Mons and Pairi Daiza
Last week for Spring Break we went on a trip to Belgium. Jared had to be there for some training so we booked a slightly larger hotel room than he would have needed had he gone alone, packed up the car, and set out to explore and have some fun. We left on Jared's birthday so I'm afraid he didn't get quite the celebration he deserves this year. I guess we'll just have to make it up to him next year! When we got to the hotel, we found that our "family room" wasn't exactly meant for our family. There were enough beds for four of us, so the girls spent the week trading off sleeping on the floor. However, our room did have a kitchen complete with a two-burner stove and a dishwasher. I always appreciate having the ability to cook when we're on vacation because it saves so much money and sometimes I just want to spend the evening in my pajamas after being out sightseeing all day.
I struggled for most of the week because they speak French there and French and I really don't get along. I know how to say hello, good-bye, thank you, and fast. I can also say excuse me, count to three, and ask if someone speaks English or what time it is. I wouldn't understand their response if I asked for the time, but I could at least ask. That's all the French I remember from the one year I took in high school! All I wanted was for everyone to speak English or German but that was often hard to find. Overall, Belgium was really nice. The people were friendly, the scenery was beautiful, the food was delicious (waffles! chocolate! french fries!) and we found plenty of things to occupy our time.
Our first full day there we loaded up on the carb-heavy hotel breakfast, said good-bye to Jared, and set out for the day. Before we left I had researched a few places to go and things to see and was happy to learn that one of them, the town of Mons, was just 15 minutes down the road. I wanted to take the girls to the Natural History Museum. I didn't realize that in Belgium, like in Germany, things like museums are often closed on Monday. It was disappointing to finally find the museum and not be able to go inside and look around. Instead we started walking towards the Grand Place, or main square, to find the tourist information office. Besides assuming that someone there would speak English, I hoped they might have some suggestions of another activity or sights would be interesting to kids. They did speak English and they were very friendly, but their suggestions were for things that we can do easily enough here - a swimming pool and a large indoor play place. I decided it might be interesting to just look around the downtown area for a little while.
The fountain in the Grand Place was a lot of fun for all of us because of the way the water would randomly come shooting out of the ground. We spent at least twenty minutes playing in and around the fountain.
This small monkey statue was on the town hall. The legend is that rubbing his head will bring you good luck. was easy to see that lots of people have hoped to leave Mons with a little good luck. The monkey's head was shiny and smooth, especially when compared to the rest of him.
The church in Mons was also on my list of things we might like to see and I thought that even on a Monday the church would be open. I was wrong again bu the walk we took to get to the church took us on a pretty nice circular route that dropped us almost right next to our car so it wasn't such a bad thing. The church was big and beautiful even from the outside.
Worried that our first day was going to be a total bust, I thought it might be a good idea to go to a surefire fun place, Pairi Daiza. We had two different people recommend this zoo to us before we left and it was almost exactly halfway between Mons and our hotel. I wasn't sure if I wanted to take the girls there because I felt as if it was kind of overpriced (25 Euro each) for a zoo, but it was so much more than a zoo. It was 140 acres of zoo and wildlife preserve and is actually the second most popular tourist attraction in Belgium. The weather was beautiful all day - sunny but not too hot- and the girls and I had a great time.
At the beginning of the park there was a petting zoo. There was the regular stuff - goats, sheep, chickens, and pigs - but what the girls (especially Samantha) loved were the horses.
Part of the park is a large building called the Oasis. Walking into the Oasis I could feel a wall of humidity and smell tropical flowers. It reminded me of when we stepped of the plane after moving to Hawaii. The Oasis was filled with fish, birds, reptiles, and monkeys and pretty much anything else you might find in a rain forest. It was set up with paths winding around and bridges crossing this way and that. There was even a rope bridge suspended over the whole entire building. The layout made the whole place even more interesting to explore. We had to back track a few times to make sure we'd seen everything.
This is Emily playing in the meerkat habitat. It was set up so you could walk underground and peek out of these little domes so you could see the animals right next to you.
There were a lot of things like this giant tortoise shell scattered here and there. The girls had fun climbing around and I heard "Mom, take my picture!" a lot. I also have pictures of the girls on elephant and rhino statues as well as one with Emily's head inside the mouth of a stone alligator (or maybe it was a crocodile? I really don't know how to tell them apart!)
We were happy to see this gigantic indoor playground tucked away in one corner of the Oasis. It gave Madison and I a chance to sit down and map out our route through the park and everyone else a chance to run and play. Natalie loved pretending to be a spider in this big rope net.
Here we are at about the halfway point of the bridge. Notice the map Madison is holding? Natalie got a little scared here and there, but we kept her moving with the promise that there was a huge playground at the other end.
The playground was seriously amazing. There were huge rope structures to climb on (if you look closely you can see the in the background here - they're the red tent shaped things), the craziest teeter totters I've ever seen, slides, swings, and THIS lovely section where all the equipment was people powered. We all loved this big spinning thing. Natalie and Abigail weren't quite big enough to make it work, but Emily and I really got it moving!
