Mix and Match Travel Agency

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Belgium and Holland Days 1 &2: Ghent

Andrew and I returned last night from 10 days in Belgium and the Netherlands (Holland).  Before you start flipping out and getting the wrong idea...this was not that trip.  That trip will not be blogged about until the finale of the Bachelor this spring.  That trip won't even be mentioned until then.   You gotta wait to hear about that trip.  In the meantime, enjoy the pics from this amazing trip :).

This is how Andrew and I work...last spring, Andrew said, "hey, why don't we go to NYC for the weekend in October?".  That sentence turned into 10 days in Europe.  We just start planning and our love for travel takes over and before you know it, we've planned a trip to the other side of the pond.  This was the first time we traveled without both kiddos in a long time.  The last time we went to Holland, the kiddos were 21 and 5 months old.  It was so much fun to go with just the hubby but at the same time, we missed them a lot.  We really do love traveling with our kids.  Thank you to the awesome Lovie and Papa Jay for taking care of our babies (they are already taking care of Sean's babies too...Lola and Ellie).  I'm sure it was kind of like a zoo at their house.

Here we are...about to board our flight to Amsterdam.

Not going to lie...I really, really enjoyed flying without the kids.  I love them dearly but having 10 hours to myself to read magazines and cookbooks and watch whatever I wanted on my i-Pad without them was glorious.  Flying with kids isn't the easiest thing to do, so flying without them seemed like 10 hours of sheer bliss.

Oh heavens!  As soon as our plane touched down, we were walking to baggage claim and I saw this at Starbucks...in Europe, they have a Apple Crumble Latte!  What?!  Yes, I had to stop for one.  It was a fall delight.  Maybe next year, they'll bring it to the US.  It was yummy!

We rented a car in Amsterdam and drove 2 hours to beautiful Ghent, Belgium.  This is where we stayed the first 5 nights.  Ghent was incredibly beautiful.  I loved, loved, loved it.  It was a little drizzly the first day, but we totally didn't mind.  We welcomed the cold and drizzle.

A picture of our hotel.  Isn't it in the perfect spot?  Right there on the water.  It is the Marriott Ghent.  I may be the actual travel agent but Andrew picked out everything to do with this trip and he did a fantastic job.  This hotel and our view of the water was amazing.

Me and my first Belgian waffle.  There are no words.  It was like a warm chocolate chip cookie.  It was heavenly. It was the first of 3,456 waffles I consumed on this trip.  Trust me...keep reading about this vacation and you will gain weight.  The food was that good.  Even you'll gain a few just seeing the pictures. :)

This was the view from our hotel room.

In this picture, we've been up for almost 48 hours.  We're happy and tired.  It was a great first full day in Belgium!

Click here for Day 3.



Belgium & Holland Day 3: Brussels

On Sunday, we drove about 40 minutes to Brussels for some shopping and looking.  First stop, Andrew had researched out a huge flea market area...perfect for finding treasures.

It was so fun to walk through the flea market with all of the locals.  We came across some really neat finds.  I'm not one for haggling prices (it gives me great anxiety!) but Andrew is great at it!

Andrew collects old books.  He bought 3...one of which was published in the 1700s.  Super cool!

That's me posing with our new books :).

We ran into some trouble on our way into downtown Brussels.  What are the odds that the one day we decide to head downtown, the Brussels Marathon would also be heading downtown?  We were stuck in traffic for two hours (it should have only taken us 7 minutes!) because of all of these runners.  If I wasn't a runner myself, I might have been bitter.  Andrew was realllllly bitter ;)!

We made it into Brussels and were starving!  Pizza for lunch!

Me :)

A panoramic picture of downtown Brussels

We really, really liked this town!  The architecture, the people, the shopping, the art...it was perfect!  We bought several original paintings for our house and Andrew's office.

I also found a Christmas store!  Loved it!

I'm having cappuccino here :).

We finished off our day with a great steak dinner in Brussels.  So fun!

And of course, a waffle for dessert :)!

Click here for Day 4.



Belgium & Holland Day 4: Brugge

On Monday, we drove about 30 minutes from Ghent to Brugge, Belgium.  I looooooved this town!  It was so cute, the food and shopping were excellent and the parks were beautiful.  The weather was cool, the leaves were orange and falling, and the little store windows were decked out in pumpkins galore.  Just a great day with my hubby!

We had breakfast in our hotel every morning before heading out.  Not a bad view from my window, right?

