19 September 2015- Bruges

We all had a very needed good night's sleep and all woke up ready to undertake another full day.    After a copious breakfast of local breads from the bakery down the road with a selection of European cheeses, the clan left the house bound for Bruges.  We all went down to the train station for the hour long drive to this historic city made famous for its beautiful lace.  We walked for hours taking in the sights, the local architecture and enjoying the traditional fares of Bruges.  Their vol au vent was delicious, their serving of mussels in a basil and wine sauce was huge and their local Flemish stew was very flavorful but the meat was a bit hard.  All in all, a gourmet meal.

We walked through a beautiful park with a canal filled with beautiful white swans.
We also went to a beguinage where until the last century a religious order resided.  The place was very sereine.  The day was great and our youngest member was good as gold.  We finally made it home after 10 for a much needed rest.  Tomorrow, we fly to Berlin.  In case you are wondering, we are still all good friends.

18 September 2015

Ouf!  Getting ready to go on holiday is so much work, you need the holiday to recover.  Yesterday, after a two hour drive to the airport, a close to three hour wait at the airport, we finally boarded our plane with a sigh of relief and a feeling of anticipation.  We are so looking forward to meet our friends and Valerie whom we have never met.   Of course, now that we are sitting and all buckled up, the pilot announces that the flight is delayed and the reason sound so weird.  The passengers have too much luggage, the plane is now too heavy to lift off and they now have to recalculate the fuel allocation. This procedure took a whole hour. (Perhaps they didn't have a calculator).  Finally, we are on our way.  After that, the flight to Brussels is quite uneventful.  It took a whole hour for our luggage to show up.

We got to Brussels  and, as planned, Maria, Valerie, Lynanne and Lloyd are patiently waiting for us.  Baby Valerie does not hold our tardiness against us and smiles warmly at us.  Tons of hugs are passes around.  We are all so happy to be together again.  Our European Odyssey has now begun.

We all left the airport in a sort of convoy with Maria at our helm.  We boarded a train and then a bus before reaching Leuven.  Jorg was still at work when we arrived at their house where Maria immediately took on the task of making us Ajiaco, a Columbian chicken and potato soup.  All was going well until the explosion of the pressure cooker.  Gosh what a racket but no one got hurt.  Some of the broth was lost but Maria cleaned up and went on to make us a delicious soup.

We were all back on the road by 3 PM even if we have been up and running for more than a day.  We are like the energizer bunny.  The amazing one is Valeritta who has been up since the crack of dawn and is still happy.  She is delightful and so aware for such a young baby.  After walking for more than 3 hours, stopping for refreshment and taking in the sights like  Catholic University where Maria obtained her doctorate,  looking at the beautiful architecture and enjoying the numerous parks, we made it back home to welcome Jorg who arrived with 5 delicious pizzas.

We all had a wonderful dinner and fell into bed after a tiring day. We were in Brussels and ready to commence our travels.

Ottawa, September  16^th, 2015

Four geriatrics, two young adults and a baby traveling together through Europe, how did this unlikely scenario materialize?

On a trip to Zion National Park in Utah, some years ago we met a couple from California at breakfast.  We spent a whole day together and quickly became friends. Over dinner that night we discussed our planned trip to India and proposed that Lynanne and Lloyd join us on that adventure the following year. On our return home, we were surprised and happy to get an email from them saying they would love to join us. We cemented the friendship started at Zion by visiting each other, them in Berkely CA, and us in Ottawa ON, and holding regular Skype planning meetings.  Against all odds, traveling with new acquaintances turned out to be a marvelous experience.   During the trip to India, we met a delightful young couple, Jörg and Maria. Maria had just completed her PhD in Bio-Infomatics, so they were taking a year off work and study to travel.  Once again, we absorbed them into our group, and all quickly became friends.   Their travels took them to California where they visited Lynanne  and Lloyd and also to Ottawa where they visited us.    A few years later, on our way to Iran,  Jörg and Maria came to spend a few days with us in Istanbul.   Well, these unlikely travelers, Canadians (one originally from India), Americans, a German and Columbian are now meeting up in Brussels, where Jörg, Maria and baby Valerie reside, to start off on our European Odyssey.