Janaki's Blog

On the train to Brussels, I was nearly dozing off when Mom suddenly realized that she had left her precious notebook, filled with things to do and places to see in Belgium, at home in Riyadh. Dad and I weren't surprised. It would be a lie to say that this was the first time Mom had forgotten or lost the research she had done before going on a trip. Sometimes she would lose the paper she had written on, right at home.  Brussels was picturesque and lively. Huge gothic cathedrals and buildings framed the bustling  streets, dark clouds drifted in the sky and the wheels of our suitcases made miserable noises as we wheeled them over the cobblestones while going to our hotel. Catalonia Grand Place was in the heart of the city. After dropping off our baggage, our next step was to begin a tour of Brussels. According to Mom, her superhuman brain had allowed her to store all the information about tourist attractions she had written down earlier, so even if memory had failed her

Last week, my parents and I set off to Europe. Our first stop was Germany, where Dad had to attend an award function in Heidelberg. We marched like soldiers to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant , which was five minutes away from our hotel, Perkeo. Wonderful memories of the food there welcomed us and we breezed in through the door and into our seats like we were home. After a hearty lunch, we meandered to the Old Bridge, where we saw the Bridge Monkey. According to legends, if you touched its hands, mirror, face and the little mice next to it, luck would grant you another trip to Heidelberg. Till now the legends had not failed us, and I wasn't taking any chances. Later, Dad left for the function, so Mom and I bought gelatos and took photos of them to make Dad envious when he got back. We wandered around for hours before buying pizzas from Pizza Hut for dinner. The evening in Heidelberg was something out of a fairytale; the sky was purple, the streets and shops were illumi