Weekend Adventure & Prego Pics

We had originally planned to spend both Saturday and Sunday in Amsterdam, but we got off to a slow start on Saturday. I slept until 8, Kevin had gotten up earlier. We decided to modify our plans and ride our new (used) bikes to Hilversum so that I could get a haircut and save Amsterdam for Sunday. We didn' take the shortest route in to Hilversum, but then we are still learning our way. We were only 10 minutes late to my haircut apppointment, which isn't bad considering we only left 45 minutes before hand.

Before we left Eemnes, I did some quick grocery shopping for the weekend, not knowing when we would be home and not wanting to risk the grocery store being closed. Tonight I am going to try to make Beef Sukiyaki, from a mix. We will see how well I can interpret the directions.

After the haircut we grabbed coffee and lunch at a cafe and then headed back to Eemnes (around 2pm). I love the little cookies you get with your coffee! Oh and the cheese..I love cheese here!

For those who are tracking, below are this week's prego pics. Notice my belly has grown a half of an inch in 2 weeks :)

Apartment Shopping

Thursday we went apartment hunting in Amsterdam. We found 2 that we really liked, neither had deadly dutch stairs. We made an offer on the one in Oude Zuid and are working through the negotiations. Monday we will call and place an option on the one in the Pjip, in case we don't get the one in Oude Zuid.

Apartment in Pjip.

We Made It!

The last week in Portland was very hectic! Thursday the movers showed up to box everything up. We headed to the Hotel Monaco to for the rest of our time in Portland. The dogs loved all of the attention that they got at the hotel.

Friday we went back to the house to begin cleaning as the rooms were emptied. It was a little weird to see the rooms empty and clean. The house was much cleaner then when we bought it.

We didn't finish cleanning and making dump runs Friday so we had to go back on Saturday for a little more cleaning, touch up the paint in a couple of rooms and then the last dump run. I can't believe we actually got it all done.

We dropped the dogs off at Andrea & Luis' Saturday morning. We wouldn't see them again until Monday, in the Netherlands. We then headed back to the hotel to check out and head to the airport. We tried to get an upgrade to business class, but no such luck. I am so spoiled from my Nike travel!

The flight was good, we were able to board quickly. There was a couple sitting several rows in front of us that were very high maintenance - with a cranky toddler. It is a good thing we are already pregnant! We were able to deboard really quickly and beat the crowds to immigration. Our bags were also the first off of the plane...we flew through the airport. We met our driver and he took us to our temporary apartment in Eemnes..a very small town outside of Hilversum.

We settled in, showered and waited for An & Steven to come with our groceries. This really meant we kept falling asleep on the couch...I didn't even hear them ring the doorbell, she had to call me to wake me up. It was great to see them!

We went to bed around 8:30/9 and tried to sleep through the night...no luck. We both woke up at 2:30 and were up until 5. I went back to bed and kevin feel asleep on the couch. I woke up and 8 and decided I should go to work. I had warned them that I didn't know when I would be in...particulary with the buses and jet lag.

Work went well, and I have started to get settled.

Kevin did a little exploring in Hilversum, looking for a phone store and a bike store. Both were closed until 1pm. He then headed home to wait for the taxi, to go to the airport to pick up the dogs.

The dogs had had their own little adventure. They had gotten out of Andrea's backyard not long before Josh & Peter went to pick them up. The neighbor had Duke and Maggie was running from everyone. The neighbor was minutes from calling the shelter and Josh & Peter and to chase Maggie down. Once they got to the airport they discovered that the crate we had gotten for Duke was too small (it was huge!) so they had to buy a larger one from Northwest Airlines (not the cheapest place to buy dog crates). They then sent them on their way. I think all 4 of us could live in Duke's new crate.

I figured out how to get home on the bus..although I had missed it by 5 minutes, so I had to wait at the Hilversum train station for 25 minutes, for the next one. Once home Kevin and i tried to go to a restaurant for dinner. Who knew they would be closed on Monday night...like I said - little town. Luckily the grocery store was open (they are closed on Sundays and close around 7 or 8 pm).

After a tasty dinner of spaghetti, I gave the dogs a bath...they were definately not themselves.

Tuesday our very helpful Crown agent picked us up and took us to The Hague where we applied for residency and I got my SoFi (tax) number. There was a slight issue with my passport as it is issued in my maiden name and has been ammended to show my married name. To the dutch this is like I have two different names...very troublesome.

After getting the SoFi number we headed to the bank to set up our checking account. US citizens can only open an ABN Amro account at a specific branch, we are told the US government is afraid we are going to hide our US dollars in Euros...

After we made it back to Eemnes we had a snack and then headed in to Hilversum to get my monthly bus pass and see if we could make it to a phone store. The phone store had closed at 6, so we grabbed dinner and then headed home. On the way home, we missed our bus stop (kevin didn't beleive me when I said which one it is). We got off 3 stops later and then caught the next bus back.

Once back (at 8:30), I headed straight to bed! We both slept through the night...now if I could not feel like I need a nap, as soon as I get up.

Wednesday I headed back to work. I met my new boss (he was out on Monday), learned more about what I am going to be doing and got more settled. I was able to set up our dutch health insurance and also worked out. I hadn't worked out in more then a week...and I could tell.

After work I was able to time the bus schedules right and made it home very quickly.

Kevin had a very adventurous day. He took the dogs for a run around Eemnes and found a bike shop. They didn't have very many second hand bikes, so he later showered and headed to Hilversum. He bought a very nice 2nd hand bike, a gps and a sim card for his phone. He rode his bike home...through the woods and in the rain.

Tomorrow we go house hunting.

We learned this morning that our dear friends had lost their twins. They were only a couple of weeks ahead of us. Neither Kevin and I can imagine the loss they must be feeling and our hearts go out to them.

Its a boy!

We went in for our last US pre-natal visit on Monday. Our doctor asked if we wanted to try to get an ultrasound before we left the country...silly question. Of course we did!
We are having a boy! Now we just need to find a good name.
Below are the good pictures from this visit. There were a lot of pics that looked pretty scary (skull, ribs, etc). These are the cute ones.

In the mean time, our move date if fast approaching. As I am typing, the moving company is packing the house...I really want a nap but the bed is already packed and I am afraid if I laid down on the couch they might wrap me up in a paper, with it.

Kevin is making runs to the dump....hopefully only 1 or 2 more and I am trying to stay out of the movers way.

First Prego Pictures

In one week we will be living in another country! That is really weird to think about...

Below are pics of me and my growing belly, for those who are keeping track. I am 18 weeks and no I don't know the sex yet :) We will find out once we get to Amsterdam and I find a midwife.

We have a move date!

We are moving to Amsterdam on October 11th. Our house will be packed on Oct 9th and 10th, and the dogs will follow us on October 12th.

It is official, we really are going.

I dropped my passport off at the Dutch Consulate this morning, it should be back in a week.

The house was listed last weekend.

Now if I could just get my birth certificate back from Washington.

The crib arrived yesterday, for those who don't know, Kevin's dad built us a crib. Kevin is now assembling it.....we have a crib. I guess this baby thing is really going to happen too.

We purchased a mattress for it and pack'n'play yesterday at a huge consignment sale.

Kevin and I finally came to an agreement on strollers (honestly, I finally came around to his way of thinking). We are going to get a single jogger/bike trailer combo and then go with a awesome regular stoller (no graco, big ass lazy boy, 4 cup holder stroller).

Things are moving forward....

It looks like we are making progress on our move to Europe.

My car is 99% sold, they are going to come back tomorrow with a cashiers check. Two sisters are buying it for their 20+ younger brother. I wouldn't trust my brothers with that car, let alone buy it for them and trust them.

Our house went on the market today, which means the kitchen is done and the house has never been so clean or sparse.

We have made many trips to Goodwill and the dump. I can't believe the amount of junk we accumulate!

Now take stuff off of the counter and clean out under the sink, in the bathroom.

Baby Tastet @ 12 weeks

I am now 15 weeks.

For those who haven't already seen these, below are the first ultrasound pictures. They were taken at 12 weeks. Yes, our baby looks like a little alien. If you look closely you will see the face and it looks like she/he is sucking on her/his thumb.

We don't know if it is a boy or girl yet, but hope to find out once we are in Amsterdam.

Life Changes - big ones

Some of our family and friends joke that Kevin and I don't do anything half-ass. It has proven true again. I have accepted a position at the Nike European headquarters in The Netherlands. I will start on Sept 15th and Kevin will finish wrapping things up here and join me at the begining of October.

Moving to Europe is huge on its own, but we are going to make it a bigger life changes by adding to our family. We are expecting our first child in March.

Our "To Do" list is so long, I don't know where to start.

Who's Coming to Visit?

If we are planning on traveling, or if we already have someone coming, we will post it here:

Week beginning Sunday _________:

November 2nd 2008
November 9th 2008
November 16th 2008
November 23rd 2008
November 30th 2008
December 7th 2008
December 14th 2008
December 21st 2008
December 28th 2008
Jan 4, 2009
Jan 11, 2009
Jan 18, 2009
Jan 25, 2009
Feb 1, 2009
Feb 8, 2009
Feb 15, 2009
Feb 22, 2009
Mar 1, 2009
Mar 8, 2009 - Baby is due March 10th.
Mar 15, 2009
Mar 22, 2009
Mar 29, 2009
Apr 5, 2009
Apr 12, 2009
Apr 19, 2009
Apr 26, 2009
May 3, 2009
May 10, 2009
May 17, 2009
May 24, 2009
May 31, 2009
Jun 7, 2009
Jun 14, 2009
Jun 21, 2009
Jun 28, 2009
Jul 5, 2009
Jul 12, 2009
Jul 19, 2009
Jul 26, 2009
Aug 2, 2009
Aug 9, 2009
Aug 16, 2009
Aug 23, 2009
Aug 30, 2009
Sep 6, 2009
Sep 13, 2009
Sep 20, 2009
Sep 27, 2009
Oct 4, 2009
Oct 11, 2009 - Andrew and Melissa Curry
Oct 18, 2009
Oct 27, 2009

Tastet 4th of July Tradition

I think the 4th of July is probably Kevin's favorite holiday. Not for the fireworks or bbqing, but for the Continental Congress and Declaration of Independence. Every year, we have to watch the musical 1776 and read the Declaration of Independence, out loud - sentence by sentence. I thought I might get out of the annual reading when I heard it read on NPR. I ran into the bedroom and turned up the radio so Kevin could hear it as well. NPR had a different correspondent read each sentence.

No luck, I still had to do the "reading". When Kevin got up, the first thing he did (after making coffee) was to put 1776 on. Ugh.

We are going to take a break and go for a bike ride. I can now ride my bike, if I don't clip in and keep it flat.

In addition to the Declaration of Independence rituals, our other Tastet tradition is to medicate Duke with Xanax. He gets really jumpy with the fireworks. Maggie doesn't care. Last night I gave him a Xanax when the fireworks started going off. He then only groaned with each pop or bang.

Buenos Aires

I started my last days in Buenos Aires by meeting Kevin for lunch in Puerto Madero. He had walked around all morning and I needed a nap, so we headed back to the hotel for some quick zz's before our tango lesson.

In the evening we made our way to Palermo (I really like this neighborhood) and started the adventure of finding the tango studio. We ended up being early (we thought we were on time, but Argentineans are more lax in their time then the Chileans. We were hoping the lesson would be in english (at least partly), but were up for the challenge of all spanish. Guess what, all spanish. It made us have to really concentrate on what they were showing and try to guess what they were saying.

After the lesson we had dinner in Palermo at a little Italian place. I know Argentina is supposed to have the best beef, but I was tired of red meat. I grew up on a cattle farm, maybe I am biased, but I don't think the steaks in South America were any better then what I grew up with. They were cooked much better, but the underlying flavor was no better.

After dinner we headed back to the hotel (it was now almost 11) .

Saturday we ordered room service for breakfast, thinking it had to be better than the breakfast downstairs. Nope. We then headed out for the day. We took the subway to Plaza de Mayo where Kevin showed me the cathedral (yes another cathedral), Casa Rosada (the pink building from which Evita spoke and every other politician or leader speaks when they want to gain public support. We then walked down Florida Ave, which is a pedestrian only road filled with stores and hundreds of people handing you little flyer advertisements for stores. We had lunch at the Galleria, a big indoor mall that has beautiful murals painted on the ceilings. After lunch we headed back to the hotel on foot. We had to cross 9 de Julio (it was more like crossing 4 different streets with 16 lanes of traffic.

After a quick nap we headed to the Recoleta Cemetary where Kevin had me find Evita's tomb. This cemetary is filled with B.A.'s elite. It was cool and creepy at the same time. I am really creeped out by seeing the actual coffin in the crypts. We weren't really hungry so we stepped in to a bar for a beer and some tapas.

Come Sunday I was really ready to come home. The car was going to pick us up at 4, so we still had a lot of the day to use. Rather then the hotel breakfast, we walked around the corner to a restaurant...we should have had breakfast here every day. We then caught a cab to San Telmo where we proceeded to walk through the Sunday craft market, all of the way back to Plaza de Mayo. We then caught a cab back to Recoleta for a quick lunch (at 3) and then to the hotel for our flight home.

And now, Buenos Aires

Kevin saw much more of Santiago, then I. I was in the office on Monday and Tuesday, while he did a couple of walking tours. We met a "Tastet" for drinks. Thanks to Facebook Kevin found a family of Tastets that live in Santiago. We met the father and daughter for a drink at the hotel. Eugenio was very adamant that we contact him when we are here again so that he can introduce us to his family and show us more of Santiago and Chile.

We flew to Buenos Aires Tuesday night. Once in Santiago we caught a cab to the hotel. This is a huge city. It feels a lot larger then Santiago, I think it has twice as many people.

Kevin and I went downstairs to get a bite to eat. They say the beef in Argentina is the best. I have to admit it is on par with my family's own beef. There is a lot of meat served in this country. I think I have eaten more red meat on this trip then I have in the last 4 months. In Buenos Aires, even the butter is beef (or at least your bread comes with a "beef spread" that tasted like roast beef and butter.

Wednesday I headed to the office with Sue, while Kevin went back to bed. I am going to let Kevin provide the details of his version of Buenos Aires. So far my has included going to and from the office.

Friday night we are going to take a Tango class and then Friday - Sunday Kevin can show me the highlights of the city.

Santiago - Part Dos

I never found the artisan market I went looking for. I walked for at least 90 minutes and then finally took a cab back to the hotel.

Kevin arrived, we got him situated and then headed out to lunch in the Providencia neighborhood. It was a great little local place. Our spanish is pretty bad...at one point the waiter was asking where we were from and I thought he was talking about the check. I am sure the locals got a kick out of it. The waiter wanted to know if we thought Hilary would win, he was disappointed (along with our "table mates") that she had dropped out of the race. They both eagerly pointed out that both Chile and Argentina have women presidents. The waiter made a gesture about the US holding women back, that coming from a machismo based culture.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel for nap. We went out for dinner around 8. We took the subway (which is very easy to navigate). The subway entrances/exits are as confusing here as they are in Antwerp. We don't seem to be able to exit on to the right street, headed in the right direction, inevitably leading to 15 minutes of orientation. Tonight we thought we were headed in the wrong direction, not yet on the right street. I finally asked for directions in a little restaurant. Turns out we were on the right street and really close to the restaurant we wanted.

Dinner was good...this trip seems to be nothing but steak, steak and more steak. All of it great too.

We finally left the restaurant around 11pm and caught a cab back to the hotel. Thank goodness for the cab, otherwise it could have been another "Tastet night in Amsterdam" where we wandered for hours in the wrong direction (not exactly as safe or clean as Amsterdam either). We were both completely turned around.

More to come later.

City #2 - Santiago

I don't think I will ever get tired of boarding a plane to another country. There is something about being greated in another language as you board...

I arrived in Santiago last night and checked in to my hotel, the Ritz Carlton. I know, I know, I have a tough life. I met Toni & Sue for a drink and then dinner. The conversation always seems to quickly become about work. Ugh. We had dinner in the hotel, again very nice.

I finally crashed around 1am and planned to sleep as late as possible. I had forgotten to turn my alarm off so it woke me up 4 hours later, i promptly went back to sleep and slept until 10.

The first thing I did when I woke up was open the curtains. Wouldn't you know, a view of the Andes. Slightly obstructed, but it is still the Andes - so close you could reach out and touch them.

I showered, arranged for a car to pick Kevin up at the airport and then headed out for breakfast. Trusty Fodor recommended Cafe Melba (a few blocks from the hotel). It was a little cafe that was really good.

I went looking for local crafts for the next couple of hours, planning to return to the hotel in time to meet Kevin.

Traveling the world, again...

I have been off of the crutches and out of the knee brace for a week, just long enough to be ready to head south to Brazil, Chile & Argentina.

I left on Monday for a work trip to Sao Paulo. I arrived Tuesday monrnig, we made it to our hotel, unpacked and then headed out for a light lunch. My knee was bothering me, but I wanted to get a work out in. My hotel has a "fitness center", it isn't much but i was able to get my heart rate up and do my knee rehab.

Tomorrow I head to the office to support training that someone else is giving...I think I will end doing 6 hours of real work for the this portion of the trip.

Right before I got on the plane in Dallas, kevin and I decided to fly him to meet me in Santiago and then go to Buenos Aires. He will definately get to see more of the cities then I will, but it should be fun. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to have us both in S.A for about 1100 bucks. Good hotels, good food and great sights.

Still a cripple

A month has passed and I still have the brace and the crutches. I am working on getting my range of motion and flexibility back. The crutches have sent my shoulder and chest muscles for a loop though, resulting in a couple of slipped ribs. I am currently sitting with a heat pad on my chest and trying not to take too big of a breath.

I went to a chiropractor for the first time (ever) on Friday - 3 appts later - no good. Now I am in too much pain to even have him try to adjust me. I limped home and quickly sent emails to Robyn and Josh - looking for Andrea's miracle working naturopath. (Andrea is hiking through a rainforest in Peru). Dr Mindy massaged my shoulders, neck & chest to get the muscles to release - then used accupuncture. I left feeling ok, I go back on Thursday.

I am supposed to go to Brazil, Chile & Argentina on the 16th. This has to be healed by then, otherwise there is no way I am getting on a plane.

I am going to work from home for the rest of the week, so I can stay off of the crutches - instruments of torture that they are.

Knee Surgery

It looks like I won't be taking part in STP afterall. I had arthroscopic surgery on my knee yesterday. It is nice to finally get moving on it. Dr. Sotto performed a lateral release on the reticulum, cleaned up the rough cartilage on the back of my knee cap and from it's groove. He also excised Plica. I have some lovely stockings and a nice knee brace.

I am looking forward to being able to run and be pain free!

Final Bath Update

Final bath photos, we love our new shower.

Yet another day of mortar and tile

Day 4 of the project...And the book said 14 hours for a novice....
All of the tile up, Monday night.


Now for the grout. It took a couple of tries to get it the right consistency. Once I had that it was a piece of cake. When it was too dry it was a pain in the ass!







Grout cleaned up...now for 3 days of "wet curing", then the sealer. The new glass door will go up after that.






We hope to be showering in our own shower by Sunday. Thank goodness for great neighbors

Day 3: More tile

The tile is the easiest part of the whole gig. Kevin is running back and forth making the cuts for me while I try not to screw up the lines on the wall.

It's 3pm and I have to run to work for a meeting, and then I will be back to finish the last 1.5 walls.

Day 2 of the Spring Break adventure

By the time we had hit George Morlan, Home Depot & Lowes neither one of us wanted to touch this project again on Saturday. Kevin replaced the valve while I took dinner to Rebecca and then we called it a night. Sunday morning we started puting up the cement backerboard.

Day 2:
The new 3 in 1 valve. We are hoping it won't leak. Plastic vapor barrier. Cement board up and seams being patched.

Demolition Complete

Now it is time to figure out how to replace the valve and begin putting the walls back together.

Ready or Not continued...

Demolition in progress.. Luckily the studs don't look like they need to be replaced.

Ready or Not....

The shower re-model has started.

These are the before pics. Demolition started at 10am.

Planning a bath remodel...

Kevin's spring break is in a week. I am going to take the week off too. We are going to tile the surround of the shower. I stopped at a tile store on my way home from work today to pick up samples. Tomorrow we will order the shower door and figure out what tools we are going to need and don't have. This should be an adventure.

Kevin's brother, Richard, is staying with us for a while...I don't think any of the three of us want to go more than a day or two with out a shower - and we only have one bathroom. The plan is to use the neighbor's shower while ours is out of commission.

It looks like it will be Mark, Jay & I riding on Sunday. If it isn't raining. They are fair weather riders, I hope it is sunny.

I have been trying to rehab my knee so that it won't hurt when I run. It has been pretty frustrating as it has hurt every day for the last 18 months. My physio therapist thinks we are to the point where we can maintain the pain level, mobility and range of motion...but it won't really be much better than it is today. It still hurts all of the time. I am not running and not kicking when I swim. I am going to look in to other options - options that involve a scapel. I don't like the idea of not being able to be active (run/swim etc) in the next 50 years. I would rather go through 2 years of hell (it is a full year of recovery from the surgery) and be able to be active after that, rather than pain for the rest of my life. I really miss running.

A quick trip to Europe

Well, so far I am not very consistent at either posting or training.

I was in Europe last week for work, so that meant no long ride for me on March 1st. Not that the week wasn't lacking for excitement. I I needed to be in both Holland and Belgium, so Thursday night I took my little rental car and drove the 2 -3 hours to Belgium. I stayed in a cute little town that was very close to the office (there isn't actually anything near the office). Thank goodness for GPSes, I was wondering through little towns and backroads for about an hour, before I finally got to the hotel. The adventure got more exciting on the return trip to Holland. I must have chosen the "Long, meadering" route home. I followed every turn of the GPS.....and ended up on ferry (in the middle of no where) crossing a canal. I think the largest town I came across was Gouda. This is a little disturbing as I know there is a major highway between Antwerp & Amsterdam (and I was on my way to it for a little while) and I spent 3.5 hours making my way (in the dark) through back roads.

It is always an adventure with me.

I flew home on Saturday the 8th - I was on the ground by 12 and at home by 12:45... At 4pm we were at Cirque de Soeliel and then dinner and cake for Peter's birthday.

Sunday morning, I went for a 40 mile ride with Bob & Leslie. It was a beautiful day! It started out a little cold but warmed up nicely.

STP

I recently signed up for something called "Seattle to Portland". It is a 200+ bike ride starting in Seattle and ending in Portland.The ride takes place in mid-July and you can do it in either 1 or 2 days, not one to turn down a challenge, I am going for the 1 day version. This means I need to get my butt (literally) toughened up to handle 15 hours in the saddle. It hurts just thinking about it. Today was my second "long" training ride - 25 miles (ok, it isn't that long), but it is a start. I have been trying to be good about making it to spin 2-3 times a week - hoping that it will help me ease in to the miles to come.

2 weeks ago Krista & Bob and I ventured out for the first ride of the season, in North Plains. It was hard to beleive it was the begining of February - the weather and scenery were beautiful. The route ventured through farm land and forested hills, I love the smell of both!

Today, Leslie, Krista & Jay made it out. It was a beautiful day and great company! There was a lingering threat of rain, that never showed. We rode places in the Portland area that I have only been via car (and thought they were out of the way even then). Everytime I ride my bike and don't fall, I am secretly thrilled. When it comes to reading directions, trying to get clipped in or clipped out and not get hit by a car, I am lucky I don't fall more often.

After the ride Krista and I went in search of tile places in SE Portland. Of course they were all closed, with most only open Mon - Fri, I guess that means we are going to need to go back for more tile shopping - followed by happy hour.

Home at last

We made it home at midnight on Thursday, 4 hours after we were supposed to.

We played with the dogs and then went to bed as we had to run Hood 2 Coast on Friday. For those of you who don't know what that it is, it is a 197 mile relay from Timberline Lodge on Mount Hood to Seaside Oregon. It takes 2 days and you run 3 times for ~15 to ~18 miles total.

We are now recovering from that.

The photos have been posted for our Haute Route trip, I will add captions as i get time.

Grachen > Zermatt

Today was supposed to be the second to last day, we were going to walk up to the Europahut and then down to Zermatt tomorrow. We checked the weather and it was going to be cold (6c) and raining all day today and tomorrow, above 2000m (which is where we were going to spend all of our time). We opted for the more dry option of finishing our trek through the valley, to Zermatt.

After breakfast we caught the bus back to St. Niklaus and then headed out for the last 4 hours.

About an 1.5 in to, my hip and knee were really bothering me and Kevin was tired of walking, so we caught the train to Zermatt.

Once in Zermatt, we checked in to the hotel....no bag yet (it was supposed to arrive on Friday, today is Monday). We ate a little, drank a little and waited for the post office to reopen at 2 to check on it.

Turns out we need the package number off of the receipt (which we probably threw away). If it doesn't arrive tomorrow before we leave, we will ask the hotel to ship it to us...I am sure that will be cheap.

Our tentative plan is to head to Lausanne tomorrow, then Geneva-London the next day. We are planning on meeting Paul in London for a pint and then head home on Thursday.

Its been a long, great walk. We both feel like we need a vacation from our vacation....and can't wait to see our photos.

Hopefully that bag will turn up.....

