Veronica Returns...

After we watched the end of the Summer Carnival parade, we set off to find some dinner. We happened across an eclectic Mediterranean restaurant called Bazaar, where we had a fantastic seafood feast for two. Then we wandered down the Witte de Withstraat, which is known for its nightlife, before heading to Rotterdam Centraal.

It was so great to see Veronica’s big smile when she returned from her week in France. Not sure how much French she learned, but what a great experience she had.

Summer Carnival in Rotterdam...

When we went to Rotterdam to grab some dinner before picking up Veronica at the train station, we discovered that there was a parade in the street called Summer Carnival. We were amazed by how elaborate the costumes were and how little space the fans gave the trucks and groups to march through. It was definitely a fun diversion.

Veronica’s French Adventure...

Veronica had a great time in Aix. The weather was fantastic and she liked roaming around looking for photo ops. She even went to see a movie alone for the first time: Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax in French.

She ventured out alone to take some night shots in town. This trip was definitely a great confidence builder! And it helped improve her photography skills as well.

She spent a lot of time with Vero and Curt (who’d she last seen for their wedding in Brittany in August 2010) and even babysat little Nils one day so they could have lunch on their own. Curt arranged for her to spend an afternoon with the daughter of an Irish colleague. Vero took her several times to the town pool and the park.

Veronica was just crazy about little Nils, who was seven months old. She also met a French boy named Zachary. She loved letting us know that he’d kissed her, but then confessed that he was only eight. Luckily, he spoke no English, so she was forced to speak French with him.

Our Brave Traveler...

Considering that our return flight from Florence was delayed over 5 hours and we didn’t arrive home until 1:30 a.m., Veronica was surprisingly cheery that same morning at 7:45 a.m. at Rotterdam Centraal train station. That big smile clearly shows that she was excited about her first big adventure alone. We had arranged for her to spend a week with our friends Curt and Vero in an effort to immerse in French. Not even 15 years old yet and she was about to take a high-speed train directly to Aix-en-Provence in southern France all by herself.

While Veronica was very brave and happy, both Jimmy and I were in tears watching our little girl leave.

Boys Will be Boys...

Jimmy introduced Lee and Gary to urbex by exploring this abandoned steam train repair facility. 

Gary is clearly the good boy of the group

They were lucky to arrive at the farm before the skies opened up with a huge torrent of rain. Afterwards, they took a walk with the hippie chicks and saw this holy sunset.

It’s All About the Beer...

The original goal of the trip was to visit two to three Trappist breweries. They didn’t do their homework, instead deciding to wing it, which resulted in visiting zero Trappist breweries. However, they had quite an adventure which included sleeping on mattresses in the staff quarters of a holistic conference center/organic farm. Luckily, Trappist beer is available throughout most of Belgium, so they still managed to drink some great beer.

Biking Adventure in the Ardennes...

While we were in Italy, Jimmy went with two buddies from work to the Ardennes mountains in Belgium (near Luxembourg) for an overnight cycling trip. They failed to bring maps, which made the trip even more adventuresome, but lucky for them there are good signs in Belgium.

Lost again?

They actually spent more time on trains than cycling. Luckily Jimmy’s a pro at riding the rails. 

Next to an underground river