Earning our keep

Yes, we are actually doing something productive over here. We've moved into our flat in downtown Brussles (Port de Namur to be exact). Andy and Ryan started work this week at Imerys (Imerys.com) and Erin is reporting to the GE Brussels office. Our flat is great - only a 10 minute walk to the Grand Plaza, with tons of bars and restaurants.

The best news to report is that Ryan and Andy found their office without a map on Thursday. Yes, it took us four days to pull this off. Sunday it took 2 hours to find it - now it only takes 30 minutes. All the signs are either in Flemish/Dutch or French, or both; in the rare instance that there are actually signs posted. Additionally, there are no apparent rules or guidelines for driving - you just make it up as you go - except there is no right turn on red? I now understand why Stefan drives the way he does.

Everyone at the office has been really nice and Brussels has proved to be enjoyable. Andy's cousin, Amy, lives here, so we have benefited from her guidance in finding places to sample the 800+ Belgian beers.

Oh, another minor victory today - we figured out how to dispose of our trash. Great success!

Also today, Andy and Ryan got to visit the Imerys terminal in Antwerp (1 hour north of Brussels). Antwerp is a great little port town - very industrial, yet quaint at the same time. It turns out the trains are much better labled and far easier to use than driving!

Although the locals aren't quite as nice as the Irish (actually, the French are rude) week one of the internship has been a success. This weekend we are doing some domestic travel: Bruge, Gent, etc. We will post pictures and stories on Sunday.

Cheers!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

When Irish Eyes Are Smiling

After London we jumped over the Irish Sea to the Green Isle. Fairly appropriate place for three kids with names like Andy Mc, Ryan, and Erin - which litteraly translates in Gaelic to "Ireland".

We landed in Dublin, grabbed a car with the steering wheel on the right, learned to shift gears with our left hand, and headed west for Galway. Less than an hour into the trip we stopped for lunch and saw our first place named 'Ryan'. We finally reached Galway, found a B&B, dropped our bags, and headed for the pubs. Eventually we stumbled into a Pub with live music and finished off the night belting out "Galway Girl" with the band.

The next morning we got on the road and headed south to the Cliffs of Moehr. It was a classic rainy Irish day and the Cliffs were amazing. We eventually made our way down to Kilarny, and bunked up at Murphy's Inn. We arrived just in time to watch the Champions League Final (soccer) with Manchester United facing off against Chelsea - the first all English final. Everyone in the pub was Man-U fans, so we joined in the support. Andy and Ryan tried to inject some American sports culture by "Drinking the Cycle" during the match. The Cycle (from Baseball) includes a pint of Guinness, Murphy's, Smithwicks, and Harp (and then we added in a pint Killkenny just for good measure).

After rolling out of Murphy's in the morning, we headed back towards the west. Lunch time found us in the village of Blarney. Apparently there is some famous stone here? Anyway, we kissed it and headed on to Waterford. Erin and Andy went nuts in Waterford. Amazing to think that crystal could be so expensive! After draining our bank accounts, we headed a little farther on north to Kilkenny - home of Smithwick's and Kilkenny breweries and the Medevil capital of Ireland. We stayed at a very quaint B&B and enjoyed our last night in the Pubs.

Our quick tour of Ireland was coming to an end, but not before a tour of the Guinness brewery on our way to the airport. We learned the history and heritage, but most importantly we had one final, fresh pint of black gold!

In summary, Ireland was unbelievable. Some of the nicest people and most beautiful country we have ever encountered - from the rolling hills, to the sheep and farms, to the impressive castles.

Slainte!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

More to come..

That's all for tonight. We'll post Irleand tomorrow and detail our first day of work at Imerys. Until then, here's a preview of Ireland:

Mind the Gap!

Next stop: London. We arrived on Saturday for 3 days of exploring. Saturday we stayed at a friend's flat in Shepherd's Bush, then moved to the Sheraton across from Buckingham Palace - compliments of the General. Unfortunately Erin had to work on Monday, but Andy and Ryan went out exploring. We saw all of the sights: the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham, Big Ben, London Tower, London Bridge, the London Eye, and St. Paul's Cathedral. But needless to say, we were already missing the food in Italy! So we made the switch from wine to beer and munched on fish and chips and bangors and mash.

Our highlight in London was going to see the musical 'Wicked' (about the two witches from the Wizard of Oz) at the London Victoria Theatre. It was amazing and capped off a great stay in London!

Cheers!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

The Italian Stallions

We made three stops in Italy: Florence, Cinque Terre, and Milan. Italy was simply amazing: Wine, Food, Art, and yes, the women (Andy almost got married). Then, after Andy left his camera in the cab on day one in Florence (we fortunatley were able to retrieve it) we set off exploring Florence. Erin was slaving away for the General (GE) and we were conducting our own version of what amounted to a "Wine Crawl". We would walk for 30-45 minutes, then duck into a local esatablishment and sample the Vino Rosso de Casa (house red wine). We saw such sites as Michaelangelo's David and some amazing Duomo's (AKA - enormous cathedrals).

But, hands down the highlight of our travel in Italy was our stop in Cinque Terre. Translated this means Five Lands. They are five villages on the Mediteranean cost which are only accessible by train or boat. They are connected by a walking path that goes along the coast through the mountains. Here, we hiked the trails and had an amazing dinner overlooking the Mediteranean. The attached pictures do not do it justice. This place is incredible. For anyone planning a trip to Italy, Cinque Terre is a must see!

Next stop: London.

Salute!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

The long awaited blog...

We know we are long overdue, but we have had limited access to the internet and when we've had access we've had to pay for it. But we're finally settled in Brussels and have finished our tours of Italy, London, and Ireland. The following blogs will highlight our travels to date. We promise to keep it updated more frequently now that we actually have a place to unpack our bags.

Cheers!

Andy, Erin & Ryan

Italy, here we come...

Ryan and I depart Sunday, May 11th and arrive in Italy to start our journey. Keep Checking out the site to learn more about our days in Italy. Andy Mc