We arrived in Brugge!

We couldn't tour the Belfry on this day because the BBC was filming a movie in there.  Do you see all of the movie trailers, lights and cameras out front?

We sat here with our cappuccinos and pancakes and watched for a bit.  It was pretty cool seeing the grand costumes and the movie action.

Andrew studying his map :)

Brugge has a French Fry Museum!!  Of course, we had to visit.  We had fun!

And then we walked over to Brugge's Chocolate Museum (this is my kind of history right here!).

I'm a cocoa bean!

We have our Belgian chocolate to sample (and when I say sample, I mean, we ate so much at one time that I thought I was going to be sick!).

We missed our babies but we had a great time in Brugge.  Tomorrow...we head over to my favorite European country for my very favorite food...schnitzel!

Click here for Day 5.



Belgium & Holland Day 6: Breendonk

Day 6 was a weird day.  It started off very solemn and sad as we visited the concentration camp, Breendonk but then ended super happy and fun when we finished our day elsewhere.  We went to pay our respects to Breendonk and its thousands of victims

I'm very blessed to have traveled all over the world.  I've been traveling since I was a small child and have seen a multitude of really cool, really historic things.  However, if I'm ever asked what my favorite place is that I've ever visited, I always say it's when I have been to concentration camps.

My dad did an excellent job while we were growing up to exposing us to things related to World War II.  We went to Pearl Harbor, Normandy Beach, Eagle's Nest, and to several concentration camps.  I'm blessed to still have a grandfather that's alive that served during this awful time.  I'm a really big believer in remembering the past...no matter how horrific it was.

I don't normally walk around concentration camps smiling but Andrew said my sad face wasn't pretty.  So here I am, bright and early, about to enter Breendonk.  The last concentration camp I visited was two years ago when we took the kids to Mauthausen.

The weirdest part about the whole experience is that Andrew and I toured the entire concentration camp alone.  All by ourselves.  Walking the halls.  It was really disturbing if I'm being honest.  Andrew even said it freaked him out.  We were the only ones there when it opened other than a school group (pictured above) but they were detained for a lecture at the gate.  So, we just walked the entire complex by ourselves.

Some of the faces who lost their lives in that very room.

The actual beds prisoners slept on. 

Walking the same halls that Nazis walked.

Andrew standing in a cell.  The bench would be removed during the day and the prisoner would have to stand all day...they couldn't sit or lean against the wall.  They had to stand at attention all day long.

A torture chamber.  The Nazis would bring people in one at a time, strip them completely naked and then torture them.  See the hook hanging from the ceiling?  How would you like to be tortured using that?  They didn't just torture men...they tortured women too.

This is where they would stand before the firing squad.  Hundreds of people were shot right there.

This is where they were hung.  All  for being a Jew.

The names on the wall are of every person who lost their life at Breendonk.  The urns in the middle carry their ashes.

Andrew and I smiling because we are so blessed to live in  a free country.  A country where we don't have to hide our faith.  It's so hard to stand in a place where you know people died.  But we can't forget the past.

We finished off our fabulous day in Antwerp, Belgium.  We had the best time in Belgium...loved it!  But tomorrow...we head back to the Netherlands...

 Click here for Day 7.



Belgium & Holland Day 5: Germany

On Day 5, we drove from Belgium to my favorite European country...Germany!  I'm not going to lie...we drove there for the food.  If you don't know about my love affair with German food, you can click here to read a little more.  I realized that this is my third year in a row to visit Germany and I'm  pretty sure positive I've gone all three years just for the food. I didn't take many pictures on this day....probably because I was too busy eating schnitzel...and strudel...and schnitzel.

Our first stop was Cologne, Germany.  I just love how cathedrals like this are right in the middle of a busy shopping district.  It's a shame we don't have architecture like this back home.

It's my first schnitzel of the day!  (And not my last!)  Do you see how happy I am????!!!

After spending some time in Cologne, we drove to Dusseldorf, Germany to finish up our day.  They have one restaurant that is famous for its apple strudel...so of course, that was our first stop!

On the Rhine River

Stopping for more strudel.  Don't judge.

We had such a lovely day here.  I really do love Germany for the architecture, weather, scenery, history and food.  I've been many times and it always holds a special place in my heart. 

Tomorrow, we take a serious turn and I visit my third concentration camp.  We will respectfully remember those who died at Breendonk.

Click here for Day 6.