Driving on a high wire

Have I mentioned the whole scary driving thing? Have I adequately described the level of high stress created by the constant in-and-out swerving around Vespas and trucks and behemoth tour buses? Do you have a sense of how insane it is to think anyone could casually drive from point A to B without suffering a headache, red face, flipout, or simply tears?



Is the horse dead yet?


'Cuz I just have one more tale of hell. Granted, it's a gorgeous hell. A very mesmerizing, beautiful-like-nothing-you've-ever-seen hell. But. it's. hell.


Classic case: Pedestrian vs. truck vs. 4 cylinder-Automatic-Opal vs. tunnel























High wire:

Mesmerizing beauty:

We got as far as Praiano. Beyond Positano. Covered 20 miles in about an hour. It was, simply, the most incredibly beautiful scenery I've ever laid eyes on but it's not for the faint of heart. And it's definitely not for a 6 and 8 year old that would so rather be back in the pool.

Lesson learned: take cool, easy-breezy boat to next destination.

Arriviamo - Part due

The drive. The drive from Naples to Massa Lubrense. Big loads of fun and if Scott didn't speak Italian I'm not sure we'd actually ever arrive. First, there's the whole lack of signage and lack of highway identification. Makes Boston look very organized and easy to navigate. Then there's the enormo tour buses that are enormo. Huge. And then, on top of all that there are these helmet-less Vespas whizzing about like gnats in your face, blocking your view. At first we thought it was funny. Kids thought it was hilarious, the cliffs, the buses, the scooters, the S- curves and btw, kids were total troopers. None of us had had enough sleep the night before. It was hot as Hades-AC barely cranking anything out-and it was lunch time. But then we stopped laughing. There was a strange hush in our little car. We got to Sorrento. And got lost. Then we got out of Sorrento. And got lost. And then we got ourselves down a road that wasn't really a road, even though there were cars parked along the side. It was a road that became a walk-way that became a path. But with our American optimism we just thought the road would magically get bigger. But it didn't. And so after realizing we are in the wrong place, on an incline that was probably at a 45 degree angle, Scott got us in reverse to back out, burned a whole lot of oil and bonked right into a Mercedes.

Owner came out of this villa. A guy that was probably in his mid-60s. He was angry and then he saw the kids and he was nice. He got us out of our predicament, even reversed our 2-cylinder Opal out of the narrow passage way and directed us straight to our hotel. And he gave the kids some biscotti and water.

And then we went to the pool and ate. And drank. A lot.

Mt. Vesuvius. Kids kept swearing they saw steam or lava. Hot, molten magma.... (active volcano but dormant for years) but fun to pretend that at any minute she could blow!



















Jazz hands and high kicks from Colby. On the Lido deck of our hotel. Pretty cool seating area closest to the water (which is like a 100 yard walk down stairs).

Massa Lubrense and Marina del Lobra. The port. Very small fishing village that seems to be populated by about 200 but apparently there are more folks living about. Super quaint, quiet. So glad we cax'd the Sorrento deal....because my take on Sorrento (having gotten lost, saw more than I would have liked) is that Sorrento, big tourist destination, is very pretty. But it's touristy. Sorta like an ancient Provincetown, gorgeous in places and honky-tonk in places. Noisy. Crowded. Night life.

And then this little town, Massa Lubrense, still seaside, just 5 miles from Sorrento, still on the way to Capri, Amalfi and Poisitano. Is not unlike Block Island. Gorgeous. Seaside. Small. Quiet. Totally our cup of tea.

Today we're off to the other sites on the coast. Scott's going to get behind the wheel again...better prepared for the adventure that awaits. I've got a sweatband he can wear ala Olivia Newton-John.

And I'll have more later.

