Mapping Italy for WWII Studies

Prior to our last visit in Germany, 3Gs labeled each German "state" (lands).  So, in preparation for our World War Two study, I asked the to map the states in Italy. I hope that while they read about where battles took place there will be some comprehension of the terrain and location.  This map was completed with some identification of physical land forms as well. It was done by G3, and I'm so glad that he wrote clearly about the one place he thoroughly enjoyed visiting. It was after our 2009 visit to Rome that he accepted a general interest in learning Italian.  I do hope he continues to learn more about it (and not hate the Latin study either).

PrIorItIes

Recently, I read from a post of Paige at Elemental Science about things she didn't predict as she conducted her work-at-home-mom life.  Number three on her countdown of things she wished she'd known was about remembering priorities. Well, around here, we all have differing priorities, but a few things unite us.  Music is very important here.  Reading is essential here, whether you listen on the text-to-voice kindle or read word-for-word from the screen/page.  Outside time with the lawn mower or gardening is a wonderful escape and exercise.  Lego time is, dare I say, "Holy" here.  There's a room dedicated to it, or mostly because the guest couch and sewing machine also live there.

The Mommy on the other hand continues to aim at doing the best she can with what she has. So many lessons I learned about life from My Grams who was born in 1914.  That was a tough time to be a little kid, especially one in rural Iowa amongst 8 brothers and sisters.  Their parents were first generation in the United States and the Old Folks still spoke lots of harsh Swedish over their heads. The Great War and the Depression were R-E-A-L to them and she shared so much of that with me as I was the only one of my siblings to go to get my bachelor's degree back then (since then my sister who came 20 years later has done the same as me).  I lived with My Grams in order to go to teacher's college.  And so much of that time is very evident in how I teach, guide, cook, clean, organize, drive, all of it. Waste not, want not, so don't even think you are going to get away with dawdling.

But mostly, TRAVEL IS ESSENTIAL AND NECESSARY.  It's how we think about all of our studies and church events and purchases and chores (frugal living-stewardship affords us to plan our errands to save fuel).  Band participation, science lessons each week (this can fall thru the cracks if spelling seems more important) and Bible study are those hills I'm willing to die on here at Paisley Classical Academy.  What would my kids say is the priority in their lives? Why is that what they classify as a priority? Take a minute to visit with them or a nature walk to discuss it.

Unexpected Field Trips to Review a Rain-forest Habitat

Kudos to all you teachers out there who are constantly carrying out a unit study.  But when you don't know if the Daddy will authorize an attempt at empty seats on a plane (because he works at the airline) it's hard to plan ahead for the unit study opportunity. Most often, our field trips don't relate specifically to what we are studying in history or science.  With exception, our trip last month to Gettysburg National Park came just as we finished our studies and reading about the United States Civil War, but the trip to San Jose, Costa Rice this month was an unscheduled review of HABITATS (as well as a visit to our church's international workers here).

I seem to recall from my professors in teacher's college that we, as teachers, must repeat something three times before a student will process it (even to the smallest degree) - or maybe that was in church from one of our pastor educators.  Either way, we've completed physical geography lessons from Hands of a Child regarding the (cloud) Rain-forest Habitat and visited the big island of Hawaii once to see the Hilo side where everything is lush and forested in like manner.  But we never expected to take a day trip to the La Paz Waterfall site north of San Jose on a perfect October morning with the guide extraordinaire.

We saw brilliant foliage, indigenous animals and waterfalls. This trip made an impression on my kids so that if given the choice again, they would go to the mountains before trekking to the beaches on either side of the isthmus between the Americas.  And maybe they will visit more sites in the future to make reference to their habitat studies, but that only reinforces how important it was to be intentional and make the effort to teach them nature study no matter what habitat they found themselves (irregardless of our unit study status).

Troops Investigate the Civil War

Our attempt at a unit study with mapping, book study and field trip is a success, and we've done the best with a wedding trip to the Harrisburg, PA area that is possible thanks to Dad (for going to work at the airline), Papa and Gramma for our investigation at the National Park.  Also thanks to the other Grandma for building Mom's LHOP dress that G2 got to wear.