St. Niklaus > Grachen

This was supposed to be a short day, we woke up late, ate breakfast and headed up hill. We would have a 1.5 hour walk, UP a steep path. We actually walked about 30 minutes past our hotel so then we had to head back down to it. We checked in, showered and took a long nap. After the nap we went looking for food. Evidently, no one served food between 2 & 6, in Grachen. So we drank beer, I called Dad and we headed back to the hotel for another nap before dinner.

Today was all about staying off of our feet.

Dinner wasn't very good, but it was food, and then we went to bed early.

Gruben > St. Niklaus

Today was a long up hill. The 2 weeks of walking were really starting to taking a toll on us. When we were about 600 vertical meters from the top, we started taking a break every time we would gain 100 m. Kevin also got an extra 30 minutes of walking in, as when we were 20 minutes from the start, we realized that we had forgot the guidebook at the hotel.. So he went back and got it.

Once we crossed the last pass of the trip, we headed down, and then up in to a boulder field that would never end. Eventuall (2.5 hours later) we walked down in to Jungen. What do you know, there is another cable car, and you can guess what we were going to do.... we were not up for another 1.5 hour steep down hill.

Once in St. Niklaus we found our hotel, showered, did laundry in the sink and then headed for dinner. It was really good.

We also ran into the Kiwis for the last time at dinner. They were headed to the Europahut the next day where we were going to take a "rest" day and only do a 2 hour walk to the next town and then head to the Europahut the next day.

Zinal > Gruben

We switched roles on this stage. I was slow, Kevin was faster. It was cloudy all day, but didn't rain. It was a long climb up to the Forclatta (another col). It was also very windy and cold at the top, all I wanted to do was rush down so I could warm up. This is our first German speaking valley...I don't expect to be able to understand a single word they say....should be intertaining.

Walking down from the col, we walked through a sheep ranch (literally, through their pens), down to a road. We caught up to the Kiwis, with the knees of steel. Our feet have hurt for the last hour (at least) of every day... I kept expecting this to go away, but it never did.

We both ran out of water as we finished the death march into town. The hotel was pretty nice, except that the bathroom was down the hall.

We ate dinner with Nigel, who we didn't expect to see again as he was going to walk past St. Niklaus, to get a head start on the Eurpoweg.

Cabane de Moiry to Zinal

We had a crappy breakfast - stale bread and jam....

We met a Canadian couple that were going to finish today - in Arolla. They were headed backwards after weather had delayed them halfway through.

We lost the trail that we were supposed to take to the Barrage de Moiry, so we cut down to the road and walked along it until we ran in to the trail again. We ran into a restaurant where we had a large pseudo breakfast. We then headed up for the 600 meters to the top. It was a nice trail, grassy, smooth and lots of long switch backs. We had also decided that we would take the cable car down from the ski resort to Zinal. Neither of our knees were up to the 1000m knee pounding descent.

We had an incredible view from the top of the col, except for some of the clouds. And we waved to Wim and Bararab (the Kiwis) as we were headed down in the cable car. They must have knees of steel.

We really wanted to do laundry when we got in to town, real laundry. So Kevin started calling the Tourist Office and found a gentleman who runs an apartment complex who would let us use his machines.....Ahhh fresh clothes.

We had dinner (it was long and good!) at a restaurant that was recommended by Benoist Germann (the laundry guy).

La Sage > Cabane de Moiry

"Another 1600m day in the bag. It went fast enough. We hiked from about 9am to 4pm, including lunch and breaks. I felt slow today... or else Dana was fast. I was dragging behind all daz. We made the col tsate in 3 hours and then it was straight down for an hour. We didn't have any food left so we had to make it down the hill to a snack shop. After lunch we had 400 more mreter to climb. )it took us 1 hour 45 mnutes) It was very crowded, for you Oregoniansé It was like Multnohmah falls. except every one said hello to each other. Dana and I must have said 'bonjour' 200 times. The cabane is nice. It is right on the Moiry Glacier and ice fall. I hope the food is good. The problems with the place are: no shower, bathrooms are outside, and thez have us packed in like a middle ages ship. Sleeping tonight will be a lot like riding Portland metro buses during rush hour." --- Kevin.

Arolla > La Sage

Well, this little 4 hour hike proved to be harder then it looked. It only took us about 4 hours, but it was a long 4 hours.

We walked past a pristine blue lake that had many people sunning themselves near, then we headed down to a little bar where Kevin had the worst hamburger possible. It related it to a burger from 7-11, only worse. We then headed down for the next several hours. At Les Haudiers (sp?) we then headed up, for what would be come a death march. We ended up in a woman's backyard, she directed us to the trail and we continued up.

Once in Le Chable, we checked in to our Dortoir. They laughed when we said we had a reservation...come to find out we were the only ones on the entire floor. I think the only other guest we would meet would be a strange guy from Pennslyvania.

The "hotel" was very creeky, you walked as quietly as you could incase the place came crashing down.

The dinner was horrible, but at least they served dessert, for Kevin's birthday.

We met Roger, from Pennsylvania. He was kind of strange, he planned to hike from Arolla to Zermatt, in sandals. His pack weighed about 30 pounds and was filled with stuff like a tent, sleeping bag and camping stuff....sounded like a lot of stuff he wouldn't need. Not to mention he was in pretty bad shape from the hike from Arolla. Granted I said it was harder then what we expected, but not nearly as hard as what we had done before or were expecting later.

Kevin shipped his extra backpack from Arolla to Zermatt, for a whooping 14 francs...we will see if it actually arrives.

Cabane Prafleuri > Arolla

The day started out with a climb up a col to 2800m (from 2600m). The view was of a deep valley now filled by a dam held glacier lake. It was supposed to rain this morning, but so far, no sign of it.

We walked down to the lake and along it for about 2 hours. We saw lots of climbers and day hikers. The climbers must have been coming down from Mont Blanc Cheilon. We stopped for lunch at the end of the lake, which is where I learned I wouldn't have to cross the bridge--something I was really not looking forward to. Instead we would avoid the traverse across the steep slope covered in scree and head to the Cabane Dix, cross the glacier and then go up the ladders.

We could look over on to the other side of the canyon and see Alex & Paul traversing the scree, I was glad to be on the side I was on.

It was a long slow climb to the Cabane. We kept expecting it to be just over the next little ridge, turns out we first had to climb to 2900m+ and then down to the cabane. We stopped for hot chocolate and then headed down to the glacier. We crossed a boulder field on either side of it and then scrambled up to the ladders.