Arriviamo - part one

4am, crack of dawn. No. Wait. There was no crack. or dawn for that matter. It was the middle of the friggin' night and Scott and I couldn't sleep beyond 1am due to the Saturday night hoo-ha and ruckus and whatnot in our seemingly quaint, little neighborhood. I think I heard screaming or gunfire at one point. They sound the same. Suffice it to say, we got maybe 2 or 3 hours of shut eye before we were up and getting ready for the cab that would take us to the airport to catch a flight to Milan and then Naples, Italy (where we then rent a car, drive like really slow maniacs to the Amalfi Coast, near Sorrento). Not complaining. Just a lot of verbs.

We get to the Brussels airport. Kids are really excited to see an entirely different country and we drop 29euros on just 2 croissants, 2 cups of coffee and a water and a juice. That's nearly $35. Shiite.

But we board the 7am flight, we leave orderly, mannerly, well-behaved Brussels and arrive into Milan in good order. Malpensa airport.

Malpensa. Built to serve 10,000 when actually 100,000 fly through. Hordes of people. And I could not stop staring. All sorts of very physical, loud people. You would think we'd feel like we could fit right in but it was such a dramatic change from our little Northern European corner. Kids were oblivious although at one point Maia said with sort of a snittish tone, "how come that lady keeps speaking Italian, it's not like everyone's Italian here?!" Ah. but they very nearly are.

And we get on our flight to Naples. And we arrive. And Naples is hot. And the airport is small. And I swear to god I saw maybe 10 Carmella and Tony Sopranos and then this whole collection of "Growing Up Gotti" characters. Again - I could not stop staring. There were a couple of Uncle June's in the wheelchairs. Pushed by some 'goomah' (I don't even know if I spelled that right). At one point I caught Scott laughing at me and he said, "they are going to eat you alive". So many crazy Southern Italian stereotypes. All for me to see.

And we wait in line to wait in line to get our rental car. We get the car. We get on the road and we head to Massa Lubresense - just spitting distance from Sorrento. 37 miles but a good hour's drive. And quite an adventure it was but I'm saving that for tomorrow's post. I will say that our hotel is awesome, sort of South Beach meets LA meets some 3rd world thrown in for good measure. Right on the coast. We had an incredible spin at the pool and a nice dinner out. Not sure if I can download any photos as the internet connection is through the hotel and I don't have my software....but I'll try.

la notte buona a lei-
(good night to you all)

(and for the free translation website that I go to, check out: http://www.freetranslation.com/)

Friday nights rule

Seriously. After a 5-day work week (even if you're a camp counselor/stay-at-home-full-time-parent) is there nothing better in the whole world then knowing the week's ending and two days of whatever-fun-galore-sleep-in lay ahead? After a week of some abstinence, hard work, discipline and labor? Friday nights in our house usually mean not one but two bottles of wine. It means breaking out the high-grade cheese and bread, olives and snacks. It means pizza and a movie if you're under 9 years old and it means extras and freebies and treats. I love Friday nights. No holds barred. Free reign.

Tonight we served hot dogs, carrots and noodles to the kids. Not exactly pizza but no biggie because...they got extra creamy-dreamy ice cream for dessert. This Belgian ice cream is like nirvana. It's just crazy good. Maia's had a massive variety of chocolate bits sprinkled all over and Colby's had these awesome graham-crackery-buttery-delights, aka speculoos cookies on his. Speculoos. Belgian cookie that's really just a very good graham cracker. But if you're a kid that hates chocolate it's like a little taste of crunchy heaven.

And Scott and I had really fresh greens with a variety of tartes or quiche that I picked up at the market. And wine. And the windows were wide open. Fun for all.

Friday nights rule.

Buon Giorno Italia! (almost)

With the hours available to me to do some heavy/thorough/conclusive research on our upcoming week on the Amalfi coast (we leave this Sunday, July 29th) I realized that we wanted to rethink our accommodations. I've learned that while this region in Italy is really picturesque and dreamy beyond belief, it's much more suited for a scuba family or deep sea diving family or a close relative to Jacques Cousteau (or families that don't mind rocky-dirty postage stamp-sized beaches) and since we're ocean fanatics (dare I say snobs?) and swimming and the water and all that comes with those were huge reasons for choosing this location for our vacation-within-a-vacation, we decided to switch our centrally-located inn in Sorrento on the Amalfi coast.



