Well, this is close to Alexandria. Unfortunately my phone crashed and took with it my pics of Old Town :-/
Fear not dear reader, this blog is not nearly as dead as has been reported. These lengthy silences mean either Jeni and I are super busy or that we are super bored. In fact, we have been have been absolutely rushed off of our feet since our visit back to the States in April. We spent about half of April in and around our beloved Old Town Alexandria, so we were able to catch up with many friends and family members…plus we loaded up on All-American staples like Pupusas, gourmet Pizza and Mujaddara! We caught up with with many friends, but not everyone. Sorry to those of you that slipped through the cracks on this trip, and loads of thanks to everyone that put us up and put up with us! By far the highlights were surprising my parents in Philadelphia just before my Mom's birthday, breakfast at Chez Angel and of course eating our way across the mid-Atlantic.
Just after we 'showed up' for a play featuring my awesome nephew Chris and his equally amazing sister Lauren.
…and here's how you start a day at Angel and Mike's place. Complete with the outrigger canoe!
Psyche. But there were loads of selfies…and selfies of selfies...
and loads of homemade treats!
Thanks again Mike and Angel!
Keeping our trip home a secret from my parents wasn't too difficult. In fact no one (that I am aware of) had to lie, but I am certain my folks will now read our emails looking for vague statements and sentences that could be construed in more than one way. Honestly, it was probably more difficult on our end to not spill the beans, so I don't think we'll be trying more subterfuge anytime soon. Nonetheless it was wonderful to see the looks on their faces. Thanks once again for everyone that helped with this…
Mom-O surrounded by her adoring children...
Happy Birthday, Mom!!!
As if two weeks in the States visiting everyone from Philadelphia to Easton, MD weren't proof enough that we have an awesome and supportive network, we were blessed with two visits from folks heading this direction. The weekend after we arrived back in the Grand Duchy our dear friends (and recent hosts), Andy and Chris, made there way over to Brussels after a river cruise down the Danube. Then our amazing amiga Abbey stopped over in the storybook beautiful city of Wiesbaden, Germany for a weekend. Needless to say, we hopped in the Mini and drove out to see everyone, and discovered some new places along the way!
Visiting Chris and Andy in the lobby of the Brussels Hilton…ironically directly in front of the rail station the day after a rail strike that changed everyones plans for a day or two ;)
Abbey and Lora in Weisbaden...
…which is a stunningly beautiful place. All of the historic buildings and hot springs were mostly untouched during the war!
…and here's the Ultimate team. Battered and scabby but still smiling!
Now if all of this back and forth doesn't have your head spinning yet, just wait. May is known in this part of the world as a Swiss Cheese month because of all the holes in the calendar. As Jeni says, "The struggle is real!" With three long weekends, May is absolutely made for touring Europe. I am sure this post has a stream-of-conciousness vibe because I don't actually even know which day it is today. Anyhow…Since returning from the US, I have also been to Ghent, Belgium for a three day Ultimate Tournament, and Jeni and I just spent a four day weekend in Munich downing beers and dodging Bayern Munich fans. Looking back at the calendar I also see that we also peppered in a few dinners with Lux-o-friends, worked on a couple side projects (of the garden variety) as well as kept up with the normal day-to-day goings-on. Pfff!
Literally…garden projects :0
All that said, we are glad to be back in sleepy little Luxembourg. The trip home was awesome and certainly too brief. The visits from friends coming this direction were fantastic and helped to stave off any homesickness, and our travels around Europe are wonderful distractions that broaden our understanding of the cultures in which we find ourselves immersed. As the title of this post alludes, we have discovered a fabulous place here in Luxembourg, but the pull of "Home" is always present. For now we will be happy with the knowledge that we have so many tremendous people in our lives, both here and back in the States. I think we will just enjoy this feeling hovering somewhat weightless between two wonderful worlds.
OMG! Gourmet Pizza…I just want what I want on a dam pizza! S'allimsayin.
And, finally I leave you with my new look we discovered in Target. I call it the Walter White Cruise Collection.
