Beer, Chocolate and Belgium

Antwerp

What a beautiful city. The bells harmoniously ring out through town--melodious beautiful songs. I must drag Paul past all the window's filled with scrumptious chocolate displays. The smells of waffles and frites (fries) greet you as you pass the numerously tempting stores. We stayed in this little B&B above the owners sculpting studio.

We visited a pub with around 500 beers on offer around 900 if you count by year. It was fascinating--some beers primarily dark ones--age very well so we had a Belgian Trappist from 2005 and 1990 to taste the difference. Amazing.

Brussels

We met up with some friends of Kimberly's--Vincent and Maud. They are incredibly gracious hosts and showed us so much of Belgium. We enjoyed the Christmas lights and beer in Brussels followed by an incredible cheese and wine dinner. We had chosen and sampled all these different cheeses that morning from a delightful cheese shop a few blocks from their home. So much fun!

We made day trips to Brugge and Gent--charming medieval cities in Belgium. All the towns have little Christmas Markets set up--some with an ice rink in the center. Selling mulled wine, frites and all kinds of Christmas things.

The meals that we had in Belgium have been the best continually that we have had in Europe. The Belgium people really know how to eat.

Amsterdam

From unique cafe's to the red light district--we have had quite the tour. Just getting nine people all onto the same bus, train, tram or boat can be quite the challenge but we didn't lose anyone. Further more no one was hit by a bike--quite the accomplishment in this city of 700,000+ people and 1,000,000+ bikes. Amsterdam is such a picturesque city with the canals, 16th century canal houses and 1,500 bridges.

Yet we saw a lot from the incredible Van Gogh museum to all the neighborhood cats--"you know meowers" that Sheri found waiting in many windows. Annie learned the mechanics of the automatic toilets--with the help of mom. We all learned that sometimes the outside of the cup does matter. We laughed a lot and discovered many reasons why loft apartments--while very stylish--may not be the best family residence.

Thanksgiving--Paul and I discovered that Turkeys are hard to come by here in Amsterdam. So we had Thanksgiving chicken--mom made it taste great! Mom had come supplied from the states with the other things that we weren't sure that we would be able to find here like cranberry jelly and marshmallows for the sweet potatoes. So we had a fun American Thanksgiving in Holland!

The guys went to Rotterdam for the day to visit the largest port in Europe while the girls went to the quaint village of Delft to see the pottery and the catherdrals where the royal family is interned. The final day we all went to Haarlem and took a tour of the Corrie Ten Boom house. It was quite the moving tour listening to the conviction that the family had that led them to rescue Jews and lose four of their family members in concentration camps as a consequence--such a story of belief and acting on your beliefs.

Then it was time to say goodbye. I am so glad that we will all be back together soon to celebrate Christmas!

European Vacation--Swier Style

So everyone arrived in Amsterdam. It is really nice to all be together. We have been wandering the city exploring the museums and the countryside. What an experience--taking the train and bus everywhere and learning how to get around the canal maze. The weather is warmer but with rains scattered through out the day--we are prepared and make quite the umbrella laden procession on the streets. Speaking of the streets no one has been taken down by a bike yet but there have been many close calls.

Dad's business associates took us on this grand day tour that encompassed the north and east side of the country and some great Dutch food as well. It's quite the thing to be in a country that you can cross in under 3 hours.

We are staying on the northern side of the city in a loft--its very exciting and in a historical ship building area.

Today we toured historical museums and that very historical area known as the Red Light District. Tomorrow we are off to the art museums.

So that's all for now but will update more as able!

Rain, Opium and "Mosquito´s" in Africa

We finished school and decided to head to the coast and travel over to Morocco. We could not on such short notice get much more than a 2 day tour of Tangier. It is the Tiajuana of Morocco. We signed up with a ferry service to take us across and give us a tour of the Medina and put us up in a hotel.

