Madeleine in Europe

Hello from Iowa!

So I have neglected concluding this blog for quite some time. Wow I've almost been home for a month! More on that in a sec. I'll finish up my adventure first.

What can I remember. . .

Sunday we went to Leuren in Belgium and took a self-directed walking tour. In the warm sun, we saw all the old university buildings, churches and parks. The neatest part was the UNESCO World Heritage site--a whole little walled in village. No cars were allowed; the whole village was made of brick. Very cool.

Monday we went to Brugges and met with Nicole, wife of my mom's cousin Anton, who has since passed on. As I remembered from years ago, she's a sweet, friendly lady who goes out of her way to make people feel welcome. Her english was amazing after having so few opportunities to practice it. She was darling and helpful. Bought us waffles too. For dinner we went to Maud's, my mom's cousin on the other side. My greatuncle Georges was there, along with Guido (another cousin) and his wife Marlene. They are such interesting, intelligent people, and it was good to see them again. Poor Libby endured my family all week!

Tuesday we had to leave Antwerp for Paris. Poor Gijs was sick with an infection, and Ann had to take off work to stay home with him. They drove us to the train station and waved goodbye. We were so lucky to have been able to stay at their house.

When we got into Paris, it was raining. Libby and I both slipped and fell on the train platform. To make matters worse, when we finally made it down to the metro with all of our luggage, they weren't running. We couldn't figure out why. When we FINALLY were able to get on line 4, it stoped for long periods of time at every stop. We then walked 500 meters to the Cite from the last metro stop. We were lucky to find one that close. We got our luggage out of storage from the basement of our dorm. Then we had to repack everything! We did it in the lobby! Everyone gave us stange looks, especially the people who had moved in after us.

Alright, well Mom needs my help. Moving and all. More later.

Madeleine in Europe
		~ Sunday, May 25, 2003 Hello from Iowa! So I have neglected concluding this blog for quite some time. Wow I've almost been home for a month! More on that in a sec. I'll finish up my adventure first. What can I remember. . . Sunday we went to Leuren in Belgium and took a self-directed walking tour. In the warm sun, we saw all the old university buildings, churches and parks. The neatest part was the UNESCO World Heritage site--a whole little walled in village. No cars were allowed; the whole village was made of brick. Very cool. Monday we went to Brugges and met with Nicole, wife of my mom's cousin Anton, who has since passed on. As I remembered from years ago, she's a sweet, friendly lady who goes out of her way to make people feel welcome. Her english was amazing after having so few opportunities to practice it. She was darling and helpful. Bought us waffles too. For dinner we went to Maud's, my mom's cousin on the other side. My greatuncle Georges was there, along with Guido (another cousin) and his wife Marlene. They are such interesting, intelligent people, and it was good to see them again. Poor Libby endured my family all week! Tuesday we had to leave Antwerp for Paris. Poor Gijs was sick with an infection, and Ann had to take off work to stay home with him. They drove us to the train station and waved goodbye. We were so lucky to have been able to stay at their house. When we got into Paris, it was raining. Libby and I both slipped and fell on the train platform. To make matters worse, when we finally made it down to the metro with all of our luggage, they weren't running. We couldn't figure out why. When we FINALLY were able to get on line 4, it stoped for long periods of time at every stop. We then walked 500 meters to the Cite from the last metro stop. We were lucky to find one that close. We got our luggage out of storage from the basement of our dorm. Then we had to repack everything! We did it in the lobby! Everyone gave us stange looks, especially the people who had moved in after us. Alright, well Mom needs my help. Moving and all. More later. posted by Madeleine at 09:13