Waiting in the waiting room – A visit to doctor’s office

Posted on October 26, 2011 by

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My daughters and I had our first visit to the doctor’s office in Tervuren, Belgium yesterday. Good thing the doctor is within walking distance, very close to my daughter’s school. Here (or at least with this doctor) you don’t need any appointment. Just show up at his door whenever you are sick and need some treatment. Ofcourse it has to be within his working hours…very convenient I thought.
When we got inside his office, I thought I would at least see a receptionist/clark/cashier…something. But here the doctor does everything all by himself. No need to carry your insurance card all the time. You just pay a small amount of cash (23 euros in our case), get a receipt and that’s it. Ofcourse we will file all the claims every few months to our insurance company for reimbusement.
Back in the states I always thought going to a doc’s office is a big deal. First you have to find a doctor within your network (depending on your insurance benefit), then you have to show up 5/10 minutes early, depending on the paperworks, bunch of forms that you have to fill out before you get the treatments, then stand in the line with your insurance card, pay the co-payment, sometimes doctor’s office will bill you if any portion of the claim wasn’t paid by the insurance company. Not to mention, you are never call inside the office right when you have the appointment time (never understood, why do they give us appoinments if they can’t keep it). But I thought in Belgium (or may be all over Europe) going to a docter is very hassel free and rather an easy process. Even though there is no appointment system, usually you will get to see the doctor within 30 minutes (usually a lot less) of your arrival. Another good thing is that same doctor will see our whole family…yeppie. No need to find multiple docters within our network. Never enjoyed going to a doctor before… đŸ™‚

Rome, Italy

Posted on October 12, 2011 by

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We just got back from Oslo, Norway about a week ago, please check the page for info on Oslo here. It was very different than any other cities that we have visited in Europe.
Now we are getting ready to visit Rome, Italy and Vatican City beginning of November. Still need to book a hotel and list all the places we want to visit. But I have already checked one thing, that is what to buy from Rome…obviously, Italian leather is very famous for purse, boots, jackets and etc. Plus olive oil, vinegar are also some of the items that tourists like to bring back home from Rome.
Anyways, speaking of hotel, I think Rome is more like Paris, meaning everything is very spread out and you can’t go to every place by walking, you have to take public transportation within the city for hopping. So we are still not sure where to get hotel… any suggestions?
Will let you know how the olive oil from Rome tastes đŸ™‚ yummmm, can’t wait

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Friday Market in Tervuren, Belgium

Posted on September 16, 2011 by

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I love going to farmers’ market. When we used to live in Buffalo, NY, there was a farmers‘ market every saturday morning near an old church. I remember driving 10 minutes to go there and buying fresh vegetables, fruits, cheese, bakery, and lots of other good stuff. I didn’t get that in Portland. There were lots of farmers’ market where we lived but nothing really close-by nor their prices were cheap.

After moving to Tervuren, I finally found a market that is very cozy, diverse, full of friendly people, offers great price, and has variety of items. There is a lively, outdoor market every Friday in Tervuren village center. It’s open every Friday around the year from 9 am -12 pm. I have been there couple times and I am making a habit to go there every Friday and do my weekly grocery from there. I saw Dutch, French, English, German…people from everywhere in this market. Some of the vendors here are permanent while others come once or twice a month.

You can find fresh fish, fresh meat, cooked meat, fruits, vegetables, cheese, egg, fresh oven-baked breads (many different kinds), sweets, chocolates, candies there. On the other side, you can also find household items, clothes, jeans, socks, sleepwears, purses, wallets, and many more items here. And the price is unbelievably reasonable.

There are lots of other stores along the street selling interesting and fun items. Everytime I go to the Friday market, I make sure that I go to my favorite pastry shop, where I can pick up some waffles, pastries, chocolates, and fresh baked goods for the family. I don’t have a sweet tooth, but its hard to resist the mouth watering delights in that bakert. I look forward to go to this patisserie every week.

The thing that I mostly enjoy when I come to this Friday market is that there are lots of elder ladies who come for their groceries too. They bring their large trolley bags, do their weekly shopping/grocery. Then they stop at the nearby cafe/pastry shop with their girl friends for some coffee or treats. I hear them talking in Dutch or French, laughing there lungs outs, enjoying the weather, sipping their coffee/tea. I leave when my work is done there, may be go to couple shops on my way to the car. But these ladies may sit there for hours. Then when they are done chatting, they will just pay the bill and go to another restaurant for lunch. So beautiful … wish when I age I can have a similar environment to go to relax and sip my cup of tea with a piece of dark chocolate. You don’t need a perfect place to have good time, just need to enjoy little things in life that can give you some perfect moments.

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1st month in Belgium

Posted on September 12, 2011 by

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Its been about over a month now since we left USA. Things started to settle down, and we are finally getting our sea-shipment tomorrow after about 6 weeks. Can’t wait for that.

My daughter started her school last week. I finally started going here and there with the car by myself. I thought it would be hard driving in the narrow streets of this city. But once I started driving, it wasn’t that bad.

In one month I opened and already closed my bank account here. Banking is kind of inconvenient here or just that I am not used to the system. First, you have to make an appointment to open a simple bank account. Then when you go there they won’t explain you all the different types of accounts you can open, moreover different employees will say different things about fees/charges/services. Then you HAVE TO come to bank every 60 days to get your statement, even if you are checking your activities online. Otherwise they will send you a statement after 60 days and you will be charged for that. Another thing is once you open an account you will wait 2 weeks for the bank card to arrive. But oh wait, it doesn’t come to your mailing address. You have to go pick it up from the bank, and there is no guarantee that the card will arrive after 2 weeks. And don’t need to mention the annual fee for a checking account…its HUGE. Yeh, so I’ve decided to close my account and do the financing old ways.

Other than that, I am really happy to get fresh milk, fresh orange juice, fresh oven-baked bread in grocery or in friday market. Food go bad very quickly here, because they don’t use as much as preservatives as they do in America. Which is very good, but you just to make trips to grocery every other day.

The way our first month has gone by, I am sure two years will go by the same way…very fast. Before we know it we will be packing to go back home again. But I think I am getting used to this relaxed lifestyle here very fast….hmmm

Ok, will catch up again later. Salut

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Oslo, Norway

Posted on August 23, 2011 by

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English: Picture of the Norwegian Parliament.
Image via Wikipedia

We are going to Oslo, Norway end of September, 2011. My husband and I were so excited to see the cheap ticket online that we bought the ticket at 4 a.m…hehe.

After we bought the ticket then we saw that Norway is not part of European Union, and therefore we may have to get visa with our American passport or may be NOT. I will let you know once I add a page for Norway. We are staying there 3 nights and 2 days, as far as I have heard its enough to visit the city.

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Business Excellence Award 2020 for The Most Entertaining Personal Travel Blog – Pacific Northwest USA
Business Excellence Award 2020 from AI Global Media for The Most Entertaining Personal Travel Blog - Pacific Northwest USA
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