We arrived and got in a van as our guide fended off the other want-to-be-guides. We had read about Morocco on-line and some one had said that don´t worry about feeling out of place in Morocco you will be like a clown at a funeral. They were right--the locals could identify us from blocks away and were ready to offer us thier services as a guide or for a great restuarant or rugs or mirrors or as Paul was offered opium. His opium dealer decided to hang out with us for awhile just in case we changed our mind about his offer of opium and a place to smoke it. If we did not have a guide with us we would be surrounded by offers of other guides. They call themselves mosquito´s and their top benefit is that they will fend off all the other offers. Paul was offered some camels for me but didn´t accept the offer.

We saw the snake charmers, took a camel ride, ate at a traditional restuarant and in all did the very touristy day trip. Yet, it gave us a taste of what lies beneath waiting to be discovered at a later date.

We stayed over night there in the city that pretty much is the same since the city went from being governed by an international board to being part of Morroco in 1956 --it is very rundown. It is a large drug and human smuggling center.

We had the next day to explore on our own but the rains started and did not let up so we had to cancel our plans for walking around town. So we ate out at the best restuarant in town and had a long leisurely lunch at the 5 star hotel for $40. It was the first time either of us had eaten at a five star place. It seems so contridictory to be enjoying things like this in a country where they make around $4 a day. Yet there are signs that improvements are coming-- not the best for the enviromonment as they involve mega developments all along the coast but good for the economy and hopefully the revenue from this will get to the local populace that so desperately needs it.

Wandering the Labyrith Streets of Granada

Granada the last city to fall to the catholics in 1492. The city still retains much of its distintive culture. From little tea shops where you choose from a menu of scores of teas and sit on stools around low tables to all the arabic words and of course the Alhambra. There is also a large population of new age homeless hippies who all have dogs--it´s a very strange subculture.

We finished up our studies here. We were staying with a family but moved to a different place and found ourselves with another grandma. She was incredibly sweet and very difficult to understand as the people from Grenada speak very differently. She was very concerned about us not eating enough. For lunch she would prepare all of this food and would expect us to eat all of it--it was great food just there was so much of it. She kept telling us to eat more and telling Paul that he needed to finish off the dish so he would have energy for the rest of the day after he took his one hour siesta of course!

We spent a day at the Alhambra an Arabic Palace. It really looks simple from the outside but when you enter in you are blown away by all the work in plaster, tile, wood and water adorning the floors, walls and ceilings of this incredible place. We could not get tickets to get in until the evening session so we toured it in the dark under a full moon and dim interior lighting. It was magical, I felt like I was a character in Arabian Nights in a Sultan´s palace!

We took a tour with the school on Saturday up to some of the towns in the Sierra Nevada such incredible scenery and we had a great guide. He told us so much about the mountain people and took us to a ham factory--there were 200,000 legs there hanging from the ceiling! Like a scene from a horror movie--these are the legs that you see hanging from the ceilings of most of the local cafes. They can be stored just hanging for up to 5 months in this climate.

Seville and The Bulls

Week 2 of Spanish classes we stayed with another family in Seville. Paul and I ended up in different class sessions so we were not able to spend the afternoons exploring as we did in Barcelona. It all worked out fine though as the rains have started--long torrential downpours that leave you completely soaked even if have an umbrella and rain jacket.

Staying with families has given us a really different perspective in touring. We have really gotten to see how people live as we ate breakfast and either dinner or lunch with the family each day. We have eaten lots of fried food the favorite food of Spain--along with the ham. Every family has had their own on counter deep fryer. The Spanish are very, very social as a culture. It is common for them to go to the bar/cafe 2-3 times a day. First for a morning coffee and toast drenched in olive oil and then possibly for a sandwich at around 11 am. Almost everything closes at around 3 pm for Comida the big meal of the day and most go home to eat and take a nap. At around 5pm the streets come to life again as the stores reopen and stay open often till 8 or 9. Then it is time to head out for a drink and tapas (a little appetizer) the bars and cafes are busiest around 9 pm as people fill the streets for thier evening snack. It is really a different way of life and takes some getting used to as we are not accostomed to this eating schedule.

Seville is a very picturesque city with winding streets. We got lost on the way to school a few times as the street signs are not at each corner and there are few straight roads or roads longer than a few blocks in the town center. Seville is known for all its work in tile--all the entries of the old buildings are walled in intricate tile designs. Most of the shops have painted tiles with their name and a picture relating to their business.

