Weather

Friday & Saturday Rain all day - Joe coming home from a ride



Sunday misty yucky rain and Foxy not happy -Monday Grey skys over Ave. Louise



Tuesday a little sunshine not much. Wednesday grey day - photo of a wood sculpture

I'm happy to report that today it is raining and I just came back from the doctor and did not have my umbrella.

Weekend find

How cute are these! They have different cuckoo clocks on them with German explanations - for size they are just a little bigger than an espresso cup.

iPod

I got an iPod for Christmas this year…I’m glad to report I have successfully downloaded 344 songs which is 22 hours of music not to mention 2 episodes of One Tree Hill all by myself.(meaning no help from a teenager)

The itunes store I have to admit is very addicting. I now have a little bit of Dylan, Tom Jones, Wayne Newton and Viva Las Vegas by Elvis.

last saturday night

Anne & Kevin’s house was the place to be in Brussels last Saturday night. They had all of the 15 trappist beers made in Belgium available for taste testing. Cheers to Anne & Kevin!

The thing to remember when drinking beer, is that Belgium beer is a lot stronger then the US beer…they started on the 6% beers and by the end of the night they were into what you call triples which are around 14% alcohol. Notice I typed they…I got a new battery for my car and I drove.

The out come from the evening was that Anne & I need to make more beer runs.

Golden Globes

no comments on this people...just a photo or maybe not

I’m very happy I got to see the Globes this year and at a reasonable hour of the day. I do believe that they did a good job under the circumstances. Usually I only get the pre-show in French on E! which is called Le Tapis Rouge – get it….the red carpet.

The globes are my very favorite awards show. Why?

* It is from the foreign press/having a different view on things

* Combines television and motion pictures in one show

* Just an over all relaxed party mood going on…why would it not be that way with all the champagne and food they are eating and drinking.

* Your never know what’s going to happen…actress getting locked in the bathroom when there name is called. Jack Nicholson all ways adds a little excitement to the mix.

* Miss Golden Globe- this is a daughter of an actor or actress that helps on stage and looks pretty every year. Kind of like a coming out party. This year it was going to be Rumor Willis - Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter.

On the other hand I’m sad that it wasn’t the big production, missing all the gorgeous gowns and after party storied. I also feel sorry for the people that this was there first time getting invited and they didn’t get to go. I can just imagine everyone at home or at a party somewhere watching the awards show it just wouldn’t be the same thing if you won.

This photo is a casual example of winning a globe and being at a party with friends not dressed up. You can see it is just not the same thing...However I would like to thank Kate for giving me my first Golden Globe.

Just behind the big black purse you can see my golden globe award. It is just not the same thing not being all dressed up at an after party with your award.

For me this also means no more Grey’s Anatomy…last week was the first sign over here of the writer’s strike I have seen. I get shows later here due to them adding Flemish subtitles or dubbing over in French.

I think that everyone would have to agree that the writer strike needs to be settled and soon. (But they can cancel the Academy Awards that I don’t need to see a press conference)

Normandy remebered

We started out early on Thursday morning heading for our first stop Rouen, France.

Rouen is the capital of the Normandy region and known for the trial and execution of Joan of Arc ( real name Jeanne d’arc cause she is french)

We had lunch in the Place du Vieux Marche area which was partly demolished by the bombings. This is also the square that Jeanne d’arc was burned on a stake in 1431.

this sign marks the spot were Joan of Arc was burned

Then we walked to visit La Cathedrale de Rouen, which is the church Monet painted from 1890 -1892 the church also suffered major damage during WWII and has been repaired.

Then we drove to our hotel…which was in the extremely small town and in the middle of the farm fields. Our rooms were good and they included the following…Breakfast, dinner and rooster cock-a-doo a dooing in the morning.

Friday morning after breakfast we left for Musee du debarqument – an awesome museum explaining the D day invasion and the building of the harbor that you still can see parts of today I the ocean. They also have uniforms, plans and other items belonging to soldiers on display. If all of that isn’t enough they have 2 films that explain the whole d-day planning from beginning to the execution.

