August 15, 2016 - Spotlight on Bruges, Belgium and Tanya & Dave's Magical Anniversary!

Elisa's Daily Scoop

Monday & Bruges, Belgium

And the heat continues to ensue!

My kiddies lost it a bit when I told them that I'd prefer to take them to the barn Tuesday and Thursday rather than today and Wednesday.

I tried to have this conversation with them yesterday while having our early Sunday dinner of pasta. (I thought the food would make them more amenable about waiting an extra day to ride - I was wrong lol).

My decision was based on the fact that it's going to be another hot day! Oh well, they'll get over it.  

So, today, we'll be heading to Astoria to visit my dear Aunt Ro with the girlies for some lunch.

Not on their hit-parade, but the ever-so-sensitive side of me says "Tough!"

Before I tell you about what's on the agenda for today, let's chat about my day yesterday...

As it was the hottest of the days thus far this week, we played things by ear.

Kelsey and I were up and at 'em early and headed over to Starbucks for some morning beverages. She enjoyed her double chocolately chip frappaccino and I had my usual Venti Hot chocolate.

We decided to save our Creamsicle Frappaccinos for an afternoon snack to celebrate National Creamsicle Day yesterday.

I actually manage to catch a cute movie to enjoy my Sunday afternoon.  

A few weeks ago, I picked up a movie in Stop & Shop for $3.99 called In Bruges. 

Starring Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, it's the story of two hit men who are told to "cool off" in Bruges (Belgium) while waiting for further instructions from their mob boss Ralph Fiennes.

The scenery was beautiful and it was actually quite cute and I will say that watching Colin Farrell is always pleasurable.  It's sort of a dark comedy, but  very entertaining.

It was the closest thing I've come to traveling in a while since one of the hit men is into the sights and history of the city and educates the audience with all sorts of fun facts!

Well, speaking of Bruges, Tanya visited this lovely little storybook town back in August 2014, on her UK & Scandinavia Trip.

Time for another 16 for 2016!!

16 Fun Facts About Bruges, Belgium

One of the many lovely pictures from Tanya's trip of the storybook city of Bruges, Belgium (c)travelincousins.com)

1. Bruges, is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country.

2. Its port, Zeebrugge, was built in 1907.

3. The Germans used the Port of Zeebrugge for their U-boats in World War I. It was greatly expanded in the 1970s and early 1980s and has become one of Europe's most important and modern ports. 

3. Bruges is a city on a canal and is sometimes referred to as the 'Venice of the North.'

4. The name Bruges is derived from Old Dutch. The word meant 'Bridge'. 

5. The city predates the Pre-Roman Gaul Era, with its first fortifications having been built by Julius Caesar after the conquest of Menapil in the 1st century BC.

6. At one time in the city's past, Bruges was considered the chief commercial city of the world.

Bruges, Belgium (c)travelincousins.com)

7. Bruges became important due to the tidal inlet that was important to local commerce and this inlet was then known as the "Golden Inlet".

8. It was also a medieval city of the rich, with 475 castles found in Flanders and 50 of them in and around Bruges.

9. Because of its rich medieval architecture and history, Bruges has been recognized as one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2000.

10. Three of the top sites in Bruges include  the Church of our Lady, a tall brick fixture that pierces the Bruges skyline; The sculpture of the “Madonna and Child”, one of the few works of Michaelangelo to have ever left Italy; and the 13th-century belfry.

11. The 13th-century belfry with its 47-bell carillon and 83m tower provides beautiful panoramic views of the city.

12. The Groening Museum is one of the many museums scattered around Bruges, houses artwork from the 18th to the 21st century, from such artists as Jan van Eyck, Rogier van der Weyden and Gerard David.

One of the many canals in Bruges with the famous Belry in the background (credit: © Hans Hillewaert)

13. As of 2008, Bruges' total population was 117,073.

14. Bruges is well known as the seat of the College of Europe, an elite university institute for European studies regarded as "the EU's very own Oxbridge."

