More pics

Hiding from the rain

Made me smile. Miss you Lu

His and hers. (Luke's Happy Hour beer is dwarfing my champagne.

More rain. So we HAD to find a place to hide. (Hence the beverages)

The Sorbonne

The Pantheon

We happened across this concert/political event in front of the Bastille. Pretty exciting.

And we came home to this.  :) 

For now,we had a delicious dinner of sautéed vegetables (chef Luc!), bread and cheese, and we are popping the beer open and a movie in the DVD. We are doing vacation right.... Or at least what's right for Us. 

My city of love.

I know I said I loved Amsterdam, and I do. I love Copenhagen, and Ghent, and Bruges, too. But Paris.... There's just something special extra special about this city to me. In all honesty, I am. Probably biased. It is the first city I ever really explored on my own. When I came here in 2006 I remember it being the first city I ever really felt comfortable being completely alone and comfortable being alone in. I felt like it was the first time I ever felt my own skin and liked it. Needless to say I have been very anxious to come back and the thought of bringing my very best friend and favorite person with me, had me out of my mind with excitement. 

After only a day and a half here I can say that Paris has very much lived up to my expectations and made me feel all the more confident in who I am as a person and who I chose as a partner. (Yes a city can do that) 

Plus the food is just outta this world!!! =)

En route on the high speed train. (Can you tell how excited I am?)

 

One of the many incredible Gothic churches.

Petit cafe in Paris (no Venti Starbucks drinks for us!)

In the Cimetiere du Pere Lachaise

Rider(s) on the Storm:

This year marks 850 years of Notre Dame

Pics to be continued...

 

 

Sights

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bruges 1/2

Definitely fairytale town, but a much colder fairytale than I'd like to live in. Still it was beautiful and a lovely day trip. (Plus I beat Luke in 2 outta 3 cribbage games- so I'll take that.) 

Tomorrow we say good bye to Belgium and board the high speed train to Paris, to say I am excited is the understatement of the year. I cannot wait to share my favorite city with Luke. The only bad news... Weather reports are showing rain, rain, rain. We should be used to it by now though, and I picked up a black trench in Amsterdam so it shouldn't be too bad. 

On the train: (he crushed me)

 A coffee shop/chocolate bar where Luke bonded over bike stuff (the owner had seen pics of Luke's bike in an international cycling magazine!) while I drank a delicious concoction of cappuccino, white chocolate, ginger, and honey.

 

 Luke bought me this little guy as a special gift. <3

Meet Fidel, the bar bully. 

 

Ghent pics

 

 

 

Royal Treatment

We absolutely love our hosts in Ghent. They couldn't be nicer or more easy going. Last night we came home early a little pooped from walking around all day and we ended up chatting and drinking yummy Irish coffees til late in the night. For the record- it turns out maybe I did just need a little bourbon because last night was my first night of sleep that was completely uninterrupted by coughing! This morning we came down to yogurt, muesli, and coffee waiting for us and instead of spending our morning at the laundry mat, we can do our laundry here. (Laundry is just part of the less than glamorous life of backpacking.) now, instead since the rain seems to be holding out a bit longer we are off for more exploring. Photos will come later, Luke is waiting patiently for me to get up- per usual ;)

Bon Jour Ghent!

*** To note, all these posts have been typed with my thumbs on a very small screen. The purpose of this is essentially to keep the mom's, dad's and Grama's apprised of what's going on (momo doesnt have fb) and for us to have a place online to look and smile when it's all over. (so that's my warning for typos, or un-eloquent (if that's a phrase) wording).

It's come to my knowledge (actually I learned in high school and completely forgot), that half of Belgium is French speaking.  C'est une bonne surprise!  I wish I remembered more French, but I at least know the traveling basics- much more than the Thank you's I learned in Dutch and Danish. 

Anyhow, this blog app is acting up a bit (hence the larger font) and it's a good reminder for me to get off my phone and hang out with my handsome husband. :) --who is such a prince for putting up with my late night hacking coughing, taking me to the pharmacy, making sure I'm taking all my meds, and for navigating us EVERYWHERE, all the while making me chuckle like crazy! What can I say, I found myself a keeper, and I won't let him go for all the chocolate in Belgium. 

Nice way to wake up this morning:

 

 

So long to the Dam.

 

It has been a lovely stop here. I'm sad to leave, but quite honestly as kind and friendly as our host was-- due to her chain smoking and my hacking cough, I am not all that sad to leave. Here are some highlights: