Austria in May- Vienna

We spent a couple of days in Vienna at the end of our visit. There was a heat wave and it was about 90 degrees so the streets and cafes were full of people enjoyign the weather. Apparently it is rarely warm enough there usually to sit outside in the evening. Vienna is full of guilded statues, the opera and horse drawn carriages. It is an easy city to visit. The sights are compact, it is a walking city, and it has a relaxed feeling.

Everywhere you went there were beautiful statues and lines of carriages waiting to take tourists around the city. The sound of hooves clattering on the cobblestone streets could be heard at all times of the day and night.

To get out of the heat one afternoon we went to the Albertina Museum. It is considered a lesser museum in Vienna but we enjoyed it quite a lot. The inside of the building was full of guilding and statues.

And it had a magnificent and strange collection of statues with "other worldly" lighting. You could walk around between these statues.

And then the cafeteria, which was ...of course beautiful and guilded.

We were walking to a park one afternoon and ran into a police line. We asked them what was going on and they told us that there was an EU summit and the French President was about to leave the building. We mostly stayed to stare at the handsome Austrian police in their oh so cool uniforms. This one was our favorite. Eventually President Sarkozy left the building with his entire army of security guards. He waved at us as he passed by.

Howard in a park looking handsome too!

And one of our favorite places we visited was the Hofburg Treasury which contains the Hapsburgs' collection of jewels, crowns and other valuables. It was absolutely unbelieveable- the wealth in one place!

Everywhere you go in Austria you are reminded of the Nazi occupation. Here is one of the statues in the Monument Against War and Fascism remembering the victims of the Nazis.

And the last night we did the white trash thing and bought a cheap ticket to the opera (standing room only) and stayed about about 40 minutes. Too hot, too crowded and too long. We're hopeless...

Memorial Day in Belgium

All around Belgium on Memorial Day the Belgians come out in force to thank the United States for their contribution in World War I and II. It is very moving and never before have those two wars seemed so personal to me as they do now that we've been living here. We are right near so many important battlefields and the history is not forgotten.

So we went to visit Flanders Field (a World War I cemetery) this past Memorial Day to see what it was all about. Military from Belgium and the United States were there as well as marching bands and even a children's choir.

It is quite moving to walk around the cemetery and see each cross with a soldier's name on it. Some had a picture with flowers. It really brought it home how many people gave their lives for freedom.

So typical of Belgian weather, the day started out warm and sunny and just as the Belgian Children's Choir got up to sing the Star Spangle Banner, it started to down pour! The singing was so moving. Every year the kids of the town are taught the Star Spangle Banner and sing it for this ceremony. They waved American and Belgian flags and boy were they troopers through that down pour and lightening storm. It made me proud to be an American, and I haven't felt that way in a while.

And here is another trooper! The umbrella became useless and as our friends exclaimed "I don't think this umbrella is even doing anything any longer" as we wadded out of the cemetery in ankle deep water!

Groot Bijgaarden Castle is open to the public!

Once a year some private buildings are opened to the public. We often try to go to at least one of them each year during the two week opening period. This year we went to Groot Bijgaarden Castle, which is located very near where Howard works.

The castle has a mote around it with swans swimming in it. It makes the setting even more beautiful.

A castle tower with you know who...



The grounds are beautiful. Everything was in bloom when we were there. There are thousands of bulbs, not to mention all the other plants.






My Romeo!

A three week visit from Howard's sister (Mary) and his Mother (Sally)

Howard's mother (Sally) and his sister (Mary) came to visit for three weeks in April. It was so much fun to have them here in this strange and exciting place we are currently calling home. They got a taste of both the beauty of the place and the ridiculous bureaucracy. What fun! The forest nearby was in full bloom, so they got to experience that and off course there is the weather and the driving!

Our first adventure was to go to Paris for two nights. We took the fast train, which takes a little over an hour. In three days and two nights we managed to see a huge amount of the city. They both wore pedometers and kept track of how far we walked. I was labeled the "Energizer Bunny" because of the slow but relentlessness of my walking. They were both exhausted after three days with me driving them forward and were relieved to come back to our house to relax. They have new respect for Howard now...

Sally and Mary somewhere...

All three of us one direction in Tullaire Gardens and then the other direction (for those of you who know Paris).

