Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Anna, Julie, Michael and I went up to Amsterdam to ring in the New Year. It was quite a party. The main square (Dam Square … as in the device to hold back water), which was the epicenter of a massive party.
We arrived with only minutes left in 2007.

The crazy thing about the party is that the fireworks display wasn’t organized … it was individuals lighting their own pyrotechnic displays.

The live music was nice too.

The countdown began…


Happy 2008!!!




It seems that the digital camera has become the new lighter.


Anna and Julie trying to stay warm.

Julie and Michael.

The streets were quite crowded.

A couple of revelers.

This is how many fireworks were set off. Neither champagne nor fireworks seemed to be lacking that night.



This is the only daytime image we have of the canals, but it was fun to wander around this laid-back city again.

The next day we went up to Brussels. This is the Grand Place, one of the most picturesque squares in Europe (that we’ve seen thus far).



Here is Belgium’s understated national monument again, the Manneken Pis.

I think they may have enjoyed the waffles more than the 17th century statue that used to distribute fresh water.

The last day of Julie and Michael’s visit, we showed them our favorite places in Luxembourg. One of the most poignant is of course the American Military Cemetery and Memorial that provides a final resting place for over 5,000 American servicemen from WWII.

That concluded our time on this trip. It was great to spend so much quality time with Julie and our soon to be newest member of our family.
So, until the next adventure…
–Jim