Amsterdam with Ali

  • February 17, 2009 8:33 PM

Last Thursday, Ali (another expat in Brussels) and I hitched a ride to Amsterdam from her husband who had a meeting there. Amsterdam is only 2 hours from Brussels, so it’s an easy day trip.

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Sunny Shopping Street

We started off at the train station and wandered toward Rembrant’s house, passing the flower market and a flea market. The flower market was quite impressive with tons of seeds, bulbs, and blooms. I wonder how many tourists buy some only to throw them away at customs.

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Shopkeeper in Flower Market

After lunch, we went looking for Crisco, which you can’t find in Belgium. I was amused that we had a tip that they sell it in the sex shops there, but we stumbled upon an American food store first that carried it. The store makes a killing – 9 euros for a bottle of Aunt Jemima’s. They also had black beans, cake mix, peanut butter, and a bunch of other things you can’t find here. I was tempted, but I didn’t get anything.

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Boat on Canal

Next, we checked out the Bagijnhoff. It’s an enclosed square where nun-like women have been living since the 14th century. It’s hidden and not easy to find, but definately worth a look. It has a beautiful and peaceful courtyard.

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Statue in Bagijnhoff Courtyard

We then walked across town, through Vondelpark, to the Van Gogh Museum. I had visited this in 2004, but had forgotten since you can’t take photos. I really enjoyed visiting it again though. Seeing the texture up close is really neat, and it was fun to get flashbacks on the details about the other impressionist painters I studied in school.

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Night Scene on the Canal

Afterward, we met up with Ali’s husband and drove back home. Not only did we eat at an American restaurant, but it was a McDonalds drive thru. It was getting late, and we just wanted a quick dinner. I don’t think that really counts for my no-American restaurants goal, right? :)

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Ali by I Amsterdam Sign

It was a great short trip, with fantastic weather, and I really enjoyed getting to know Ali and her husband better.

You can see the rest of my photos on Flickr:

Another Quick Post

  • February 11, 2009 3:34 PM

This is just another photo dump post. I haven’t done anything really blog-worthy recently.  These shots were taken in our first week here – we haven’t seen that much snow since that first week.  These were taken from these two albums:

Thomas went to the FOSDEM conference this last weekend. I went with him to use the Wifi. I mostly tuned out the lectures, but what I did pick up was pretty inspirational. All of those people were there because they support free and open software – it’s sort of like the online crafting world. People share their patterns, and ideas, and are open to others trying them, modifying them, and making their own versions with their own flair.  Very cool!

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Sunrise on a snowy day

Saturday night, we went to a fun party with the New to Brussels Meetup group again. I met several really nice people, and has some delicious food, but ended the night falling down the stairs and tearing up my arm. It’s mostly purple right now, but at least it’s not broken. I am definately stairs-challenged – single-story houses only for me!

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The Abbey

Monday, we met with the police and proved our identity and that we live in our apartment. I thought this was a silly rule, that all people have to prove who they are when they move somewhere new, but it makes sense now. Unfortunately, we just found out that someone has been using our home in Atlanta to receive mail. They wouldn’t have been able to do that if the police had visited them at the house and made sure they lived there.

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Boondael Station

I’ve been working on my vintage sheet quilt, and hopefully by the time we get internet at home, I’ll be able to post some photos. I’m using the blue, green, and purple fabrics for this one. Most of the fabric is cut; now I just need to sew it together.

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Weiner Square

It’s going to be a busy weekend. Thursday, I’m joining a friend to tour Amsterdam. Friday morning, I’m going on a tour of the oldest wall in Brussels. And Friday evening, we leave for Rome for a long weekend. Have a happy Valentine’s Day!

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Delicious Dessert

The Basilica’s Parrots and Panoramic Views

  • February 9, 2009 6:30 PM

Last weekend, Thomas and I went in search of a geocache by the Basilica.  We didn’t find the cache, but we did find a great treasure at the top of the Basilica – a beautiful panoramic view.  The church is gorgeous on the outside and also on the inside with large stain-glass windows and intricate naitivity scene displays.  You can climb to the top – up by the large green dome in the middle – and walk around the outside.  It was gorgeous.  Another great find was in the park infront of the church – there were wild green parrots in the trees.

These are some of my favorite photos I took:

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The Basilica

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Ornate Stained-glass Windows

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View of street from the top of the Basilica

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View of a cemetery from the top of the Basilica

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Dallas and Thomas - Windy at the Top

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Wild Green Parrot

More photos are posted on Flickr:

Another Quick Update

  • February 8, 2009 3:20 PM

Honestly, this has been a tough couple of weeks without the Internet.  It’s sad to realize how connected we are to other people just by that single method.  I miss chatting with my mom, seeing my friends updates on Facebook and their blogs, and being able to just Google things.  The Internet company is now saying it won’t be setup until March, but Thomas said he might have a temporary work around.  Sigh!  Today, I’m hanging out at a geeky conference for open source software with Thomas so I can use their free internet connection.  

I’ve been working on editing some of the photos I’ve recently taken:

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Saint Catherine's Cathedral

This is the Saint Catherine Cathedral right in the center of town, near Grand Place. I took this photo one night after a long shopping day at Ikea. I wanted to see something more interesting than assembly-required furniture, so we stopped here on our way home and wandered around. We later found out that some of our new friends, Reid and Kirk, live in this area. Reid and Kirk are also from Atlanta, and before that Raleigh – in fact, Kirk and I went to high school together.  Small world!!

More photos on Flickr:

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Our mattress balanced 5 stories up

Here’s some more shots from the move into our new apartment.  We’re still waiting on our couch and closet to be delivered, but we should get it this week.  Who knows when we’ll get the TV or the washer/dryer combo, but I can last longer without those.

More photos on Flickr:

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Fancy Architecture in Antwerp

I went to Antwerp to hit the January sales with the American Women’s Club.  Antwerp is only 30 minutes away, and it’s got a ton of stores to check out.  I didn’t get anything, but I had fun browsing.  The architecture in the city is very interesting too.

More photos on Flickr: