London= <3

Ok, last weekend took the taco (did I really just say that? Puh-leez tell me someone else out there has seen Ghostbusters 2). It really was awesome. Our Austin friends Treeta and Robbie made a special stop over in London on their way to Africa to see us!! They got to London Saturday morning but we hit the town Friday afternoon. Ah. English!!

We ate at a restaurant called The Embassy of Texas. What's great is that when I saw the place for the first time 2 months ago, I actually had to pause and think "Do we really have an embassy?" Yes, Texans are probably the only statesmen who think their own embassy is a realistic possibility :)

We really enjoyed ourselves.... I cheated on my diet a little bit, I admit :) They had Dr. Pepper, people!!


At one point the guy at the table next to us heard we were from Texas and started asking us questions, the best one being "What IS a tortilla?" Oh brother... where to begin on that one! We guaranteed him that his life was going to be a little more complete after he finished his meal. He and his friend (one from the UK, one from the Netherlands) also shared with us that most people view Americans as being very friendly, which I must say is a sweet relief after all of the bad press we have gotten in the last few years. Rest assured, there are those who really do like us out there! :)

One of the cooler things about the restaurant is the building. Ok, get this. The building currently occupied by the Embassy of Texas used to be owned by the same company who owned the Titanic! Right there by the front doors, under those trees in the picture, is where the company posted the lists of who were lost at sea. It was RIGHT THERE that people gathered to see if their loved ones were lost. It was kind of a somber moment. Such a big deal in history, and there it was.


Our hotel was amazing! Right off of Trafalgar Square, which is one of the most important and coolest squares of London.


Right after they got there on Saturday morning, we headed to Buckingham Palace to watch the changing of the guard. We THINK we saw it, but we are not so sure. There were 1000s of people surrounding the palace, and we just joined in.


Here is Treeta being awesome. Friend, you certainly DO march to the beat of your own drum! I love you for it.


We also did one of those bus tours around the city. It was perfect for our jet-lagged friends, who did extremely well adjusting to the time change, by the way...


It was fun to just watch London whizz by. Such beautiful streets.


We saw Westminster Abbey.


Hey, we're tourists! Oh, how we laughed!


We checked out the Winston Churchill War Rooms Museum, which was AWESOME. I never knew much about that man, but I am impressed and greatful to him.


One of my favorite parts about exploring London is what you see when you make this one turn towards the Thames....

I love their reactions to it.

You just cannot get any better than this. The picture doesn't even do it justice. Big Ben is so huge! And just magnificent. To me, it is one of those rare things that exceed your expectations for it.


We also took a ride on the London Eye, this ferris wheel type of thing that gives you a wonderful view of the City and beyond.


Other activites included taking massives amounts of photos. The weather was so beautiful- the colors were amazing!! (I am going to make a plug to my photography friends and say you MUST get a polorizer. It changes everything. I promise.)


Some of my favorite shots from the weekend:








And some bird friends :)




Clay, Robbie, and Treeta had the obligatory fish and chips...


And a traditional English breakfast was served as well. Yes, those are baked beans. Very traditional, huh? :)


Thank you, friends, for coming, and for loving on us so well. What fun travel companions. We love you so!


And thank you, also, Austin friends who sent all of the goodies with them!! It was so overwhelming and wonderful! Seriously. I cannot thank you enough. We love you!


Oh, and P.S. Coming to the UK, late 2009... my dreams are being realized one by one :) I cannot wait.


Sigh. The weekend was amazing. Thanks for letting me tell you about it :)

We found a Bed and Breakfast just down the STREET!!

Ok, people. You have no excuse now. You must visit us.

This bed and breakfast is literally less than 5 minutes from our door and is right off the center of Old Huy. I found it online a couple of weeks ago, and we went to check it out. We didn't go inside, so all I have to go by are the pictures on their site, but it seems like it would be a great place to stay. It definitely seems better than other couple of hotels we have seen in the area.

