Belgium was only a mere hour from Amsterdam and on our way to France, so we decided to take a nice stroll through it’s capital, Brussels…which also turned out to be the capital of the EU.
After spending the night at a truck stop, whose rhythmic traffic put me fast to sleep, we headed off into the city. Adam wanted to take the wheel to ease all the pressure off me, but at the end of a tunnel ride entering the city, the passenger side mirror has a meeting with a guard post… Thank goodness the post was plastic and just gave us a scare, I took over the wheel again, we were both a little nervous at that point.
So we made it to the city and then drove around forever looking for a place where it was ok to part the Red Ride.
Brussels turned out to be quite nice and fairly new, due to alot of war damage most of the buildings has to be rebuilt. The city has a similar look to DC, with a bit of age and round abouts to make it more European.
We ordered a Belgian waffle, complete with strawberries, nutella and cream…delish!
We saw the famous manniken pis, which unknown to us was a whole foot tall and a bit of a let down.
The old hotel de’ville and market place were beautiful sites with extremely classy architecture. After only a 3 hour tour we paid our 7 euro parking pass and decided to head south to France for dinner.
The traffic leaving the city was horrendous, diving in the RR was a pain, we folded in the mirrors (better illegal than unsafe) and crept along the streets. The drivers were not so kind to the big Red Wagon trying to make it’s way through the streets. A very nice but tough MP strolled over to our window and explained that there was a rally going on with over 80,000 people (we saw the red vs neon green everywhere) and we’d be better off parking for a few hours instead of wasting gas and put putting through town. But, I wanted France! So, I set to work on the GPS and delivered us a new backroad route to France. 
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More from Europe
Intentionally and incrementally. Most families who live this way did not leap from conventional to adventurous overnight. They built remote work capacity, paid down debt, tested longer trips, and had increasingly honest conversations about what they actually want from their lives. The leap feels bigger from outside than from inside.
Different for every family. For some it is long-term travel. For others it is weekend adventures close to home. What connects them is intentionality about how time is spent and a preference for experiences over accumulation. The version that fits your family is the right one.
By finding stability within the adventure rather than treating them as opposites. Routines, rituals, and family rhythms travel with you. Familiar foods, bedtime routines, and predictable family dynamics provide stability even when the location changes. Kids need consistency in relationships more than consistency in geography.
That people are fundamentally similar across cultures in what they want for their families. That comfort zone is a smaller circle than it feels from inside. That the things worth having in life require effort and discomfort to get. And that time together doing hard interesting things is the most reliable source of family closeness.
By getting clear on why you made the choices you made and returning to that clarity when the outside noise gets loud. Most families living unconventionally describe an initial period of explaining themselves that gradually gives way to just living the life. The explaining becomes less necessary as the results become visible.
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