Our Parisian Getaway

We spent the past five days in Paris. It was so good. It was good to get away from our mess at home, clear our heads, eat croissants, drink wine, take long walks, and just hang out together without the worries that have consumed us lately. It was refreshing, to say the least. 

This trip, of course, was very different from past visits. There was a tiny human dictating our days, so there were no fancy dinners or evenings at bars. Instead there was a pizza picnic in the living room and evenings curled on the couch watching the Eiffel Tower sparkle (Ina was MESMERIZED by the sparkle!). There were afternoon drinks and early bedtimes. There were long walks, and long naps. It was perfect. 

Here's a glimpse:

 

I am forever grateful to our friends who let us stay in their beautiful flat while they were away - you guys are the best. We'll miss you... and that view!

I was sad packing up to head back home - but Didz promised we won't stay away too long. I'm already looking forward to our next trip... and doing some casual apartment hunting :)

On Patience

"I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters To A Young Poet

Weekend Bits

Our little town of Leuven is contained in a circle - the Ring road is the border of town, and we never really have any reason to exit our little bubble. Plus, without a car, there's not many places we can really go. Yesterday, however, we decided to go for a walk, and go beyond the ring... and what a wonderful adventure we had...

It felt like we had left town and were on vacation somewhere far away, even though we were only a 30 minute walk from home. Walking through the woods, down quiet streets, across vast lawns, over old wooden bridges... It was like walking through a fairy tale.

Sometimes that's all it takes to feel refreshed...



(ps Have you been watching the Olympics?? Around here, all we really care about is basketball... MES UZ LIETUVA!)

Brussel Sprout

(recipe not included)


As if getting married and moving to a foreign country isn't a big enough adventure... we're amping it up even more...

So dear friends, while we'd much rather be announcing this to you personally, sitting together on the living room sofa, or lingering around the dining table long after a delicious feast has been enjoyed, savoring every last crumb of cake... We have no choice but to share our joyful news via the flamingoblog:

We're having a baby! 

Our little Brussel Sprout is due to join us mid-October, and we couldn't be more excited. We're still not sure what our plans will be after Didz graduates at the end of August... we may stay here, we may head home, we may go somewhere new... but for now we're enjoying the Belgian springtime with this little bump under my shirt :)

The Battle of Versailles

While we were in Paris (read part one of our trip here), Annie's friends Alex and Alex (very convenient for someone who is terrible with names, like me) were travelling through Europe, and we were lucky enough to have a couple days in Paris together.

One morning we joined them on a little excursion to Versailles - little did we know Versailles was like a battle field and we'd be fighting for our lives... getting smothered by tour groups in the narrow hallways of the palace and being nearly blinded by their tour leaders waving their wands with tchotchkes or ribbons attached to the end to make them recognizable, then heading out into the garden only to be bombarded by bitter cold winds and the looming threat of rain.... Luckily, we got out of there alive and the downpour of rain held off until we were safely seated at a warm cafe for lunch back in Paris.

The palace is obviously beautiful - each room more ornate than the once before.... 

When we finally made it out into the gardens, it was so cold and miserable we were in no mood to go for a long walk... 

... so we rented a golf cart and cruised through the gardens in style, with chauffeur Annie driving us around. 

That evening, after we defrosted, Annie and I got cozy on the couch at watched Marie Antoinette and imagined ourselves back at Versailles - without the angry mobs trying to behead us with their tour group leaders' wands. 

An Americannie in Paris

Going to Paris with a boyfriend or husband (or lover... ooh la la!) is wonderful - there's romance! and passion! and PDAs!

Going to Paris with a best friend is even better - there's shopping! and macarons! and girl talk!

Trying to feel the statues smooth tush... Real mature, Annie...

Annie and I had such a fabulous week together - it was so special to get to spend that time with her. Our past few get-togethers were whirlwind weekends during which we barely got a chance to catch up properly (wedding dress shopping in NYC and Bachelorette shenanigans in Malibu are hardly conducive to solid heart-to-heart chats).... This time was different. We spent days leisurely walking and talking and stopping and shopping and eating and drinking and relaxing.... we'd lose our train of thought walking by the Louvre, and find it again hours later while eating life-changing falafel on the street in Le Marais. We sought out the best roast chicken in Paris (and fell a little bit in love with our waiter). We stopped to listen to street musicians in the 6th and had lunch at one of Hemingway's old haunts. We browsed titles at Shakespeare & Co, and went home with tote bags filled with literary treasures to remind us of our trip. We bought shoes and dresses and jewelry (and the most beautiful french linen bedding that I will eternally be jealous of)... and every time we don one of these pieces (or every night when Annie crawls into that beautiful bed) we'll be momentarily whisked back to Paris....

Here's just a glimpse...

In the next few days, I'll share a little bit more - including our visit to Versailles - but for now, I think I'll go down to the bakery, pick up a fresh croissant, and browse these pictures over and over and imagine Annie and I are still sitting at a cafe on Rue Cler watching the people pass by, as the crumbs from our buttery, flaky croissants collect on the tabletop. 

Spring Break 2012

 via Pinterest 

Didz is off to China tomorrow morning... a two week trip with his class full of lectures, company visits, presentations... and of course, a little sightseeing. I'm sticking around this part of the world, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my dear friend Annie next week and our girls gettaway to Paris... full of baguettes, cheese, wine, macarons, shopping... and of course, a little sightseeing :)
(I'll let you in on a little secret: Annie's never been to Paris... I'm so excited to see her reaction when she bites into a *real* croissant, or when she sees the Eiffel Tower *SPARKLE*! Her life will never be the same....) 


In the meantime, with Didz gone, I'll be chompin' on some chocolate bunnies and enjoying a little "me" time... I'll paint my nails, watch old Sex & the City episodes, and get the house ready for Annie's arrival.

Have a wonderful Easter weekend! 

Barcelona: Part 2

Aside from all the eating and drinking we did in Barcelona (which you can read about here), we did see some sights and take in some culture. We're certainly not the type of family to plan out a day by day, hour by hour itinerary - typically we just set out wandering in the general direction of some park/cathedral/monument/tourist site and find additional little gems along the way.

Sometimes we just get lost.

(Most of the time we end up at a bar.)

Sagrada Familia

The "ugly" side

It's been about 8 years since I've used my knowledge of the Spanish language - but I'm amazed at how much came back to me in just a short week of talking to taxi drivers, shop owners, bartenders and waiters... Shopping at the large market, La Boqueria, was a very good review of vocabulary (especially names of las frutas y verduras). 

We spent one afternoon wandering through Park Guell - which is a marvel (though overly crowded with tourists). I had a bit of a cold so my dad filled the flask my mom got me for Christmas with cognac to keep me well medicated during our stroll through the park.... and magically, the next day I was good as new!

And of course there was a pit-stop or two on the way home....

If you've never been to Barcelona, I highly recommend it - I feel like in the week we were there we barely scraped the tip of the iceburg... There's so much more to see, enjoy and experience... so many more narrow streets in the Barrio Gotico to wander through, so many more tapas to eat... I hope Didz and I have a chance to visit again - and tour through the rest of Spain as well. I'd love to show him my old stomping ground in Madrid, take him to La Alhambra in Granada, sip wine in the Rioja region, cider in Asturias, lie on the beach on la Costa Brava, see the Mosque/Cathedral of Cordoba..... I could go on.... instead I'll just start pressuring him to plan our next trip back to Spain...