Summer Field Trips and Camps Change Lives

Last Week of SOTW3 Logic Stage History Ch 38 and 42

The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child, Volume 3: Early Modern Times by Susan Wise Bauer wasn't meant to be used primarily in this Logic (Dialectic) stage. Maybe it was just a way to organize our year.  And it worked.  So, I'm thrilled. Thrilled :-)  We practiced outlining and narrations that coincide with a classical education.  We've read many historical fiction AND non-fiction that followed along with the table of contents in this spine.  It's finished, and we have grown a year older and wiser in the process.  We very much enjoy Jim Weiss's recordings as well as meeting him at the Cincinnati Great Homeschool Convention (4/2014).  

We'll continue to use Story of the World for the last year of our Logic stage history studies.  That, however, is 2 months away, and we aren't there yet.  Enjoying our summer is the next big assignment!

SLIDE CREDITS TO G2

SOTW3 References to the Dark Continent

• SOTW3CH 36, begins on page 337, The Slave Trade Ends, The Work of the Abolitionists
• Comments on Underground Railroad Museum in CVG (w/ pictures) and the Wilberforce movie we watched (Amazing Grace).
• SOTW3CH 37, begins on page 343, Troubled Africa The Zulu Kingdom
• KHE pages:  Pgs. 308-309; Africa 1700-1830
• KHE pages:  Pgs. 272-273; African States 1550-1700

INVEST IN A BOOK THIS WEEK (Choose and report on one)

Stories from Uncle Tom's Cabin - H. E. Marshall (beginner book on kindle)

The Story of Livingstone - Vautier Golding (beginner level book on kindle about a Scotsman)

The Story of H. M. Stanley by Vautier Golding

Stories of the Gorilla Country - Paul du Chaillu (intermediate level kindle book w/ stories of hippos)

Up from Slavery - Booker T. Washington (intermediate book on kindle, read early chapters & review)

Oom Paul's People - Howard Hillegas (advanced level period kindle book w/ chapter 2 about Boers)

[BONUS:  MS OFFICE POWER POINT SKILLS PRACTICE]

Logic Stage Chemistry Final Book Study

After using the DK Chemistry book (2 pages at a time each week), Mr. Fabre's Wonder Book of Chemistry, Mr. Tiner's Exploring the World of Chemistry, Hands of a Child "Introduction to Chemistry" and "Metals" Notebooking pages, websites http://www.middleschoolchemistry.com/multimedia/ and 

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry with a little CK12 Webtextbook on physical science included, this source about the periodic table with Christian faith-based topics interwoven was just the right end to our "mostly Charlotte Mason" middle school chemistry year.  We enjoyed a fabulous grammar stage course about chemistry from Elemental Science 4 years ago, and simply added to those materials in our science binder.  This course of study was not heavy on experiments unless you count the kitchen chemistry that we enjoyed eating.  The soil chemistry project commences now that we can loosen dirt from our flowerbeds in spring.  But, we've not exhausted the huge field of chemistry for these 3Gs so the rhetoric stage can delve-deep dive into extensive study in 2017 (if you can believe that).  

So, after exploring Eva Varga's post here about the Bunsen burner and reading the Elements book about Rubidium, we wrote in our notebooks about our trip last year to Germany and the University where Herr Bunsen worked was a great fit.  

April Field Trip to GHC-CVG with the Whole Family

When we decided to take the last break before the end of school the week after Easter to coincide with G2's and G3's birthday, the Cincinnati Great Homeschool Convention became an attractive goal.  I made arrangements to volunteer for our family admission costs to the convention.  I'd done this here in Chicagoland at ICHE and wasn't afraid of the tasks involved.  We made arrangements to cash in some hotel points for a relatively free stay at the nearby Hilton property in Cincinnati.  We are trying to fly stand-by, but we still don't know how that will pan out until we're returned.  We researched the plan to visit the Creation Center (per Judy Hoch's advice in her February blog post), but found that without a car and an additional adult entrance fee (G1 became even more expensive), we'll pass this time. Each G is geared up for a busy schedule in the REAL FAITH for the REAL WORLD Teen Track and doesn't actually know anything about Cincinnati chili yet.  We have three different museum field trips planned and it'll be good to get to at least one of those.  Probably looking at the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center or the William Howard Taft National Historic Site (so the Nat'l Park passports are packed).

