Amy's Spot: April 2012

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Easter in Belgium (and how traveling with a dog changes things)

It just so happened that Easter... Chad's birthday... and our local school's spring break all coincided into one weekend. Normally this wouldn't be a problem. We typically spend our Easter at home doing nothing. We do nothing not necessarily by choice but because Easter is more important in Germany than Christmas and the entire country shuts down Good Friday through Easter Monday. True story.

This year we decided to take advantage of the holiday and get out of the country for a bit. Unfortunately, we were extremely limited as to where we could go because as it was spring break here and a holiday... our dog kennel was booked about 7 months in advance for this very weekend. We had no choice but to travel with canine. This pretty much removed the majority of places we wanted to visit from the table. No Ireland or Spain this time around. And so, we decided on someplace a little closer to home. Belgium. Five and a half hours and two countries away (and dog friendly).

So in the early morning of Good Friday- myself, my husband, our child and our dog headed North with visions of frites, waffles and Belgium chocolates dancing in our heads (okay, mostly my head since Chad was driving).

Our first stop was in Bastogne, Belgium. I've wanted to go here for YEARS I tell you. YEARS. This is no exaggeration. I'm not a World World II historian by any means but ever since reading The Diary of Anne Frank in the 4th grade (and supplementary texts) I've had a slight fascination with the era. I've read books from the American perspective, the German perspective, and the French perspective. Chad and I have visited Hitler's Eagles Nest, Dachau, the Anne Frank House, etc all of which have fed into my curiosity and peaked further interest into this time.

Bastogne is about an hour and a half outside of Brussels. It was the perfect stopping point for lunch and potty breaks. You know.... for Meatloaf. Also, we were mainly stopping there to see the various monuments (although there is an 101st Airborne Museum that we didn't visit) and to see Easy Company's fox holes. All dog friendly.

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You know it's going to be a great trip when it starts out with an 105 Euro gas bill. Nice.

If you're not familiar with the story of Bastogne and it's history... you should read or watch (or both) Band of Brothers. Seriously. It was absolutely amazing to be able to go and pay our respects to the men who fought so fiercely in the most unforgiving of environments...

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And even though we weren't there to enjoy it, we left our Easter tree up for the neighborhood to see.

Frohe (very belated) Ostern!

Brussels next....

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Paris in January (and how traveling with a toddler changes things...)

In August of 2005, I had the opportunity to visit Chad when he was stationed in Germany and we were only just dating.

Among some day trips around Hanau, we spent a long weekend in Paris.

Visiting Paris was the stuff my dreams were made of... visiting Paris with my soldier boyfriend was beyond that.

We ate, walked, toured, marveled at the Eiffel Tower and enjoyed everything the city had to offer.

I made Chad promise me right there on a boat cruising down the Seine that we would return to Paris one day....

7 years later he fulfilled that promise.

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There is a great luxury in returning to a place you've conquered in the past.

Our first trip in Paris was an explosion of every tourist trap imaginable... although I enjoyed it thoroughly, I knew this trip would be different.

Relaxed. Leisurely. Low key.

I researched this trip more than any trip in our recent past.

Our sweet cooing baby who we use to strap in the ergo and lull to sleep through various cities is now a demanding, noisy toddler making travel a totally new experience.

I thanked God our flight was only 40 minutes as Rhett continually opened and closed the tray table for 25 minutes while simultaneously digging his shoed heals into my bladder.

We were off the plane and looking for our driver by 1000 am although it felt more like noon.

We opted for the overly priced hotel shuttle (with car seat) instead of winging it with the metro (good choice considering Rhett had been up since 430).

We also chose an overpriced hotel in the heart of the city to allow easy access to... well... everything.

The hotel shared the street with the US Embassy and a Hermes store.

At this point I'm sure you can imagine the type of hotel we stayed in.

Anyways,

our first stop in Paris was to a restaurant for a club poulet.

I thought it odd that the Parisian's giggled as the waiter served Chad a mas of beer but then I realized it wasn't even 1130 yet and it all made perfect sense.

After lunch, we explored the city in the most leisurely of fashions before visiting the Musee d'Orsay (one of the only things on our to-do list besides mass at Notre Dame).

We spent a great deal of the remaining weekend visiting all the child friendly parks scattered throughout the city-

letting our little American monster run wild just like his fellow European comrades.

He loved it.

And he loved his french babysitter, Paulu-

who allowed us one free night to enjoy the quirky yet entertaining show at The Moulin Rouge.

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I wish I could say that this last trip fulfilled my desire to return to Paris but as we walked along the river, underneath the Eiffel Tower, and through the maze like streets of the city I couldn't help but ask Chad...

"can't you get a job with the Embassy so we can move here?"

He followed through last time.

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Rhett in his mini French car seat.

We ate our first meal at Madeleine 7 on Madeleine just a block up from our hotel. They had highchairs (sometimes a challenge to find we've heard) and a great lunch menu. Their Crepe Madeleine is um.... heavenly.