We're now staying at the Hotel Piccolo Paradiso (http://www.piccolo-paradiso.com/Inglese.htm in Massa Lubrense.

And in two days we'll rouse the kids at some ungodly hour (4am for 5am taxi ride to the airport) and catch a flight to Milan, 3 hour lay-over, and then arrive into Naples around midday. Grab a rental car and navigate ourselves for roughly 37 miles (but word has it that it could take as much as two hours due to winding switchbacks and death-defying mountainside S-curves-wanna come along Mom?) to Massa Lubrense, just 5 miles from Sorrento, our original destination. A bit more expensive but the place comes with a pool and a view. And then we can hopefully enjoy the following......along with planned trips to Mt. Vesuvius, Capri, Pompeii and a variety of Greek and Roman ruins.

Survival Strategies

When the weather's not cooperating and the kids are buggy, what's one thing you can do? Well, go to the local market and get junk food. Supplies typically include chips, candy, Nutella, gross candy, gross chips, more nutella, weird gummi things (worms, banjos, oddly-misshapened discs) and I even succumbed to candy necklaces. Dentist'll love me.

and then the kids and I play board games for hours. Uno. Sorry. Monopoly. (mmm, with a 6 year old. Good times). And if we're really up for it, Double Solitaire. And then I try to teach them how to shuffle cards. And card etiquette. House of Cards is waaay too frustrating. People could snap in an instant.

And I try not to get too crabby. With record-vintage-80's playing in the background. We've done some museums. We could use our $3.95 umbrellas to brave the wind and the rain but we'd rather stay inside. Oh yes. While I look at the clock and count down the hours until 6pm, when the cavalry arrives. And I can sit in front of my little laptop screen. And zone out.

Funny, how an up-day almost always seems to be followed by a down-day. Fortuna's Wheel I guess.

Ramble On...

We've been here nearly one month. In retrospect I feel as though we've taken well advantage of our neighborhood here in Brussels, the public transportation, some cultural highlights and accessible weekend trips to other countries. When I started this blog I had intentions of

helpful(?) parenting-abroad anecdotes but I think my stories are as common and normal as any American parent with a 6 and 8 year old. Some highs. Some lows. Surprisingly, I think that even amidst the stress of another country that I can spend hours on end with my children (even if that time includes some dervish spinning, flip-outs or spread-eagle-on-the-floor exhaustion)and that I really do love my children and they really do love me.

Fortunately and ultimately, I think we've succeeded in broadening our children's perspectives. We've exposed them to more Western Civilization, other first world countries...that the US is great but there's plenty more out there-just waiting for them. And certainly we have given them a taste of what they can make of their future....if they want it to include a European-or other locale- sojourn, it's well within their reach. I mean, who knows what their take-away will be when we get back. It's most likely the over-the-top candy store in Brugge or the zip-line in Paris. The buildings may have been lost on them for all I know. But I do hope that this 'Bruxellian' chapter isn't just it. I hope we can go far and wide into other continents as a family. Luckily, Scott and I have always been on the same page with priorities for our family, be it wanderlust, haute cuisine, or just enjoying the natural beauty of our surroundings. Maybe just maybe we've laid some decent groundwork for both kids.

(and as I type this there's Led Zeppelin cranking on the radio....jeezus, there's always some subtle reminder that Hutchinson, Kansas is really just around the corner from here....which isn't necessarily a bad thing....

and I'm not sure of any greater rock classic than Ramble On...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qz8VYEZqds)

What to do when....

So, today the weather was lousy. Cold and rainy. Probably not any warmer than 60 degrees.

The kids really don't have the best clothes for this type of weather.

So. I cut my hair. Gathered some friends. And fashioned some clothing out of the drapes.

And then with some flourish, we skipped and frolicked to the mountains. And sang.

Glory! Beauty! Joy! Rapture!

