Belgium: Beautiful, Miniature, Delicious, Tiring

I feel like this post just might cheer up your Monday :]

You guys are getting a RIDICULOUS amount of photos today.  I thought about making them last through the entire week and only putting up a few at a time, but that's not my style.  If I were you, I'd want to see them all at once.  So prepare for your minds to get blown by photos galore.  

(And by the way, sometimes I'll have words in the blog linked to another website; so if some words look different colored, they might be a link for you to click on.)

First, a recap of the past few days...

Thursday we went to eat dinner at Jean and Annie's house (donors for the team).  They are such nice people.  Tyrel and I went with Maxime De Zeeuw and his girlfriend, Stephanie, Bingo Merriex, Mike Singletary, and Jason Love.  Jean and Annie prepared a delicious meal for us.  We had this pureed vegetable soup to start it out (I'm not really sure what kind) and it was amazing!  They also served salad and fresh bread with it.  For the main meal we had something called vol au vent.  I really would like to make it sometime.  It's a pastry puff filled with chicken, mushrooms, and a creamy sauce.  Fantastic.  And then we had ice cream.  Always a winner.  

Saturday I went with Ty to his morning practice and hung out in the offices and finished The Night Circus.  If anyone likes fiction/fantasy books (Harry Potter, Chronicles of Narnia, etc.) you will LOVE this book.  It's not creepy or anything, but it's really good.  Anyways, I went to practice because we were going to coach's house (along with Bingo) to eat lunch with his family.  We are getting spoiled by all the great meals people have prepared for us this week.  We had stuffed chicken wrapped in bacon (I know, yum), creamy pasta, bread, and salad with Lizzy's (the youngest daughter) secret salad dressing haha They also have a really cute dog named Jack who I wanted to take with us.  

On Saturday, after we came back from lunch and I took a ridiculously long nap, we went for a walk and finally explored some new places around town we've been eyeing.  Well, to start out, we went to the store because Ty thought he might need some snacks for his road trip Sunday (game in France).  He didn't end up getting anything...but check out this coke can comparison:

 

That's a normal sized can compared to one commonly sold in stores and in restaurants here in Belgium.  I think it's a 5 ounce can.  Itty bitty!! It's almost comical how tiny it is.  My hypothesis is that people here are satisfied with a small amount of a treat and don't need it super-sized like everything we get in America.  

After the store, we walked random roads and found our way up some stairs to a high point in Verviers that we can see right outside our apartment window.  We have walked a TON of stairs this weekend...just wait and see....

Walking up....I let Ty walk in front of me because he's always all over the place :D

Green.  I guess that's one reason to appreciate all the rain here

Tiny doors!  There are a TON of doors that are extremely narrow and small here.  Tyrel thinks it's a way to make sure people stay healthy here haha 

Walking up, up, up...

Hello, Verviers!

I think we got up there at a nice time :]  Unfortunately, after the next few photos I took, my batteries died in my camera! :( I have now learned my lesson to carry many extra just in case.

Gorgeous.  You can actually see our apartment in this picture (don't be peeking in our windows!) 

Same shot, different color.

Yesterday (Sunday), Ty had another game in France.  The trip actually ended up being about 5 hours one-way! They had to be at the gym by 8:45 and leave by 9, so I really didn't see him in the morning (I like to sleep).  They won! YAY!  Ty said he had about 13 points, so that sounds good to me!  It was a really nice day so I went out into the shopping center for a little bit in the afternoon.  I was sitting on a bench and had random people come up to me and ask for cigarettes.  They probably thought I was extremely slow because I've gotten good at tuning out French and didn't even realize they were talking to me.  Too bad for them I don't partake in that.  Anyways, Ty didn't get home until about 12:30 (later than I was expecting), but he came home to a nice surprise:

Nutella Rolls 2.0  They are SO much better than the ones I made last time.  I used my normal sweet roll recipe, amped up the filling, and added a frosting glaze.  These. Are. Dangerous.  (If anyone wants the recipe let me know!) But for real, I should NOT keep these in the house.  Yes, I ate one before I could take a picture (again).  I have a sweet tooth almost as bad as my husband but with 1/5 of his patience.  Thanks, Mom, for the sweet tooth, and thanks, Dad, for the patience :D

And here's a picture of our sketchy outlet.  Most of ours look like this.  Good thing we don't have small kids running around here!

