Don’t they look so happy?! 🥰

I will post more once we find the Elders 😬

We found the Elders patiently waiting for us in front of KLM/Air France. We checked in the baggage’s and now waiting for mobility assistance.

Tom Bradley

We are flight KL602

Our Elders made it through security without MUCH problems. Pop, of course, got nabbed AGAIN! It was his shoes 😵‍💫🥴

I got nabbed too for my knee brace on my right side but the scanner said that the thing that made them stop me was the LEFT side! Stupid thing!

Anyway, the folks are on their way through the long corridor of LAX Tom Bradley via a mobility trolley. The 2 of us have to sweat it to the gate.

The 2 of us practically ran to the gate because we’re leaving EARLY! The plane was practically full when we arrived. Finally made it to our seats and waiting to take off now. I just wish I wasn’t sitting next to a grumpy lady (and it’s NOT Auntie!)

They are closing the overhead bins now and a sign to put my phone in airplane mode.

We will be arriving earlier than expected in Amsterdam (I suppose) so see you all tomorrow morning with new pictures from Schiphol.

Gate number 204

Planes waiting with us

Time we left the gate

About to take off into the wild blue yonder!

Overcast today over LAX

And then we cleared the clouds …

We landed at 12*C

I was not sitting next to the window but these were incredible sky photos. I give Papa a lot of credit because he has zero idea how to take photos and more intimidating is my phone but he did his best and I’m happy that he took them.

Now waiting for our connector flight to Toulouse, France and then drive a bit to Lourdes.

I really need to explain to the Folks that they will be hit with a GIGANTOR phone bill unless the switch to using WhatsApp. Wish me luck that they will remember.

Waiting for assistance.

We spent a great deal of time doing, “Hurry up! Now wait!” \240

That’s the expression on Pop’s face. “Again?!”

Found the original Schipol airport

Look what I found!

Never know if Papa will notice what I post. Haha

Pop, Grand Z and I are sitting in this half shipping container that KLM customised as a special mobility assistance lift. This container has a lift in front that will lift us directly to the door of the plane that is sitting on tarmac!!

The shipping container got a new life!

This is what they did for us so the Folks did not have to walk across the tarmac and climb stairs.

We first have to stop in Toulouse and it’s 23*C! Ooh La La!! That’s quite comfortable for 1.30pm!! \240We should be in Toulouse about 10 mins. Landing soon.

I will explain in further detail when I we make it happen to our hotel in Lourdes.

Ohmygoodness!! Been here for nearly 2 hours trying to get our reserved car!! What a nightmare! We finally have a car (waiting for them to bring it up from wherever they keep it)

Stay tuned for a pic of our car…

Our car for the Pyrenees

In the meantime…

Here is a view from our window

There are a lot of people moving about already. I think everyone is heading over for mass or something. I don’t even know what building that is but that’s the direction everyone is going.

Quick stop for coffee

We were trying to make our way from Toulouse to Lourdes but desperately needed to stop for coffee. Most places in Europe close early for family time and I understand but sometimes you need a quick pick me up.

Quick stop for something to eat at the gas station. This place “Maison something” - (Check the window for complete name) is supposed to be famous for their macarons. Alas, we did not try it

Looks wimpy but it’s a really good sandwich.

Pop and Auntie Zeny had smoked salmon sandwich. Pop liked it so much that he got another. Then again, the meals in KLM were so gross.

Some pix of our drive from Toulouse to Lourdes into the Pyrenees 🥰

I better wake the Pilgrims now if they want to go to mass this morning.

I must be tired if I posted these pix more than once but now you know the background story

…and God said, “let there be coffee!” \240(Cue the choir of angels)

At least the lady who runs the breakfast place spoke to me in Spanish and I was so utterly grateful!! How did she know I spoke Spanish? Is it my hair? Haha

Lourdes, France (our hotel in background- Hôtel Saint Louis de France)

Can’t believe they FINALLY woke up! Haha

Whilst waiting for the folks, we walked a little up the street and found this convent -

Looks like we found this convent called St Claire’s. Haha

Pyrenees forêt

The Way of the Cross

(Le Chemin de Croix)

They battled the elements but did NOT drink the water 😵‍💫🥴😳

Inside the sanctuary

Illegal photos of the inside of the sanctuary during mass

My hair is NOT greasy! It’s sopping wet from being in the rain

Walkway going down to the miraculous grotto.