Jardin du Luxembourg (the kid version), Paris

First, it was like the Bataan Death March for the kids. It was only a mile or so but I think we really pushed the whole walking thing with them. Let's just say it was our compromise....we walk among the Parisiennes, among the ancient streets and buildings. They get an awesome playground as a result.

Grand Bassin. A quick rest at the And then off to the fabled zip-lines at our destination. I think Scott and I have talked up this playground with the kids so much that they may have expected free candy, free anti-gravity boots and some Willy-Wonka-Wonderland upon arrival. Still.... the

zip-line was pretty cool.

So was the spinny-cup-for-kid thingy.

For lunch it was a picnic among the lovers strewn across the lawn in the garden. Fun to try explain what 'those grown-ups are doing' to the kids. It was also amazing how many times we heard a cork popping with a bottle of Champagne.

It was a perfect day. Sunny. Fun.

and tasty.

Ahhh. Our weekend in Paris was divine. It was a little hard keeping our plan to kid-inclusive activities but within three days we covered a lot of ground. Our hotel was perfectly situated, especially since we weren't there much. The major sights were seen and enjoyed. And Scott and I got our cheap wine, bread, cheese, pate', and etc. Now we're back in Brussels. Monday's tomorrow. Forecast is cloudy, 65 degrees. May just spend the day trekking to our English-only bookstore for Harry Potter and Tintin.

Work Hard - Play Hard

Today we hit the ground running. La tour Eiffel, 'Pique-Nique' Lunch, Bateaux Mouche and dinner out was on the itin.

First the Eiffel Tower:

(kids wanted to me to take a picture of them looking like they were leaning on the tower.... can ya tell?

More from the ever majestic Eiffel Tower...

We even saw this worker--

who was working--

on the tower--

250 ft. high--

barely holding on--

omigod-.....

(but it was just a mannequin)

Then we took a bateaux mouche back to our hotel. Whizzed past Notre Dame (to savor tomorrow)

and then we went out to dinner. In classic Scott/Karen Sutton fashion we conducted an enormous amount of research to find the perfect spot for dinner. For adults and kids. And the result was Le Relais L'Entrecote.

http://www.relaisentrecote.fr/

Classic French. Serving one dish: steak and frites. And their own cheap wine. Good night for all.

(including Buggy-eyed Johnson)

Nous sommes arrivés à Paris !

Nous sommes ici.

How I'd love to continue this in French...but my bookmarked English-French free translation website seems to be rather slow. Or I'm slow.

And yet, here we are. The City of Lights. The day started at about 6am in Brussels. Caught the 9:15 Thalys train. Kids were super excited and the ride was just an hour and 15 minutes or so. Colby asked the ticket-guy how fast the train was going and the answer was 300. That's 300 km/h (which is like 180 mph I think). But it was fun for Colb to think it was 300 mph. And to see his eyes pop even further out of his head.

We're staying at a Novotel (chain yet very well situated among the sights we want to cover this weekend) in the Les Halles hood. 1st Arrondissement.

Today we went on a huge wild goose chase for a place for lunch. Kids were in tears, we were in tears after the nearly 2 hour walk/carry/pamper/coddle-a-thon. I think Scott and I think that since we can manage other world cities, we've got this over-confidence that we can manage Paris. But the kid factor adds a whole other dimension, plus we don't know exactly how far things are or even where they are. So our planning has been a little faulty. Happened in Brugge and we still didn't learn our lesson. Luckily, there's a metro stop steps away from our hotel, so it's the subway for our next outing.

Anyway, it was a most unpleasant haul. But before it was unpleasant, we went past the nearby Centre Pompidou (when we were headed in the wrong direction) and we went straight to the fountain. I think it's by Nikki de St-Phalle (my perfume of choice in the 80's). Sorta lousy pic.

Walked along the Louvre. Talked about Marie Antoinette and guillotines.

And finally arrived at our destination.

