Typical American

Ok, time to wrap up this little road trip and get back to the real world.  Despite the 12 hour flight and hassles of international travel, I had a great trip over in Belgium and London, I only wish I had more time.  While I may grumble and gripe about the headaches, I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity to travel for the company and try to take them in stride.  We are already making plans for our 2012 audits and, while most are closer to home (California, New York, Texas, Minnesota), there is possible trip to the Philippines that looks like it has my name on it (just so looking forward to 22+ hours travel time?).  I guess I'll worry about that later.  


In the meanwhile, I am trying to gear up for the holidays.  Only 22 days until Christmas.  Lights to hang, tree to put up, cards to write, gifts to buy, dinners to plan/attend.  


A few more shots from the road...

The Queen says hi!

Not sure who he represents

And of course, what's London without the buses?

Fish and Chips

Wooden ties?  Did I miss a fashion trend?

Kwak Beer (Belgium)
You know it's good beer when you have to serve it in its own special glass/handle contraption

Waffle girl

Belgian Waffle

Side note:  whenever I travel to a different city (domestic or international), I strive to be on my best behavior.  After my years in the military, I've seen a few "ugly Americans" and I try not to be too annoying (key word is "too").  I try to adopt to the local customs, eat the local food, drink the local brews.  When I finally got around to ordering a Belgian Waffle, the young lady offered up an array of toppings and I chose simple, whipped cream and chocolate.  Now here is where I lost some points (in her eyes).  She offered up to use either 1) dark Belgian chocolate or 2) Nutella.  Since I have never had Nutella and somebody had mentioned it earlier, I chose the latter, just so I can say I had it.  From her response, I think I insulted her.  I might as well have ordered it with ketchup.  It was really good (totally meaningless calories) but next time I will stick with the Belgian toppings.