The Folks were freezing because it started raining so we picked them up and had them defrost in the car. They were unable to make it to the grotto. They rested a little and we picked them to bring them BACK to get their water. In the meantime, we had a little time to kill so we discovered a little museum. It’s LITERALLY little. Even in their name!

See? Le Petit Lourdes! Haha

Enjoy the pictures below!!

Bernadette as a child.

The fortress of Lourdes

The pictures above are all outside and depicts what Lourdes looked like when Bernadette was there. It took the guy 10 years to make.

The basilica

The basilica above took the artist 15 years to make and ONE solid piece of plaster.

The fine details of the basilica.

The artist who creates Le Petit Lourdes

The artist above was a miner (as in actually worked in the mines) and in his spare time he created this tiny rendition of Lourdes. He was originally from Lorraine.

Notre Dame Chappelle

All the photos are the inside of Notre Dame

We left the folks to rest and went to discover the rest of town

FINALLY, the folks are ready to get to the grotto (which they missed earlier due to the weather…) it would have been easier to walk across the bridge but it was pouring rain with wind! It was supposed to be leftover from Hurricane Milton. So we had to take the long way around and take the car. \240

Then BOOM AND BOOM!! We hit some weirdo pothole and this is what happened!! 😳

Double flat tires!

And that’s the end of our rental car and we have a flight leaving from Toulouse (2 hours away from Lourdes) and no way to get there tomorrow. Will report more in a few moments. Just digest those 2 pictures above. \240

So, we had an hour + to wait for tow truck and in these torrential rain pour but. Pop still needed to get to the grotto. So we called a cab.

The way to the grotto

Looks like we made it to the grotto at last!

Pop had already filled his bottle of water (1L) and filling his water bottle for tonight and tomorrow before he flies to Paris.

Because it was so cold and windy, he did not get to dunk in the baths, so I made him wash his face. Then Auntie Zeny, was just standing there and I told her to wash her face too! So she did and she said, “I have to rub it into. My ears so I can hear again!” Haha

The Virgin Mary and where the apparition occurred

See how cold they were??

Papa still hadn’t showed up from waiting for the tow truck, and we were waiting (worriedly) for him so we did some browsing and had to look for somewhere to eat. We are roughly 5,000 miles away from home and look what Pop and Auntie found…

Lechon kawali

Arroz caldo

Sinigang baboy!

I wonder if there is some Filipino food saint that protects and watches from above!! We are in the middle of the Pyrenees! How do they find these places???!

That being said, the food was awesome. I would totally recommend it others.

We were ordering our food when these 2 guys started to break out their Tagalog!! Crazy! They don’t Filipino at all.

To wrap up the day, we would definitely come back as long as someone leaves his Protestant heretic saint behind and allow the catholics to do their miraculous business and keep the bad omens away. He better start praying \240to one of our saints soon (just to keep us safe from these mischievous imps - AKA heretics!)

Oops! I forgot to include another place we went!

We found this place that is similar (and much smaller than) Granville Island

Power outage!

We just checked in our big luggage and was just sitting waiting for mobility assistance when all the lights and power stopped working in the airport! I feel bad for the people who were stuck in the lift! Anywhoo… the drama drama made for an interesting rush rush wait wait morning.

Terminal next to ours was completely darkened

“Stop! Nothing is working!!”

The check-in peeps were trying to assist passengers with their flashlight on their phones! I don’t know how they actually checked anything in because that’s electric too (with the belt taking baggage’s elsewhere). How would passengers get through security without the radioactive bone zapper machine to see all the hardware in my neck, knee and oh look! Is that coffee?? \240I’m sure that part of the airport was more chaotic than us practically running to the gate!