The park has been built on the grounds of an old Benedictine Abbey so in addition to the newer buildings, there are also lots of crumbling down ruins that they incorporated into the park exhibits. I don't think this is from the days when the Abbey was here; but I loved that all the trash cans had this funny little guy on top.
One thing that Madison really wanted to make time for before we went back to the hotel was a fish pedicure. I told her it could be our last stop of the day and, as she had all day, she helped us find our way there easily. In the end, Madison, Abigail, and Samantha wanted to get a pedicure. So we paid, they washed their feet, and went into the little pool area where all the little fish were waiting to nibble on their feet. Once Abby and Sam saw the fish swarming to Madison's feet they didn't like the idea of a pedicure anymore, but Madison kept her feet in for the entire 15 minutes.
It was really a great first day, even if things weren't open in the morning. We finally made it back to the hotel at dinnertime, exhausted and ready to tell Jared all about our day. Then it was bathtime and bedtime for the little ones and some much needed rest for my poor tired feet.
I struggled for most of the week because they speak French there and French and I really don't get along. I know how to say hello, good-bye, thank you, and fast. I can also say excuse me, count to three, and ask if someone speaks English or what time it is. I wouldn't understand their response if I asked for the time, but I could at least ask. That's all the French I remember from the one year I took in high school! All I wanted was for everyone to speak English or German but that was often hard to find. Overall, Belgium was really nice. The people were friendly, the scenery was beautiful, the food was delicious (waffles! chocolate! french fries!) and we found plenty of things to occupy our time.
Our first full day there we loaded up on the carb-heavy hotel breakfast, said good-bye to Jared, and set out for the day. Before we left I had researched a few places to go and things to see and was happy to learn that one of them, the town of Mons, was just 15 minutes down the road. I wanted to take the girls to the Natural History Museum. I didn't realize that in Belgium, like in Germany, things like museums are often closed on Monday. It was disappointing to finally find the museum and not be able to go inside and look around. Instead we started walking towards the Grand Place, or main square, to find the tourist information office. Besides assuming that someone there would speak English, I hoped they might have some suggestions of another activity or sights would be interesting to kids. They did speak English and they were very friendly, but their suggestions were for things that we can do easily enough here - a swimming pool and a large indoor play place. I decided it might be interesting to just look around the downtown area for a little while.
The fountain in the Grand Place was a lot of fun for all of us because of the way the water would randomly come shooting out of the ground. We spent at least twenty minutes playing in and around the fountain.
This small monkey statue was on the town hall. The legend is that rubbing his head will bring you good luck. was easy to see that lots of people have hoped to leave Mons with a little good luck. The monkey's head was shiny and smooth, especially when compared to the rest of him.
Worried that our first day was going to be a total bust, I thought it might be a good idea to go to a surefire fun place, Pairi Daiza. We had two different people recommend this zoo to us before we left and it was almost exactly halfway between Mons and our hotel. I wasn't sure if I wanted to take the girls there because I felt as if it was kind of overpriced (25 Euro each) for a zoo, but it was so much more than a zoo. It was 140 acres of zoo and wildlife preserve and is actually the second most popular tourist attraction in Belgium. The weather was beautiful all day - sunny but not too hot- and the girls and I had a great time.
At the beginning of the park there was a petting zoo. There was the regular stuff - goats, sheep, chickens, and pigs - but what the girls (especially Samantha) loved were the horses.
Part of the park is a large building called the Oasis. Walking into the Oasis I could feel a wall of humidity and smell tropical flowers. It reminded me of when we stepped of the plane after moving to Hawaii. The Oasis was filled with fish, birds, reptiles, and monkeys and pretty much anything else you might find in a rain forest. It was set up with paths winding around and bridges crossing this way and that. There was even a rope bridge suspended over the whole entire building. The layout made the whole place even more interesting to explore. We had to back track a few times to make sure we'd seen everything.
Madison was our navigator for the entire day. She took charge of the park map and helped us find our way around the humongous park. Without her we wouldn't have been able to see half of the things we did that day. She's amazingly good at reading and following a map!
I really wanted to find our way to the giant rope bridge that would take us from one end of the park to the other. This picture is of Madison and I after she led us directly to the foot of the bridge! Besides being fun to cross, it was a handy shortcut through the Japanese gardens. By crossing above them we were able to see them without spending a ton of time actually walking through them.
One thing that Madison really wanted to make time for before we went back to the hotel was a fish pedicure. I told her it could be our last stop of the day and, as she had all day, she helped us find our way there easily. In the end, Madison, Abigail, and Samantha wanted to get a pedicure. So we paid, they washed their feet, and went into the little pool area where all the little fish were waiting to nibble on their feet. Once Abby and Sam saw the fish swarming to Madison's feet they didn't like the idea of a pedicure anymore, but Madison kept her feet in for the entire 15 minutes.
It was really a great first day, even if things weren't open in the morning. We finally made it back to the hotel at dinnertime, exhausted and ready to tell Jared all about our day. Then it was bathtime and bedtime for the little ones and some much needed rest for my poor tired feet.
Wow! This sounds amazing!
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