The ladders are 3 iron ladders bolted to the rock face (near vertical). They are about 50 feet tall. At one point, near the top, you have to get off of one ladder on to a little rock ledge and then get on to the last ladder. We waited for a family to come down them (with a rope). Then it was our turn. I went first, I wore my gloves for fear the ladder would get cold and then I wouldn't be able to feel my fingers. I took them off when I switched ladders near the top -- my hands were sweating and the bars were actually warm. The long middle ladder shook a little and it seemed like a really long way to the top. When I switched ladders, I took the gloves off. I have never been so happy to be at the top of anything! Kevin came up after I did. We took some pictures, caught our breath and then headed down to Arolla. It was about 2 hours down hill. It was pleasant at first, but then turned into a death march. About 30 minutes above the town we heard a band...then we saw them when we got in to town.

Alex, Paul & Nigel met us with beer. That was a welcome sight! Turns out we were the only ones to take the ladders. They made it in 6.5 hours, we made it in about 8 (should have taken us 6.5 - 7.5), so not too bad.

After the beer we checked in, picked up Kevin's bag (a welcome sight - 9 days later), showered, did laundry and then headed out for dinner with Alex & Paul. Today was their last day.

Cabane Mont Fort > Cabane Prafleuri

"HOLY SHIT!!!!

The way around the Col Termin and over to Col de Louvie sucked ass. Most of the way we had to traverse a steep slope and post hole through thigh high snow. What was supposed to take 3 hours and 15 minutes, actually took 5 hours 30 minutes. Where there was only a little snow on the trail we would sometimes slip...Looking back at the trail you could see how steep the slop was...It was as mentally tiring as it was physically.

However, the view was spectacular. The weather was great and we saw a lot of wildlife - Chamois or Ibex or Steinbach? " -- Kevin

Between Col de Louive and Col Prafleuri it was a lot of boulder scrambling as we crossed a moraine below a couple of glaciers. Then we had to climb up to the Col (pass) on boulders and snow.

Anne smashed his toe under a 2 ton boulder, we stopped to check out the damage, when he took his sock off, the toenail went with it. Alex doctored it the best she could (the surgeon in the group).

We met a couple for New Zealand at dinner. This is their 3rd trip on the Haute Route.

I started reading about tomorrow, cable bridges & ladders --- both of which I am not looking forward to. Hopefully the day after that will be easier, my nerves are shot.

It took us 8 hours 45 minutes - not counting breaks. It should have taken us 6.5 hours.

Le Chable > Cabane du Mont Fort

"We slept a little late... until about 7:30am. I took a shower and then we headed to breakfast, which was quite small, a little bread with butter and jam, and coffee. Dana's hot chocolate wasnàt too hot. Alex and Paul decided to take the cable car and then climb above the cabin. We we headed off. The trail was easz to follow, but it was UP UP UP UP. The guide book mentions all the attractions, including the little church (which had a wedding going on). The BBQ joint. The restaurant in Clambin (which was closed). We ate the bread, cheese & sausage we had bought in Le Chable. It was a nice lunch break in the sun with a panoramic view of the Bagnes valley.

Near Clambin we met a nice fellow from Geneva...He was an artist wandering the trails looking for inspiration. He talked a lot about how great the area was, except for Verbeir which he said was shit now that every one was building 5 million dollar homes and looking down their noses at every one. He was very entertaining.

After Clambin it was more UP UP UP UP. Eventually getting to a ski area that was filled with mountain bikers. We finally saw the signs directing us to the cabin - 50 minutes away. It actually took a long 70 minutes. Right before we got to the cabin we met a couple of dutch guys (Anne and Pepain). They had spotted a marmot and pointed it out to us. Very Cool! Finally we made it to the cabin. We had spaghetti ( a lot of it) and beer and wine. It was a fun evening.

We also met a parisian who writes for a golf magazine and had visited Portland to write an article about Nike Golf.

The bad news came in that our next day may have some weather issues. Deep snow and afternoon thunderstorms. We are counting on the snow being less deep and we are going to do it as a group (the three brits - Alex, Paul & Nigel, the two dutch - Anne & Pepain, and us). It may be a tough day so we are going to get an early start. We went to bed at 9:30, breakfast at 6, leave at 7.

It tooks us 6.5 hours to get to Cabane Mont Fort, including most of our breaks." -- Kevin

Champex > Le Chable

We started out after a nice leisurely morning. I updated the blog and then we packed our now dry clothes. We wakled through the town, by the lake, to the trail. We had a couple of glimpses of mountains and it promised to not rain on us. Todays walk was nothing but really steep down hill. We walked through fields and little villages to Sembracher. Along the waz we ran in to a man walking his two dogs, 1 puppy and 1 older one. We chatted about the weather and played with is puppy before moving on. We had planned to stop in Sembracher for lunch but took a wrong turn and instead stayed on the trail for Le Chable. When we figured out that we had taken a wrong turn it was too late to turn back so we split Kevin's Mars bar and headed up the trail. There was only one up hill section - Kevin made me count to 100 in french so the hill went by really fast.

When we got to Le Chable we stopped at the first restaurant that we found, which was a really nice place and our waiter was from Quebec. We chatted about the weather and where we were headed. After lunch we headed to our hotel in Villette (just across the river). We showered, did laundry and took a nice long nap. After the nap we wandered around town a little, bought some chocolate, new (better) gloves for me and then headed to the hotel restaurant-bar for a beer and fries. Alex and Paul showed up and we had dinner. Dinner was horse, i was full from the beer, fries and soup. I tried it anyway, it was chewy and really tasted a little like beef. Now I can say I have had it and don't need to have it again.

After dinner we headed to the two bars in town - Rosbef (an english bar) or Manhattan (an american one). Manhattan looked more lively so we went there and had a beer and played foosball. At ten we headed back to the hotel and went to bed.