The cathedral of Seville was orignially a Mosque the tower and the inner garden are all that remain. You don´t realize it from the outside but when you walk in you are amazed. This is the 3rd largest cathedral in the world--when they built it they built it saying: "let us build something so great that future generations will think that we were madmen."

Across from the cathedral is the Alcazar the home of the King and Queen when they are in Seville. Our first glimpse of Islamic architecture--I fell in love with the gardens and have so many ideas for someday when I can create a garden--I think Paul is a little worried about all my plans.

On our final day there we toured the Bull Fighting Arena. While I might not be up for seeing the event the tour and history was very interesting. There is so much art involved in the event. Sevilla is one of the top bull fighting regions!

Honeymoon Beds

Here are our beds at our abuelas (Barcelona Grandma).

Paul and I laugh as we have spent the majority of our honeymoon in separate beds. Most of the cheap rooms just have 2 singles or 2 singles pushed together to make one bed!

Pork- Part 2

Here are some pigs enjoying a picnic lunch (these are real stuffed pigs) in the front of a meat counter at a store! Paul thought it was hilarious.

¡Barcelona, España!

Barcelona!

What a surprise! We did not know what to expect of the city and were so impressed. So clean, easy to get around in and stylishly modern with a great historical center.

We went to Spanish school each morning to learn some of the language and then spent the afternoons wandering the town. We stayed with a lady and ate breakfast and dinner with her each day in order to practice our Spanish. She didn´t speak any English and took incredible care of us and cooked incredible seafood meals. She was hilarious and it was a lot of fun to chat with her everyday. She was like our Grandma.

Gaudi--where we get the word "Gawdy" is an architect who designed many modern buildings in Barcelona. Some are "Gawdy" a mishmash of every style. Other like La Pedrara are incredible apartment buildings designed to follow the curving lines of nature and allow in as much light as possible.

The last day we were there we went to a monastery north of Barcelona and climbed up some of the rocky cathedral like spires that dominate the region. This is where the Virgen Negro (Black Virgin) the patron saint of Catalonia was found hundreds of years ago. It is a sacred place for many and visited by many pilgrims.

ROME- A journey looking back

Some believed that they were miraculous giants who once lived among the rest of us. The Romans built so much then after the collapse of the Roman Empire so much of the knowledge was forgotten and legends were created until the renaissance when the artists and architects rediscovered much of the knowledge of the Roman designs. Seeing the Pantheon and the coliseum and all the infrastructure of this city--so interesting.

We toured Vatican City, so amazing to be in such a place but you are there with 20,000 other people so you don´t get to see as much as you would like you just are herded along. Rome was filled to the brim with tourists. It was very difficult to find a room.

Walking in the forum and seeing all the layers of excavation that has been going on for over 100 years and seeing the old city emerge from below was so intriguing. We really would have liked to learn more about all of the history in the forum.--The next trip!

Italian Food-Cooking Class

We signed up for a cooking class from an Italian cooking diva. (Originally from Canada but Italian for the last 30 years). We joined her at her restaurant and left for the market. All the fruits-vegetables are marked by region of origin to encourage buying local produce. Sharon is a world reknowed chef she has been on the Food Network and has cooked with Rachel Ray she is a very easygoing person and it was so interesting to visit the market with her and have her explain what to look for and the seasonality of food.

We tried balsamic vinegar at a place where they had aged it for 12 to 30 years. It was amazing as syrupy as molasses--it tasted almost like an incredibly fine wine. I had never tasted anything like it. We are regretting not buying any of it.

We set off for Sharon´s apartment and we all joined in making homemade pasta, sauce, bruchetta and peach tarts with a custard sauce. The meal and the wine were very good and now that we know the recipes we are looking forward to making some meals for our friends and family next year.

Bon Apetit!

Florence

We arrived in Florence and were unable to find cheap lodging so left for the campground. We were able to rent a tent that you can stand up in with cots and bedding for 24 euro a night it was great they had a cafe, laundry and grocery store along with an incredible view of the city and were set in an olive grove.

