Public Transports 10-2007

Knowing that my oldest son has always been very interested in things like trains, busses and boats, he really did enjoy this little day trip we made together.

In fact we left my parents home by car early in the morning to the train station nearby. Around 8.30am we took the train for a 1 hour journey to the city of Den Helder. We continued 15 minutes by bus from Den Helder train station to the Ferry Terminal.

We checked in on the Ferry and enjoyed the short (25 min.) trip across the North Sea to Texel Island. We left the ferry and got back on a bus which took us to "Ecomare" Seal Centre near to the village of De Koog.

The Ecomare Seal Centre takes care of any ill, hurt and/or abandoned seals that may be found in the surrounding sea waters. Above all, the people at Ecomare do a great job saving and preserving the seal population.

The Centre also offers a very interesting and interactive educational part for all ages !! (http://www.ecomare.nl/) In any case, my son and I did have an unforgettable afternoon !!

After having said goodbye to all those lovely seals we went back on the bus to get to the Texel Ferry Terminal.

From there we got back on the Ferry to Den Helder, back on the bus to Den Helder Train Station and back on the train for a little hour.

Once we were back in the car for the final little drive home my son fell asleep even before I started driving.

As I said earlier, this was an unforgettable day we had. Even though it was a fresh and windy day, the sun has been present all day long !! We can't wait to back there........!

Center Parcs 2007 (II)

For those who think about spending some nice moments at a Center Parcs with their kids, do think twice before you take your final decision!!

These holidays are not recommended for those who wish maximum sleep and minimum effort!!

At least one visit to the pool every day. A visit to the Kids Factory almost every day!! Dinner before 8pm in order to get the boys to bed before they become tired and annoyed. Once the little people are asleep, the adults generally fall asleep while drinking a cup of coffee and/or a glass of wine while watching some TV!!

Forget about getting out of bed a bit later in the morning. The kids don't make any difference between holidays or being at home when it comes to waking up!! Always too early!!!

We did have a wonderfull but exhausting time in Germany. Fortunately we had some days left at home before going back to work.

Center Parcs 2007 (I)

Like last year we did spent some wonderfull holidays at Center Parcs in Germany. Not too far from home. A 2 hours drive by car and we arrived in kids heaven. This time we went together with my parents and the two boys for a stay in a very nice and big "cottage". Three bedrooms on the first floor. One for mum and dad & 1 room each for the boys. The grandparents had their bedroom downstairs together with the bathroom, shower, toilet, living, kitchen and terrace!!

The wheather conditions were more than fair especially the first few days. The last two days we've had quite some rain but the outside temperatures remained very acceptable. Anyway, no type of any bad wheather could have ruined our holidays.

The surroundings of the parc are very beautifull. In fact the parc is situated in the Eiffel region. Lots of forests and greenery. The nearest bigger city was Koblenz at about 150km from there. Around the parc a lot of possibilities for some nice walks through the woods together with the boys and their grandfather.

Unless all of the possible activities you can think of inside the parc we did leave the parc on one day for a nice visit along the riverbanks of the Mosel. A very typical german wine-region. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of a very nice white wine on a terrace somewhere on a small square in the center of a little town.

We did spend a wonderfull time sitting, drinking and laughing there because it was probably the most sunny and warm day of our holidays.

Vineyards on each side of the road on our way back and a short and unplanned visit to a small Winery. We simply entered a little garage and asked if we could buy a few bottles of wine. After having tasted 2 or 3 of the white wines and some instantly pressed grape-juice for the boys we bought a dozen of bottles and headed back to our cottage at center parcs.

Mum & Son

The youngest having a big laugh with his mother.

In fact this picture was taken late in the evening when our son should normally be dreaming seriously. But, as he had been to the airport earlier that evening to welcome his father coming back from a three day trip to London, I suppose he was a bit too exited to catch his sleep as usual. I have to admit that this didn't bother both of his parents very much!!

Since a week or two he does walk independently but holding tight to the tables, chairs or whatever he can grap to stay up his feet. He will only celebrate his first birthday at the end of october so I think this is a rather early development for him. His brother did his first steps, without any kind of support, 2 years ago, on his very first birthday!.

My Brother

And here's my Brother together with our kids. He lives in Holland and he finally got his new company car which he came to show us. Indeed a nice car you have there my Brother!! We might see each other a little more often now? The two little boys would not disagree......!!

Colleagues

Together with some of my colleagues......,

Picture taken at a Top Priority meeting on the famous Belgian race track Spa-Francorchamps (B). At this very moment Formula One tests were ongoing just below so we had quite some difficulties listening, talking or simply understanding each other!!

At the Beach

My smallest son with his godparents on the beach in Bloemendaal (NL).

Did we have a wonderfull day or what...??!! Just look at this sky!! A lovely dinner together at "Vroeger" with a couple of bottles of very tastefull Australian rosé wine........ (Our little guy already fell asleep at that stage!)

Welcome....!

So here we are!
Welcome to my little corner on the www.
Enjoy reading and watching!
Regards,
Sympa69