dinner - it's a popular noodle chain in England (sort of like Big Bowl you Minneapolis people) and I discovered it when I spent a month in London during my soph year at GAC. We lived there for dinner every night back then. Oxford is going to get one soon, so I'm pretty excited!

Chillin' in Oxford

On Sunday, we figured Dad would need a day of rest and Charlie needed some time to explore Oxford, since he had to head back to Belgium already early Monday morning. Luckily, the weather was pretty nice again and dare I say even warm (so hard to recall all of the nice weather as I sit here and type in pouring rain. It feels like winter in Oregon right now!). Since we had just the one day to show Oxford to Charlie, we focused on the main sights. Dad and Charlie took off on the city sighting seeing bus tour around town (Brian, Mom and I had already experienced the Oxford tour in May). Gave Mom and I time to shop around a bit and Brian to work a bit. We all met up mid-afternoon to tour the Christ Church College grounds and Dining Hall (the Harry Potter hall) so Charlie could check it out. Since it was a weekend day, nice weather and during the tourist season, the queue (line) to get in was super long! But one of the benefits Brian has as a postdoc here is getting into the colleges for free with guests-and not having to wait in the queue! So that was cool.






After the tour, we headed back to the flat to get some drinks and snacks and went to the Cherwell River where we went punting! I wasn't sure if Dad Boy would go for the punting, since it's basically sitting in a low canoe and floating up and down the small river. I was worried he wouldn't want to try to get and out of the punt. But after talking up the experience - which includes many tasty alcoholic beverages - we convinced him to give it a go. There was even some extra entertainment from some foreign students staying at one of the colleges and renting a punt. They couldn't steer it at all and kept running into the shore back and forth. Dad was enjoying the show and had a pretty good laugh! So I think the punting was a successful outing. Charlie gave it a go with the pole and steered pretty well for his first time.




























After punting, we had to show Charlie a couple of our fave pubs before he left, so we made some stops at the Turf Tavern and the Dew Drop Inn for some warm pints. Dinner again at the flat and a bit more poker - good times!

Windsor Castle

I have to admit, this was one of my fave days out of all the touring we did, mainly because it's a place Brian and I hadn't been to yet, and the weather was really great and it was such a British experience. After a long day in London on Friday, we still had to get up and get going Saturday morning to fit in all that we wanted to see at Windsor Castle. Windsor Castle is West of London, so we didn't have to travel all the way back into the city, which was nice. We did however still travel via train again from the Oxford station, but we left even earlier than Friday, so was able to find seats this time.

Windsor Castle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windsor_Castle is one of the main residences of the Queen of England. When she's in residence, just like when she's in residence at Buckingham Palace, they will raise the Royal flag on top of the castle or palace. When she's not in residence, they fly the Union Jack flag. She's wasn't home when we were there, but we experienced the Changing of the Guard, and I tell you what, it was awesome! I highly recommend watching the Changing of the Guard at Windsor Castle instead of Buckingham Palace for many reasons. The main one is you are much closer to the guards to see everything and there are not as many people there to watch. It still gets busy, but we arrived about 20-30 minutes before the change at 11 a.m. and it was really fantastic.

From the very start of the first guard troop getting ready, until they changed with another guard troop, it lasted about 45 minutes. They do quite a processional, with a marching band, lots of military drills and important looking stuff. It seems like they are putting on a show for the audience, but we're reminded that it's their proper way to change the guards, and it's for the queen of course. What surprised me is that when both of the guard troops are in the center area, and the band is off to the side, they wait and have the band play a couple of songs. And they played the theme song to James Bond 007! Pretty fun.













Basically when we arrived to the Castle in the a.m., we went straight to watch the changing of the guard. Afterwards, we then toured the inside of the castle and the royal state apartments. These apartments are mainly large lavish rooms where the Queen entertains dignitaries and guests for special events. There is a whole private wing where she lives, but obviously we can't tour that area. The Castle was built as a fortress by William the Conquerer in the 1100s and is the largest occupied castle in the world and oldest in continuous occupation. It's beautiful and amazing, and was a really great place to visit.



After the castle tour, Mom, Brian and I took off for quick tour on foot of the town of Windsor and popped in some shops. Met up with Dad and Charlie at the pub before we headed back home for dinner via the train. Had another BBQ dinner at the flat and then played some friendly family poker for the evening's entertainment!

Pics from London Tour Bus

Parliament and Big Ben












Big Ben












St. Paul's Cathedral












Tower Bridge & HMS Belfast battle cruiser