New York: Day 3

   We got up early, we actually did, and walked to Bryant Park for ice skating.

   It was a beautiful little park with little holiday shops all around the rink and a big Christmas tree.

   We then walked to the subway and took it to the end of Manhattan, South Ferry. We are just starting to navigate the subway well. It's great to get around, but our biggest complaint is the conductor announcements sound _much_ different than on the tube in London.

   We took the Staten Island Ferry over to Staten Island, past Ellis Island and past the Statue of Liberty.

   Here's a great shot of lower Manhattan from Staten Island behind Cindy and the girls.

   On our walk to grab some lunch, we also got a nice view of the Brooklyn Bridge.

   Well, going to start slowing down now... an early day tomorrow to catch our flight to go see relatives.

New York: Day 2

  Well, got a little bit of a late start on a gray rainy day. We walked to Macy's but it didn't open for another hour. So, we did what anyone would do in the cold and rain... Walk 5 miles around the city :)

  Made our way past the Empire State Building. They really build this town straight up. 

  Then we walked past Madison Ave to Park Ave to go by the Chrysler Building.

  On our way back to Macy's we also hit Grand Central Terminal. Wow, what a beautiful station. This rivaled the pretty stations in Europe and England.

  Then back to Macy's, one whole city block and 8 stories tall. _Not_ my idea of a fun time, but I made it through. 

  After Macy's, we finally decided to try and navigate the subway... it was for a good cause: getting to Little Italy. We had lunch at Lombardi's, the first pizzeria in the US. It also makes most of the top pizza lists.

  We had done so good on time that we had one more thing we wanted to try and get to. We took the subway back then bought train tickets to Hoboken, NJ. We got on the train right before it left. We got to Hoboken then made the short walk to Carlo's Bakery. There we stood in the line to _get_ to the line to go in. Looked hopeless, but we did make it in and bought some treats.

    We took the train back to Manhattan and walked back to the hotel to eat some desserts and get our tickets... for the Broadeay show, Aladdin.

  Great show! We had a great time but are really tired after such a busy day. Last day tomorrow... 

New York: Day 1

Our first glimpse of Gotham... Bam!

We dropped our bags at the hotel and walked toward the Carnegie Deli for a quick bite... passing Time Square. Oh the humanity... who knew New York was so crowded? Haha

And David Letterman's studio.

Finally made it to Carnegie Deli. Where our quick bite turned into almost an hour wait... but we all agreed the wait was worth it. Man what a pile of food we devoured.

We passed Carnegie Hall and then walked around Central Park for a bit.

We then made our way past Radio City Music Hall to Rockefeller Center. Saw the big Christmas tree, check. Crushed by 50,000 people, double check.

We even got a glimpse of the Empire State Building on our long walk back to the hotel.

Good thing we walked and burned those 400 calories, because we had 5,000 calories of Carnegie Deli cheesecake waiting on us. 

Well... We will see what we can hit tomorrow.

Travel Day and Last Day: Brussels to Oberwesel Germany

   Well... the day started well enough, but turned into a combination of The Amazing Race and The Griswold's Family Vacation.  We all got up and got packed in Brussels to walk and be at the train station by 6am.  So far so good.  But the tickets we bought the night before (since the international rail office would not be open that early) got left in the apartment.  So... we are standing on a street in Brussels at 5:30am with no tickets and the apartment keys locked inside.

   We go ahead and walk to the station.  One rail service is open, so we purchase more tickets.  The earliest departure is 7:28am, but it has a change in trains... change that, change in stations and trains... what could go wrong there.

   Here are the girls and Cindy waiting for the train to Cologne, Germany.  First day everyone agreed that it was really cold.

   We get to Cologne, but late due to our initial train being delayed.  We take a train to the other station across the Rhine to catch the train from Cologne to Frankfurt... but no luck, it had left.  And it seems in the shining efficiency of German engineering, the train station has no people.  We finally found someone and found a different train to Frankfurt.  OK, so back to the main station to catch that one.  Here's the girls with Cindy about to board our new train.  Whew... we get to the Frankfurt airport where we had a car rental.