Folks on their elternTrolley

We could not go through the regular security line but had to go through XL baggage check in. So we waited and waited.

The folks look bored and nosey

I could use a nap now and we have an hour thirty until we make it to Paris. Maybe my kids were right- les grenouilles sont connards!! Perhaps I should not be saying anything considering we’re currently on an Air France flight. They closed their overhead \240bins so it means we’re about to take off! See you all in Paris.

I must say though, of all the flights we’ve taken in less than a week, AIr France flight attendants are super nice compared to KLM! They don’t even have that condescending look on their face like KLM did which I find to be weird.

We finally made it to^

It was a long hard battle getting here. So many things have gone from ONE challenge to another. It felt as if we were doing penance or something. So yes! It has been difficult but, in a strange way, it was such a place that I would visit again. I’m referring to Lourdes. We have only begun our exploration of Paris, but stay tuned for what tomorrow brings. As for today?? Lemme tell you!

Paris Orly Airport

Paris Orly airport

I made sure that the folks did not have to struggle walking around and getting lost in the airport/s and therefore felt it was necessary for them to take the mobility tram. So, I had to do some maneuvers with our baggages + the walker and then having to chase after them (in Toulouse) was miserable. The Toulouse guy was zipping through the airport and the elders were lucky enough to sit and enjoy the ride whereas the 2 of us… we had to practically run and catch up with them (and of course, we did not). When we finally made it to the gate, the tram driver was rushing us even MORE (the plane was delayed because of the blackout in the airport) and we were sweating and trying to catch our breathing! But… we made it to Paris.

Once we arrived here we got our car…

Dacia (Hungarian made)

Cool how the back seat has a little table!

Then we had to get to our resting place. We NEEDED it badly!! Jet lagged and exhausted, we were almost there! However, our hotel was NOT in Paris per se, but just outside in Massy. The connard who was renting his place (think airBnB), had double booked and we had no place to stay!! So, we stopped at McDo’s to figure everything out (I needed WiFi) and we were able to secure our new Paris hub.

They have FANCY cups at McDo’s!

A view from the highway

This is their concert hall. Looks similar to Walt Disney Hall in DTLA.

Our place in Saint Denis Quarters, Paris

Across the street from our hotel is the metro

So busy tonight! Duh! It’s Friday night

We still haven’t eaten so we walked around to find a bistro or a brassiere! What did we end up eating??

Auntie Zeny’s meal

Sake!

Maki

Baton sushi

Sashimi

Yakitori

I don’t usually like Salmon sushi/sashimi but, Lordy Lord! This was delicious!! It was not fishy like most salmon we get back home and had nothing to do with freshness, but I think it’s the waters. This was Atlantic salmon probably caught in Norway or something. Usually, Pop cannot have too much salmon but he at practically the WHOLE plate and he was so happy!!

That’s it for us. See you in the morning!

Finally got quiet around here

Metro picture again but…

They pick up trash late at night here. Late = 7pm.

Venturing down towards \240the subway track.

Metro station is over 100 years old! 😮

“all that way, Milord?”

For our kids: you should remember that line above - “what? All that way!?”

First morning cuppa joe!

If ever we needed a jolt to our system, this would be it in a tiny little cup!

Found our cuppa at this bar

Some guy already had his glass of beer and placing bets! I saw him sipping the beer but Papa saw his betting ticket.

I know Europeans do things differently from Americans, but having a pint in the morning g is not unusual.

View from our window in our room

Lobster is 60€/kg

1kg = 2.2lbs. For easy conversion just think 2 pounds per kilo.

Fruit smells like fruit!!

Weird version of coleslaw but ok.

Sandwich looks tasty for breakfast!

The butcher shop below the apartments

Freshly made rotisserie chicken would be nice

Is this their version of Panda Express??

Breakfast is served

Matching cups!! How cool!!

Breakfast is done and now we’re on our way to see some sights. Stay tuned for your regularly scheduled programme.