I've made lists for each of our family members to visit various vendor booths while at the convention, i.e. Memoria Press and Teaching Textbooks (per Marci Goodwin's advice in her February blog post).  I seriously need G1 to have his hands on the geometry textbook in order to give me feedback.  I am going to try to teach all three on the same science curriculum so do I need 3 copies of the text?  Will I continue to use the Classical Education method for high school science and will it be hands on science?  I wanted each of my students to see the science books available to them in high school and get their input.  I'll keep Paige's recommendations about science study in mind during each science speaker I hear.  I'm taking Tina Robertson completely serious when researching the options for homeschool history choices.  I will very much enjoy meeting some of my homeschool mentors from the blog world and eat some Cincinnati chili with Jimmie Lanley.  I just love the way Amy Maze presented justification for more family bonding.  I seriously needed the encouragement that Heather Woodie promised I'd find.

So, here goes another family adventure. (Family Adventuring at http://t.co/J8BTsgC8bt "We’re not on a vacation, where we seek relaxing pleasure experiences every day.")

SOTW3 CH29 AND 33 ALL THINGS NAPOLEON

SOTW3CH29, begins on page 275

THE RISE OF BONAPARTE

Napoleon Comes to Power

Synge Struggle for Sea Power:  Napoleon Bonaparte, Horatio Nelson
Haaren - Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon & the Napoleonic Wars by Albert Marrin
(Hillyer) Children’s History of the World:  Ch73
Guerber Story of the Great Republic:  Ch. X  The United States Buys Land (1803)
Synge, Great Englishmen, Horatio Nelson
Henty. At Aboukir and Acre I read this and decided to pass for kids reading b/c it didn't focus on the French as much as it did a British kid and native Egyptians.

Jakob Walter, The Diary of a Napoleonic Foot Soldier. [TRYING OUT THE TAPESTRY OF GRACE DIALECTIC TRACK]

Eugenie Foa.  The Boy Life of Napoleon / Afterwards

 

http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=pseudochar&Person=napoleon&FileName=napoleon

The Emperor Napoleon

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/history/1600s-1800s/french-revolution-tutorial/v/french-revolution--part-4----the-rise-of-napoleon-bonaparte
Haaren - Horatio Nelson
https://www.khanacademy.org/partner-content/crash-course1/crash-course-world-history/you-aint-the-boss-of-me/v/crash-course-world-history-29
Usborne pages:  Pgs. 334-335; The Empire of Napoleon
KHE pages:  Pgs. 320-321; The Napoleonic War 1797-1815

SOTW3CH33, begins on page 309

The End of Napoleon

Napoleon's Wars (And 1812, Too)

Synge Struggle for Sea Power:  The Beginning of the Struggle British Admiral Duncan defeated the Dutch in their own port. The Battle of the Nile, Copenhagen, Napoleon, Emperor of the French, The Battle of Trafalgar, The Death of Nelson, A Second Charlemagne, The Rise of Wellington

Guerber Story of the Great Republic: Ch. XV  The War of 1812, 1812

http://www.heritage-history.com/www/heritage.php?Dir=pseudochar&Person=napoleon&FileName=napoleon

Waterloo!

In Belgium a year ago this month.

Synge Struggle for Sea Power:
The Defense of Saragoza, Sir John Moore at Coruna, The Victory of Talavera, The Peasant Hero of Tyrol, The Empire at its Height, Napoleon's Retreat from Moscow, Wellington's Victories in Spain, Spain for the Spaniards, The Fall of the Empire, The Congress

One Of The 28th - a Tale of Waterloo. http://librivox.org/one-of-the-28th-a-tale-of-waterloo-by-g-a-henty/

Guerber Story of the Great Republic: Ch. XVI  “Don’t Give Up the Ship”  1815, Ch. XVII  The Star-Spangled Banner, Ch. XVIII  Clinton’s “Big Ditch” (1825)

"Field Trip Adventure"

So, you're a classroom teacher for 20 years and you're taking your classroom kids on the same field trip for the 20th time, and it really hurts, and you're tired.

Just think,  that could be me out there leading my earth science 8th graders to the Field Museum to discuss the goo-to-you ideas from the textbook. But, that would be surreal because I didn't stay in the classroom.

I don't use textbooks except the Bible (well, and Rod/Staff Grammar and Saxon Maths). I don't preach large scale evolutionary historical development on planet earth (old earth creationist is on the back of my t-shirt). I HOMESCHOOL. I HOMESCHOOL!  YES, SAY IT LOUD AND PROUD, I HOMESCHOOL! !!