   The last small road to Oberwesel couldn't of looked more picturesque and medieval.

   And we made it! Castle Schoenburg where we will stay our last night.   Below are a few good pictures from our look around the castle.

   Here are eight words I thought I'd never string together... the wind off the Rhine is very cold.  You can see the actually town of Oberwesel below the castle.

    Dinner was a full four course affair.

    Then and early morning drive along the Rhine and then autobahn to the airport.

   The last day is always odd and contemplative for me, I always think it's weird... I woke up in a far away place (a castle in Germany in this case) and went to bed in our house.  Any way... we are back home.  It was a most excellent trip.  Hopefully we have a few more of these before the kids leave the house. 

Last day teaser

Just landed in Dallas... I'll post one pic before I can do a proper job...

Brussels Day 3: Day Trip to Bruges

   Day trip time again... this time to Bruges or Brugge depending on the language.

   Girls on the platform awaiting our train.  One stop in Ghent then in Bruges after a nice 50 minute ride.

   I'm still working on the selfie, but Abigail says it's because I try to get too much other stuff and not enough 'self'.  Ha! She's right, but there so much other stuff to get a picture of.

   A beautiful view of a cathedral walking into town.

    Here are the girls in front of the Belfort or bell tower.  We did not take the 366 steps to the top, but we certainly admired it.

   The only museum we went to was Choco-Story, the Chocolate Museum.  These people love them some chocolate.

   Every where you walked you really understood why the town is a UNESCO world heritage site. It's just amazing.

    Look... another postcard or refrigerator magnet picture.

    ...and more waffles.  Hey... got to fuel up on something.

   Bruges is called there Venice of the north.  I think it's because of its history and prominence as a shipping center... but the canals and postcard pictures at every turn made it similar to Venice in that way too.

   The Church of Our Lady Bruges is where Michelangelo's  Madonna and Child resides.  It is beautiful.

    And as usual, the church itself is a work of art.

   Cindy and I before one of the canals.

   And the girls as we leave the city.  We made one last stop at an ice sculpture exhibit that was really good.  My phone died, so I don't have any picture here and will have to rely on Cindy's snapshots.
   We grab some food and board the train for the ride back to Brussels.  It made me think of you, Micah McDaniel... we ate club sandwiches from a Panos at a train station, and gosh dang it... those sandwiches were incredible. We all voted top 5 or at least top 10 sandwich we had ever had.  Crazy good bread does a lot for a sandwich.
   One more day and one more stop, then done.  Not sure I'll have internet tomorrow, so maybe no posts until we return... we'll see.

Brussels Day 2

   Got the kids out and strolled to Grand Place in the day time.

   Her are the girls in the drizzle.

   Found Chez Leon for some moules frites. I liked them, and at least Cindy and Madison tried them too.

   We started our somewhat long walk to MIM, the Musical Instrument Museum. Of course we just couldn't make it without fueling up on more waffles. Abigail ordered all in french... was nice to hear.

   Lot's of musical instruments... like floors of instruments. In fact, the fourth floor was devoted to Adolphe Sax instruments and inventions. He was quite the prolific instrument creator.

   A quick peek at the Place Royale before starting our walk back.

   A nice walk in the drizzle.

   Bailley at the Grand Place opposite the large bell tower.

   While Madison and Cindy bought some art supplies next door, Abigail, Bailley, and I bought cheese, ham, and bread for a picnic back at the apartment.  The owner spoke no English, but with the help of someone else in line we muddled through and got what we wanted. The cheese and parme was so good.
   I went with Bailley and Abigail to get one last waffle and then Cindy and I snuck out again.

   A Delirium Tremens at Delirium Monasterium was the perfect almost-final ending to the day.  Of course we grabbed a waffle for us and Madison as our final ending of the day.  Waffles as dessert and snacks... what a place.

   We hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.