Seein' Zealand

This weekend was a long weekend in Belgium so with four days off we headed to the Dutch coast. The original plan was to see some of the cities, including Gouda and Delft, but the weather was so beautiful that we changed plans. 

We stayed in a hostel that was a castle from the 1600s.

 

The castle was a short walk to the beach - where we spent most of our time.

 

 

We took one day to visit Kinderdijk, a site where they have preserved windmills and explain the canal system. 

 

 

On the last day we met up with friends for dinner on the beach and some fun in the sand. 

 

Royal flowers

For a just a few weeks each year, the royal family of Belgium open their private greenhouses to the public. Built by Leopold II, many of the plants are still from that time. 

 

Lines were crazy long but we made it in. 

 

The greenhouses are called the City of Glass. Stunning Art Nouveau design, fragrant flowers, beautiful blooms... 

 

   

The ninth art

The comic strip is called the ninth art. Today we visited the Comic Stip Centre. The centre is a beautiful

Art Nouveau building filled with art and history. 

The kids had fun exploring the illustrations and finding familiar characters.

 

 

  

Edinburgh Experience

With a small group from work we flew to Edinburgh for scotch and scenery!

Evening 1: sampled scotch and enjoyed a great meal in downtown Edinburgh.

Day 2: bus tour around the entire central Highlands including stops at a distillery for breakfast and tour (no scotch before 10am) and Loch Ness in the afternoon

Day 3: Touring Edinburgh by day, Royal Mile from Holyrood Palace at one to the Castle at the other, and around the city.

Rugby: Belgium vs. Romania

I took Calvin to an international rugby match with other boys and father from his school.

The hits were something to see up close!

Belgium 17 - Romania 33

Sam's Italy - The Leaning Tower of Pisa

It was cool because it was leaning. It was leaning because I knocked it over with my bum. Then I tried to flick it back into place.

I liked the truffle hunting because there was a dog. At first I was scared and then I got brave and I got to pet it. And I loved that.

Calvin's Italy - truffle hunting

I liked the truffle hunting because I like the dog there. And we got to see fossilized shells from where the sea levels rose up the the hills. That makes the soil perfect for oaks to grow and truffles usually grow under the roots of the oak. We found about five truffles. The dog sniffed them out. After the truffle hunting we ate some dishes with truffles in it. And me, Em and Sam got to play with the dog. the dog's name was Choco.