Vastine AdVentures

Vastine AdVentures

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Finishing up September and Early October

How's that for a creative blog title. Well, that's where I'm at, and this blog needs to get up to speed.  

Back to September!  We attended the Grape Festival (Druivenfestival) in Hoeilaart this year.  We practiced our shooting, and the kids were big winners.  They chose some sort of puddy that makes a farting sound in a plastic toilet.  Money well spent….

In Morton, we have Pharaoh's Fury.  In Hoeilaart, we have Sex Dance.  
We had a beautiful Sunday afternoon for "Car Free Day" in Brussels.  Streets inside the ring of the city are vehicle free for the day, so you can walk, ride, skate, etc through the streets of Brussels.  We loved it!
There was just a slight incident after this picture was taken.  It may have involved me being catapulted over the handlebars of my bike when I tried to brake with my left hand while holding my iPhone in my right.  No worries though…the iPhone was fine.  My shoulder, thigh, and pinky finger were feeling it for the next several weeks.  Ouch!
Avenue Louise, usually a cluster of traffic, was wide open.
Family photo!
You'll see behind us that cabs, trams, and cars with diplomat plates were allowed to use the streets that day.  So, you still had to be careful and watch out around you.  And, the bikers were a little insane as well, so we were cautious.


We rode 29 km.  It was a really great day!
Word on the street was that Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett would be performing in Brussels. Turns out, they were, but only ticket winners for a local phone service would be allowed to attend the concert on the Grand Place.  So, I thought I would make a reservation at Hard Rock, and we could watch from windows.  When we arrived for dinner, the Grand Place was completely blocked off.  A man from Hard Rock was waiting for us and gave us these bracelets to enter the Grand Place and Hard Rock.  We were so excited to find out that once you had the bracelet and you were inside the Grand Place, you were in for the concert too!  Chris was regretting that he declined our crazy dinner idea.

The view from Hard Rock.
Not so happy when a tall cameraman came and stood right it front of him and then hoisted his even taller camera on his shoulder. 
This was not a typical show for Lady Gaga. They were promoting their new album, which has a much softer, classic feel to it.  They sound great together!






We have such fun kids!
In late September, Allison was off to London with the ISB theatre department.  They saw three shows, toured theaters, drank a lot of Starbucks, and had more fun in one weekend than I had in all of eighth grade.


Just a couple shots of this guy. I told him I wanted to do some practicing.  He gave me three minutes.  I'll take it.
I love long walks in the forest around ISB.
We were excited to grab dinner in Brussels with our friend Becky.  Becky and I know each other from our days at ISU in the Big Red Marching Machine.  Chris and Becky know each other through CAT.  Small world!

The kids are still riding and still loving it!
Homecoming weekend!
No dance, no royalty, no parade.  But, we did get some Friday night lights and a tailgate.



Late night trips to Starbucks for Pumpkin Spice Lattes.  Love these girls!

It just needed to be captured.
 Enjoying the massive grapes grown in Hoeilaart...compliments of our landlord.

Cutie
We spent some time working in the Raiders Cafe this fall during soccer season.  Someone had a blast helping out one afternoon.

Next up…Disneyland Paris!

Until next time,
Wendy

Thursday, November 13, 2014

Wendy's Birthday Celebration in Paris!

Before I get to the birthday celebration, I was able to spend time with Allison at the ISB Middle School activity day.  This year, the theme was the Olympics with a focus on the Special Olympics.  Allison's advisory was Spain, and they had a great time!





Next up was a trip to PARIS!  A group of girlfriends headed to Paris to celebrate my friend Wendy's birthday.  There are a ton of gals here named Wendy.  It's a little crazy.  This is my "pumpkin spice latte, Miami Dolphin, AWCB, been in Belgium longer than any of us" Wendy.  We were so excited to help her celebrate!  First stop was a macaron making class, which was super fun!


Introductions and Instructions!
It's kind of a complicated process, and it takes a lot of time.  But, it's worth it.
The Wendys….#wendysquared
Kate and Ericka
Ericka just LOVES working in the kitchen.  Can you tell?  Hahaha!
Vanessa and Gretchen
Karin and Me!
Your meringue should flip over just like "dees" and hold its shape.  Make sure you said that in your best French accent.
Our ingredients were looking good.  But, apparently, when I added the boiled sugar it was too hot.   Personally, I think the thermometer was a bit off.  Anyway, the result was lumpy meringue.  The world has ended!
And, she let me hear all about my lumpy meringue.  Clearly, I was defeated.  LOL!
Wendy's Angels
Into the oven they go….


The filling went in, and they were ready to eat!  They were all different sizes and some of the filling didn't quite stay in the macaron, but it totally didn't matter.  I am not a huge macaron fan, but these were AMAZING.  There really is a difference in taste when you eat them right out of the oven.  Wow!
Not too many of these macarons actually made it home. They were just too good. Sorry about the closed eyes Gretchen.  It's the only shot I had.
A beautiful day in Paris!

Lunch at one of my favorite restaurants on the Île Saint-Louis.

A flash mob!  They were awesome!
Other spectators
A little shopping of course!

Strolling along the Champs Elysees.
The line was too long, so we skipped it. ;)

Birthday dinner at Hard Rock Cafe!

A stop at the Eiffel Tower to see it sparkle.




Sipping some wine.  And, we were really just sipping because it wasn't very good.
We hung out and chatted with some US students studying in London and visiting Paris for the weekend.

The Love Wall in Montmartre.
"I Love You" is written more than 1,000 times in 300 languages.

The Sacré Cœur

Pumpkin Spice Latte stop!

I like how he smiled for my pic. 
As it happens in Paris, we misjudged our time.  So, we were practically running through the metro station to catch our train.  Vanessa didn't know someone could walk as fast as I can!

Thank you, Wendy, for a terrific time in Paris!  We loved being a part of your birthday celebration.  Where are we headed next year?! ;)

Until next time,
Wendy