One thing I was sure of was that I wanted to have plenty of keepsakes from our European life to use in our new home. So, it was back to the Tongeren market one last time to see if there were any final treasures for us load onto the truck the following day. We were thrilled the Smith family could join us.
 |
| I don't know why anyone wouldn't want these super creepy dolls?? |
 |
| Walking along the very steep wall. Have I mentioned European safety standards? Only 100 times…oh, okay. |
 |
Jackpot!
And, we found a beautiful cabinet made in Mechelen, Belgium that has found a spot in our master bedroom. |
After a stop at the Delhaize, we had a quick lunch in the back of the car. This is how you improvise when fast food restaurants are non-existent. Cheese, olives, meats, crackers, and chips….a perfect lunch!
Our next plan was to find the "Reading between the Lines" church. I had read about it and thought it would be a neat thing to see. It turned out to be more difficult to find than we anticipated. If we had just taken the first turn rather than venturing around an entire field, it would have been a whole lot easier.
 |
| It was that moment of cocking our heads to the side and saying, "Oh…that's it." It was much smaller than we thought it would be. We just laughed because this underwhelming moment was typical. But hey, we found it, and it is a work of art and not a real church. |
 |
| The steeple from the inside. |
 |
| We stopped along the side of the road to take this pic for the Heer family! |
Monday, August 24th, the movers arrived. My stomach was a pit of nervousness. This was really happening. No turning back now.
 |
| They are efficient and pack quickly. The poor guy in the basement was stuck with the worst job. It was hot anyways, but not thinking, I was running the dryer. He was dying down there, and he had the most odds and ends to pack up. Poor guy! |
 |
| As the days moved on, there were fewer seats left in the house. The kids just decided the car was the safest place for them to hide. I found the only seat left was actually the toilet! |
 |
| At the midpoint of the third day, it was time to load the container. |
 |
| Mattresses are loaded last. Still plenty of room on top. I should have bought more. ;) |
 |
| Closing her up! Safe travels stuff! See you on the other side of the pond! |
 |
| They were a great crew! Sweaty guy in the green = Guy trapped in sweltering basement. Oops! |
 |
| And, just like that it went from our home back to a rental house. |
On Tuesday, August 25th, we moved into Hotel Le Côté Vert in Waterloo. The beds were packed up that day, so we needed a place to sleep. We would stay here until our departure on September 5th. It was two bedrooms with a nice living room and dining table. Since we had them lock the kitchen, we were able to get free breakfast everyday. Fine with me! The kids loved it because they could walk to their favorite sushi spot around the corner and shop at H&M across the street.
 |
| Plenty of space for our suitcases along the wall. |
 |
| Kids' room! |
 |
| Our room! |
We spent the day with Karin and the boys in Brussels after the moving chaos was over. It was nice to just relax and enjoy instead of stressing about selling and packing.
 |
Café de la Presse
My favorite place to have a cappuccino. |
 |
| We stopped to say hello and farewell to Patricia Couton. We have a lot of terrific artwork in our home thanks to her talents! |
 |
| The guild houses were official unveiled. Beautiful!!! |
 |
| I'll miss the comics. |
 |
| One last hip hop pic in front of the Manneken "Peace" artwork. |
 |
| The Sablon |
A great lunch at Comics Café on the Sablon.
 |
| Love that view! |
 |
| T and T (Tin Tin and Thomas) |
 |
| Our walk back to the Grand Place. My favorite! |
 |
| I spy more scaffolding. When one project finishes, another begins. |
On our last official weekend in Belgium, we spent Saturday in Antwerp with the Smith and Kuznicki families. Italian food was on order at Da Giovanni. In our opinion, it's really great pizza!
 |
| Holy tax! |
Chris's agenda included a stop at the Kulminator. Their specialty is vintage beers.
 |
| We couldn't find a spot for all of us to sit, so the girls took to the outside seating. |
 |
| For Grandma! |
 |
| Chris "enjoyed" a 1989 Chimay. He said it was very flat but tasty. I'll take his word for it. |
 |
| I'm pretty sure my Coke was equally as old. Look at that can! Blah….. |
 |
| Cheers! |
 |
| We want to make one of these fancy beer holders. They wouldn't let us buy or take it. Not sure why we asked if we could take it? |
 |
| Chris bought Thomas a Swiss army knife. It was all he has wanted for the longest time. There was the lecture that went with it about being careful and responsible. First time closing it, he sliced his finger open. Hurry up and cover that thing before your dad sees it! And while you're at it, let me snap a picture of you bleeding on the sidewalk. Geesh!!! |
Our last Sunday at the International Protestant Church was a sad one. We had to go to the front to receive a gift from the church. Chris had to do all the talking because I just stood up there and bawled my eyes out.
 |
| Thank you to our church family for making our time in Brussels so special. A special thank you to Murray and Sue for welcoming our family back in 2012. |
The last Belgium spot I really wanted to visit was Bouillon Castle. Not everyone was in favor of making the drive. It was a couple hours away, but this was it!! There was not going to be another opportunity, and I was not giving in. If they weren't going, I would go alone. They finally conceded and joined me on the adventure.
 |
| The view from the castle. It was a gorgeous day! |
 |
| As we stood here, Allison said, "Wait a minute! I've been here with school!" Insert eye roll from Mom. |
 |
| That bridge on the left! Love!!!! |
 |
| Thinking about installing these at home. ;) |
 |
| Exploring the caves underground. |
 |
| Why must Belgian mannequins be so creepy! |
Just one more post to go, and our journey will come to an end.
Until next time,
Wendy