I don't get a paycheck, 

I get hugs, 

slugs 

and debates with my own kids - 

E.V.E.R.Y.D.A.Y. 

I go on field trips to wonderful places I want to share with them, and wonderful places I want to explore with them. And I like it. And they're growing.in.a.love for intentional living that allows them to surrender the junk, simplify and savor what they have.

That's what it's all about.

SOTW3Ch25 French Revolution and Admiral Nelson Stuff

SOTW3 CH25, begins on page 239

Revolution Gone Sour

The Storming of the Bastille

Synge Struggle for Sea Power:  [Note: We've not traveled to Paris yet...]

Bachman, Great Inventors and Their Inventions Watts

Hillyer, Children’s History of the World:  Ch72

Guerber Story of the Great Republic [We continue to plug through US History with Mrs. Schott and memorize the order in which states were admitted along with vital president information. She is presenting facts about each president in order to help us remember why they were special and thus, in which order they served.]

The Reign of Terror

It took a while, but we sat thru all of the Kahn Academy presentations about the French Revolution.
KHE pages:  Pgs. 318-319; The French Revolution 1789-1799
Bachman, Great Inventors and Their Inventions Fulton

Finish reading: Janet Benge, Geoff Benge.  Benjamin Franklin: Live Wire  YWAM Publishing, 2005

We really enjoyed reading The Story of Nelson by Sellar.  The name Horatio will always mean something to us. (This reading source and Nelson image came from our Heritage History British Empire cd.)

You really should READ about travel to London with Kids. We did and wrote about it here.

Geography of Germany: Maps & Research

G#2 labeled the states and rivers of Germany
before doing on-site research in Heidelberg, Germany
and Strasbourg, France

Thanksgiving Field Trips Rock!

No, we didn't fall off the face of the earth. Yes, we did school including SOTW3 Chapters 14 & 17 as well as Logic Stage Chemistry about Halogens prior to leaving for the trip.  But, better than that we experienced and discussed Louis XIV and the Prussians along with "states" of Germany, and who the Fredericks of Prussia and Brandenburg were.  We visited the castle in Heidelberg where Frederick brought his new wife, Elizabeth Stuart (greatgreatgreat something grandmother of the George III who dealt poorly with American colonists during Revolutionary War), the daughter of James I (King James Bible guy).  We walked where the 30 Years War took place in the 1600s.  We relished the unique environment of Christmas Markets while exploring how cormorants dive forever in the frigid, eddying waters of the Rhine River branch that surrounds the Grand 'Ile of Strasbourg.

So, now we recover from jet lag and ignore the evening hours b/c we're temporarily ALL morning people around here. We put together a gingerbread house for the first time, and fill the new Advent calendar before Advent ends. We find the Christmas tree and let kids decorate b/c it's their turn again. We put away all the clean laundry from the trip and plan our Christmas shopping and recipes for treat plates to share.  Thanksgiving trips are a blessing and we wouldn't miss this opportunity for family trips to worlds where we'd never dreamed were possible to reach before the changes of 2006 & 2007.  We look forward to time with other family and friends during a time of the year when all are blessed by a 2000 year Blessing.

Chemistry: 3Gs in Transition, or Even in the Metalloids

Oh my, I'm combining two weeks of Logic stage Chemistry here. The logic stage being how old they are, but the method being a Charlotte Mason walk with sources we just slowly read through and discuss. We've been using the Mason style of teaching even while doing experiments and exploring our creativity. We've already laid a solid base with the Classical Approach to Grammar Stage science four years ago when we used the Elemental Science Chemistry materials. We truly are just adding to those while exploring during this stage of development. During the Rhetoric Stage of learning in high school, the science will lend itself back into the Classical style of education, and that's ok with us. 




G#3 at Kennecott Mine Utah

G#1 at Kennecottt Mine Utah

So, these past two weeks, we read and sketched or narrated about the Transition and Metalloid groups on the periodic table. 
We also covered more:

Tiner, Exploring the World of Chemistry
Chapter 6: Search for Order p. 44

Kindle:  Wonder Book of Chemistry,
Chap 21 (Carbonic-Acid Gas) and

Chap 22 (Different Kinds of Water)

Hands of a Child Notebook with questions

Activity 11 – Finding Metals.

