Egypt for the Holidays

We spent last week in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt on the Sinai Peninsula for Christmas. We had sunshine every day, temperatures in the low- to mid-20s (celcius) and lots of time in the pools and Red Sea. We saw some cool fish and blue-lipped clams while snorkeling. The boys lived in the water, playing water polo, going on the slides and generally being fish in the pools and the sea. It was nice to relax, play and hang out together. Sitting on the beach, looking out at the deep blue water and lighter blue sky was great, though hearing Christmas songs, like "let it snow, let it snow, let it snow" while in a swimsuit felt a little strange. 

We attended a Christmas Eve dinner with a few hundred other hotel guests in a huge tent across the street from our hotel. There were rugs on the floor and colorful Egyptian materials hanging between the poles holding up the tent. There were lights strung all over and buffet tables along  3 sides of the tent. It was all pretty impressive. 

The boys learned the art of "haggling" over purchases in the souvenir shops. They were able to negotiate good deals on their treasures. Andrew and Cameron each came back with colorful paintings on papyrus which they spent a long time choosing. Jordan found a cool frog that opens up to hold special things and he and Nathan liked the clear pyramids with a scorpion in the middle. The base of the pyramid even glows in the dark! 

All in all it was a great week and went by very quickly. We'd certainly go back, if the opportunity presented itself, though there are still so many other places we'd like to see. 

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas (in spite of the NW winter storms). Happy New Year, or as the Belgians say - Good End to the Year!

Snow days in Oregon

We keep hearing about the snow days in Oregon! The boys wish they were back in LO, staying home from school and playing in the snow with friends! We had a big snow in November, on Andrew's birthday (a Sunday) but it was gone by Monday morning. Good playtime!

Where have we been?

The schools here have longer vacation times with fewer long weekends, so we have 6 weeks of vacation in 1 or 2-week blocks during the school year. This works well with taking trips. Some of our "big" trips have been to Interlachen, Switzerland with a stop through Luxembourg (1st summer); Mallorca, Spain (October 2007, Kevin and I); back to Oregon for Christmas '07; London and Bath, England (visited the Lautzes, fun to see them and their area); Paris (Kevin and I) Provence, France (I got to go with a friend and her family); Koln and Heidelberg, Germany (summer 2008 with another stop in Luxemberg); Ardennes (in southern, French-speaking region of Belgium). Next up: A week in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt for Christmas! 

Locally we've been to a lot of the small and not so small cities within an hour's drive around this area. Brugge is a favorite, as well as Lille, France. Lille is home to the closest large book store with English books. Sometimes we just need some fresh English reading material. Ieper has a lot of charm with a lot of history, tragic history. The coast along the Nord Zee is a favorite - my boys love a beach anywhere. We've been over the boarder to Holland while at the coast and want to explore further along the dutch coastal area more next summer. Gent is a larger city with lots to see. We've been there a number of times, including the Gentsefeest - a large, city-wide celebration with performances all over in the city squares and streets and parks. There are multiple things going on all the time for the week or two that the Gentsefeest runs. They build a stage over the canal in the main area with big musical acts. We will definitely go back next summer. We've been to Brussels a few times (more to the airport) but haven't spent enough time there. So many towns have things to see and do. We keep finding new place to check out. We get around partly when we head to other towns for basketball games or events.

We've loved all the places we've been to so far. It's great how close the countries are and how much each holds onto it's uniqueness. Even within Belgium the different areas can have a distinctly different feel.

I'll fill in some details about the places in another post. All part of catching the last 18 months.

Belgium "Did you know..."

We've learned some interesting things from our friends and acquaintances in Belgium.

* Some interesting trivia (which may or may not stand up to scientific validation):

* Chocolate is part of a balanced breakfast (or lunch or dinner)

* Chocolate croissants and donuts are okay for lunch, but juice boxes are unhealthy (?)