And the best part is that it is RIGHT DOWN THE STREET!!

Of course, our home is available to one and all (I am sure there are exceptions to this, but we will take that case by case ;), but if you ever want to visit and would like more privacy or comfort than our couch in the living room, you now have another option.

Just wanted to share our fun find. If you ever are interested, just let us know and we can walk down and get a better feel of the place for you, or even help make reservations. Oh, how fun!

Love to you!

A relative term.

Some of you may know I have temporarily (Oh, Lord, please make it temporary!) adopted a sugar-free, dairy-free, gluten-free diet. This is an entirely different way of cooking and eating, and when I DO find recipes that work, often times the ingredients are hard to come by here. Yesterday I got serious and started digging for more recipes online. I posted some of my favorite food blogs to the right if any of you are interested.

Last night I tried this vegetarian shepherd's pie. I had to do a little tweaking to make it "work" for my diet (no tomatoes or jam, etc), but it actually turned out pretty good. As I type that, I am realizing that "tastes good" is such a relative term. To me, this was good, but to you, bless-ed sugar-dairy-gluten folks, it might just seem like a big mistake :) Oh, well. Maybe some of you will like it. Either way, this quest to find good foods that I can eat is what is filling a lot of my down time these days.


I also had plans to make some yummy apricot jam muffins (Recipe a la Janie Peltier. Have any of you HAD these? They are so good.) for my language class this morning. Let's just say I am still figuring out my combo microwave/oven. Sheesh. I turn my back for one minute and end up MICROWAVING my batter for 10! There was some serious smoke... and now there are a lot of burned, dried out muffins in the freezer for Clay to eat (the man is the least pickiest eater I know, and I am so thankful).


So, a yummy shepherd's pie and burnt muffins.... I'm 1 for 2. But, never fear, I'm still in this game.

Way to go, Dad!

There was a little graduation reception for Dad in Houston before the big ceremony at DTS in Dallas. Check out the twinkle in their eyes! Oh, how I wish I had been there to laugh with them!

And OH, how I love these 3!

le weekend

Friday was a school holiday, so the church had a "car rally." I wish I could tell you what exactly a car rally is, but, even though we did it, I cannot exactly tell you :)

We were on a team with Jean-Francois and Isabel, and the 4 of us drove around for FIVE hours completing the different requirements of the game. It was kind of like a scavenger hunt, mixed with trivia, and I SPY. Yes, it was intense.

At times it reminded me of a Fall Festival TBC-style. It was just that the game booths were spread all over Huy. Pretty cool for two Texas kids who are really into seeing as much of their new town as possible.

Join us as we rally...


This video may not make you laugh as hard as me, but I shall share it anyways. My favorite part is when it pans to the left and you see how many people are watching our progress. I laughed so hard!


This is Jean-Francois. This picture makes me LAUGH! Oh, we had so much fun.


Isabel schooled us in most of the events. Clay and I kept commenting that this rally really was MADE for Rob Pasche. All of his random gaming talents and skills would have really shined. Wish you had been there, brother!





One of the best parts was our team mascot, little Caleb. Oh my gosh. Just LOOK at him.


At church the next day we found out that our team got 2nd place! Not bad. The BEST part of the rally for me was the fact that the church did this together. How awesome is that? After the rally, all of the teams met back at the church for a spaghetti dinner, and I just felt so content. Church family is one of the biggest blessings we have on this earth. I am so thankful we get to share in it here in Huy.


On rally day, I also realized that it is quite possible that we do, in fact, LIVE in Catan. Click on this picture, those of you who play Settlers, and tell me if you do not agree. (It appears that we would be able to trade you pretty much anything for an ore :)

Speaking of Catan.... dreams came true on Saturday. Settlers in the Grand Place. Not many things compare.