The Piazza della Signoria overwhelmed us with the statues of David and the forum filled with priceless statues we just stood in the Piazza and slowly rotated around we were surrounded on each side by the glory of the renaissance.

We rounded a street corner at dusk and caught our breath as we first glimpsed the Duomo. The white, green and pink marble facade rose to top everything else around and just glowed in the evening light. We´ve seen a lot of churches on this trip but the size, the marble and the incredible light made us stop and just absorb its beauty!

Assisi, Italy

We joined the nuns and monks in Assisi for the festival of St. Francis. How is it possible to have so many delightful towns with steep narrow stone streets and steps complete with the feel of being in a zone of magical antiquity.

Assisi is touristy--the destination of pilgrims and Italian hill-town seeking tourists. Yet it manages to hold on to its quaint medieval heritage. We stayed in a great pension just off the center square. Seeing the festival was difficult as there was really no information available but we really enjoyed touring the churches and enjoyed some incredible Italian meals. We enjoyed truffles--a nutty mushroom taste at a restaurant overlooking the piazza in Assisi. The meal and the wine were outstanding. Paul is still trying to find the dessert that we had there in order to enjoy it again.

Our British Holiday in Croatia

We set out on a two week sail from the island of Murter in Croatia. We have wanted to learn how to sail for quite awhile and were very excited about learning and exploring Croatia's islands in the Adriatic Sea.

We lived onboard the sail boat (Stella) with a skipper/instructor and other students who all lived in the UK. Paul learned a lot of brilliant British slang and also learned all kinds of nautical knots. We spent time each morning just learning to handle the boat and usually the winds were quite light in the morning. Our crew on Stella made lunch each day and we usually anchored up in a bay for lunch followed by snorkeling, reading and sunbathing for a couple of hours. After lunch the wind usually picked up and it made for good sailing practice as we headed to our resting spot for the evening.

Jib, Jibe, Port, Starboard, Tack.....the new vocabulary was extensive and seemed overwhelming at first but by the end of the two weeks we understood the terms. We learned how to handle the boat under sail, under motor, to rescue a man overboard "Wilson" and most importantly how to park the boat in a marina.

The landscape of Croatia is rocky and it is difficult to tell what is the mainland and which are islands when you are on the water as the islands are so numerous. The hills have the ruins of rocky walls covering them. The Croatians long ago cleared the rocky hills in order to plant Olives and Grapes. The land is so rocky that they built walls out of the rocks they cleared from the rocky red soil. The walls divide the hills into partitions. The amount of effort that went into food production is represented by the walls and cultivation in such a difficult environment.

Setting Sail in Croatia

There are times when you feel like a vacation and not the lie on the beach kind but a salt-of-the-sea adventure where you will leave with more than a great tan. So in search of such an experience I found myself and my husband of three and a half months in Croatia on a sail boat named “Stella”.

Stella lies anchored out in the harbor gently bobbing in the Adriatic Sea’s azul water surrounded by rocky islands. As I climb up on deck and look around, there are so many islands I get confused as to which land is the mainland and which are really islands. Most of the islands have long rock walls dividing every bit of land into small irregularly, shaped parcels. These islands now lie barren. They are victims of thousands of years of severe erosion exposing their stony rust colored soil to the warm September sun. Their rock walls appear to me as a memorial to the back breaking toil that the Croatian’s once did in order to cultivate these lands. Approximately 1,246 islands make up Croatia’s famed archipelago. Most of the rugged islands are small and uninhabited but they make for a sailing trip filled with the excitement of seeing what is around each drop of land.

We’re not the only ones discovering Croatia. Croatia’s tourism boom is a major economic driver. Fueled by European budget airlines; the lure of the walled cities and pebble beaches are drawing Europeans to the former Yugoslavia. Yes Yugoslavia is dissolved, the war is over and Croatia is doing all it can to reclaim its status as a top European destination.

