hey there folks.....i am sorry it has taken me so long to get out an update....but school this year is a bit more work...some good reasons behind that, some not...but i felt i really needed to now get the summer update out, as i have been in panama for two months and have already had a long weekend in costa rica....more on that in the next update.....but on with my amazing, friend-oriented summer vacation....i was in the states for a short time before heading to europe, but then was there for about a month....stops included my first time in belgium, and repeats in france, portugal and spain....mostly to see people, but of course it was lovely to be in europe where things work more smoothly than central america...and during WORLD CUP!!!! so on with the update.....1st stop brussels, belgium.....
the main square of downtown brussels is where all of the government buildings and guilds are located....amazing gilded buildings....at the time i arrived, belgium was still in the world cup....so the town was covered in flags and excitement filled the air....
one peaceful spot i found was in the town hall, as the square was busy getting ready for a historical pageant...i just loved the wheel barrow and the flowers....
did you know belgium was where the smurfs originated???? i had no idea...and was really confused when i started seeing them everywhere....statues, murals, fountains.....wild to see
while in belgium i of course did a beer and chocolate tour....quite possibly one of the best things i have done in a long time....the building you see above is a very famous chocolatier's place...pierre marcolini...the chocolate was to die for and extremely creative....the beer houses were interesting too and we tasted quite a few different types of beers and chocolate....but i loved the way he decorated the whole building, for the summer season, in windmills....
so brussels has a mascot of the city....the manneken pis....and yes, it is a little boy peeing....but this statue is impressive in that they dress him up in a different outfit for important days...he actually has 999 different outfits and special dressers....the people of brussels are quite excited for his 1,000th outfit and it has been a secret of what it will be....can you even see him at the top of the hillside of sheep????? he was dressed like this for a historical festival concerning the farmers of belgium....earlier in the week he was wearing the belgian national soccer team's jersey.....too funny....
one of my favorite parts of visiting belgium was stopping by the huge sculpture from the 1958 world's fair....yep....its an atom...called the atomium......perfect for a science geek....
and even better...i got to share this with a friend of mine from HIGH SCHOOL...we have both gone into the world of international teaching and have tried connecting before...but this time finally, heather and i got to hang and catch-up...she and her family are currently living in brussels...and i caught them in between summer travel....lucky, lucky me...so cool to catch up and hang out.....
from brussels i jumped a train to die, france (that's the name of the town, honest), where my friends rick and thalia live in the summer....a quaint little town that i have visited before (remember the running of the sheep a few years back?)....but i love their bi-weekly market....i have not found something like this in panama as of yet....love this aspect about france....the cheese!!!!!
berries were also in season and i loved how this was almost the french flag...if only the red and the while were switched....but i had not seen the white berries before.....
this time around we made it to 2 different parts of rivers to go swimming....not a bad swimming beach on a river in france...stunning backdrop....and as we were leaving a mountain goat decided to stop by and say hi.....
while i was visiting i read a book about the french resistance during world war 2....and the museum was a few towns over from where they lived....so we went to check it out....the french feel one of the reasons normandy went better than expected, was because 10,000 SS nazi troops did not make it to the beaches, as they were engaged by the maquis, french resistance fighters, in this valley....this is the view from the museum honoring the men and women of the maquis....
once again it was lovely to visit with rick, thalia and sadie in france...where the air is clean, the wine is flowing and the living is easy.....
i, of course had to take a picture of the bloomin' lavender for my mom....love the blue sky, stone farming building and the rows and rows of lavender....i do not like the smell....but it sure is pretty...
from france i headed to lisbon, portugal to have a reunion with friends from romania and china....the graffiti in parts of the little town on the edge of lisbon, carcavelos, was amazing....
we also went to the museum of art, architecture and technology.... it seems these types of signs are everywhere these days...so of course we had to have a shot with it....interesting place...might have been a bit to modern art focused for me...i missed much of the meaning...
of course we had to try and find an indian meal while hanging in lisbon, as that is our go to meal when traveling together....and how funny that dianne and i each wore a nasa shirt....no, we did not plan it...we just both have really good scientific taste in clothing!!!!!
from lisbon i was off to see kelly and ed in cebreros, spain...i arrived the day of the final game of the world cup....of course wearing my croatian ice hockey shirt...in the bar they had a world cup statue replica....so i had to do this....the men of the bar did not really like all of our cheering, but we did it anyway....
the area they have a place is stunning....beautiful hills, olive groves, blue skies and it was perfect weather....
we took a day trip to avila....the town of saint teresa...and walked the fortified walls of the city...it was a spectacular day and the walk was amazing....
we also stopped in the main cathedral of avila....simply beautiful...i was lucky to catch this shot of the sun coming through the stained glass windows...
on our way out of town i caught a good shot of a stork chillin' in it's nest....they were everywhere...and are considered good luck....so of course i had to take the shot :)
from spain i headed to paris for one day before jumping a flight back to the states....i stopped by a church i had not visited, but had read about in one of dan brown's novels...saint-sulpice....loved the fountain outside of it....
and the area i stayed in was an amazing location with some incredible street art....loved this one of the two kids at a corner....
this final picture is not from my trip....it is from panama....so panama is now going trough "pope-frenzy"....he is coming for a week in january...and let's just say people are very excited....this is the logo for his visit....i figured some of you might enjoying seeing it....do you see the country of panama, the canal, a pilgrim cross, the virgin mary and her crown containing the five continents???? i have to be honest, when i first saw it, i saw none of those things....i saw an elephant....sorry to be a bit sacrilegious....just being honest....so this place is getting all prepped and ready for his visit and celebration of world youth day...i am planning to be out of the country, as we have a week off during the visit.....more on that in the next update....
of course there is one more shot of me and beer....a beligian, trappist beer...from a traditional dinner spot....the person i was with had mussels, from brussels...i did not....but the beer was sure tasty....
so there you have it....my european tour this summer....again, i am so sorry it took me so long to write this, but school is uber busy this year....new classes, new teaching partner, new curriculum, new schedule....and i am having to decide if i am staying by oct 12th....so some thought is taking place right now....we have lots of other stuff happening....so i am not sure what i will decide....there are definitely positives and negatives about being in panama....but one of the positives is how many people have already come to visit....so consider this your invitation once again....this may your last year to do it...i promise to let folks know what i decide....and folks should let me know when/if they want to come on down....
as always....if you have any questions, please ask....and i hope you have all had a good start to your fall or spring, depending on which hemisphere you are in.....until next time....
peace out....dani
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