Better late than never

Well, it's been seven months since we moved to Brussels and despite promising to keep friends and family up to date with our movements, this is the first (of many!) blog posts.  Chris and I were discussing how our poor Brussel Sprout (now just 7 weeks until his/her due date!) will have been to so many places, both as a fetus and infant, and most likely will remember nothing.  We were laughing about a future conversation with Sprout where they ask to visit Madrid, Rome or Paris- when we remind them that they've already been there, sorry!  So, if nothing else, Sprout can read all about its early adventures here one day.  I'll try to recap some main events

Pictured here is the Sprout at around one or two weeks old (in fact we didn't know even know it existed!) at the gardens down by the Grand Place in Brussels. First Belgian lesson: it's important to bring many items with you on a day out including multiple layers of clothing, umbrella, sunglasses, sunscreen- weather can change dramatically and quickly!
One of the first big adventures for the three of us was our trip to Sorrento, Naples and Capri.  We went at the end of October and were thrilled that this time of year was warm, sunny and crowd free!  We stayed in a hotel built literally into a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean sea.

Chris standing outside (on top of) our hotel

Most delicious pizza, and sun!

The baths at Pompeii

We also spent a day exploring the miles of ancient ruins of Pompeii which was preserved when Mount Vesuvius erupted and blanketed the city, freezing it in time.  You could walk inside what were the houses, marketplaces, baths and temples- totally amazing!  We just loved our short trip to Italy, the Sprout was very well behaved (around 11 weeks) and allowed me enjoy pizza, pasta and of course GELATO without too many of its first trimester antics.

Picasso's Guernica

Chris taking us for a ride in Retiro Park

 November in Brussels was very chilly and rainy so we headed south again, this time to Madrid.  This was a work trip for Chris, so the Sprout and I did a little exploring of our own- just loved the Reina Sophia art museum and the architecture in general of the city.  On the weekend we checked out the Royal Palace, Retiro Park and the Prado museum- stopping for tapas everywhere we could! Lots of jambon was consumed!