Stamp Collector

With the school starting again this week, summer is officially over. Sure the calendar says we still have another month but for us both the Belgian weather and the afore mentioned school mean that the all too short summer season has come to an end. And what a summer it has been. We've explored new territory both in our backyard and farther afoot, attended summer camp (Sidney) and hung out at home. And because I made a conscious effort to disconnect, or at least reduce, my screen time, I have yet to write about these adventures. (Not to worry though, as these stories will be coming shortly).

For many, summer means a slower pace, a change of routine and (for those of us not undergoing a forced, job related move), vacations. Here in Europe vacation time is serious business with reduced work schedules throughout the week and people taking three week vacations being the norm. (When Glenn let his co-workers know that the would be out of the office for two weeks they scoffed and wanted to know why his trip was going to be so short). I've loved looking at the pictures my friends have shared of their own summer vacations--for international explorations to stay-cations discovering the wonders of one's own neighborhoods, they have looked like so much fun. I know people who have camped in the mountains, cruised the high seas, lolled on beaches and knocked more national parks off of their bucket lists. Friends have volunteered in third world countries and even bicycled over the Alps. Some people head to warm sunny places for vacation while others, like us, seek out cooler climates. All of this was done in the name of "vacation" which just proves that everyone has a different idea of what they like to do during their time off.

One persons vacation is another persons idea of torture. Take cruising for instance. I know people who cruise on a regular basis because they love having their meals included in the price of their voyage and only having to unpack once all while visiting a variety of ports. I've cruised on several occasions and simply haven't enjoyed myself. I've found the unlimited food to be just ho-hum, the ship board entertainment to be "not my cup of tea" and the time in port too limiting to actually see the sights I want to see. But because Europe is a great jumping off point for cruises I recently found myself contemplating taking another one. After all, the cruise I was looking at would take us to countries on our bucket list that we had yet to visit. But a closer examination of the time in port, eight hours with a six am docking, would leave us with scant time to really get a feel for the places we want to see and just enough time to say that we had been there. For some people that may be enough but it isn't for us so no cruising is on our travel agenda.

But when it comes to road trips.....bring it on. Our favorite vacations have included miles in the car exploring whatever we encounter between points A and B. We've road tripped through Scandinavia, across the Balkans from Albania to Romania and back, along the east coast of the United States and most recently, throughout the United Kingdom. We pick a few destinations along the way, set our GPS to avoid the highways and away we go. We take spontaneous breaks for food, stop to take pictures where the setting is right and in doing so, have discovered some amazing spots along the way. For some people the idea of spending hours on the road is anything but a vacation but for us, it is the right fit.

One of the trends I've seen a lot while living in Belgium is people who try to visit as many countries as possible while stationed overseas. I completely understand this and in fact, this is part of our own travel planning. (At the moment we're at 37 countries and counting). But we have criteria for counting the countries as having visited them; we must have slept in the country or at least spent an entire day there. A layover in an airport where you never leave the terminal doesn't count. I once had a conversation with someone who bragged about his knowledge of the Adriatic coast in the Balkans. He had flown into Dubrovnik, Croatia then rented a car and drove south through a sliver of Bosnia before entering Montenegro and then finally Albania. With the exception of border crossing he never stopped and immediately reentered Montenegro upon clearing border control in Albania. Four countries in less than a day was how he presented this portion of his trip. He claimed to have seen all that he needed to see and now had a clearer understanding of all of these countries. Now I have driven this stretch of road many times and while breathtakingly spectacular, I do not profess to have any expertise on these places. But, this is just another reason and way people travel.

But regardless of how you go about doing it, travel is a wonderfully educational and enlightening experience. It introduces you to new people, places and things. They may be in your own city or state or half a world away from the place you call home. Whether you explore a single city or neighborhood, visit a country in depth or even do a fly-by drive through a place you will leave with new experiences and memories to last you a life time. That is what makes travel so special. So as we enter a new season I'm carrying with me memories of my most recent travel adventures. And I've also found inspiration in those of my friends which has me thinking about next summer's trip. It just might be for three weeks........

