Taking Europe by Storm(er)

2 Stormers and a Croes

We had our fourth round of visitors these past few weeks, and I must say, I'm starting to feel rather popular. When we moved here, I wondered if anyone was going to take the seven-hour flight just to see us. But we've been very fortunate that so many friends and family are willing to spend their vacation time shacking up in Casa de Croes. This May, we hosted my in-laws Judi and Joe, who embarked on a true European Vacation. I thought Josh and I were tourist extraordinaires, but the Stormers took us by surprise. Everyday they were off to see some new part of England. Stonehenge, Bath, Greenwich, The Abbey, Borough Market, Tower of London and so on…  no artifact, museum or sight was left unseen. They even ventured over to France for five days and stopped in Belgium for a long weekend. With all they had on the agenda we instituted a verbal "check" after each part of their list was covered.

Since our weeks were spent working, Josh and I decided meet Judi and Joe for a weekend rendezvous in Belgium. It's a mere two-hour EuroStar trip and what I'd call a "local country" we had yet to see. I personally hadn't done any research on which buildings and cathedrals I needed pictures in front of, but I did have a list of what I wanted to eat and drink: chocolate, waffles, mussels, fries and beer. Let's just say we tackled that list promptly and efficiently. CHECK!

La Grande Place

Although I'd gone for the food, there were some very interesting sights to see in Brussels, such as La Grande Place and Le Manneken Pis, translation: The Peeing Boy Statue. We also happened to be in town for the Pride Parade, which turned the city into a lively festival of music, color and drag queens! It doesn't get more fun than that.

The following morning we went to Bruges, also known as the "Venice of the North" due to it's scenic canals. Unfortunately, the weather didn't cooperate so we avoided the boat ride and opted for the bus tour. It was the perfect way to view the medieval city and learn all the Jeopardy facts and buzz words while staying warm. Our tour returned in precisely one hour, and of course, it was time to eat again. On the menu: omelets, beef stew, chicory root gratin (not really sure what Josh was thinking with that one) and of course, waffles! Lest we forget pale lagers and brown ales. By the time we made it back to the hotel, we were ready for salads, bananas and bottles of water! 

Before we knew it we were back in London, another great mini-break under our belts. A week has past and as I write this, my in-laws are en route to Delaware after three weeks in Europe. I can't help but feel a pang of homesickness, as I always do when any of our guests leave London. But, happily, I can look back on the fun times and say that we had yet another fun-filled family visit and we knocked two more European cities off the list. CHECK and CHECK!