Thanks for having us. Wish we could have stayed longer. Maybe next time? Also, you are kind of adorable, so much more than just diamonds, chocolate and cheese, and Hercule Poirot. I understand if you want to keep it all to yourself. Let me know if you general awesomeness is some kind of secret and I won’t tell anyone.

Thanks again for a lovely time.

Carla

Far off through the trees you could see the corner of one wing of the Georgian (or Leopoldian, or Ludvigian or some other monarchian) style house that this fence protected.

These abandoned gates were padlocked. And yes, I did try to squeeze through. Due to my recent religious ecstasy in the Temple du Fromage, I was, sadly, denied my illegal access.

But I think I finally found a religion I can believe in…

after this trip, I could probably elected Archbishop.

Ahhh….that was refreshing. Well, up until the multiple delays on the flights home, anyway. I am in that semi-spacy state of wandering around the house trying to remember what goes where as I unpack. So here I go with the travelogue. The die-hards (all three of you) should be expecting this. First stop, Namur, Belgium.

Look! It’s our square! We were out for a wander, had no real idea where we were, I managed to pull my face up from the cheese stall in the street market, and there it was. If I hadn’t been nearly overcome by gouda fumes and needed some air I would have missed it.

This was the view

from up here.

Not a walk for the faint of heart of the weak of knee. There were at least

10,000 steps. On the bright side? You feel like you deserve that beer in the cafe afterwards

Was that a rain drop? Or a pigeon? Damn pigeons!

Friday night we had several friends over for dinner and drinks (on the new and improved patio, of course). We are all basking in the glow of the chilled wine and talking about out vacation plans. One of our friends was saying that she’d always wanted to travel more, but could never get anyone to go with her. So I suggested she drop everything and come along with us. We sat there talking about how much fun it would be, and then she had to leave because she gets up ungodly early to teach yoga.

The next morning she called to see if we were serious about the invitation, or just drunk. We assured her we were serious, so she got busy and found a ticket, and she will be joining us.

It will be lots of fun because she is fun, and an early riser. This is very important. I spent a week once in one of the world’s most beautiful cities with a hussy that wouldn’t get out of bed before 10:00 a.m. By the time she’d showered and had breakfast half the day was shot.

She is also extremely cute. Even the husband thinks so, which is usually not the case. He thinks she is so cute that I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he starts packing and suddenly decides all his clothes are horrible and he has to get new stuff before we leave. Trust me, any woman that makes my husband rethink his vacation wardrobe is a godsend.

He is also an excellent host. It’s fun to watch him in those situations because he is all about making sure everyone has a good time. And when the guests are female and cute, then the charm is on full power, and it’s just great to be along for the ride.

The watercolor? We found that years ago in a thrift shop. I could never make out the full title, only Place d’Armes. There are quite a few Place d’Armes scattered around Europe. I was wandering through Wikipedia one day not long ago and lo and behold there was a photo of the very same square, minus the vintage Rolls Royce. Turns out it’s in Belgium. Finally we’ll get to see the square in person. Seemed like as good a starting point for a vacation as any.

Somehow I never wrapped my head around the fact that this weekend is a national holiday. Oh, sure, I knew it was coming up in a vague sort of way. People kept talking about plans for the 4th, and I’d nod and say “Sure. That sounds like fun.”, but in my mind it was weeks away.

No. It’s today. As I gathered when I came in yesterday and found this assembled on the kitchen table. I hope our neighbors are planning to be gone for the evening. I probably should find Million some doggie zanax.

I have no earthly idea what this is about, but it makes me laugh.

And the close up makes me laugh even more.

Happy Fourth of July! Don’t blow off any parts you can’t live without.

**Holiday Update**

The Million Dollar Dog, who freaks the hell out at barely audible thunder and the least bit of lightening thinks fireworks are glowing bouncy fun balls. We had to put her on the leash to keep her from chasing anything fiery and sparkly. We would let her off the leash between bouts of lighting stuff, and she tore around the yard bouncing and barking like a puppy.

What a freak.