Monday my parents went back to the States after spending close to two weeks in Europe. This was my mom's first trip here and my dad's third. My encounter of them in the foreign lands started at the train station in Frankfurt, Germany where my parents and my dad's friend Tony were there to greet me after my 5 hour train voyage. We stayed Thursday through Monday with Tony and Karin. This extended weekend consisted of food that we discovered I'm allergic to, German birthday parties, castles, old towns, A LOT of beer, Mom's first attempt at shots, and Tony's weird sense of humour. With Tony as our guide, we saw a number of small towns in the corner of Hessen where he lives, as well as a trip to the modern city of Frankfurt. From seeing the house where Elvis stayed when he was in the service to having a raw fish and onions sandwich, it was an interesting, fun-filled weekend.

This brings us to my parents' trip to Belgium. They were here for one full week, and we jam-packed as much site seeing as we could in that time. To summarize highlights: We did a walking tour in Antwerp (thank you Lonely Planet travel guide). We saw peeing children in Brussels. We climbed to the Torture Museum in Ghent. We dipped our feet in the North Sea in Oostend. We paid tribute to the soldiers of WWII (including my grandfather) who fought in the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne. We received a taste of France by stepping over to Lille. We attended mass in a gothic church in Mons. All of this included early mornings, a lot of time on the train, souvenir shops, and lots of yummy restaurant stops. Then on Monday, I accompanied them to the airport to send them back to the States to go to work the next day. 

Coming up we have Doudou weekend.  St. Georges is going to fight the dragon and the relics of St. Waudru are going to be marched through town. This is a cultural tradition that I am not about to miss.