Back To Reality

Vacation is over but it was wonderful while it lasted. In fact, our American vacation feels like a lifetime ago.  It was just over a month ago that we set off for a fun filled four weeks of reuniting with old friends, visiting our old haunts and for the first time in many years, truly relaxing while on vacation. It was a month filled with dreams of our future and the reality despite being away for so long, very little has changed in our home country. I feared that my growing cynicism about where the country is headed would get the best of me but it didn't. I avoided conversations about politics, didn't watch or listen to any news and for a brief respite, generally ignored the outside world. Sidney may have said it first but I also relished in the fact that just about everyone spoke English. I didn't realize just how much easier life is when I fully understand the language being spoken around me.

But vacation was also a time filled with delight for me as I watched Sidney gain memories and experiences that he can only have in America. Sending him to a day camp for two weeks was one of the best decisions we ever made. In just a short time he blossomed as I have never seen him do before. First, his English is better than ever and as I watch his sun kissed body run around in our backyard I realize that he is no longer a little boy. As evidenced by his desire to show off his things and talk to strangers (especially cute waitresses), his shyness is all but gone. I swear he is taller, bigger (maybe it is all that ice cream he ate) and stronger than he was when we first arrived back in the States. He has gained a level of maturity and confidence that makes this mother proud (and a bit scared). I'd say this is the best souvenir we could have brought back to Belgium with us.

But reality is upon us. Reality means that in one week the school year starts again and along with it come a whole semester of extra curricular activities for Sidney. I'll be back to playing chauffeur each morning and afternoon and try to find my niche in between. Reality means I'm once again immersed in a French speaking environment where nothing is easy and I must always be on my A-game if I am to understand what is happening around me. Reality is being back in our quirky house with its intermittent hot water, sporadic power surges and ongoing dealings with a surly Belgian plumber and assorted repairmen. Reality means juggling a plethora of transformers and adapters before plugging my electronics into the wall and crossing my fingers while hoping I can find a parking space near our house. But reality means we are once again together as a family. Reality is back to driving my beloved Volvo through quaint streets instead of our behemoth, American sized rental vehicle on multi-laned interstates. Reality is also the wonderful opportunities that come with living in a foreign country. There are still so many places to explore, local festivals to attend and road trips to be embarked upon. The reality is that life and our reality is pretty darn good. And for that I am thankful.

Stopping To Smell The Roses

Vacation is winding to a close. Its been a wonderful but all too short month back in the United States. A month sounds like a long time and it is...but it really isn't. This is the longest vacation I've even taken and in the days leading up to our arriving here, I thought the time would drag. But instead it has flown by way too fast. But unlike past vacations where we've been constantly on the go, this one has been different. It has been relaxing and void of that pressure to see more and do more during our limited time.

We started out with a flurry of activity but spent the later half of our time unpacked and hunkered down in one place. There really is something to be said about not being on the go all of the time. Our days have been long and lazy with some days consisting of doing absolutely nothing. Other days have involved window shopping and leisurely lunches and new restaurants. It has been fun introducing Glenn and Sidney to so many of my old haunts. Some places look exactly as I remember them while others are completely unfamiliar to me. We've dreamed about how the other half live while checking out the yachts in the harbors and browsed real estate listings thinking about the possibilities. While these are all pipe dreams there is something both fun and exciting about plotting out the what ifs. What if we woke up to these views everyday? What if we jumped out of the rat race and into a quieter way of life? What if.......

As anyone who has spent time in Maine knows, there is just something about this place that makes it easy to forget about reality. I've loved every minute of this visit.

This pictures says it all:

I've done it.....and enjoyed every minute of it.

Leaving On A Jet Plane

All my (our) bags are packed
I'm (we're) ready to go.........

And at last, we're off. After just over three years we're are mere hours away from setting foot on American soil again as a family. I didn't anticipate being this excited about it but now that we're on our way out the door, I am. As frustrated as I find myself at times about my country and her politics, it is still my home. And I am going home.

Actually, I'm not really sure where home is any more but we're hitting all of the spots we have lived in recent years. From Virginia to Maine with several stops in between we're going to spend time there over the next few weeks. Since we'll be on the move a lot I'm not sure how relaxing this vacation will be. But that is OK since we're going to be seeing old friends, family and places that hold special memories for us. We'll eat, drink and be merry all the way up Interstate 95.

But because we will be on vacation and despite being on the go, we're going to slow down our pace. As much as possible we're going to disconnect from electronics and reconnect with each other. So my blogging is going to slow down and be replaced with just experiencing the world around me. I need this break and really can't wait. And with that,

                                                                 All my bags are packed
                                                                 I'm ready to go.............