Ty found this at a convenience store.  He said they're not very good, though.  Gotta love that mature cheddar and chive!

And today, we went to Liege!  It's a bigger city (Ty said about 200,000) not far from here.  It is really pretty and nice.  We walked around the city a little bit and went to see one of their famous sites, the Montagne de Bueren.  It's a ridiculously long stair case (something like 374 steps) and is pretty well known.  We decided we'd conquer it.  I have one amazing husband who puts up with climbing crazy stairs on his off days just for me.

Getting ready to start our climb.  There was the cutest group of little elementary kids getting ready to go up!  This must be how they get them ready for nap time.

Making some ground.  As I was watching the group, I decided which kid I'd be like and which kid Ty would be like.  Ty was definitely one of the kids racing to the top of the 5 million stairs while I was one of the kids taking her sweet time and falling down on steps.  Luckily, Ty now appreciates walking slow and we stayed together the whole time (and I didn't fall) 

Random door. haha I'm also the kid that stops to take pictures of random things.

Stillllll climbing.

They have benches set up along the way to take breaks or to enjoy the view.

• These guys were kind of jogging up.  I'm glad I didn't have to do that!  It was was an extremely nice day here, too.  Sunny and 75.  That's pretty warm for Belgium.

At the top of the stairs this sign was posted.  It was built in 1875 in memory of Vincent de Bueren.

This was a little ways up the street after we climbed the Montagne de Bueren.  More stairs!

Overlooking Liege.

People practicing in a nearby park

Yes, I look a little sweaty and gross.  I just walked 400 stairs!

On our descend down the long stairs, Ty spotted someone's tree house :]

We walked around the city a little bit more, but I didn't want to do TOO much on Tyrel's off day.  I had already made him climb over 400 stairs, so we didn't stay too long.

Random sign on a building in the street.  Not sure what it's really about...but how lovely to have guns and people.

I saw this little opening and peered inside.  I wasn't sure if we could go in so I didn't stay long.

Just long enough to snap a few photos :]

One of the public V.C.'s (water closets....bathrooms) that you have to pay to use.  No children under 10 allowed and you have a maximum of 20 minutes to use it. haha

Sorry this is kind of blurry, but I was being really creepy taking a picture and these people kept looking at me.  BUT, if you look on the roof, those people are tending to their GARDEN.  Very cool.

Another health-meter.  The smallest alleyways and walkways.

The Meuse River. Gorgeous.

Not really sure what this is, but I thought it was beautiful!

Belgium is really growing on me.  I'm curious as to what the winter is going to be like, though.  Hopefully, it's not extreme like Kansas and will maintain some of its beauty.

I hope you all have enjoyed this blog and crazy amount of photos!  It took sooo long to download them all today.  I went and made homemade pasta while I was waiting.  I'm going to try out a new recipe from my favorite blog (How Sweet It Is); I'll let you all know how it goes.  Since I gave you so much to look at today, don't hate me if I don't have much to talk about the rest of the week!  

Lots of love.  

Games, Sugar, Circuses

Happy Thursday!  It's almost the weekend!

Last night Ty had another game at home.  They played a team from Holland (I think) that they had played earlier in the season.  THEY WON! YAY.  Tyrel had around 14 points and a handful of assists.  It's still weird to see him out there with "13" on his jersey instead of "14".  I brought a couple of French books with me to look through before the game.  I'm hoping I'll naturally absorb some French just by being around it...but I doubt that's going to happen.  Anyways, a lot of people associated with the team come talk to me during the games and it's really nice to feel so welcomed here.  One guy associated with the team introduced me to his little daughter (probably around 7 or 8...I'm bad at guessing ages, though) and she was soo cute.  It was kind of funny because I don't know much French and she doesn't know a whole lot of English so we had to use very basic phrases (all I can do).  During the game she was sitting' next to a friend and they were practicing phrases like "My name is..." and "How are you"; so cute!  I'm so used to being around people and not being able to understand a single word they say that when I actually DO hear someone speaking English my ears perk right up.  I could probably pick up English being spoken a mile away.

I'm pretty excited because I get to come home in November for two weeks!  My brother is having a wedding reception and I couldn't be happier that I'll be able to go.  I'm sad I'll have to leave Ty here by himself, though.  I might have to cook up some meals and freeze them so he doesn't have to survive on sandwiches alone.  He'll also need to learn how to use the washing machine.  Poor guy.  

Anyways, I found powder sugar at the store last time we went.  Now you'll know why I had a hard time finding it.

That box is compared to a normal-sized tobasco bottle.  I think that's enough powder sugar to be able to frost one whole cupcake ;] haha You'd think I'd be able to find an industrial-sized one over here with all the waffles they eat.  I did see a huge bag of table salt the size of a large dog food bag.  Not really sure why a person would buy that much salt at one time.

Tonight we're going to eat dinner at the house of some donors.  These are the same people that had the whole team over for a barbecue.  They have a few players come over and eat throughout the whole year.  They really make an effort to get to know everyone which is really great.  

Tyrel has another game on Sunday in France, again.  The game is a lot earlier than the last one and they will probably leave in the morning.  I'm glad it's not another late game; hopefully, he'll get home at a decent time.  I think this is the last "friendly" game before the regular season starts in October.  

I started reading "Night Circus" and it is really interesting.  I think I'm going to like this book a lot.  It's kind of weird but it's definitely up my alley since I'm a crazy Harry Potter freak :D  I'm not that far into it but it has really held my attention so far.

Hope you all have a great weekend!  

Lots of love.

Games, Candy, Carnivals, Care Packages

Hello, friends!  Monday, again.  Another week to conquer. 


Where did we leave off last week?  Wednesday?  I'm totally not on top of my game anymore :s 


Last Thursday Ty had a game in France that they won.  YAY!  I think the bus ride was about 4 hours long and he got back around 2:30ish so I was definitely asleep.  I can barely remember letting him into the apartment; completely out of it.  Yesterday they had their first home game and it was also fan day; unfortunately, they lost.  Everyone here associated with the team has been incredibly kind and welcoming to me.  It's very nice that a lot of them can speak some English and I can talk to people at the games.  I sat next to the coach's wife and children and they are very nice.  I met them at the barbecue we had a couple of weeks ago.  Also, Mike Singletary said his wife might be coming this week.  I'm pretty happy about that.  I was thrilled to watch Tyrel play, again.  I haven't really seen him play since last April (other than the benefit game he played in this summer).  Here are some of the pictures I took at the game: 

Miniature dancers/cheerleaders!  They were sooo cute. 

It's funny to see all the kids get out and play on the court before and after the game and at half time.  There were even teeny tiny kids out there!

The Voo Dancers lined up for the player introductions.

Some action shots.

Ty in there doing his thing.

One thing that stood out to me was that they start out shooting on opposite sides than in college in the States.  For the first half you shoot on the side of your bench and then switch to the opposite side the second half (I guess like the NBA).

It will definitely take some getting used to when watching this style of basketball.  I don't really know how to explain it, but it's a lot different than what I'm used to seeing.  The shorter shot clock definitely has something to do with it, and it's a very physical game out there.

Here's a picture of Ty's bus:

They roll big time in the Mercedes charter bus.

Last Thursday when Ty had his game in France, I made some comfort food.  Baked-potato soup and homemade artisan bread. 