Paul and I sailed off from the island of Murter with three other students and a Skipper/Instructor onboard. All of our sail mates are residents of the United Kingdom. When I first saw Stella, I wondered how we could all possibly stay on such a tiny boat. Yet she was quite deceiving as there are three cabins and the skipper sleeps in the salon. It is not roomy but it is adequate, much like a camper on the water. Life on the water in a small sailboat has its quirks like learning to sleep in our triangle shaped bed in the bow and the detailed operation of the hand-pump operated toilet. It’s really a lot of great fun and the small space and the shared breakfast and lunch facilitates communication with your sail-mates. We all come from very different backgrounds. Paul and I are the youngest onboard. In the two weeks that we sail, we sail with a: doctor, financial analyst, social worker, businessman, journalist and a realtor. We all have very limited sailing experience—our previous experience consists of a few hours aboard a sailboat in a sheltered harbor.

Growing up in the Midwest I have always had a fascination with the unknown sea and travel. So learning to sail was an exciting endeavor. I had done quite a bit of research and finally settled on a sailing school based out of Betina harbor on the island of Murter. Their goal is to teach you to sail or al least provide an opportunity and environment in which to do so. You can do as much or as little as you want in the pursuit of this goal. We set out to do it all. We sailed with a flotilla of seven to fifteen sailboats. Each morning we have briefing for the entire flotilla and discuss where we would go that evening, possible dangers along the way and ideal bays for lunch. Then each boat sets out, setting its individual route to the evening’s destination. We chart out our desired route. Each sailor takes turns navigating through the various duties. Jib, jibe, leech, luff, stanchion, tack, leeward, cleat…I silently practice my new vocabulary as my eyes wander around the boat.

The seas calm surface has been broken by the wind, the prospects for the days sailing seemed more promising after a couple of days of almost dead calm. The wind gradually gets stronger as we motor out of the harbor. I pull the sail up and the wind fills it making it snap--satisfied and full. As we trim the sails the boat finds the zone and goes slightly on edge and gradually speeds up to 5 knots—this is the fastest that we have went in days. Everyone brims with energy now that Croatia’s famed winds have made their appearance. The winds are known personally by the locals and named: Tramontana, Bura, Lavant, Ostro, Jugo, Pulenot, Lebic and Maestral due to their ferocity, direction and character. We let out the sails more than necessary just to set the boat at such an angle the rails now and then touch the water. Soon though we trim the sails are to more efficiently sail in the strong breeze. The Skipper calls out and the replies sound, “Ready about…Ready…Helm to lee…Lee ho”. We tack about, my arms begin to ache as we tack our way up the narrow channel against the wind.

Around 1:00 PM each day we sail in to a nice bay and anchor. Eating a sandwich, Greek salad and fresh fruit for lunch I eye the water and the coastline. Finished with my lunch I determine my destination and jump in but soon return to the boat for my snorkel. Snorkeling—I love it. Even though the crystal blue waters off Croatia’s coast are quite lifeless just seeing the rocky bottom and the sea cucumbers entertains me as I paddle around. Tired I crawl back aboard the boat and lie on the sun-warmed deck reading and drying off until about 3 pm when we sail off for our evening anchoring spot.

For the last week we sail into numerous harbors some populated with fleets of sailboats, luxury yachts and fishing boats. These offer amenities such as hot showers, groceries and fresh water. Other nights we spend at desolate peaceful ports. Some of these harbors have no dock. We paddle to the shore in little inflatable boats by twos and threes.

Most of the flotillas party gathers each night for dinner and drinks. The calamari here is incredible and I am tempted to order it each time I go out. Some nights we choose to set off on our own and explore the places we have made our home for the evening. We wander the narrow streets and walkways in the old villages along the coast. Then we return to the boat and make a dinner of pasta and enjoy a local wine. The restaurants here are expensive--around $45 for a basic (no drinks or fish) meal for two. We had not expected eating out to be so much but eating in is a fun option.

As we sailed back into the Betina marina on the island of Murter after two weeks of sailing, I look out over the boat in a familiar manner. We are no longer strangers. I am confident and in control of the boat both under motor and sail. Masterfully tying knots and talking the lingo; I am able at the helm or as a crew member. Stella and I have spent fourteen days together sailing Croatia’s coast. Paul and I pack our bags and leave Stella placing certificates stating that we are now Flotilla Skippers in our backpacks. I am tan, my arms are sore, I understand basic sailing and I feel as though I can say I have experienced Croatia’s northern coast.