Lost and Found

Things we found in Belgium:

- time to visit Bruges and Brussels

- chocolate, mussels, beer, bread, frites

- historic buildings

Things we didn't find:

- time to see much of Antwerp

- low fat cuisine

Things we found in Amsterdam

- tulips

- museums (science, art, and a zoo)

- Indonesian food and Belgian beer

Things we didn't find:

- time for all the museums

- sunny days

- ways to explain to Jr all the vices for sale

We have been to both Belgium and the Netherlands before on a very memorable trip about 13 years ago. It was both fun and a bit frustrating to visit again, since the stops were so short. Jr got sick the second day in Belgium as well, so we had to scuttle plans to spend the second night in Antwerp. He felt better by the time to Amsterdam, though, so we ended up having more time to explore the Netherlands.

The end of the voyage is just one week from today, but there are still four ports to visit! Tomorrow we land in Edinburgh, Scotland. Over the next few days we will also dock in Dublin, Ireland then Belfast in Northern Ireland, and finally Dover, England where we will travel by bus to London. I am really looking forward to my first visit to the United Kingdom, but I will also be quite ready to come home. Jr is ready, too, but Grandpa and Sr wish they could keep on sailing!

Pics: Sr in Brussels at brewer's mecca; Brussels garden and city view; Amsterdam's NEMO science museum (with the top of the MV Explorer to the left); a Jasper Johns painting in the spectacular Amsterdam Stedelijk modern art museum.