Biking, part two

We biked a 45 kilometer loop out to the beach for our second bicycle outing. It rained twice, and we found shelter both times. In Belgium, bike itineraries are indicated by a list of numbered intersections rather than paths. There's a nice little video here showing how it works.

Belgium week - biking the canals

From Cambridge we traveled to Bruges by train, taking the Eurostar from London through the Chunnel to Brussels, 

where we switched to a local train. Two of the days we were in Belgium, we rented bicycles and headed

 into the countryside on bike paths that occasionally follow the canals.

London bike tour

A stop on our Fat Tire bike tour at the Horse Guards Parade. 

The beach volleyball competition of the Olympics was held here.

January 2012

January was a crafty month for us: I worked on several sewing projects, and Zak carved a set of salad spoons for his mom and a butter knife for us. We also visited the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, and celebrated Zak's birthday.

Man, bird, bicycle

This man biked up just next to us at the festival, and I watched him bend down and place something bright yellow at his feet. In no time, he had attracted a small crowd of women and children who were interested in his companion. The bird spent most of the time pecking at a wedge of grass between his feet. Here he demonstrated how his bird climbed up onto the cage on the handlebars. I found them to be highly entertaining, and didn't mind the long wait for the balloon to go up. I also kept wondering whether our Minneapolis friends, Daniel and Gaelyn, have ever taken their birds out for bike rides.

Biking in Ferrara

Our hotel in Ferrara had bikes to loan to guests, and we took them out one morning before it got too hot. We rode northwest out of the city to the town of Francolino, west along the Po River, and then south back into Ferrara.

Ferrara cathedral

We spent the next three nights in Ferrara, just a couple minutes' walk from the cathedral and castle. The piazzas 

to the front and side of the cathedral filled up at night with people of all ages.

Reggio Emilia

We stayed in Reggio Emilia for three nights. The main street of town was hung with flags.