Road Trip #1

October 01, 2007

Road Trip #1

Near the beginning of last week, we decided that we would meet Ben in Amsterdam upon his return flight from Canada (where he was working for a brief period). When it came time to purchase the tickets (unfortunately, due to our lack of preparatory planning, the night before we were supposed to meet), we decided to forego the cost of flight tickets, and turn our travel time into a little road trip. Needless to say, one of the best travel decisions we’ve made by far.

After a long drive, we spent 2 nights in Amsterdam on the canals in a houseboat. I was so excited to see the city, the beautiful, never ending canals, gorgeous architecture, and timeless sights. We walked, of course, through this massive biker city, enthralled by the bike culture that Amsterdam is famous for. We saw thousands of bikes, the streets are literally lined with them, and we almost got nipped by a couple, due to our lack of bike etiquette while walking through the city. We visited the Van Gogh museum, one of my favorite artists, and also saw an exhibit on Barcelona, Spain, which was a delight, since we had just visited there earlier this spring. We were also fortunate to see one of the most moving WW II memorials in the home of Anne Frank. Walking through the actual secret annex that her and her family hid in was a somber experience, one that I won’t forget. Our last stop before leaving the city was a canal boat ride, through the canals of the city. This was so much fun for the kids, and it was the perfect way to end our stay.

Freeman & Grace near Amsterdam Canals

In front of Van Gogh museum

Swans knocking at our houseboat window

Bikers galore...check out the bike on the left, she's got a cool bucket on the front of her bike carrying a 3 yr. old, and a newborn baby in a car seat!

Ben paddling hard through our canal ride

We left Amsterdam, and drove to Brussels, Belgium, where we stayed outside the city and enjoyed an evening downtown. The city was beautiful, very clean and aristocratic. Brussels is not only the capital of Europe, but also where NATO houses their headquarters. We had the most DELICIOUS Belgium waffles (really, sooooo good, with sliced strawberries, bananas and cream), and picked up some divine chocolate.

We saw these windmills all through the Netherlands, but this one was we found in Brussels.

On our way home from Belgium, our last stop was Paris. We didn’t have much time, but wanted a taste of what Paris had to offer for a future return on our own without the kids. Paris was enchanting…we drove through Montmartre, past the Moulin Rouge and through the Latin district (I thought driving was difficult in Italy!). We walked down some its large avenues, surrounded by beautiful architecture, and to the Eiffel tower, and then toured the city via a river boat on the Seine. What a magnificent city, rich with wonder and full of so much to see and do. To be honest, as I gazed at the city from our boat, I became choked up a bit, only because it was so beautiful and wondrous, I couldn’t believe I could actually experience it first hand.