Our First Visitors and a Trip to Paris!

This past week, we had the privilege of having my parents here in Gent! Of course we had talked about them coming to visit many times in the past, but when they actually bought the tickets to come, I was so excited and couldn't wait to have them here. It was only a couple weeks between the purchasing of the tickets and their arrival, but it felt like ages. As a disclaimer, we are all doing well here and seem to be settling into a nice routine, but I was so excited to be able to show my family where we live, shop, play, etc. in person! I was also excited for my parents to get a chance to travel to places they have never been. On top of just having them here, it also gave me a little break from being with the boys all day by myself. I was able to visit some little shops and get some things done that I either can't do with the boys or is very difficult to do with them. I even slept in a couple days!! :) My mom was wonderful with entertaining and snuggling with the boys, giving parenting advice, and cleaning. My dad was also great with the boys and he also fixed tons of things around the loft that have been bugging me. It was absolutely wonderful to have them here. I thought I would give a little bit of an overview of our time with them.

My parents were supposed to arrive around 9:00 am on Thursday morning in Brussels. Cole made plans to take off work to go pick them up (with Cameron of course), but they were rerouted due to weather. Instead of flying from Cleveland, to Philadelphia, to Brussels, they were rerouted from Cleveland, to Charlotte, to Frankfurt, to Brussels. The ended up arriving here at the loft around 2:30 that afternoon. Although I was bummed to miss out on any time with them, I was thrilled when they finally arrived. 

After a little rest and relaxation, we decided to take advantage of a beautiful evening and go get a nice Belgian meal. We sat outside at a restaurant called Hof van Herzele. It was fun because we were able to get real Belgian food and it was delicious!   

     

Once we were sufficiently stuffed, we decided to walk around Gent to show my parents the city (while it was not raining). We enjoyed the nice evening... 
                                

Enjoying his ice cream cone!

And we, of course, had to get a waffle and ice cream as soon as possible!

My parents after walking around in the rain for an hour!

On Friday, we decided to do some more exploring around the city. Unfortunately, the temperature dropped about 20 degrees and it was windy and rainy, but that didn't stop us from going out and about.


After taking my parents to see the mall and park nearby, we went to a little bakery called Julie's House. On top of being very friendly and helpful, they have delicious pastries. We went there to inquire about a birthday cake for Harrison, but we left with a bag full of goodies which were so good! I will definitely be back to visit again! :)


We spent Friday night planning our trip to Paris on Saturday and Sunday. We decided that we would take the train, so we purchased our tickets and booked our hotel room just before dinner! Talk about last minute. We had a nice dinner here at the loft and then quick packed our bags and went to bed because we needed to be at the train station early to catch our 6:50 train. To say that Cameron was excited about the trains, metro, etc., is an understatement. He could not get enough!!

 When we arrived in Paris, we dropped our bags off at the Hotel Duquesne Eiffel.

Then we walked to the park near the Eiffel Tower and let the boys get some of their energy out.

Sleeping while we waited in line.

We waited in line for a loooonnnngggg time before we made it to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Thankfully, Cameron and Harrison were great while we were waiting.

At the top!

Just as a comparison, Cole and I visited Paris in 2006 when we lived in England. The picture on the left  is us in 2006. The pictures on the right are during our trip this past weekend...my how things have changed!! :)

After enjoying the Eiffel Tower, we went to grab a quick lunch at a little restaurant near the hotel (La Terrasse), then went to check in and take naps. We slept for a bit and then went back out to explore.

 We walked over the Louvre to see the famous glass pyramids and then walked to the Lover's Bridge over the Seine River. Apparently, if you put a lock on this bridge and then throw the key in the river, your love will last forever! We did not take part in this tradition, but it was fun to see.

Returning to the entrance of the Louvre, we began walking northwest through the Tuileries and onto the Champs-Elysees towards the Arc de Triomphe.   We had a delicious meal along the Champs-Elysees at Pizza Pino, went to see the Eiffel Tower one more time, this time lit up in the night sky, and then went back to the hotel and crashed!

Mona Lisa

Venus De Milo

Sunday morning, we got up early, ate at the hotel, and then went back to the Louvre.  The Louvre is huge, massive, pick your favorite adjective for large, and there is no way to see everything and take it all in without staying for hours and hours, or even days...especially with two small children. So, we walked around a bit and made sure to hit some of the highlights.

After the Louvre, we walked to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

We walked around the church for a bit, then grabbed lunch right across the street from the Notre Dame at Cafe Panis before heading back to the metro station to get our thing and get on the train to head home.

Caramel and fresh whipped cream

On Monday, we went to one of the best places we know of in Gent to get waffles - Fritz. FYI...we were informed by the locals that waffles are not a breakfast food here. They are considered an afternoon snack or dessert...probably because they are usually smothered with chocolate and whipped cream. :)
                                                                                                                Anyway, we went to eat some waffles after lunch and they were delicious!

Peaches and fresh whipped cream

After nap time for the boys, we walked to meet Cole at work and then went to walk through the Sint Bavo Cathedral. There is so much history here and the Cathedral is just beautiful. I hope to do more research about the site and everything it took to complete the buidling so I can better appreciate it.




To end the night, we walked over the Patrick Foly's Irish Bar & Restaurant for dinner. It was, once again, a delicious meal! It was such a cute little place with great food. It was a nice way to end the trip. Once we were home, it was time to get my parents packed and ready to go bright and early the next day.










My parents left early this morning. They hopped on a train to Brussels and are in the air as I type. I can't even describe how nice it was to have them here for a few days! It's hard to have so many people you love so far away. It's impossible to describe what things are like here, so it was nice for them to be able to see it for themselves. I am really looking forward to our net visitors....any are welcome at any time! :)