Beer

1. Ahhhh Beer
2. Eva's sister Marie and I
3. The naughty Boy and I
4. I felt like Laverne and/or Shirley
5. We are both naughty boys


Last weekend Belgium had an open brewery day all over the country. With over 500 beers brewed here there is always a place close by that makes the stuff. Not being one to miss such a thing, I didn't miss it. We went to two breweries (Valeir and Roman) and sampled what they had to offer. The second one had a beer called Sloeber which means "naughty boy." I liked that beer. I like beer in general. I guess Belgium is a good place to live.

Est-ce que la force peut etre avec vous

1. Can you see me thinking that either I'm going to kill her, or I'm starting to like her.

2. When 900 years old you reach, look that good, you will not.

3. That kid won't look so smug in a minute if he continues to refuse to give the location of the rebel base.

4. That guy is a little short for a Storm Trooper, don't you think?

5. Boba Fett, where?

6. That must be Luke and Leia's other half sister with Darth and the gang. I'm sure Anakin fooled around a bit while he was off on his missions and fathered a few more children.

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The title of the post is "May The Force Be With You," in French. Yesterday Eva and I went to Brussels along with her friend Pierre and his girlfriend Delphine. Pierre and I had our sights set on the Star Wars exhibit that is showing in Brussels for about 5 months. The girls, not interested in Star Wars (almost a sin) had their minds set more on shoping. The exhibit was a lot of fun and although I already knew it to some degree you really could see what a amazing project the entire (huge) Star Wars saga is/was. When I was a kid I saw all the movies and had lots and lots of the toys, bed sheets, tooth brushes, etc. One summer (in the 70's) we got a copy of the Star Wars film somehow and I must have seen it 50 times. So the exhibit was like a dream come true. I also watched a little Jedi Training session that was put on in French and Dutch. It was funniest to me to hear C3-PO speaking French. Although, he is fluent in over 6 million forms of communication, so why not French.

Moge de kracht met uw zijn, or "May The Force Be With You," In Dutch.

Golf

Not that the weather permited, but we went golfing anyway. Well not really golfing but just to the driving range. The local golf course here in Oostende, which is in the middle of a horse race track, had a free day. In order to drum up interest they gave a free beginner lesson and driving range access. Eva and I went with Angel and Gail. Angel is a freind from my language course from Cuba and Gail is his Belgian wife. Gail just started working at the golf course a few days ago and that's how we knew about it. Normally I don't go out seeking anything golf related. It was fun for me, but not really the right weather to be out doing such things. Eva on the other hand has not now become a golf enthusiast. I actually still like the other meaning of golf here better. The word "golf" means wave as in what's in the ocean. But it was way to cold to play in those.

Back from Wales

1. The (Famous?) Banbury Cross.

2. The old watering hole.

3. Pete got the guitar out.

4. So many charming old buildings in Canterbury.

5. About to leave on a not very enjoyable ferry ride.

On our drive across the UK back from our weekend in Wales we made several stops and spent one night in between. When I had lived in the UK it was in an unheard of (by non Brits) town called Banbury. For old times sake I wanted to swing by there and snap a few photos. Also I wanted to eat at Burger King as they don't have it here in Belgium. I am shamed to admit it but I miss American fast food and I knew Banbury had a Burger King. I had had enough English breakfasts to last me a while. Also we spent the night SW of London with my friend Pete. I met Pete almost 10 years ago (when working in Portugal) and we have seen each other many times in the period, in various spots on the globe. we even lived together for a few months in Miami. Pete's friend Chris an his wife put us up for the night (across the road from Pete's place) in a wonderful old cottage and fed us a very scrumptous Easter dinner. The next day on the way back to Ramsgate to catch the ferry to Belgium we stopped in Canterbury. I had never been there and like to visit new places. It was a very charming city. Then that evening it was time to board the ferry and unfortunatly I was still a little hung over from all the wine I had drank the previous night. It was not a good (four hour) crossing of the North Sea.

Wales for a Birthday Party

1. What the heck is that doing in Wales?

2. The group about to hike

3. Eva and I in Snowdonia

4. Eva enjoying a hot drink after a frigid hike

5. Me and the Birthday boy, Tim

It's nice to live in Europe for many reasons. One of my favorites is the fact that I can be in many other countries within half a day by driving. If you throw ferries and budget airlines into the mix I can make it to practically any European country for a long weekend without spending a fortune. That's why Eva and I recently went to Wales and England for four nights, because we could.

My friend Tim (from my days in the UK sales office of Trek America) decided to turn his 40th Birthday into a 40th Birthlongweekend. There were somewhere around 60 people at the party. We decended upon a small Inn in Northern Wales and had a great time. Eva and I came from the farthest and got a prize (beer) for it. We took the ferry from Belgium and then drove halfway across the UK. During the weekend, we camped in the snow and rain, hiked in Snowdonia National Park, enjoyed an amazing pig roast and partied with old friends. It was a great weekend and Eva and I were both glad we went.

Stonehenge

1. mmmmm.... English Breakfast

2. Painting of Stonehenge

3. It was cold and windy

4. The real thing

5. I guess they have the right of way.

Nobody needs much of an introduction to Stonhenge or much explanation about it I think. Most people have heard of it and if you don't know many of the details about it don't worry. The archaeologists don't really know why it is there either. Of course there are a lot of theories but for the most part it will probably always remain a mystery. Anyway it lies in Wiltshire which is sort of between where Eva and I were (Kent) and where we were headed (Wales) so we decided to swing by because Eva had never seen it before. In English terms it was a long way out of the way and many people thought we were crazy but I'm American and I think the scale of such things is a bit different.