Vive le Paris - Sept 17, 2009

1:00 pm - Downtown Brussels. Getting ready to drive to Paris. Suggested drive time - four hours including a couple of breaks.

The countryside is beautiful. Not too different from an American landscape. It did remind us of our drives through Pennsylvania. One thing we spotted here that we had never seen before - wind farms. Would have made Don Quixote salivate. Also, the full service rest areas on the highways here are a dramatic upgrade over their American counterparts. Multiple options for fresh, healthy, inexpensive food, excellent recycling facilities, pay-to-use restrooms - the fee subject to possible redemption at the rest-area restaurants, free wi-fi (for upto an hour), vending machines serving espresso for a Euro, a convenience store, and maybe even an Ibis or an Etap, in addition to all the fueling requirements. LPG is relatively inexpensive, diesel ranged from $5.00 - $6.00 a gallon, petrol more dearer at above $7.00 a gallon. Something to keep in mind when renting a car.

4:00 pm - At the doorstep of Paris - or so we thought. Beside us was the state-of-art Stade de France, a beautiful football stadium. In front, a fork. One towards Paris Center, the other Peripherique de l'lle-de-France, the ring road around the city. The road not taken. Or rather, the road taken. We choose the former. All of a sudden, we hit a wall of traffic. Made the George Washington Bridge seem like the I-80 in the middle of Nebraska. We had a chance to redeem ourselves about 3 km and 30 minutes later at the exit for Boulevard Peripherique - another ring road, but saner minds didn't prevail. We soldiered on towards the center of Paris, not quite unlike Napolean's troops in the middle of the Russian winter. Lucky for us, our outcome was a lot healthier.

6:30 pm - Place de la Concorde. At the Obelisque de Louxor. Eiffel Tower at 2 o'clock. Arc de Triomph at 3. The Louvre at 9. Finally - Dan Brown's Paris. A victory lap on the Champs Elysees, and we were at our hotel. Prince De Galles on George Avenue. The famed hotel where none other than The King lived during his concert trips in Paris. The staff at the reception was great. We had enough time for a change of clothes, a walk along the Seine, and a ride into the sky - 276 meters up, to be precise. Eiffel Tower is beautiful by night. The view from the top is gorgeous. And so are the chocolate banana crepes at the bottom.

In a way, despite of our rough entrance, I'm glad we got to see the tough parts of Paris during our ride in. Puts everything in perspective. The romantic, walk-hand-in-hand Paris versus the not-so-rich, ethnic, tension-filled streets of the northern suburbs. A good lesson for the girls that life is not all rosy, even in the extremely glitzy capitals of the world.

Touchdown - Sep 16, 2009

7:05 am. Bruxelles. Cloudy, with a chance of meatballs. Frites, more likely. Didn't realize that french fries are so popular here.

A pleasant seven-hour flight across the pond. Food was good, the movie-offerings ok. Baggage and immigration were straightforward, as was picking up the rental car. A five-door, manual-shift Toyata Auris, running on diesel. Couldn't have asked for a better car. Bindu and the girls napped at the airport while I delivered seven large and two small suitcases, and a racquet bag at the hotel. Navigating through downtown Brussels was a challenge. This had to be the city described by U2 - Where the streets have no names. The way back was a lot easier, but I almost had the car towed when I double parked at the airport curb-side while attempting to revive the family from what started out as a nap, but ended in deep slumber.

By the time we headed out for some food, it was almost sundown. Had a bit of a language problem when attempting to get directions to a super-market, but that was solved by a very friendly English speaking native on a bicycle. As he wheeled his conveyance alongside, he delivered a crisp history and culinary lesson on the city, and led us through a maze of streets that ended, via an ATM and the supermarket, at a breath-taking square in the center of the city, the Grand Place. Very magnificient. Dinner was french fries with a couple of amazing dipping sauces and belgian waffles with yummy fruit and chocolate toppings. Hallelujah!

Our friendly stranger did solve the puzzle of the missing street names. Just had to look a lot higher than what we were used to. Street names in Brussels (and in many other European cities, as we soon realized) are nailed to the sides of the buildings. Great for pedestrians, not so much for drivers.

Up, up, and away - Sept 15, 2009

6:34 pm. The wheels have left the ground. Finally!

