Going Back Home

I was in Japan last 10 days. It has been a wonderful stay. Enjoyed all good food and meeting with family and friends. Now ready to go back home. I will be back here soon.

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Downtown Utrecht

This is the famous church and downtown is structured surrounding it. A lot of shops and restaurants. It is still summer sale season, but I have been good not to buy many things.

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Weekend in Utrecht

This weekend I gave up to drive 2 hours but just 30 minutes. It is located south of Amsterdam. Chilly here but a lot of flowers in the market.

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Summer in Haarlem

It has been really cool in the Netherlands, especially after coming back from NYC where we had close to 100 degree days.
It has been rainy here as well but if you are lucky you can get blue sky like this. I prefer cool weather over hot so I am OK with this as long as I can get decent sun exposure.

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At JFK

Spent three days in NYC and now I am already back at the airport. Ready for another two weeks stay in Amsterdam...

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Driving the Netherlands

Some people don't know how it looks outside of city, such as Amsterdam in the Netherlands, so this is a typical view - nothing but GREEN. It reminds me Hokkaido in Japan, even though I personally have never been there. It is very flat so you can see everything and roads tend to be straight. There are no cows in this picture but you can see cows everywhere when you drive.

Another feature I would say is the fact that there are a lot of OPEN bridges over rivers and canals. You just need to be patient when it opens and closes. It is fun first time, but not so much after that.

Today's Lunch

I know it is not technically lunch, but this is what I ate for lunch. This is from a fancy chocolate store. Berries were really fresh, and macaroons were really good. Haven't seen this many varieties.

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Beautiful Days in Brussels

I start the day with this usually at this hotel. I have been at this hotel already several times, so I know what they serve. Try to be healthy by having as much as vegetable even though there are several slices of smoked salmon. Blue cheese is like a spread for the bread as it is very creamy. Now I need to go to the gym to burn some calories before having lunch or snack.

This is Brussels famous corner where at least 10 chocolate stores are located. I simply call it "the chocolate heaven". I have not tried all of them but at least a few. It ranges from moderately to extremely expensive, yet cheaper than buying in Japan I assume.

Good or bad, it is a SALE weekend here in Brussels, and almost all the brands have reduced the price from 30 - 50%. I did not prepare for this, but when I came back to the hotel room, I had an extra bag full with some clothes.
I skipped a big lunch and just snaked from Paul - French bakery you can see everywhere in Paris but only a few in Brussels. Yum yum.
Overall a great weekend in Brussels. Oh wait, I still have a half day here and I am planing to go to a pastry to have a nice European cake.