Trient > Champex

Stage 3:
We ate breakfast with Alex & Paul. Last night we had heard mention of snow falling. This morning we debated either going on the standard route to Fenetre d' Arpette (2665m) or doing a lower alternate route, Apage de Bovine (2000m). Alex asked some of the locals and the response was a lot of head shaking, finger wagging and something about going down on your ass. We decided it would be wise to go the alternate route. Before heading out we picked up some sausage and cheese to go with the half of loaf of bread Alex & Paul shared with us. We donned our rain gear and headed out in to the rain (it would rain all day). It was definately a great day for Gore-Tex. It was a 2 and half hour climb past For de la claz on our way to Bovine, at 2200 feet. Alpage de Bovine is a little farm (three stone buildings) surrounded by cows. You can get lunch hear and dry off, which we did. The onion soup, bread, cheese and hot chocolate hit the spot. After warming up a little Kevin and I headed on with out Alex & Paul (they were going to give the weather a little more time). We put our down vests on under our jackets and added fleece hats and gloves - it was now snowing. We would be headed downhill for the next 2.5 hours. The trail was wet but not bad at first, but then turned into a streambed that was very steep. It was like walking down stone & tree root steps. There were a couple of stream crossings (Kevin got wet on one of them). I am glad that I was able to tape my knee, as this was going to be hard on it.

We eventually made it to a gravel path and then a paved road. We stopped to verify directions when a car pulled up. He asked if we were going to Champex and then pointed in the right direction. He then offered us a ride, we must have looked like drowned rats -- it was still raining.

We headed up hill for our last 50 minutes of the day. We came a long a cow in the creek, just standing there. We also walked past a lot of houses and dreamed of being able to dry off.

Eventually we made it to Champex and our hotel. It is dormitory/bunk style. We have the two at the end of the room -- with the heater. I promptly got out the clothes line and cranked up the heat. We both fell asleep for a little while and then headed down to see if we could find someplace to do laundry -- no such luck. So, back up stairs to rotate clothes on the heater. Kevin was still dealing with his luggage, it appears to be stuck somewhere, maybe Geneva. Hopefully they can get it to us in Le Chable (the next stop), otherwise it will have to meet us in 3 days, as the two nights after Le Chable are mountain huts.

It looks like we won't have any rain on Friday, so maybe we will have some nice views. Evidently today we should have been able to see Mont Blanc and also down in to the valley to Martigny.

I don't know if we will have internet in Le Chable, so this may be the last post until Monday night.

Even with the rain and the luggage issues, the trip has been worth it!

Chamonix > Argentiere > Trient

We were able to replace most of the "required" gear for Kevin, in Chamonix. I picked up a jacket too. We shoved every thing into Kevin's new backpack and headed for Argentiere in the rain. It was a pleasant hike, about 1/3 of the way in we headed up hill and started trading the pack back and forth.

Stage 1: Chamonix to Argentiere
"Well, its 7:45 and we just woke up in Argentiere. Its pouring down rain so we are not very motivated to get started. Dana is on the phone dealing with British Airways and the courier that is supposedlz bringing us her backpack. It would be nice to get her pack this morning because it has all of her rain clothes in it. My pack, meanwhile, is still 'god knows where'. My new gear will suffice I guess. Last night we hiked into town soaking wet and found our hotel. A young woman brought us straight to our room (and made fun of us for taking up so much space in the elevator). We didn't have to sign any paperwork which seemed weird to me. We then found a pharmacz and some dinner. Porkchops, potatoes, green beans, and beer. I'll let Dana tell you about the strawberries" -- Kevin.

Kevin is right, the strawberries were excellant, I don't think that I have ever had ones that tasted that good. The hike was a nice start, luckily my new shoes didn't give me any blisters on the uphill part. After dinner, I took a hot bath (which I promptly fell asleep in).

Stage 2: Argentiere to Trient
As we were hiking along, we worked on my french, which really meant numbers and a song about plucking the head, beak and eyes off of a bird. The walk to Le Tour was pleasant enough. No rain and we traded the pack every 30 minutes. Once in Le Tour we headed up the ski slope to Charamillon. Ski slopes were not made to be walked up. At Charamillon (a ski lodge) we stopped for lunch. We donned our "rain gear", or at least as much as we had, and headed up to Col de Balme. I can only imagine the views that you get on this when there are no clouds. Needless to say, we had clouds....and rain ---and i had no rain gear (I did pick up a pair of pants in Argentiere). At Col de Balme we had hot chocolate and coffee. When we started we headed out in to the cloud break and no rain. Down we went. When we leveled out I took the pack from Kevin (he carried it on the down hill to save my knee). It was raining so hard that we walked into town with our heads bent over, into the rain.

Once at the hostel, we each called about our baggage. Kevin's was finally found. We need to call them back tomorrow to confirm the delivery location. Mine was supposedly signed for here at the hostel. The host does't know anything about. We met an English couple (Peter & Alex). Alex was able to translate for us for more information on the bag. We had several beers and then dinner. Right before dinner, someone walked in with my bag. I have never been so happy to see another bag. It was missing my trekking poles (british airways will be paying for those). We made it to Trient in 4:45 minutes (according to the guide book it should have taken us 5 to 5:30 hours). Not bad for being a rainy day.

Geneva > Chamonix

When I woke up this morning I immediately checked on the status of my bag, online. I saw the magic words "received at airport". I called to confirm and update the location I needed it delivered to. The bag was at Heathrow this morning at 7am and we were planned to head to Chamonix at 9am. I asked them to either send it to the hotel in Argentiere or Trient. I have no problem walking from Chamonix to Argentiere in flip flops (about 2 hours), but I am a little worried about Trient. Especially since we lost the guide book in Kevin's bag.

We couldn't call on Kevin's until 1pm Central Europe time so we would have to wait and see on that one.

We each had a croissant, orange juice & coffee for breakfast and headed for the train station. Along the way we found a little store to buy Kevin a cheap duffel bag to carry his shoes, coat, pants & shirt in (the two plastic shopping bags just weren't working).

We took the train to Martigny and then switched to a really local train that would take us up to Chamonix. About 30 minutes before Martigny our stomaches really started growling. We would have to wait until Chamonix for food. The train ride from Martigny was amazing. I can only imagine what the views would have been like if there were no clouds or fog. Every now and then you would get a peak down into the valley, it was truly amazing.

Once in Chamonix we headed for lunch....we just happened to pick the a cafe that took neither credit cards or Swiss Francs. Kevin went to try to get Euros, but had problems with the ATM card. We think it is because we took out the max on Monday our time and it is still Monday US time.. not sure. Hopefully it works tomorrow in Argentiere.

