European Adventure Days 11-13

The next leg of our journey took us north into the Netherlands. Our first stop was the Tulip Barn, in Hillegom. We had really wanted to be able to see the tulip fields, and this place did not disappoint! They have over 2.5 million tulips, with all different colors and varieties. It was so beautiful, and so much fun to walk through the fields. They even have really cute photo ops scattered around, and we loved our visit. 

Our next stop was Amsterdam. We had originally only planned to skirt along the southern most border of the Netherlands, but we made a last minute decision to spend a full day in Amsterdam, and it was the best! We took a boat tour of the city, then walked all through the city to get back to our car. We saw the Red Light District and all of the beautiful buildings and canals, and we really loved our day there. 

On the way back south, we stopped for dinner in The Hague. There was a storm rolling in, so it was a little rainy and windy, but the beach there is amazing. The sand is beautiful and soft, and there is a boardwalk with tons of restaurants and shops, and even a pier with arcade games and rides. It looks like the perfect place to spend a summer!

That evening we drove back down to Brussels for the night. The next morning we went to the city center, and spent the day exploring. We visited the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula, the Mannekin Pis statue, and the Anneessen Tower- which is a remnant of the first city wall of Brussels, constructed in the 13th century and served as a watchtower. After lunch, we toured Bruxella 1238, which is an archaeological site of a former Franciscan convent, that was built during the first half of the 13th century. It was pretty amazing to see the foundations of the buildings from the Middle Ages, as well as ancient burial grounds. It even supposedly holds the tomb of John 1st of Brabant, also known as Gambrinus, the legendary king of beer.

In the afternoon we met up with Tristan, and spent the rest of the day with him. We did a really cool buggy tour of the city center, visited Zennekin Pis, and the Royal Palace. It was not open to the public, but the buildings and grounds are incredible. After dinner and some shopping, we said goodbye to Tristan and he hopped on the train back to Chievres. 

Early the next morning we made our way back to the airport, through customs, and onto the long plane ride back to Chicago. We had a several hour layover there, so we hopped on the train and headed downtown to se the river, visit the Bean, and have lunch before we had to get on the last plane home. 

Our trip was incredible, and we are so thankful for the opportunity to go. We spent almost 2 weeks travelling by plane, car, train, subway, bus, bicycle, boat, and foot. We put 1800 kilometers on our rental car and 100 miles on our feet. We saw some of the most amazing things, and somehow it feels like we didn't see hardly anything at all! Until next time, Europe! We'll definitely be back!