After staying up way too late Friday night to watch the Michigan State versus Duke game, we woke up late Saturday, then ventured out to visit the Museum of Natural Sciences.  The museum is dedicated to natural history, and its most important pieces are 30 fossilized Iguanodon skeletons, which were discovered in 1878 in Bernissart.  The museum was huge, and we enjoyed walking around to see all of the exhibits.  We saw whale skeletons, and tons of animal exhibits, but our favorite part was the dinosaur exhibit!

Enormous whale skeletons.

Evolution exhibit.

Laura checking out the mastodon skeleton.

Bryan next to some very large leg bones!

The famous collection of Iguanodon skeletons.

The T-Rex!

Stegosaurus skeleton.

The museum was an awesome stop on our trip, and we are looking forward to celebrating Easter in Brussels.

Laura and Bryan

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Brussels is an amazing city.  No matter where we go in the city, we hear Dutch, French, German, Spanish, and English.  We've never visited a more culturally diverse city, and it's amazing to see and hear such a wonderful mix of people.  We didn't really have a set plan for things to do and see in Brussels, but we've seen a lot of cool places just wandering the city.  We've found quiet little parks, magnificent churches, and neat buildings while exploring the city.  We also found a waffle truck selling hot waffles... and trust us when we say these people know how to make waffles.  For €1,50, we got a waffle hot from the iron, and without any toppings, it was amazing.  We raved for a whole mile of our walk about how delicious that waffle was, and Laura will definitely be trying to recreate the recipe back home. 

Enjoying a Belgian waffle with an incredible church in the background!

Anyway, enough about those waffles... enjoy some pictures from Brussels!

Stopping at a chocolatier to see all of the delicious treats!

Saint Catherine's Church, and Bryan in the home of his ancestors!

A magnificent church... with a waffle truck out front!

A neat view walking across the street.

Walking around a park.

So far, we've seen some pretty awesome places here, and we are looking forward to seeing more... and getting another waffle!

Laura and Bryan

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After an early start Thursday, a train ride to the tube station, a tube ride to another train station, and a stressful morning getting through security, we made it on our train to Belgium!  The train ride was only about two hours long, and we spent a lot of it in the dark (traveling under roads and the English Channel).  As we hopped off the train, we were quickly reminded that this trip would be a little different from here on out: for the rest of the trip, we will be in countries that speak little English.  Brussels is a very diverse city, and has signs in Dutch, German, and French.  Laura brushed up on her French, and managed to find the signs directing us to the tram to our apartment.  We managed to get off the tram at the correct stop (which ended up being extremely crowded, and very difficult to navigate with our large suitcases), and walked a short distance to the apartment building.  A nice guy named Gregorio buzzed us in, and we were shown to the flat on the ninth floor of the building.

We rented the flat through a guy named Andris, who left us a warm welcome and told us to make ourselves at home.  The apartment is a cozy place, and we love the views of the city from the ninth floor!

A warm welcome note from Andris... along with a map and some chocolate!

The view straight ahead...

the view to the left...

...and the view to the right!

The flat will be a nice place to call home for the next few days, and we are looking forward to exploring the city!

Au revoir... Afscheid... Lebewohl!

Laura and Bryan

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For our last full day in London, we got to celebrate Bryan turning 25!  At midnight, Laura surprised him by dumping balloons on him to get the celebration started. (She hid in the bathroom to blow up all of the balloons and kept them in the shower until midnight!)  After getting some sleep, we had an easy-going morning, then headed into town.  For dinner, we went out to a traditional pub, and Bryan got to enjoy some fish and chips.  

Happy Birthday!

(A very large) fish and chips for the birthday boy!

After dinner, we went to see Wicked at the Appollo Victoria Theater.  The show was awesome, and we both loved it!

We weren't allowed to get pictures during the show, but Laura managed to sneak a picture of the set before it started.

After dinner and a show, we made one last stop to cap off the festivities; instead of a birthday cake, Bryan got some birthday donuts.  It was a fun day, and a great way for Bryan to celebrate turning 25!

Laura and Bryan

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The weather has been bitter cold, but we've still been busy in London!  While watching the news, we learned that it has been the coldest March on record in the UK in 50 years... Brr!  We finally have the tube figured out, so getting around London has been pretty easy, and we've been able to cover a lot of ground.  Some of the coolest places we've been able to visit in the last few days are Buckingham Palace and the M&M's factory.

Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official residence.  It has 775 rooms. These include 19 State rooms, 52 Royal and guest bedrooms, 188 staff bedrooms, 92 offices and 78 bathrooms... not a bad place to get stuck if you have to pee! 

After freezing our butts off at Buckingham, we decided to head to a place that was warmer... and smelled like chocolate!  The M&M's factory in London is the largest candy store in the world, and we had fun checking out all of the different colors and merchandise (although we were disappointed that the candies taste differently than the U.S. version, and didn't much care for them).





After warming up, and daydreaming in chocolate, we ended the day with a nice dinner, then hopped on the train back home.  We've only got a few days left, but we've covered a lot so far!

Now go get yourself some chocolate!

Laura and Bryan

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Another day in London full of amazing things to see and do!  We've figured out the tube, and have been traveling all across the city.  On Sunday, we spent the day visiting some of the most popular tourist sights in London.  We started our day at the Tower of London, a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames.  The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history. It was besieged several times and controlling it has been important to controlling the country.   The Tower has served as an armory, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a public records office, and is home to the Crown Jewels of the United Kingdom.

