Return to the Magic Kingdom

After a busy summer break, it came time to fly back to Saudi, alone, as kids and hubby were staying behind for another week.  So, 3 flights and 2 layovers later, I arrived late last night at the villa and was glad to see our little kitty cat Gumbeaux alive and well, extremely happy to see me, purring and licking proving that!
The house was hot...probably close to 100 F/40 C inside when I entered.  We only had one AC unit running for the cat, which turns out not to be enough to cool the whole place in such high summer temperatures.  The floor felt sandy, the wooden side tables were covered with a thin film of sand (and cat's paw prints for some), the water in the toilet bowls had totally evaporated, the back door in the laundry room had piles of sand and ants all over who all came from the crack under the door and the dryer vent. 
So, at around 10:45 last night, I started vacuuming the floors, dusting the tables and mopping like a mad woman.  Eventually I had to go to bed and tried to fall asleep.  Not an easy task when you are jetlagged with 8 hours difference, and ahhh, before I knew it the alarm woke me up! 
Work from 9 to 3, then return home and on to another task: the car!  Of course, after sitting under the canopy for 2 months, the car battery was dead! OUr neighbor Sammy tried to jump it to no avail....We pushed the car on the street then workers pushed it to get it started, down a little side street.  We were trying to get it to crank up. There, Sammy got his cables again and ran it for 15 minutes...eventually it sta...rted. So, to make sure it wouldn't die, I drove around the compound for about 20 minutes, since I am not allowed to drive on the streets.  I even took the car outside between the walls and the fence! The army guys in their watch towers and the security guys at the front gate were looking at me driving around and laughing when they realised what was happening!  One of the army dudes even came out of his place to check it out! 
Then, after all that pushing, waiting, cranking, I did the most refreshing thing I could think about: carwash, with hot water coming straight from the water tank!  You should have seen how filthy the car was...Red sand all over. I had to clean the street afterwards!
Just now, some compound workers just delivered a NEW (at least to us) TV that lets us get over 35 channels, even Nat Geo and History channels.

Who said the compound was dead??? We had some excitement today! 

Summer vacation 2010

What a wirlwind of adventures we've had this summer.  We left the Kindgom on July 6th at 12:35 AM en route to Paris, from where we took a TGV train to Belgium to visit with my family and friends over there...  The day we arrived in Namur, the Tour de France was passing through and we had the chance to see the commercial caravan as well as the peloton wizzing through in less time it took to say "Look, here's the Tour de France".  Since the city was closed down, my parents met us at the train station, we put all our bags into the car my dad had parked the night before and we spent the afternoon watching the Caravan, getting some little souvenirs, even grabbing a Tour de France Souvenir bag.

Over the next two weeks, we saw many family members and friends, having dinners and parties here and there.  The children showed amazing adaptability and blended in with all the cousins and friends.  Throughout our stay Belgium was hit by an unsual heatwave and had us begging for AC!  My parents' converted attic where we slept was very hot but we pulled through and were able to enjoy the beautiful Belgian heat and sun..Not many times can you say that about Belgian weather!

Among the highlights was the visit with my cousin Vincianne of Liege and climbing over 360 steps to reach the citadel.  After this climb, we had a well-dereved mid-morning Aperitif at the reknowed Maison du Pequet, the oldest continuously opened cafe/bar since the 18th century.  For lunch we had the typical Boulet Frites (meatball in the yummiest sauce and fries) and Potee (green beans, bacon, potatoes and pork sausage).  We ended the afternoon behind the cathedral at the Village Gaulois with a refreshing drink.  Unfortunately this whole set-up was destoyed the next day by heavy winds and rains.

We also did the tourist tour of Bruxelles with a viewing of the world famous Manneken Pis and lunch in one of the narrow tourist streets.  This statue of a little boy has since several centuries been a major tourist attraction in the city.