This is the EASIEST bread you will ever make.  A lot of people are scared and intimidated about making yeast bread, and I think this is a really great starter recipe.  There's virtually no kneading; pretty much add ingredients, stir, rise, and bake.  It isn't the fluffiest, lightest bread, but it is amazing with a bowl of soup or some pasta.  It's really basic and you could add anything you want to it.  Next time, I may add some Italian seasoning and garlic.  I warn you about the steam, though!  You put a baking dish full of water in the oven while baking this to create steam and a crispy crust.  When you open the oven door, let the steam rush out before you stick your hand in!  I got a nasty steam burn on my fingers and it does NOT feel good.  

This soup is exactly what I think of when I imagine baked-potato soup.  I hate when you go to a restaurant and order potato soup and it's really like a bowl of lumpy mashed potatoes.  I caramelized the onions instead of just sauteing them and I think it added a nice depth to the soup.  And instead of regular broth, I used chicken bouillon and water since it's easier to find over here (and cheaper).  Baking the potatoes before you put them in the soup and letting them warm up is a big plus.  By doing this, I feel it keeps the soup from getting too starchy and lets the potatoes keep their shape.  So when the weather is cool and rainy, make soup and bread!

Right after I posted my cinnamon rolls last week, I found a link for cinnamon roll baked oatmeal.  I should probably settle for that route instead of the real cinnamon rolls most days of the week; it seems to be a little bit more of a healthier decision.  

And more about food.....the ice cream place we go to is really good.  And every time we go there the same guy helps us...but the funny thing is that the price changes EVERY time we've gone!  And we get the same thing.  Maybe they just go off of whatever they feel like charging that day.  We usually get a scoop of ice cream in a cup with whipped cream and a wafer cookie.  The whipped cream is ridiculously good.  The first time we went, it was €1, 18; the second time it was only €0,80; and this time it was €1,50!!!  I have no clue why the price keeps changing.  Maybe they have ice cream happy hours or something.  

So Tyrel LOVES candy.  It's a crazy scary love.  I find wrappers all over the house.  He's like a little sugar fiend.  

Empty liter soda bottle sitting on top of the remnants of two waffles with nutella.

You can't really tell...but another soda bottle and he has candy wrappers all around him on the couch.

Quickly trying to hide the evidence as I was taking a picture.

It doesn't help that his stock of candy tremendously multiplied today with the arrival of a care package!  Our parents put together some stuff we needed/forgot and stuff we miss over here.  Tyrel's goods include a large variety of candy while mine was cooking/baking essentials.  We were SOOO excited to finally have the package arrive.  Poor Ty had to carry the awkwardly big 30 pound box from the post office to our apartment :s 

So excited we finally have it :] 

Ty digging in.  I let him handle opening the box with our dull knife.

Got some of his KU gear shipped over :]

Some goods for me!!!

Thanks, mom!  Got a Women's Health and some Jillian to keep me motivated over here.

Maybe I can brush up on some French so I can talk to people :D

FOOOOOD 

Yay for cooking supplies!!! (and contacts) I got some bowls, knives, spoons, disposable baking dishes, my apron, and oven mitts.  

Tyrel's newly acquired candy stash.  I think he's a little bit spoiled.

Thank you very much to our parents who sent us lots of items we needed (especially the compact umbrella)!  

There has also been a carnival going on outside of our apartment.  It started September 9th and goes on until the 20th.  I took some pictures of it; mostly everything looks the same as the ones we have.

This was pretty cool and this kids were super cute when trying to move around in the giant balls!

He was a pro.

Tyrel sucked in by the bright colors and lights ;]

Definitely in Europe...soccer balls instead of basketballs.

And here's a random picture I took in the middle of the shopping area.  Sometimes I go here and hang out and people watch during the day.  When it's warm, the kids like to play around in the water that shoots up.

I've been contemplating what book I want to pick up next.  Ones I've been looking at are Night Circus, My Name is Memory, and One Day.  I'll probably end up reading all of them sooner or later.  Night Circus just looks REALLY interesting.  If you have any suggestions let me know!

Have a great week :]  Lots of love.