One of the buildings inside the Tower of London.

 We bought tickets to walk around the inside of the tower, and learned a lot about its history.  We saw multiple exhibits, including a crown exhibit, showcasing the headpieces of rulers past, an exhibit dedicated to all of the animals that called the tower home (an elephant and tigers, to name a few), and the Crown Jewels.  We also got to watch the coronation cermony of Queen Elizabeth II that took place in 1953.  Although seeing the sparkling jewels and learning about it's extensive history was amazing, Laura's favorite part wore a red coat and a fuzzy hat: the beefeaters.  Yeoman Warders, nicknamed "beefeaters" guard the Tower and the Crown Jewels.  To qualify, all beefeaters must have served at least 22 years in the armed forces, and earned a Long Service and Good Conduct Medal.

Laura's new friend!

After the tour of the Tower, we walked across the Tower Bridge to check out some of the London skyline.  We also got to see the HMAS Belfast in the River Thames, a battleship launched in 1938 that took place in the D-Day landings.

A good view of the Tower Bridge.

Walking across the Tower Bridge.

After our tour of the Tower and surrounding area, we hopped the tube to check out some of the most famous landmarks in London: the Palace of Westminster (the Houses of Parliament), Big Ben, and the London Eye. 




 Despite the cold weather and gray skies, we've been enjoying the sights!

Cheers!

Laura and Bryan

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We are so excited to be in London!  After taking a train ride from Manchester, we took a cab out to the new Battersea Reach complex on the Thames, and checked into our nice little one-bedroom apartment.

Our first day on the town was freezing and difficult, but we managed to see some cool places.  After leaving the apartment, we caught the bus into town and managed to get off at the right stop.  From the bus stop, it was a short walk to the first stop on our tour of London, Kensington Palace and Gardens.  This royal residence was built for the Royal Family in the 17th century.  It has been home to quite a few of it's members, including Princess Diana, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (Will and Kate), and will be home to Prince Harry after they finish up some renovations.  The gardens surrounding the park are gorgeous, and have statues and fountains around the park.  We really enjoyed walking around and seeing everything.

Kensington Palace.

Bryan with the Peter Pan statue in the park.

After leaving the park, we decided to try figuring out the tube, a system of trains used to travel across London.  Our first attempt went well; We hopped on the tube at our stop near Kensington, and hopped off at the Marble Arch.  The Marble Arch was a little smaller than we expected, but still a neat little stop.

The London Tube: Underground

The Marble Arch.

The Marble Arch is in the corner of Hyde Park, which is also the location of a few other sculptures and attractions.  Opposite Marble Arch is Speakers Corner, where speakers can talk on any topic and debate and speech on any topic can take place. This right to free speech is not limited to Speaker's Corner but provides a useful rallying point. Nobody was talking there when we visited.

After visiting the Marble Arch and Hyde Park, we decided to stop at a shop for some hot chocolate to warm up and figure out which public transportation we would use to get back home.  After charting out a route, we hopped on the underground to Shepperd's Bush, then walked across the street to get on the overground train out to Wandsworth Station.  Unfortunately, we were unaware that there are multiple Wandsworth Stations in London, and after getting off the train, realized we were quite far from home.  We asked for directions to our apartment complex, and started walking.  The walk home quickly became a brutal, high-wind, freezing rain, three-mile trek, but after a miserable, long walk, we managed to make it back safe.

Today, we decided to make it a relaxing day in, and Laura is excited to make a home cooked meal.  The entire day has been freezing rain and cold, so we have enjoyed staying inside for the day for some down time (and Bryan has been streaming March Madness games onto his laptop!).  Hopefully the weather will cooperate for the rest of our stay, as we have a lot more of the city to cover!  Otherwise, this leg of the trip will be very cold and wet.

Here's hoping for some sunshine soon!

Laura and Bryan

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After leaving Dublin, we stopped in Manchester for a few days for a little break and a look around town. We stayed in a nice little one bedroom apartment, in a neighborhood just outside of city centre. We were really impressed with ourselves when we got off the bus at the correct stop both times (a first for us this trip!)

There wasn't a lot to see in Manchester, but we enjoyed some shopping at the HUGE indoor/outdoor Arndale shopping centre, and then walked around downtown.

The Arndale Shopping Centre.

The ferris wheel in Manchester.

 We were hoping to possibly catch a football (soccer) game during our visit, but unfortunately the team wasn't playing during the few days we were there.  We were only in Manchester for two days, but it was a nice little stop on the way to London!

Cheers!

Laura and Bryan

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The amazing thing about Dublin is that once you find your way into city centre, almost everything is walking distance.  We spent a lot of time on our feet, and covered a lot of the city during our short stay!  Laura got a bunch of pictures as we walked around town, so we'll just share those so you can see some of the awesome sites!

Walking the streets of Dublin.

A street performer... he was riding a 10 foot high unicycle!

Walking around the park.

Saint Patrick's Cathedral.

The Guinness Storehouse.

The Old Jameson Distillery.

Crossing one of the many bridges over the River Liffey.

So... looking back at the Dublin bucket list we made, I think we did pretty well!



Ireland was an incredible place to visit.  Next stop: England!

Erin go bragh!

Laura and Bryan

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