So this will be my last blog as it is my last day…then I'm homeward bound! It will feel so good to be state side and as one girl put it, "know that I have my rights." I really don't know what that means, but it's pretty funny. The thing I'm looking forward to the most is sleeping in my own bed next to my dear husband. The last two weeks we have been staying at a chain called NovaHotels. They are very nice and chic, but the rooms are quite small…like...

Today was our last day touring….we leave tomorrowL. These days have gone by so fast. Today day we had an Art Nouveau city tour. Our main focus was on the man who is considered to have built the first Art Nouveau building using metal as decorative trim. His work is absolutely amazing! We got to tour his house that is now a museum where we say the most lavished staircase made of woodwork. The banister is made up of a vine décor that he began called the "whi...

We journeyed on to Brussels today! It was rainy and cold, but who can complain when it is such a gorgeous town? The town was so charming and reminded me of our day trip to Haarlem. Mostly every town here has a water canal that runs throughout them that were functional in old times. This town still uses theirs for transportation. We went to St. Jacobs Cathedral which originally opened in the 14th c. as a hospital. The church was beautiful but the history of th...

Our day in Ghent was Ah-Mazing! It is more of a city with a couple of early 11th c. buildings if you can imagine that! Today was Market Friday, where all of the vendors come out in a flea market of sorts with antiques, clothes, fruits and vegetables. There was a table that actually had WWII helmets! We made it to the Ghent St. Bavo Cathedral where the major work, Ghent Altar Piece (1432) Jan Van Eyck (http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/e/eyck_van/jan/09ghent/...

I heard the best phrase yesterday, Joi de Vivre! In French it means the carefree or a joyful way of life in French. Our guide Iris used this phrase as to explain the way of life of the Belgium as we were making our way into the country. And I agree that joi de vive sums up the European and especially way of life. Every day we have here we have precious moments that I hope I never forget. I just wished that there was a way to bring David, Brinkley, all of my famil...