Howard's artistic shot of the Eiffel Tower

Enjoying a "romantic" view of the Seine! Who are those other people? We have no idea...

A market we went to one day.

Day 1- Drive through France- Lyon

We took a 10 day driving trip to the south of France with Howard's Mother and Sister (Mary). Most of the trip we were in a villa on the southern coast. You can see from the map what our route was (in red). The other route (in blue) to the west was our trip to Normandy that is described in another post.

Here's a map of the Cote de Azur. The "X" marks where our villa was located.

It is a long drive from Brussels to the southern coast of France so we planned an overnight stop in Lyon. Lyon is situated on an island with two rivers running on either side and the old part of Lyon is on a hill above the island.


We didn't have much time to explore the city and we had rain while we were there but it was a very nice town. It is a bit like a smaller Paris because of the architecture. Here's the view from our balcony.

There were many beautiful squares and fountains.

The setting was beautiful with the two rivers and there was a festival while we were there that was a reenactment of a historical event with all sorts of costumes and pagentry.

Days 2-8- South of France- Cote de Azur (Howard Speaks)

Do you know the way to St. Tropez? Kathy found a villa near St. Tropez that had a pool. The area reminded us of a warmer version of the Monterey Peninsula; same terrain, same landscape, ocean view, a cacophony of frogs croaking at night. Well, maybe Monterey doesn't have the frogs. Here's the view from the deck.

The villa was called "House of Frogs" but in French it sounds much more romantic. There was a mixture of rain and sun since it was the latter part of April, but the frogs didn't care! At night they were out with force, which was interesting because we were up in the hills. It was very special. Each room lead out onto the deck and a view of the bay of Saint Tropez.


The weather was warm enough during the week to be able to swim and lay in the sun. Voila, see the swimmer!

We expected St. Tropez to be a caricature of over built resorts. Alors! It is a quaint little tourist village that retains its charm and is really very unique. It is like Carmel but with sun and without steroids. The little harbor has a mixture of huge sailboats and yachts, but the preponderance of boats are dinghies and small fishing boats. Of course our boat would be a dinghy. Here's a shot of an art show on the docks.

And here is a shot of the bay of Saint Tropez with the alps in the background. Magnifique!


St. Tropez became a mecca for the post Impressionists and it has a wonderful little museum with some very cool artwork. The museum was basically empty and you could enjoy exquisite art without being jostled around. At the front door of the museum we were greeted by this sweet cat, guarding his owner's moto.

And inside we had a view of the bay...again!

At night the frogs would croak and fill the night air with their songs and the sky was clear so the stars were beautiful. We took some drives both directions along the coast to see the rest of the Cote de Azur, but each time when we returned to our villa, we were very happy to be there instead of in the more touristy places.

Another nearby town was Port Grimaud, which is where many wealthy people have second homes. It is a housing community on canals and feels a bit artificial. The public is allowed to walk along parts of the canals and there are restaurants and shops along them in some places.


One day there was a big flea market (Brocante sale) in the small town of Grimaud, which is inland about 15 minutes. It was a true French experience- out in a field, things on the ground, lots of good natured bargaining and no English. We actually found a couple of treasures!

The next day, we ventured out on a drive up to coast towards Cannes. The coast is rugged and beautiful. Until we got to Cannes, it was open and unpopulated. Here are a few shots.



Another day we drove towards Monaco but on the "middle road", which is high above the beach traffic, to enjoy the views. We stopped at a tiny town called Eze-Le-Village, which is perched up on top of a hill above the water. The town is a tourist destination but since we were there off season, it wasn't very crowded. At the very top of the hill in town, is a botanical garden full of blooming cactus and other plants. Trails wind around to the top with some of the most beautiful views of the ocean. We all agreed that it was the best thing we had seen yet. Here's a shot of a private garden that we could see from a road. There were all sorts of animal sculpures.

Here we are in the botanical garden.

One of the statues in the garden.

And the view from the top. Wow!


We also saw beautiful views of Monaco and Nice but when we tried to drive down into them, it was way too crowded. We all decided that we didn't really need big cities when we had our quiet villa to enjoy. So we took some quick pictures and headed home to the view and our frogs! Here's Monaco from above.

When it came time to check out we were all a little sad to say goodbye to “Villa La Grenouille” (the frog house as it is called!)