Read about Copper mine materials from Utah,
*Mining Metals, *Metal Terminology

DEFINE Last set of words in the materials

DESCRIBE AND IDENTIFY TRANSITION METALS ON the PERIODIC TABLE

DK Chemistry pages 46-47
Usborne Science Encyclopedia p. 28-43 with an excellent link to Rio Tinto's video about the  Kennicot open-pit Copper Mine that my boys have visited on summer trips with their UTAHGrampa and learned how the ore is processed and used in our daily lives.

Tiner, Exploring the World of Chemistry
Chapter 7: Sunlight Shows the Way p. 52
Kindle:  Wonder Book of Chemistry,
Chap 23 (Plants at Work) and Chap 24 (Sulphur): 
Hands of a Child
Activity 12 – Metal Ore: mining metal ore in open pit like Utah
Activity 13 – Metal Refining: 

Or mining like Salzburg Salt Mine visit (the slide down was great!  And even Gramma licked the wall - I think?) UNDERGROUND. http://www.salzwelten.at/en/hallein/saltmine/

DK Chemistry pages 26-27
Use your Bible to list three verses w/ metals we’ve studied.
Explore the METALLOIDS (http://www.chemicalelements.com/groups/metalloids.html)

This is what Chemistry looked like four years ago in the Grammar Stage.

 

Friday Field Trip - Museum Campus

These kinds of days go by in a blur. 

 And yet, they are the most meaningful conversations and adventures.

 

This is not a dull gig.

 

 



Habitat Study otherwise known as Physical Geography

My theme for teaching PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY was all about field trips and short-to-the-point pieces from Hands of a Child through the vendor CurrClick.com.  Truly, my focus was on ecosystems, but so much from my teaching assistant position in the Geography/Geology University Department came through these discussions of ecosystems into landforms and weathering factors. 

Over the past six years we've covered ocean, desert, polar, forest, mountain, rainforest and grassland.  We began with the Apologia book about oceans and swimming things.  I enjoyed it, but the book tended to drag on and on even though I brought in the compelling H.C. Holling book, Seabird to read.  So, we moved on to polar topics with a lapbook product that coincided with the winter Olympics in Canada.  Desert ecosystems were next when we got to visit the high desert in Utah several times.  Then the mountain topic because, while in the high desert, there was skiing down a mountain, and it all related so well together.  Deciduous and evergreen forests were discussed while we enjoyed H.C. Holling's book called, Paddle-to-the-Sea.  We studied the rainforest after visiting Hawaii.  I really LOVE field trips!  Lastly, we are now finishing the grassland materials.  Truthfully, I never considered the various grassland habitats on each continent and how those differ. 



We don't do these products as lapbooks anymore.  Even though I have one tactile learner, the others get so bogged down by cutting and coloring, and that wasn't why I wanted this study in the first place.  These studies allowed my 3Gs to read, think and write about each bit of information presented by the HOAC authors as well as other story book materials.  Nature studies were best organized through these topics for us over this period.  Now that we're concluding these habitat studies, Nature Study will take a different direction.  (Including a hummingbird moth in front yard.)

ABOVE: G2 USED THE ED EMBERLING THUMBPRINT ART BOOK TO SET THE WETLAND SCENE.  G1 ALSO PERFECTED HIS SPELLING OF HABITAT AFTER THE FRENCH VERB LESSON WHICH MADE HIM CONJUGATE "TO LIVE" VERB.

BRU: Daytrip to Bruge

Monday began with instant coffee and water.  We got dressed and tromped down to the train station for breakfast of croissants and a bacon and cheese Panini.  We didn’t choose to eat the hotel breakfast because my tweens don’t eat what other people assume is simple, efficient breakfasts.  I refuse to pay 7 Euro for something that doesn’t give them something they will enjoy.  We are on a field trip afterall.

We took the train to Bruges.  The weekend trips were half price, but this was full price for three of us and free for the other two on a Monday.  It was a smooth easy ride to the Bruges train station.  We walked into the info office to collect a map of the town.  We found the boat trip first and were pleasantly given an orientation to the city by water.  There was a rain shower during the tour, but the boat ride included umbrellas for everyone.  We found the Markt and Belfry tower right away. We walked through the information center there and sent a postcard at the postal center.  We ate frites and chicken nuggets at a self-serve place on the corner.  Then we moved on to the VisitBrugges app tour.  It took us winding from churches to bridges to Spook houses.  We made one wrong turn and mistakenly found a super market at just the right time to buy 2L of water and 3 Kinder chocolate eggs with toys inside that we didn’t find on the November trip to Vienna and Budapest.  Our tour ended at the Burg where we found chocolate to eat and expresso to keep the caffeine headaches abated. 