When we were checking out the beach after the museum we noticed the tide was coming in fast. My dad and I almost got stuck in some major water collecting some shells. Which was weird due to the fact before we went in to the museum the tide was really far out and people were actually walking around some of the old harbor parts.

old parts of the harbor

On our way to find the cemetery we came across the old batteries and bunkers of the Germans.

Next stop…Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial.

Over looking Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery contains 9,387 perfectly aligned white crossed on 170 acre plot. A chapel and a memorial add the finishing touch to this very moving scene. I will just let the photos speak for themselves.

Then to Utah Beach were we had lunch and walked down the beach and imagined all the things that happened there.

Joe & I on Utah Beach

We were then to the town of Bayeux to see an antique store specializing in porcelaine from limoges, paris and french regions. I was thinking of all the plates I could get there!!!! When we found the store…it was closed for the holidays. Which Joe said was a good thing due to the fact it would have been an expensive stop. OHHHH you should have seen all the dishes in that store!! I can’t wait to find a time when Joe is not traveling to go back and shop.

Saturday was the day to go home…we drove along the coast part of the way through trouville, deauville and stopped at Honfleur for lunch. Honfleur claims to be the most beautiful city in the Normandy region. Another claim is they have many, many, many artists; almost every store was an art gallery. This is the only town that we have come across the dreaded lunch time closing. We have heard about it and have never experienced it till now. Every thing was closed from 12:30 till 2:30 or 3:00. So we left with out any shopping.

We also crossed the Normandy brige which was a very huge bridge.

Our road trip was a huge success! We really had no idea there was so much to see and soo much history still to see. We really are looking forward to visiting again; I’m however scanning the real estate ads that my dad picked up. Any thing on the beach or in the country is fine with me.

Foxy chekcing out a very cute donkey

donkeys, horses and ants oh my!

On Sunday we headed to a very small town called Frasnes-lez Anvaing. It is about 10km from the French border and 85km southwest of Brussels.

What did we see there??? We went to Asinerie which is a donkey farm!! It is open every Sunday from 2pm – 6pm and is the only place in Belgium where donkey milk is made.

They also have a boutique with donkey milk plus lotions and soap made with donkey milk. I will let you know how the soap works.

As you can see from these photos I was talking to one guy about getting into my pockets while another one was in the pocket on the other side.

As we were driving through the quite town on our way home, Joe and I saw this man and woman in the distance walking a large dog. As we drove closer they were actually walking a miniature horse!!!! Of course our camera was in the trunk of the car so we pulled over got the camera and did an u-turn.

However it was the back side of everyone so we did another u-turn and asked them if we could take a photo of them…well they brought the horse right into the window that caused Foxy to start barking like a mad dog. I did get a photo of the horse however I wanted them walking with it and I think they thought it was normal to walk a horse down the sidewalk on a Sunday. My made up story is they were actually coming home from the pub with the horse.

This is another thing you don’t see every day…

I believe it is a large sugar cube with giant ants on it. This statue if you want to call it that is in the middle of a round-a-bout going to the small town.

In conclusion for a tiny town it sure has a lot of interesting sites.

Gustave Courbet

When we were in Paris for New Years Eve we stumbled upon the Grand Palais. It was having
an art exhibition featuring Gustave Courbet. (pronounced koor-bay) None of us have heard of him before but I liked the crazy self portrait of him that was advertising the show.

After going through and seeing all the art we all agreed it was a good show and glad we saw it.

After my parents left and Joe was on a bike ride I snuggled up on the couch with my January Vogue. (I was avoiding cleaning and the mounds of laundry in the basement) As I was flipping through I saw the crazy self portrait of Courbet. The exhibition we just saw in Paris was heading to the Met in NYC and it was the #9 out of 25 cultural highlights for 2008!!! check it out if you are in the area.

Again just like the monks and beer I’m on to something big and I don’t even know it.

Not to mention if you ask me I think he looks like Johny Depp don't you??

French President Nicolas Sarkozy checking out the painting - thanks to Getty images.

Paris

Us being tourists on new years eve day...an open top bus best reserved for summer.

Happy New Year!!

Me, Mom and Dad