Like this:

On Halloween day the Jimenez clan took a Ryan Air (Ryan Scare) flight to Belgium to visit Aunt Summer and Uncle Mike. The first day there we checked out the Trunk-or-Treating that was going on at the post nearby. Instead of getting candy from houses, you go from car to car. People decorate their trunks, and some of them were actually pretty spooky. Paul was dressed as Elmo and had quite a few little followers. Nico was our little football player. While we waited in line to Trunk-or-Treat, Nico zoomed around the grassy area to our left. He made instant friends with a couple characters (like Buzz Lightyear with REALLY tight white pants…). Nico was so excited to ask for candy. He kept saying “More treat, more treat!” We got a little rained on during the process, but we had a great time as well!

On Sunday, we got on the bullet train to Paris, France at 8:15. We raced around the whole city, most of the time in the rain. Even in the rain though, Paris was beautiful! We battled other tourists at the Louvre, strolled along the Chance Elysee, got a photo in front of the Arc de Triomphe, almost got blown away in front of the Eiffel Tower, froze in front of the Sacred Heart church, and ran back to the train so fast that Katy almost threw up. The boys did so well considering how much we ran around. John’s favorite part of Paris was seeing the Mona Lisa (it was even bigger than he had expected). Katy smirked at the Mona Lisa. She was much more interested in croissants with chocolate, who wouldn’t be? We probably looked like a bunch of pros going through that metro. We had to lift that big jogging stroller over the booth (thank you Body Pump!) while scanning all the tickets and keeping track of the rugrats! It was EXHAUSTING!!!
On Monday, Mike had to go to work. The weather and our trip to Paris made us think twice about going outside again. We decided to check out an aquarium and let the boys have a day to play. We drove up to Antwerp, a little more than an hour away, and checked out a little place there. Paul is just at that age that he was so amazed by the fish. Nico, as always, thought anything bigger than a goldfish was a shark. Both of the boys got to touch snakes and lizards, they were pretty excited about that.
On Tuesday, we hung out at the house except for a little trip outside to feed the sheep. Paul was taking a nap, so Nico and Mommy ran out with some apples. Summer and Mike live in a BEAUTIFUL area. Their house is part of a large chateau with a lot of land surrounding it. There are trails all over that Summer and Mike get to run on and explore. The sheep are visible from the living room, so Nico had been spying on them for quite some time. Mommy didn’t really think ahead to cut the apples in half or quarters so they lasted longer. There were about 6 apples and they were gone in about 2 seconds. It was a quick trip.
On Wednesday, we met Mike for lunch at this fabulous Doner place on post. Then he took us to the GB, a store on Shape that is like a PX with all European items. It was awesome! We got our favorite waffles and checked out some beer. Then we had to scramble home and throw our stuff together so we wouldn’t miss our flight.
Now that we are back in Italy, we are getting ready to head back to the States. In one week we move into the hotel on post and prepare to ship our household goods. We are so excited and bummed about leaving. Hopefully we’ll be back for more Italy later on!
So if you are in the U.S., I guess we will be seeing you soon!

Pics for the fam

Advertisement