After church we actually chose a walk over a nap (I will pause to allow your gasp...). We ended up walking for almost 3 hours through some of the prettiest country I have seen yet. We also discovered a petting zoo (yes, my favorite thing ever). It was closed for the day, BUT some of the animal pens were along the fence line. We made some goat friends. Animals are great because they don't speak French to me. All I had to do was pick some grass for this goat, and he loved me.


I don't think I ever appreciated spring like I am this year.


Oh! Oh! Oh! Guess what?! Kerrie and Nanny (some of our Louisiana family) sent us a package! WITH FLAT SHEETS!! And chocolate. What a wonderful surprise and treat! I pretty much couldn't contain my excitement. Mail already makes my day, and knowing that I don't have to sleep under a curly fitted sheet anymore is the best thing I can imagine right now. We got them today, and they are already washed and on the bed. I can't WAIT to go to bed :) Thank you Kerrie and Nanny!


A happy day to you wherever you may be!

Why today was awesome.

Today was... wonderful. I am smiling as I write this. You know how some days are just plain crummy for no real reason, and you just have to resign yourself to getting through to bedtime so you can kiss the day goodbye? Well this was exactly the opposite :) And speaking as someone who has had a couple of those crummy days recently, I am happy to report that today was FABULOUS.

REASON #1: Language school was awesome. Our weekly class schedule is as follows: Mondays we are in the classroom and we focus on conversation. Wednesdays we walk around town and she talk to us in French about everything we see. Thursdays are back in the classroom and we talk vocab and grammar.

Today was a walk-around day. So fun! I love it because the day is more informal and the class can talk together. I really enjoy the women in the class. They are so kind. The day was gorgeous as well.

We visited the Hotel de Ville (civil offices). It's the big pretty building in the center of the Grand Place that I have always wanted to go in. I thought it was a hotel for awhile (I wonder why..) and was a little disappointed to find out it is just offices. This room is where the civil part of marriage ceremonies take place in Huy.

And here's a view out the window into the Grand Place. I love that place. It is the epitome of Huy to me.

Did I mention the day was beautiful?

This is one of the oldest houses in Huy. I love it because you can see on its surface how many changes have been made to it. Look at the pattern in the brick. I love the story it tells. Such history here!


Our class tromping through le vieux Huy (old Huy).

Clay being schooled.


REASON #2: We will be playing Carcasonne tonight... YES, we found Settlers of Catan AND Carcasonne yesterday! Can you believe it? May Clay never give me a hard time about dragging him into stores again. We were checking out a toy/craft store when he found the games. It was like finding the Holy Grail- Indiana Jones kind of stuff :) We were so happy.


REASON #3: The guy at the market gave me free stuff again today. A bunch of leeks and 2 bananas. Free vegetables?! That is awesome.

REASON #4: There are plants on my kitchen windowsill. Little red flowers, basil, and...wait for it.... CILANTRO!! I learned the other day that cilantro seeds are coriander (bear with me, garden people), and today while at the market I saw coriander plants! The stalks are a little wimpy, but I am going to nurse those puppies back to health and make us a taco soup to beat the band!


REASON #5 (and slightly less interesting): My jeans fit really well today. Feeling good in jeans is something to celebrate. (no accompanying pictures to prove it :)

What a wonderful day! I am now going to dig through my market finds and cook dinner. Life in Huy is good.

Praise be to God for giving us wonderful days!

Mallows

We just had the team over for lunch! Our first real guests in our new home!! It made me really happy :)

Clay got to make his first 'baguette run' before lunch. It was so euro :) Running across the street for bread. Perfect.

We had s'mores for dessert- you can't beat that. And fire always makes things extra fun.


This week is our first "normal" week here since we now have a routine somewhat in place. It is good to get settled in.

The view out of our windows is getting more and more beautiful as spring greens are popping up every where.

Clay took this while I was napping the other day (nothing kills stress like a good nap :) Check out the amazing greens out that window. And the Belgian flag is just waving away. I love it. (Notice that I am covered in a tablecloth. Blankets are on my list of things to purchase. SOON. :)


Love to you!