Brussels

Brussels

I didn't sleep again last night. Arg. I am the Narcoleptic Traveler. If I lean on a railing too long I can start to nod off.

We traveled down to Dover and then got on the ferry across the channel into Calais, France. Got a good view of the white cliffs, in passing, and then by bus to Brussels.

I'm taking a ton of pictures but I wasn't able to get the camera accessory for the iPad before I left so I can't transfer them off my camera. My backup plan to buy it in London didn't work since they won't be getting the iPad or accessories until end of May. Oh well pictures when I get home.

Along the way stopped at the Atomium which is a giant Iron atom that you can go up inside of it. It also has a great park surrounding it. No surprise, it was built for the 19?? World's Fair. It seems like the World's Fair is responsible for many of the world's tourist-attracting man-made structures: Eiffel Tower, St Louis Arch, Sears Tower, The City of Chicago... (BTW, good book recommendation: Devil in the White City. It's about the World's Fair in the early 1900's which essentially made Chicago the city that it is today and also weaves in a story about a serial killer. I think it's a true story or maybe historical fiction.)

I was most excited to see family in Brussels. Arrived in Grand Place and took a cab to Ev and Tavus's new place. It's a beautiful townhouse in a great neighborhood. Got to see the baby! Aia is 9 days old and so beautiful and what a good baby! She slept so content while I held her. Little hands, little fingers, so sweet and so tiny. Jiles has grown and he's such a sweetheart, entertaining us all with dancing, running and playing, then just like that his sippy cup drops to floor and he's fast asleep in his chair. I can totally relate :). Tavus is doing well - she looked great as usual. Lyn, Joe, Evan, Tavus, Jiles, Aia, and I had a great dinner of Cambodian food and then Lyn, Joe Jiles and I took a walk to the Cinquantennaire which is like the Arc de Triomphe right in their neighborhood. They have a beautiful park right across from them and Lyn and Joe are staying in an apartment right across the street. It's a great setup. It seems like there are worse places to be stationed but I know Ev is impatient to be in Central Asia. Unfortunately the time went by in a blink and I had to go back to the hotel. Early wake up call the next day and time to hit the road again.