Amsterdam--Tuesday, August 19

On Tuesday, we went to Amsterdam to see the Youth Hostel where we met.  We were warmly welcomed by some of the workers there.  It was great to see the place again, and it brought back many fond memories.  

Holland--Sunday, August 17

Sunday morning we said goodbye to our new friends and headed two hours north to Holland to see our old friends, Max and Suzan Jonker.  After 15 years, it was good to see them again.  We knew we were in Holland by the windmills.  Cool and rainy is a nice change from the hot Italian weather.  

Brugges, Belgium--Saturday, August 16

On Saturday, Zander spent the morning learning some soccer moves, since Tom coaches a team, and we sat enjoying our coffee and pastries.  After lunch we piled into the cars to go to Brugges, the city of bridges.  We did more sight-seeing and chocolate-tasting.  We sat at a café for dinner and sipped a glass of wine and then it was time to enjoy the “Reiefest”, which is the festival of the canals.  It is once a year, and they use skits and dances to show the history of Brugges.  It was quite interesting and fun, but it made for a very late evening.  We didn’t get to bed until almost 2am.

Ghent

Walking along the canals, seeing the bicycles and flowers, I believe this may be one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen. 

Belgium--Friday, August 15

On Friday morning we loaded up the car and headed for Belgium.  Not bad—only a 3-hour drive.  We were on our way to meet Tom and his family.  Lloyd met Tom in Perugia, where he was studying Italian for a month.  They met in the middle of town during an open-air jazz concert.  After talking for about 30 minutes that evening, they exchanged addresses and invited each other to their homes.  Little did Tom know that we would take him up on his invitation!  His family was so kind and gracious to have us into their home and to make typical Belgian food and then to take us out sightseeing. 

After a wonderful lunch, we got on a train and headed for Ghent, about 30 minutes away.  What a beautiful city, with old buildings and a real castle!  The first thing we saw after getting off the bus was a stand selling homemade gingerbread and small raspberry cone-shaped candies.  The gingerbread was a cheesecake-consistency and moist and absolutely delicious!  The raspberry was also wonderful, but very, very sweet.  The Belgian word for the candy translates as a “nose” because it is shaped like a nose!

Then, we went to Gravensteen, a castle that was built back in the 800s, which was rebuilt over a period of decades, starting in the 1800s.  It is now a museum containing medieval weapons and torture instruments.  The kids loved it.  The tower also offered a spectacular view of the city.

We went to the Cathedral of St. Bavo in Ghent, which holds a very famous painting by Jan van Eyck, called the Mystic Lamb.  Here is a link to one site about St. Bavo's:  http://www.trabel.com/gent/gent-saintbavo.htm

Versailles-again

On Thursday, August 14, we spent the day in Versailles.  This time we went inside--we avoided the long ticket queue by purchasing tickets the day before at the supermarket.  We saw the Dauphin's apartments, the Hall of Mirrors, Marie Antionette's Grand and Petit Trianons.  There was more to see, but after walking for seven hours, we felt we got our money's worth.  

Chartres, France

On Wednesday, August 13, we took a trip to Chartres, which was an absolutely amazingly charming town, complete with stream and romantic bridges.  We stopped in the Cathedral and climbed up about 300 or so steps to get up to the bell tower.  At the top, my legs were a bit wobbly, but what an amazing view!