Milo goes to Brussels

I'm officially done with school, which means that I again have control of my nights and weekends. The reason why this fact relates to this blog is that it also means I have no excuse for not updating. So, for at least the immediate future, anyone still checking can get regular updates on our travels/life and pictures of Milo (and, sorry, some of us too). First order of business: departure from Toronto/first weekend in Brussels:


The Gross in Toronto Pearson as we wait for the booking agents to figure out how much to charge us for Milo's seat on Jill's or my lap.



Milo's $160 ticket...hey, his was much comfier than the average person's...he has his choice between my lap, Jill's lap, the seat in between us, or stretched out across both of our laps.



The train ride into Brussels from Brussels (Zaventum) International Airport. After a relatively good airplane trip (on which Milo was able to sleep for a good 4 hours between the two planes), Milo was pretty excited to be out and about. He really seemed to like the train ride. I must say that dealing with him, his stroller, and his bag, made carrying our bags interesting and, at times, difficult. We simply couldn’t trust him, though, to pull his suitcase, push his stroller, and manage cobble stones all on his own.



We had to sit for a bit, after huffing it from Gare Central to the Bed and Breakfast where we were to receive our key to our apartment (a note was left for us to get the key from the neighbor, but we didn’t see it). Once straightened away by some helpful neighbors, we were off to our new apartment.



After dropping our things in our new apartment, we made a trip back into Central Brussels (the border is just down the street from us). Milo found the Parc de Bruxelles to be especially conducive to an afternoon nap.



As Milo slept, we made our way over to the Grand Place (de grote Markt in Flemish), the location of the old city hall and a number of the most prestigious guild houses (rebuilt within 5 years of their devastation at the hands of the French under Napoleon). As you will see, Milo seems somewhat intimidated by how wide open it is and how many people are always walking around in it.



Milo back in the Parc de Bruxelles, awake this time and enjoying it.



Day 2! Milo first realizes how much he loves the windows in our apartment.


Crawling about.


Views out our kitchen window:







Approaching the Grand Place from one of the pedestrian streets.



Milo is running for a corner, because the Grand Place scares him.



It was actually pretty difficult to convince Milo that he should leave the corner. He really seemed to enjoy the two steps on which he’s sitting.



So, yeah…Milo’s getting pretty good at walking…but not so much on all the uneven cobbles. Here, I think, he’s trying to figure out why he just tripped.



Milo and I are hanging out in the Grand Place.



This is the second time I had to retrieve Milo from the chocolate shop.



Day 3! Milo discovers the living room window. Though the view is not splendid (residential neighborhood), Milo loves all the cars that drive by. He’s REALLY into cars right now. He drives anything and everything all over anything and everything (including my running shoe which he drove on Jill’s face today – sorry, no pic).



Milo in his raincoat (apparently it rained all of May, June, and July and we brought the sun on Saturday, but it only lasted for two days) at Le Botanique, which is down the street from our apartment.



Le Botanique.



Milo’s walking on what used to be the Seine. It was mostly filled in here in the late 19th century. I’ve yet to figure out why, but I think it might be related to a cholera outbreak and pollution. This area, quai aux Bois à Brûler, still maintains quite the canalside feel, even through what remains of the Seine in Brussels is underground.



After realizing how hard it is to drink and walk Milo dropped his sippy cup (filled with Chimay, of course) and celebrated.



Milo likes cars and dirt. Here’s a picture of him sitting in dirt and pointing at a car. He must be in heaven (he also just ate some frites with ketchup…apparently Milo shares my early-childhood-love for Ketchup).





Church of St. Catherine, which looms over the quai.

Okay...now that everyone's all caught up, my future posts should be at least a bit shorter than this one (I'll at least try to keep the writing to a minimum). I'll make sure to post more frequently, now that I don't have a reasonable excuse to not post (I'm sure I can eventually find one, though). If anyone sees a picture they'd really like to have, just email me and I'll make it available via Walgreens or something similar...or have it printed and send it. Cheers!