On to Antwerp, where Abby has been studying for the past year. It is Hot as Balls here (HEAT WAVE in Europe)and no one has air conditioning-Thank god Spez bought a 50 (80) euro fan! You see, they do not have air conditioning here so when it got hot, Spez went to the store on Abby's command with my credit card. He said it was like Walmart on Black Friday in the Fan Isle. They do not have window air conditioning because all the windows are different sizes. He came up with the prize and when abby moved out, we got the fan in our Air BNB. We are now moving the fan from room to room as we walk through the apartment. I literally woke up in the middle of the night and had to stand up and shake the water (sweat) out of my ear like I was in a pool. I said, the fan is truly mine, since i paid for it but Spez and Abby got it that night. Abby and Spez went to the last hurrah which abby called a prom but everyone else called a Gala. On our own, we walked around and had a nice dinner in town. Sunday, we gave Julian a much needed "personal day" and Jen and I went to Brussels via train to meet up with our tour to Gent and Bruges. Unfortunately, we underestimated the walk to the train and got on a train that got us there 1 minute before the tour left. They are very timely here and when we got to the meeting location, the lady said, "oh, that tour left 5 min ago" and then got on phone to try and have them wait. Then she said in broken English, "lets go, we need to run very, very fast" and sprinted out from behind the counter down the road, leaving her shop completely open and the people waiting completely alone. I kept up with her for a bit but Jen was way behind. We almost lost her on a few corners and then in the distance saw her and finally got to the bus, sweating like whores (in church).
Ghent was beautiful and old and reminded me of Germany and Austria. We saw the oldest Hospital in Europe and the start of Feminism dating back to the 13th century. They literally built a wall to keep men out of the city! We toured a torture chamber castle (complete with torture instruments)and a Dungeon, where many people in the history were "questioned" and tortured. Jen loves prisons and this is even better. There was even a hole they used to put people in for up to 15 months (like in Silence of the Lambs)below the floor and we all got to think of who we would put down there. Jen and I agreed who we would put in there. There were also flaps on the roof of the castle where we could pour boiling oil on our attackers! It was literally a castle out of Game of Thrones. Next-Bruges.
The people here are so friendly and even to Americans. In South America, I blended, not so much here. The bathrooms are also in abundance and super clean and even though abby is against paying at the train station to use a bathroom, I get it and am happy to pay! There is a guy collecting coins and an old grandma, stacking them and rolling them. The bus driver on the tour is really dropping the ball by not also becoming the tour guide. They could really clean up by doing both jobs instead of just driving and waiting each and every time. I could never be a bus driver because the traffic would make me crazy. Bruges is a picturesque, ancient city surrounded by history. It is like a real Disney World without the parades or characters. We had beef stew with fries for lunch, went to a beer tasting, and took a boat ride. I witnessed the captain running a strong shakedown for tips on the group before us. I talked to the captain the whole time while we circled the city and could absolutely do that job. He goes to Brazil in the winter and owns a bed and breakfast. Not to bad! I gave him a 10 Euro tip. It is dangerous to walk around in Bruges as you need to watch out for horse carriages running through streets (Amsterdam is way more dangerous with the bikes!).
On train home we ran into our good friend and niece, Bridgett, who had just jetted over from Spain. She was hanging with Javi and Family for a week. Seeing Bridgett sitting alone on the train reminded me of a movie I watched called Taken. We arrived and had uber eats waiting for us at the apartment. They were nursing a hangover from Prom so we stayed in. The thing that is a double edged sword here is the daylight. It is light until 11 pm. At 8 Pm, it feels like 4 pm. This is great for a lot of reasons and dangerous if you like to party.
We were going to take bikes today but there are few obstacles with that plan. Julian and Abby are not strong bike riders and only learned to ride when they were 10 and 8 after Jen locked the door and said you cannot come in until you can ride your bike. They did eventually learn in the driveway but never really kept up with it. The term, 'its like riding a bike" does not apply to our kids. In addition, I guess Bridgett goes commando and with a sun dress we became limited in our transportation options. We got up and Abby ran a tour of the city and had a great lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (just kidding Roberto and Sarah) I don't remember the name of the restaurant but I do remember how great the Sangria was and that Jen had 4. It was so good, Jen started to talk in third person. We came back to the apartment so Jen could do payroll and catch up on some work. Now, off the the beach bar (see Pic). They took an old bulk head commercial area and added sand and restaurants and it is now a happening place called the beach bar. Europe is so awesome about creating areas people want to visit with places to eat, shops, etc. The US would learn a lot if they just tried to adopt this philosophy without all the regulations. There is no parking, you have to walk a lot, but it works. Its not easy to walk around with Spez because any dog we encounter becomes a 5 minute petting zoo.
I did get to hear the story of Michael Scotts' first soccer goal. This was before his career in the Pee Wee Football league and he was a defender playing for Coach Docharty and the Dragons. You see it was a big rivalry when the Dragons played Arsenal and that day back in 2003 when Spez was just 5, he decided to move up and scored his first soccer goal. As he panned the stadium looking for his dad, he came up empty and this led to his first disappointment. You see, his dad had to work and only got to the game just after he scored. The coach reenacted the goal to his father and he could not have been prouder of this young defender.
I got a new follower on my blog and I am up to 10 now. Thanks Annie for the support. We got home at 11 but the kids stayed out to 5 am so are a little "under the weather" this morning. The good news is that Spez was so drunk, Jen and I took the fan and locked our door. We felt bad but also felt a little cooler. Today we are going to a wash bar--a bar you go to that has washing machines so you can do your laundry. I am sure we will circle the square for a few hours again looking for the infamous hot dog place Jen went to last year (we wont find it).
I will say this country is beautiful and although Belgium would have been down my list of places to visit. I am so glad Abby was here and we got to experience it with her. I love the fact that Abby has taught her friends what day drinking is all about and introduced binge watching shows like Friends.
By the way, Dad is doing great and home and getting back to normal. Congrats to Meg, Brenna and Ryan for their graduations. None of us thought you (Brenna & Meg) would have had enough days in school to get the degree! Thank God a late is not an absence.
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