Another crazy day. More boxes had to be transferred to the storage facility. Frenetic last minute packing. By the time we left Attleboro it was 10:00 am, four hours behind schedule. No chance for a pit-stop in NYC. A quick stop at the Ganesha Temple in Flushing, and then JFK at 2:30 pm. Returned the rental car, and got to the counter by 3:15 pm. Luckily, the Jet Airways counter was still relatively free of travelers. A very kind gentleman checked-in all our baggage, not an easy task since we were traveling light - by Bindu's standards. Just when we thought we could relax for a couple of hours before our flight, Bindu realized that I had left our EZ-Pass in the rental car. It took a couple of mono-rail trips and an hour of thumb-twiddling before I was able to retrieve it (no complaints, we did get it back). But, then it was a rush through the security-check, a canter to the boarding gate, and a complex series of maneuvers by the friendly cabin crew to accommodate some fairly large pieces of suitcases masquerading as hand-luggage. And then, Goodbye America.

This adventure would not have been possible but for a lot of help from a lot of people at work. A round of appreciation and acknowledgment for Alex, Catherine, Chris, Colin, Janet, Kingshuk, Mark, Phil, Sameer, Subbu, and many many more. A very sincere thank you to all of you. And a load of gratitude to all our friends who went beyond the line of duty to make this happen, Ani and Mark, Gowri and Roger, Menakshi and Kingshuk, Thulasi and Ravi, Teresa and Francisco, Deepa and Nitin, Faith and Glenn. Thank you, thank you, thank you. If I inadvertently missed any name here, I apologize. I shall make amends as soon as possible.

Down to the wire - Sept 14, 2009

The home-stretch. A few sleepless nights, but the end is in sight. Or, is it the beginning? Couldn't have come this far without the help of some very special people, friends as well as strangers.

A very well deserved plug for a couple from Southern Rhode Island, Sara and Rich, who run Clean Hands Recycling, a local recycling company. Pick up is free. Everything that can be reused, is reused. They bring new meaning to the phrase, one man's junk is another man's treasure. Items are either donated to needy families, or sold for a pittance. Think donation? Think Clean Hands. Cannot believe how much stuff we were able to give away. Which makes us think why do we have to accumulate so much in the first place?

Cristin, Eric, you guys are great. Thank you for a wonderful wonderful evening. We couldn't have enjoyed ourselves more, if we had tried. It was a blast to walk down memory lane. And thanks to everyone who pitched in with the dinner. Didn't realize Brown squashers were such good chefs. Wish we had done this more often, but hey, we'll be back, right?

Ani, Gowri, Mark, Roger, Amma, cannot really find the words to express our gratitude. All the lunches, dinners, sleepovers, backyard parties. And all the help with the packing and the lifting. Super special, as someone I know will say.

Menakshi, Kingshuk, thanks for all the help, now and all the other times. We are really glad that you are back.

Teresa, Francisco, we are blessed to have you in our life. Can't really say much more than that.

Thanks to everyone else, too innumerable to be listed here. If prosperity is measured by the friends in your life, then we shall consider ourselves to be billionaires. Now, back to the marathon. If it feels as if we are being carried to the finish line, it is because we are being carried to the finish line.

There goes the whistle, and the race begins ..., Sept 3, 2009

The movers arrived (Movers? What movers?) Sorry, just one mover, although a pretty big-sized one. Helped us move much of the heavy stuff into storage. Mink Street is a nice facility, with Bob at the helm running a pretty tight ship. Will a 10x10 be enough?

After much sweat and blood (ok, just sweat), the house still looks pretty full. Tomorrow is shredding day. And the day after, kitchen closing day. Dinner invites, anyone?

Thanks to Ryder for providing a great mover. 22 miles per gallon of diesel, with almost 500 cubic feet of storage. I can't deny that I enjoyed towering over SUVs and the genre.

T -15 and counting - Sep 1, 2009

September dawns, clean and bright. The packing, or what would pass for it, has finally begun. Boxes and tape, strewn all over the place. Ten years of accumulated junk (er, heirlooms!) can present unique challenges. We have our storage unit rented from today, so we can start transferring the yet-to-be dismantled beds. Unused credit cards have been canceled. Utilities (Gas, Electric, Water) need to be transferred to our tenant, who has gladly agreed to retain some of the heavy furniture (Thanks a lot, Glenn).

Heading out to AAA to get the International Driving Permit, and confirming the car rental for our 15-day vacation. Did we mention that we were planning on taking a 15-day vacation in Europe, but haven't actually planned it yet? Maybe, once we finish our packing!

So here's to change, and finding the courage to embrace it.