On the walk to the Markt again, we found a heavy, liege waffle booth for a snack and a street performer who pretended to be a statue-top-hat-suited man.  While lounging in the Markt square under clear blue skies, my oldest tween asked the information center representative for the pronunciation of Beguinage.  On the walk to that site we found a lace shop where we bought a handkerchief with our daughter’s initial on it and pieces of art which showed the places we visited in spring colors.  Before reaching the Beguinage, we found the De Halve Maan (Straffe Hendrik) Brewery which we knew about from TripAdvisor.  The space inside the pub area was comfortable for us and our kids, so we adults tried 2 of their beers without doing the tour.  The chemistry of the brewery would be fun to use in a field trip, but this was just the right thing to do for our trip at this time.  After finishing our beers, we found the Beguinage and walked thru the daffodil strewn garden peacefully.  We walked through the Minnewater park on our way back to the train station. 

Found tourist map (free) at station and quite worth it, b/c it had all streets and sites plus we used the Bruges app for scavenger hunt walk 3.5 miles after the boat ride in the rain.  Boat 3.4 € twins each & 7.6 € adults 30" ride in 3 languages with umbrellas.  It was good to recognize some places afterward on foot. Highlights of boat were touching underside of bridges & less crowded boats early in the day. If on foot during rain we would have got soaked.  The houses over the water and other architecture were better seen from water.  Walked to Markt & found wc at info center. Then frites & everything fried across to the next corner for lunch.  Then we started app tour, but only went wrong way during tour to and found grocery for water & cultural experience (we visit international groceries often just to examine where stuff is made).  We ended at Burg and found chocolate to eat w/ coffee. Drank & ate in the Markt.

Nighttime - Grand Place - Brussels

BRU: Adventures in Brussels

Sunday in Brussels started with chocolate croissants from a nearby bakery that the daddy collected after an early morning shower.  Instant coffee was made in the room with the hotpot near the stove.  We walked to the Grand Place and found the flower market.  Along the walk to Mannekin Pis, we found a light crunchy waffle.  After visiting the land mark we walked past the TinTin mural through the Les Galeries Saint Hubert.  The shops weren’t open, but we walked by St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral and heard church bells chime 11:30.  We found the Belgian Centre of Comic Strip Art.  The space was wonderful art deco glass and light infiltrated everywhere.  The tweens loved the visit b/c they are already fans of TinTin for over three years.  We found a restaurant that served pizza, soup and lasagna for our lunch at Pizzeria Sole d'Italia.  We walked back towards our hotel and past through the Parc du Jardin and the steps of Le Botanique.  The building was wonderful and the blooming trees and flowers were brilliant.  I actually got color on my face during the day to encourage my freckles.  I’d worn a fleece and rain jacket, but ended up with only the fleece during the afternoon walk.  The Konigsstraat was a major street that connected to our Rue de Palais hotel street.  The siesta was a welcome break.  Yes, we got a siesta.

Now, two weeks later, G1 has specific memories of the Comic book museum which surprises me because he is usually the one all about the food, but he adores Tintin.

Later, we took the tram along this same trek to find heavier waffles with full service.  And a walk to the lights of the Grand-Place and to do some “I Spy” hunts around the guild buildings’ facades.  The tram ride back was simple and easy, but we weren’t able to find a ticket office so had to pay more on the tram.  I did a Google search for travel info for Bruges and found the VisitBruges app to download to my phone.  The wi-fi services on most of the adventures were non-existent and I had to do most of my work at the hotel after-the-fact.  I was able to identify an Aldi super market grocery store nearby, but decided to abort the walk as the need for groceries was not so great.  The second night was done.

Walk downhill most of the way to grand place to waffle stop on our way to Mannekin Pis.  We found lace stores too.  Spring in Brussels was beautiful.  Along our adventures we found a WC in a fashion clothes mall a block away from the Grand Place. 

 

Comic book museum had a who's who of Tintin.

Trees were trained to grow in boxes or in a complete strait line (espalier).

Parc de Brussels largest park in country was where we found the tram to/from Grand Place.