2008
en images
in pictures
in fotos
2007
We get the year off to a great start: a nice walk around the Park Josaphat with Dad, and (yet another) great meal.  
Oysters and sea snails and salmon and lobster, washed down with a truly exceptional bottle of vintage Bollinger.
That evening we enjoy the coloured lights on the Brussels city hall, set to classical music from around Europe.
Jan 1
Nice view of Great
Confederates on Stone Mt,
Georgia while flying into Atlanta
Jan 25
Hanging and drinking Bolly with the published
intellectual elite of Dallas, Rick & Kevin
Jan 25-27
Look! I'm in Oklahoma!  Kevin and I make a
casino road trip to throw money at Choctaws.
Jan 27
After a week of meetings with Japanese and Texan colleagues in Houston, something
for the mind.  Who says Houston ain't got no culture?  Greeks, Flemings and even a
nice Van Gogh at the Museum of Fine Arts, as well as some more western fare.  
Fortunately most of the paintings were on the wall, not the floor.
Jan 28-Feb 2
An intensive marketing conference in
Vienna.  But there was still time for
beautiul little cakes in elegant cafés.
Feb 7-9
Working on the (western) weekend in Dubai, for a training session with our agents
from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the Emirates and Iran.  Good shopping, hot Iranian
nightlife on a dinner cruise and the ever-rising Burj Dubai tower, tallest in the world.
Feb 22-24
Freshly home from Dubai, Sarah and Janna stay with us on their
way from Germany to Paris.  Much too short a visit, but enough
time for a walk through the old town and to chat over coffee.
Feb 25-26
Waiting for Evita to appear on the balcony of the Casa Rosada
to sing "Don't Cry For Me Argentina".  A long walk through
town to the Recoleta cemetary to visit her grave instead. A
quick stop in this amazingly European South American city
before flying to a four-day conference in Igauzu.
Mar 3
Guarani village elders in the
forest near Iguazu Falls, near
the borders of Brazil and
Paraguay.
Mar 4-8
Brunch with the Lunch Club at the Waerboom
Mar 16
Visiting Europe from Beirut, Chadi Haddad meets up with us for
dinner in Brussels.  After walking the red carpets of the
Abu Dhabi film festival, he made the cover of Dubai-based  
"Arabian Man" magazine as "Arabia's next Tom Cruise".
Mar 22
Far too much good food to eat at an (8 hour)
family Easter lunch with the Durieux
Mar 23
Taking advantage of
meetings in Istanbul to pay a
quick visit to Haghia Sofia,
with its incredible almost
1500 year-old architecture,
beautiful Orthodox mosaics
and Islamic calligraphy.  
Afterwards a view of the
dome in the serene Sultan
Ahmet mosque.
Mar 25-27
Our Spring Break, this year in Venice.  First on my list of sights to see were the four
bronze horses from...Istanbul.  Or at least from Constantinople, stolen in 1204 when
Venice financed and provided transportation for the 4th Crusade, and thought of  a novel
way to let the Latin knights pay the bill.  The horses were already about 1000 years old at
the time, created by a Roman sculptor.  Posing on balcony of San Marco, and photo of
our digs, the Casa Uscoli located right on the Grand Canal by the Academia Bridge.
Apr 5-9
We meet up with the Laura and Jeff, who
were visiting Paris.  Lido, April oysterama
and the Amelie Poulain tour of
Montmartre.  Laura plays "Devil Wears
Prada" and throws her blackberry device
into the fountain once and for all.  
No, not really.
Apr 12-13
Thomas smiles for the camera
before some wii bowling and
baseball.
Apr 19
Soaking in the 17th and 18th century
atmosphere of the Beguinage in
Diest, Belgium.
Apr 20