Paul Boulangerie. http://www.paul.fr/

This is just a classic French boulangerie, a chain but simple, fantastic French brasserie-type cuisine. I would have to say that it was worth the torture. And thankfully the kid's agreed.

More to come, as we've just arrived. Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower and all the playgrounds between here and there (Luxembourg Gardens, Tuileries, etc.) lay ahead.

I think there's something in my eye

Today we tempted the gods of clear-weather-fate and on a sunny day went to a museum...we were invited to join some new friends, Luca, Dante and their au Pair, Kika, to go to this amazing museum of musical instruments. We met them at a playground (Little Mike if you really wanna know). http://www.brusselsmuseums.be/en/brusscard/participants.php?mid=40

This is situated right in the Place du Sablon, not far from the Grand Place. Easy to get to in an area that's fun to walk around.

So, this museum is set up so that as you walk in you are immediately handed a pair of enormo-headphones. (which, if you're a 6 year old look pretty funny and keep falling off). The instruments are sorted by floor and by era. When you stand next to the harps, you hear a grand selection of harp music or if you're by the mandolins you feel as though you're back at that Renaissance Festival or...you get the drift. There was nearly every pre-19th century musical era exhibited. And from all over the globe.

The kids are really enjoying themselves and I can't get over their enthusiasm. Their unbridled joy of listening to all these sounds from the ages and from all over the place.

And I got all emotional. I dunno if it was the sitar or the bagpipes (if it's not the bells it's the bagpipes) or just seeing these kids having an absolute crazy, uninhibited blast. In a museum.

It was off-the-charts great.

One way to keep the kids nearby....

(see below post)

Funny, lollipops no longer have the allure they once had.....but can you think of anything creepier? And the whole premise is that he can 'smell' children. Works for me but still. Ew.

The Child Catcher

Eat to live or live to eat.....that is the Belgian Question

While we've had some mighty fine food in the US and some unbelievable wine, Scott and I have this penchant for local cuisine when we travel. Obsessively so. Like the whole discovery of when you go into a simple market. The packaging alone is a whole other world. I was going to take all sorts of photos of how the food is displayed in our local- what would be considered a convenience store back home-market but that might be too much. I can tell you, however, that the produce is remarkable. The tomatoes are so edible one could possibly eat them like apples, the artichokes are the size of grapefruit and green beans are crisp as can be.

We've had some amazing cheeses like this hard cheese by the name of Comte' Le Fort from France and this buttery-cream bomb by the name of Chaumes.

and then...of course, the bread that's incredible....baguettes, croissants....not too mention the local butter that's from some magical herd of cows. Or maybe it's the lack of preservatives in everything that's made this a orgasmic taste sensation.

and we've also done some investigating on the wine, which, by the way, averages 4 to 6 euros (6 to 8 US dollars). Word on the street that one of the best bottles to buy is this Rose' from Tavel at 6 euros. And anything from 2003, when there was the record heat wave which apparently made for outstanding wine (I really know next to nothing of wine so forgive the philistine references on this stuff).

Then again, when it's all said and done, at the end of the day, a simple beer (or two) will do me just fine.

Parc du jour

After a weekend of sights, I've had the urge to keep the kids all to myself while we start the week and Scott heads back to work. And I'm delighted to report that we've had a couple of glorious, sunny, warm days yesterday and today. And that means during the week Colby, Maia and I head out to some local and not so local playgrounds. I'd thought I'd give you a taste of what that means.....

Yesterday we went to the abbey. Log rolls down the hill were on the menu. Just need to make sure dog poop is not in your path on your way down. (I'm tellin' ya, the Belgians have no sense of cleaning up after their dogs!)

















Dog poop averted.

And today we visited two of our favorites. There's the 'big playground' that's got all sorts of structures and kids and campers and really loud people, so we feel especially welcome.

And then after lunch we hit the playground that's in the park at the end of our street, Jardin du Roi. This playground was coined "Little Mike" by the kids. Not sure why. They just call it Little Mike. And Little Mike happens to have the dreamiest sand.



















and then I wanted the camera back. and then home.