15. The Basilica of the Holy Blood (Dutch: Heilig-Bloedbasiliek, French: Basilique du Saint-Sang) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica which is believed to house a venerated relic of the Holy Blood of Jesus Christ, collected by Joseph of Arimathea and brought from the Holy Land by Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders 

16. Herring with raw onions and gherkin is a delicacy in Bruges. The Romans called the Belgians a ‘miserable tribe of herringeating primitives’, but the Belgians had the last laugh when they created Bruges.


After our lunch with Aunt Ro today, we'll be heading back to Long Island.  If we are inclined, we will head to the community pool for the evening.  It might be a good way to end the day.

We shall see.

Happy Anniversary to Tanya and Dave today!!
I hope it's a magical evening!

Tomorrow, she departs for her first city on her Magical Anniversary Trip...London!!!

Back atcha tomorrow!!

-E
xoxo

Tanya's Daily Scoop
NEXT TRIP DEPARTS IN: 1 DAY

Happy Anniversary to ME!

Hi there!

Don'tcha just LOVE LOVE LOVE the quote that Elisa posted fro Edmond Mbiska?
It's so true!!!

When you do the things that you truly love it really doesn't matter what day of the week it is. You are just so excited to wake up each morning and get to work on your passions! <---I Heart This!

Well well well, it does happen to be Monday and this Monday is a special one as it happens to be Dave and my anniversary....plus that we leave for our Magical Anniversary trip is less than 24hrs!

To tell you the truth - as much as I'm totally excited and stoked about the trip, this is one that the kiddies are staying home on and I know that we will miss each other terribly. For they are my heart!

But just like the rest of the days that seem to go by in a flash as will this time that I am away and before we know it I will be arriving back home to my babies! They may be BIG babies, but they are my BIG babies!

​Now how about some SCOOP -
Yesterday started out with me going for my mani/pedi and I love the outcome:

My nails actually look so much better in person!

I am always changing things up and it's always fun for me to choose new colors when I arrived at the nail salon. I also pretty much don't ever get matching finger nails and toe nails.

After the lovely time watching the Olympics while getting my nails done, we went all the way out to Ontario, to go pick up a pair of shoes that I had on hold.            Mission accomplished!

And while we were there, we yet again found some really funky footwear!

Are you funky enough to wear this?

Then out to Costa Mesa for a lunch that I was eagerly awaiting. We went to Seabirds and they recently switched their seasonal menu over and began offering several new dishes.

Seabirds Kitchen - Always Fresh!
I had my eye one thing and one thing alone - the Heirloom Tomato Pie, which I've heard nothing but rave reviews about...
But as it turned out - I was asked out - they had already run out of this new item for the day.
Boo. Hiss.

The bookstore was up next where I picked up a new pocket sized book on Edinburgh - I've searched high and low for the one that I already had, but it must've been in the bag that had gone missing and officially lost by the airlines.
I also managed to pick up a new novel while I was at it. 

​Were we done?
Heck no, we still needed to go to Target and to Mother's. And we had our work cut out for us in these stores...

Then it was time for the a yummy pasta dinner that I had prepared with love, and finally we went to catch the movie Suicide Squad...

Although the critics tore it apart, I found the movie to be entertaining; but really what do I know! lol 
I also find the soundtrack to be pretty cool - which I can happily say is in now our collection.

And before going home, while we were still at the theater some of us also couldn't resist taking these silly TROLL shots:

Dominic troll (c)traelincousins.com

Dave troll (c)traelincousins.com

Tanya troll (c)traelincousins.com

As for today, plenty of running around to do and last minute errands to take care of - never do I have time to rest before a trip!

The kids are going to choir tonight and while they are there Dave and I will be heading to celebrate our anniversary at Roy's in Newport Beach.

A dinner recommended from a friend of mine who recently enjoyed her Anniversary there about a month back. Her meal looked so darn good that I had to make our reservations straight away.
I discussed our dietary needs with the manager and we are looking so forward to the special menu that they are putting together just for us!!

Not to worry because, I'll definitely be taking lots of pictures for you to see.

Catch ya on my way out while probably on my way to the airport tomorrow and then after that I'll be LIVE from Europe.

Have a great one - because YOU deserve it!
​-T