Nobody actually knows why the manneken is there. He is believed to be nothing more than a decoration on top of a fountain, where people in the Middle-Ages came to get fresh water. Already in the 15th century a fountain called 'manneken-pis' existed in Rue de l'étuve. The official origin can be traced back to the 13th of August 1619 when the city ordered the sculptor Jerome Duquesnoy to make a new bronze statue of manneken-pis to replace an old and withered one. During the course of the centuries our little manneken has often been hidden to protect him against bombs of invading armies. He has also been stolen several times by plundering soldiers at times of conflict. Oftentimes, the Manneken-Pis gets a makeover from his wardrobe of more than 600 costumes.   He received his first costume on May the 1st 1698 by the governor of the Austrian Netherlands.  Nowadays he still receives new gear when folklorist groups visiting Brussels. There are many legends about the Manneken. According to one of them a little boy had watered against the door of a witch who lived where the fountain now stands. The witch was so angry that she turned the little boy into a statue. Another legend says that a man had lost his little son. He found the child after two days near the place where now the fountain of manneken-pis can be seen. When the father spotted his child, the latter was peeing. As a token of gratitude the father had the fountain with a statue of a peeing boy constructed.  I've also heard the legend of the little boy rescuing Brussels from a fire by peeing on it!  So as you can see, many legends surround this little guy!

On Saturdays one of our favorite things to do is just go to the market and see all the goods offered.  Kids also love to go as it always provides them opportunities to see small pets, goats, rabbits and poultry as well as get a pack of some delicious candy! 


 
 

So, after two weeks in Belgium we headed back to the States, in two shifts.  As we were all waiting to board the Atlanta-bound plane, an announcement looking for volunteers to give up their seats was made.  Worth and Emma decided to stay an extra night in Paris while Alex and I headed back to the States.  Unfortunately it took them two days to get back due to flight delays and missing the last connection... and they arrived just in time for the big Welcome Home party thrown by some of our Clinton friends...we must have been over 50 people at this Pigapolouza, with Cajun microwave pig, lots of pork goods and other yummy treats.  We had so much fun and are thankful to have such friends celebrating our return!
 
Over the next few weeks we visited with many friends, having breakfast, lunches and/or dinners at homes or restaurants...all those not very good for our waistlines!  We did a quick visit to see the family and cousins in Dallas, TX.  We also invaded Granny's house with all of our luggage for the length of our stay, although we tried to stay out of the house for various lengths of time.

One of Worth's favorite activities is playing golf with his regular game on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.  'The Rat Pack' game is a high stakes golf game wich deals out good chances to needle each other and play golf.  All of the Rat Packers were anxious for Worth to hit it in the bunkers since they just knew his sand game was so much better after living in Saudi Arabia.  Worth got the last laugh though when he won the Club Championship division all of his friends were playing.  He even was able to get some new clubs courtsey of his Mom for his 40th birthday.
 

Kids also had their share of fun, including a weeklong stay at World Disney World, in Orlando, Florida, as their Christmas and birthday present from their Granny.  Their Tante Elaine, my sister in law, planned the trip, organized their days and took them with her.  They came back loaded with Disney souvenirs, ranging from the traditional Mickey Ear Hats to a pin collection for Emma and a pressed pennies collection for Alex.  The kids thoroughly enjoyed their week in the Magic Kingdom.  Emma even swam with sharks and Alex rode a submarine!  They also prepared their authograph's books and brought them back full of signatures.  All in all, they will never forget their first time at Disney, having been able to enjoy all the rides, seeing all the sights. 

Thanks again to Tante Elaine for taking them to Orlando....as it allowed us to book a trip to a all-incluse resort in Montego Bay, Jamaica!  And what a trip that was!  Never had we taken such a luxurious vacation:  all inclusive in the land of rum and good times.  We spent our days at the pools, on the beach, snorkeling, kayaking, Hobi riding, biking...  We also went off the reservation and enjoyed a day trip to the hills where we tubed down the Great River and took a trip down a series of zip lines.  This was a first for both of us, wearing all the safety gear to glide safely from ropes hanging in the trees and above the river.  That was one of the coolest way to see the area trees and vegetation...

All in all, this was a summer to remember, busy as can be and full of adventures.  In two days, I'm heading back to the Magic Kindgom and will be followed by the rest of the family a few days later.