Fall Colors

Being a Texas gal by birth, I am always blown away by places that actually have a fall. You can see my obsession in the pictures I took of Hannah and Derek in Luxembourg Gardens, too. But these red leaves were particularly spectacular. And I had the perfect opportunity to enjoy them when Justin decided to sport a "new" coat:

And Raelynne had to join in with her "new" jacket, as well:

Then, in a mini tutorial on how my SLR works, I got this shot. For some reason, I really love it:

And, best of all, sweet Justin offered to take some pictures of Oliver and me. I have so few of those! I jumped on the opportunity:

Honestly, if it hadn't been raining in Paris these past three weeks, I probably would be outside every day taking pictures of the fall colors... By now, though, I think they're mostly gone. :( I'll just have to enjoy these.

Paris Play Group

It's so wonderful to have friends for little Oliver to play with...

Ok, wait. Maybe they aren't quite aware of each other yet. But it IS wonderful to have other moms to talk to!

Actually, our babies (who run 3-5 months) are quite advanced. Can't you see them playing together?

Well, maybe all staring at the same toy doesn't quite count as playing together. But truly, I do look forward to the day when they can all play together, and it should be soon! This was the first of hopefully many meetings. I met these sweet women at our parenting class for English-speakers. With US, Ireland, Nigeria, and Switzerland all represented in this group, we have quite the international melee! And the cutest babies around, of course.

Anne-Marie and precious Stephanie:

Carol and gorgeous Chiara:

Gina and adorable Gavin:

Could these children be any cuter?!?!

Plus, just to share the nerd in me with you all:

SO looking forward to this Friday for our next one. Can't wait!

Beautiful Bruges

Oh I am behind! And I know that the holidays will only bring more pictures and posts.... So, no edits, light commentary, just quick overviews. Forgive me the glossing over. That said, Bruges. Beautiful. We made a very quick trip: 2 days, 1 night. I highly recommend it.

We stayed at this beautiful bed and breakfast (run by a fabulous couple... if you ever go, let me know and I'll give you the details):

With this gorgeous view:

After dropping off our bags, we started the day with some fries. Not French fries. Belgian fries. Heavenly.

We toured Market Square:

And passed under this arch from the old city center to walk along the canals:

From where we could better see the famous bell tower of Market Square:

The weather was perfect:

And we dropped in on the cathedral whose steeple is seen in the picture above:

Then stopped for waffles. Belgian waffles. To die for.

And toured the city's only remaining brewery:

Which afforded an incredible view from the roof:

And a glass of beer at the end, of course:

Before dinner (yes, before dinner) we stopped for some chocolates. Mmmmmm....

And then had a fabulous meal at De Hobbit. All you can eat smoked ribs. Truly scrumptious.

And some cherry beer. I'm not a beer drinker, but I like the fruit-flavored ones.

We started the next day with another chocolate shop (are you seeing a theme here?).

And then went to Begijnhof, a sort of convent next to the lake. The trees and water were gorgeous:

And the swans were entertaining:

Throughout the trip, we were joined by our trusty Rick Steves via Kindle on the iphone. A new touring experience. Caption for the following photo: Rick makes another corny joke.

The convent area was so still, peaceful, and revitalizing:

The chapel was in use, as it was Sunday morning:

And the bridges at the exit made for some gorgeous photo ops:

After a fabulous meal of mussels and fries, we visited a museum (where pictures were forbidden) whose entrance was in this beautiful courtyard:

And we returned to Burg Square which houses city hall:

To visit the Basilica of the Holy Blood, built in the 13th century by a crusader, where they were displaying a [supposed] vile of Christ's blood for veneration:

The gaudy upstairs:

Was in stark contrast to the understated romanesque style of the downstairs:

Complete with the most gruesome statues I've ever seen:

And, in keeping with our food and drink theme for the weekend, we made more one stop for a pint of Belgian beer. And, no, Derek is not giving Oliver beer, just his pacifier. I promise.

All in all, a fabulous trip. Even little Oliver seemed to enjoy it: