Details to follow.....

We at Vacations From Home take our job very seriously. We realize that you look to us for advice and guidance for all your traveling questions. We realize you don't make a move without first reading this blog, that you are paralyzed by the fear of spending money or missing out on some great destination. It may be extreme, but we understand there are some of you out there in cyberspace that you would rather stick your head in a paper bag and sit in a dark closet than travel somewhere without first seeing if the Vacations From Home crack research team has pertinent intel. Don't worry our faithful charges....we are here to help and we have plenty of experience and are commited to our task.

Sadly though we realize that a life of mooching is a dream and nearly impossible. Sometimes you have to pry open your wallets to get what you want. Well, today's entry is about spending money!

Comeon...take that bag off your head and keep reading.

The level of commitment by the VFH research crew is shockingly efficient. Fortune 500 companies and a few third world countries should follow the crew's example and attitude. Later this summer we are going to England for a wedding and then afterwards to Belgium for as much beer we can humanly consume in four days. We have already paid for our plane fare from the United Kingdom and the continent on a couple of low cost airlines. So we are commited to certain days of travel and now it is a matter of filling in the days with beer...and sightseeing.... (she made me write that last bit...)

But where to go, and how to travel while there....

Belgium is reknown for their beer and some of the best comes from Trappist monastaries. There are only 6 of them in Belgium. Then there are Abbey beers, which are not necessarily brewed by monks but are often recreations of old monastic recipies. Add to that substantial array Belgium beers and you've got yourself a dilemma about where to go and what to drink.

Voted as the number one beer in it's category Westvletern Trappist Ale is now difficult to find because of their popularity and the monks remain steadfast to not increasing production. They only brew enough to maintain the monastery and to purchase the beer at the monastery involves a laborious regimen of phonecalls and time schedules. We considered renting a car to drive to the monastery and at least sample Westvletern at the cafe across the street from the monastery, but we are unsure at this point. Details to follow. We did search for Westvletern in the U.S. and found we could purchase a bottle of it in Brooklyn for $50.00... ouch.... especially since we are in the Philadelphia area. We did find a great number of Belgium beer joints in Philadelphia, but none carried Westvletern. To see how involved it is to get Westvletern at the source: www.sintsixtus.be/eng/brouwerij.htm

Despite this "lack" of Westvletern I consider Philadelphia a great beer town. The city has embraced the entire craft brew experience and an online search of Belgium beers can point you in many directions. Even the Phillies ballpark has on tap several great beers (though no Belgium ones yet...). Conversely, a "beers of the world" kiosk at Yankee Stadium prominently features Yuenglings..................good beer... but not the same. (And Pottsville is certainly not Brugges.) Also, in Philadelphia there is something called: Philly Beer Week... featuring pub crawls and different events from several craft breweries. So, the dilemma we had for this particular Sunday was to settle on one beer joint. We decided on the Eulogy Belgium Tavern, 136 Chestnut Street in Center City. http://www.eulogybar.com/ It is owned by a family from Brugges and features a lot of Belgium beers. There we labored over the extensive list of bottles and on tap in the dark, cozy bar that overlooked the paving-stoned Chestnut Street. For $20 we shared a Westmalle Tripel. It was a solemn if not religious experience. The waiter brought special glasses for the beer and uncorked and poured the creamy strong beer for us as we sighed in delight. To see the bottle to hold it and think some silent monk prepared it while muttering monk prayers was a greater experience than had it been poured from a tap. There is a connection with a bottle from them to us. Westmalle is close to Antwerp, so as we swirled the Tripel in our glasses we recosndered our Belgium agenda yet again. Details to follow.... Later, we sat at the bar and shared tales from the road with a fellow who used to live in Antwerp and comes in to Eulogy only when they have Westmalle Tripel, for they often run out. There is still a lot of research for VFH to do and so little time to do it.... Details to follow!
www.trappistwestmalle.be/en/page/brouwerij.aspx

Our time in Eden

It is said that the best revenge is to live well. Perhaps this saying can be considered very profound, except with it comes a tinge of awareness that life is a contest, a chore and fueled by hatred. Rather than enjoying life as it comes and savoring the moment and smelling the roses, life seems to be calculating if one abides by this tenet.

It lessens the joy of our time in Eden.

Such fleeting times we possess here. If we are spurred by revenge rather than joy then deep down there is a black hole at the core of every sun splashed vista, a glassy eyed stare behind every grin, a kernel of darkness uttered with every endearment. It is perhaps best to just let go and trust the newly chosen path, because you can't do anything about the past. Blaze the trail anew, especially if the other one is a dead end.

No. Eden is too precious to wallow in such conspiracies and life flits by with the gravitas of a butterfly. There is too much joy and love and happiness and too little time to worry of revenge.

Okay, so right about now fair reader you're probably saying.... WTF is VFH doing? Where's all the glib travel stories and roadside observations? Have they been drinking heavily again? Well, you're right and soon we will again regale you with tales from travels around the corner and beyond. But now, we're being maudlin because recently a self realization has settled on this team. Partnered now for years with a bear-went-over-the-mountain vision, our conjoined efforts had always had that butterfly outlook on life and destinations. But, personally I could not pass an open door without wanting to peer through the alluring portal. Perhaps it was revenge that fueled my under-the-covers passion? Charged by the saddness of my past I had spurned Eden and looked for happiness with all the joy that comes with cheating death rather than living life.

But, enough about me. This is about VFH, your first choice in traveling information for all destinations near and far. Finally, they are looking in the same direction...finally. The reasons for this sea change are too personal and our time in Eden is too precious to belabor you with the details.

Enjoy your time here. I know we will.