After lunch we went to find a book store (for a new guide book, maps) and a couple of stores to re-outfit us. This place is crazy ---- expensive and crowded...and the stores take an 1.5 hour lunch break. We figured out what we would need to get me along until I had my bag (shoes & a jacket) and figured out what Kevin "had to have", which is very close to everything he brought. Now for the shopping spree, I found a 2007 edition of Kev Reynolds Haute Route guidebook (our lost one was 2001) and I got the two maps we would need. Next we headed for a camera store to get another charger for the camera (the old one is in Kevin's bag). She said she might have one this afternoon and to come back at 5...we can't figure that out, maybe there is an afternoon shipment. Then we were on to a phone store to get a new charger (the original is in my bag but my blackberry is almost dead and we are going to need it before I can get my bag back). We headed to an internet cafe to get out of the rain, update the blog and charge the blackberry. Next we are headed for a couple of outdoor stores (once they get back from their lunch breaks) and then on to Argentiere.

More later.

Portland > London > Geneva

Well, we both had a couple of challenge ridden days of travel.

Kevin left Portland at 8:30 for Las Vegas, then to Philadelphia and then on to London. He got lucky from Las Vegas to Philadelphia. "From Vegas to Philadelphia I was in line to try to volunteer for the exit row (I was in a middle seat). The person behind me told me that they had just paged me because someone in first class wanted to trade seats with me. WOW. 5 minutes later I was sipping a bloody mary." He almost didn't make the flight the connection in Philadelphia and then wasn't able to sleep on the plane. He made it to London around 9:30. Turns out US Airways lost his bag (yes his backpack with everything in it). We were supposed to meet at Westminster Abbey, so he headed downtown. He was able to see the church and the side entrance to Buckingham Palace.

My flight from Seattle to London was delayed so I didn't get in to London until 12:30. I was able to get about 5 hours of sleep on the plane. Turns out, British Airways lost my bag too. (Yes, my backpack with everything in it). At this point, it is too late to meet Kevin at Westminster Abbey, so he headed to Paddington Station to meet me there.

We arranged for the airlines to send our bags to our hostel in Geneva and then headed to Kings Cross Station to catch the train to Luton airport for our flight to Geneva. We stopped for a pint outside the train station (it was the least I could do for my brief visit to London). Hopefully I will be able to see a little more of it at the end of our trip.

The train to Luton was only supposed to take 25 minutes, it was more like an hour. Once there we got to go to the front of the line to check in (it was a fast check in since we didin't have any lugguage -- Kevin had his coat, I had a little "ditty" bag with my credit cards, passport and blackberry). Security was a nightmare, I have never see a line so long...oh yea, we checked in at 5:55 and our plane was supposed to start boarding at 5:55. Needless to say, after we made it through secuirty it was 6:15 and our plane was delayed. We finally got on the plane and headed to Geneva. Easyjet is definately a no-nonsense airline, I think it is even more sparse then Southwest. Once in Geneva we caught a cab to the hostel (we couldn't get any of our credit cards to work at the trainstop at the airport). We showered and washed our clothes in the sink and then crashed (at 1 am).

Monday morning we slept in and then headed to the train station to buy our tickets for Chamonix on Tuesday. We wondered around a little, bought some pjs for me, shorts & crocs for Kevin. Lunch was a beer and a sandwich. It is really warm here so at 2:30 we headed for the hostel for a shower and a nap...after we checked on our flights.

Kevin called on his bag, it doesn't look promising that it will make it to Geneva before we leave tomorrow at 9 for Chamonix. He then called on mine. We are both in some sort of baggage twilight zone, neither airline knows where either bag is and we are supposed to call back in 24 hours -- at which point we will be in Chamonix. If they don't make it here, our next option for them is to have them delivered to our hotel in Argentiere. Its a good thing it is a easy 2 hour "valley walk" from Chamonix to Argentiere.

Now for another shower, a nap and maybe a cheap little backpack purchase (to carry what little belongings we have from Chamonix to Argentiere).

After the shower and a nap we headed back out for dinner and more sights.

There isn't much to see in Geneva, there seems to be some sort of festival going on so we walked through that and then found a bar that was serving pizza. After dinner we walked up the hill to Notre Dame and then back towards the hostel. Along the way we each had an ice cream cone. We got back to our hotel around 10pm. We laid around pondering what to do about the gear we would need to do this trip. The crappy thing about losing the bags is that we packed really light so we only brought what we would need, and we lost all of it. I don't even have a coat, socks or my asthma medicine.

We finally fell a sleep around 10:30 and then both woke up at 11:30. (you have to love jet lag). We laid awake until 3 and then were able to go back to sleep for until 6ish.

Our Next Adventure

For our next adventure we are going to hike from Chamonix France to Zermatt Switzerland, alson known as the Walker's Haute Route. We will fly in to London (August 4/5) and spend most of the day there, and then fly to Geneva that night. We will spend a day in Geneva and then leave for Chamonix the next day. Once in Chamonix, the hike starts. Each day we will start in one town/village or high alpine hut and walk to another town/village or high alpine hut.












The total distance is 170 km/110 miles and it should take us 14 days. Below is the hill profile for the trip.







We should be back to Geneva by August 21, with a flight to London on the 22nd and the flight hom on August 23rd.

We are going to try to post while we are en route, but photos may not be available until after we get home.

Day 14 - Brugges

Last night we headed out to an italian restaurant near by. It was the second time that we made the assumption that they took credit cards (it was clearly marked on the door), but once we asked for the bill found out they didn't.....so Kevin ran to the ATM, again.

After dinner we walked back to the Grand Place to try to find a bar, where we did some serious people watching.

Today we headed to Brugges. It took about an hour to get there by train. Once there we headed to the square. We climbed the bell tower, this spiral staircase was worse then the Arc d' Triumphe, it was just as narrow but everyone went up and down the same stairs, and there wasn't really a good way to pass. To practice for our hiking trip in August (ok, its not really practice but really just our little joke) we try not to use the handrail on the way up or down. I made it to the top before I had to use the railing (it was just too steep and the steps too tall and narrow). Going down, I used the railing the entire time. At the top we waited for the hourly ringing of the bells...(they sound much better from the square).

Once down we both needed a beer and to sit down (to get rid of our vertigo). After lunch we headed to a couple of museums (where we saw several van eyck paintins, the Madonna & Child by Michaelango and several other works). We spent a lot of time walking around. We were going to go for a bike ride, but decided instead to have some fries and catch the train back to Brussels.
When we made our last transfer I got on one car and Kevin got on another...I thought he was one direction so I headed that way...turns out he was in the car behind me...we found each other at the last stop. Kevin was a little scared as I had both tickets and he had to board the train in front of one of the conductors...

Now we are packing, downloading pictures, charging ipods and downloading podcasts. We fly home tomorrow, my flight is at 7am and Kevin's is at 12. I get home at 11:30am and he gets in around 11:30 pm.