The Spirt of Europe - Brussels!!

After the cronks left, we headed off to Brussels for a weekend get away. This was one of the most relaxing weekends we had away in a while - we loved Brussels!

We arrived late on a Friday evening, so we got up at a decent time on Saturday to make the most of our trip. We headed toward the Grand Palace area and ventured into the Belgian Beer Museum.It was located at the bottom of a building in the Grand Palace in an 18th century artisanal brewery. 

Turns out it was not much of a museum but we enjoyed it anyways!

The Grand Palace was pretty cool and had a lot of different architecture. 

We did a quick stop to see the famous peeing boy - Manneken Pis!

This little guy was installed in this very spot in 1618 - 1619. This outfits change multiple times a week.... but I think we got to see a cute one!

We had lunch on the Butcher's Street. It is a romantic cobbled street lined with restaurants, bars and cafes.

We had dessert at one of the most famous chocolatiers in Belgium, Pierre Marcolini.

It turned out to be a great afternoon for people watching at the Little Delirium Cafe. They had a great tasting menu with over 30 beers to try.

We saw some horse drawn carriages...

Throughout the day we saw several instances of the city's creative... later on we realized that there is a cartoon museum.

Not sure if you can see the skate boarders on the leopard printed building... 

         A fun and interesting statue!


The Next day we headed to Mimi Europe! I loved this place as any little kid could. In the short version, they took the big attractions from the European Union countries and made models at proportions of 1/27 (at least for most). The guide book provided background to most of the countries as well. It was great to get some specs on the places we have been and where we hope to go.

It was very tempting to take pictures of everything, but we were able to limit it to some of the places we had been! Here are the highlights :)

Here is the Grand Palace in Brussels. They have the court yard painted with the flowers that it is famous for. 

Venice!                                         

The bell town in Stockholm that 
we recently visited. 

Our beloved London!

These two are cool pictures because it shows the detail they went into in the settings and the buildings themselves.

This in front to the European Parliament and Atomium in Brussels. 

After leaving the Mini Europe, we had some time to kill before our flight and we didn't have any trouble finding things to see before heading home. 

Basilica of the Sacred Heart - A beautiful church!

Park of the Fiftieth Anniversary - 

This park is named in honor of the 50th Anniversary of belgian independence of 1880. 

And of course we had a waffle or two on the trip!

We had a lazy afternoon in the beautiful parks on a sunny day ... 

We couldn't have asked for a better weekend - Until next time Brussels!

The beginnings of a great summer!

July has been a busy month! After our big celebration we stayed around the carolina's for a week to relax some at the beach and then celebrated the 4th with some friends at the pool in a true American style! 

The moment we landed in London we were on the move with a little bit and a little bit of that... all starting with the move into the new flat and then Jarod and Steph came to VISIT! I will let the pictures tell most of the story though :) 

North Mrytle Beach - We took a nice relaxing walk on the beach one morning. 

Kay treated the family to Pirate show and to celebrate Jeff's birthday one evening! 

We had a lot of fun at the show and would recommend it for others thinking about going to see it!

4th of July fun at the pool!

Got to see Dad one last time before hopping back across the pond. 

We went for sushi and got the boat :) 

It was a busy day when we landed back in London... we basically landed, picked up keys to the new flat and moved in all before 3pm! We immediately started to crash once all the boxes were moved and took a really long nap. The move was totally worth it though. We have plenty of space and are really enjoying it! Let me know if you need our new address and I can private message it over. 

A few days later Steph and Jared came to visit! It was sooooo good to them and hang out. Saturday, we went to Tate Modern Museum and learned all about the modern art. Our take away was that this mirror was the best thing there...we got to create our own art! haha

We did get to see the famous water lillies 

Jeff and I went to the cafe on the top for quick view!

Afterwards, we went for a stroll on the Southbank while Steph and Jared checked into the hotel. Totally forgot the Love Festival was going on....

We met up later on for dinner and drinks on the Tattershall!

The following night was the Worldcup Championship! It was a MAD house in the pub and it will be something to remember for a long time. Good times!

Last night with the Cronks! We met for dinner at Muriel's Kitchen in South Kenningston. 

It was sooo good to see you both -  Hope you guys enjoyed London!