* Ice-cold beverages are not good for you because it binds up your stomach

* School playgrounds are not always for public use

* White socks are only for "sporting"

* Beer should never be consumed from the bottle. It should be poured in to a glass, with different shapes being best for each different type of beer

* Big hedges make good fences and can be trimmed to have very sharp-edged corners

* Many kids on bikes and cars going both directions can fit on a one-lane road

* Below freezing is not too cold to ride one's bike to town or school

* It really does make sense to list the date in day-month-year order

* Bread is best fresh baked and with no preservatives

* When stores are closed, ie: Sunday afternoon, bread can be bought from a gas station vending machine (and it's not bad)

* Metric really is easier to work with

* Coffee is not a "to go" kind of thing - it's something you sit down for and enjoy with a little slice of cake and piece of chocolate.

* Just about anything can be cooked in a deep-fat fryer - friets, chicken nuggets, hamburgers...

* Not only can alcohol be consumed at school functions, it can be a "moneymaker" if a parent group runs the bar

* Half-time at a sport competition (ie: basketball game) can be a good time for a drink at the adjoining cafe/bar found at all sports venues. And if the game is early, such as during a tournament, then 10 am is not too early to have a beer or a glass of wine. (After the game is another opportunity.)

* You can't turn right after stopping at a stop sign in ever country.

* "Friets" (a.k.a. french fries) really originated in Belgium - American soldiers, unsure of the borders, ate friets and thinking they were in France, called them French Fries. Belgian Friets are very good, due to the double cooking method - one time in hot oil to cook the potato and a 2nd time at in much hotter oil to crisp the outside. - It does make a difference!

Enough for now. I'm not saying which of these I buy into, or which ones are based in fact. I'm just passing on what we've "learned". More will be added, especially after my family has time to think about what they want to add.

So it begins...

Hello. Here's the first entry, not spectacular but it's a start. I've been thinking of starting a blog since we moved from Oregon to Belgium (18 months ago!). Since we're nearing the halfway mark of our 3 year stay, it seems like now or never. After a few false starts about how to start this off, I thought I'd offer a list or two.

10 Things I Didn't know before moving here

1 - How to speak dutch (work in progress).

2 - The Flemish dialect spoken often in West Flanders is very different from dutch.

3 - Most Belgians say they speak "a little English", but they actually speak English well.

4 - Movies in Belgium can be seen in Original Version (often English) with Dutch and French subtitles  (part of reason why their English is good).

5 - When someone invites you over for dinner on a Sunday, it starts with cake and champagne at about 2:00 or 3:00 in the afternoon.

6 - When it's your birthday, you offer chocolate or candies to others.

7 - They don't use checks, at all. And many places don't accept credit cards.

8 - Things are more expensive here; there is a very high tax rate.

9 - Wildplassen meaning "urinate in public", something many Belgian men do, regularly, anywhere, everywhere.

10 - There is little love lost between the 2 halves of Belgium, Flanders and Wallonia. It's 2 seperate entities, in a country small enough that 8 could fit into Oregon.

10 Favorite Places We've Visited So Far, in no specific order

(more about them later)

1 - Switzerland - Interlachen area, Hiking in and around mountains and valleys

2 - Brugge  it's 30 min. drive away, great city (we watched the movie In Brugge, in Brugge)

3 - Island of Crete, Greece beautiful beaches, amazing gorges,snow-capped mountain

4 - Heidelberg, Germany and surrounding small cities, amusement park

5 - Provence, France, gorgeous, sunny, lavender, stone villages to explore on every hill

6 - Mallorca, Spain - Island in Med. Beautiful, drove end to end

7 - London & Bath, England - fun to explore

8 - Paris - very manageable to see a lot in a long weekend, great to get lost in

9 - Gent, Belgium - lots to see, many events, July big city-wide, week-long party

10- Cities within 30-45 minutes: Ieper, Doornik, Brugge, Ronse and Lille, France, etc.

11 - Have to add the coastal cities, my boys love being at the beach

Okay, need to stop for now (kids are all waking up for school). More later.