Before we actually make it to Coeur Sacré (Sacred Hesrt) we found this little church near it.

St Pierre’s church

Da Vinci Code?!

If anyone has seen “The Da Vinci Code” would you know ask the same question? We ARE in Paris after all! It is actually Delille’s Tomb. But who is Delille? I will research later

Inside the church

Saint Antoine de Padoue (St Anthony of Padua)

Of course we asked for prayers of protection and mercy from St Anthony but also to thank him for the numerous times he aided me in finding my keys, AirPods, and all my other lost items.

No such thing as privacy back in the day!

I guess going confession back in the day was completely different.

Divine mercy

When we arrived there was a mass going on, so the folks decided to stop for a quick blessing. How on earth does Pop find his peeps?!

Mass is in Tagalog!!

At this moment, I don’t know if you can see the snippet video of them singing in Tagalog but it sounded like it.

Historical landmark

Coeur Sacré Cathedral

The Sacred Heart Cathedral

Long line to get in but we patiently waited

At least it wasn’t raining until we stood in line.

Below is a close up of the altar and altarpiece

A view from cœur sacré cathedral

We left the folks inside to give them space to attend mass. So I was goofing off outside, in the rain. What else can I do?

This gentleman was kind enough to play me some tunes.

This gentleman was kind enough to feed me some measly snacks! 😬

Freshly made p-nuttles!! Oh it was so good and warm. Can you see the warmth trying to escape?

That’s it for this area. Heading back to catch up on jet lag recovery.

Buuuut… before I leave check out this cool store I found (and could not get in)

Dedicated to my sister!

She would say, “…& don’t buy any crap!” Too bad I didn’t buy her any crap! Haha

So close!!

Going down into the pyramid…

The only art I saw in the Louvre

And like that… the show is over! Did you miss all the artwork we saw??!

So did we!! The stupid ticket agent cut off the ticket sales and we could not get in to see anything.

Oh well… at least the clouds cleared a bit and it will be nice to see Paris from the Eiffel Tower!! We will return to Louvre tomorrow morning. I hope everyone else is still sleeping.

And like that rain came pouring down!! 😡

Pop and Auntie Z enjoying the rain and tower

This is us

Oh dear Lord!! It’s crowded here too and pouring rain!

\240 \240 \240 \240 \240Ooh! The lights are coming up!

Fine!! Last pic! I promise!!

And like that… our Eiffel Tower experience ended. The rain was really coming down and making the misery even worse for half of our quartet. So we decided not to spend 140€ to get soaked. Good thing we did not go up too. People were walking down! Pop thinks the lift broke 😳😵‍💫

So we just decided to leave and head back home. But then… Auntie got LOST! Just as we found a cab!! Took us like 30 mins to find her!! She’s already so tiny and now it’s pouring rain!! We all kept thinking that she needs a leash so she cannot get lost again. She was standing right next to me too as I took the last shot. Perhaps she followed someone else?

Earlier in the day when we decided we needed a nap, Auntie Z need to use the loo really quick. So she stopped at the lobby. She said she would make her way up on her own. We thought she said, “I know which room, 508!” Nope! They were in 219! Oh dear! She spent the lift ride arguing with Papa about which is her room. She was positive it was 508. Then he said, “we’re in Paris.” And like that she started laughing!

Gare du nord

Gare du nord

Hotel du Louvre

Hotel du Louvre

Entrance to the courtyard of the Louvre

Entrance to the courtyard of the Louvre

Louvre is in a U shape and that little glimpse of a pyramid is 1 of the 2 smaller ones

Inside the Louvre lobby

Inside the Louvre lobby

Inside the Louvre lobby

Under the giant pyramid of the Louvre and a partial staircase view

Under the giant pyramid of the Louvre and a partial staircase view

Tickets to get in to Mona Lisa

Tickets to get in to Mona Lisa

Tickets to get in to Mona Lisa

One of our fave paintings by Gericault

“The Raft of Medusa”

We like this painting because we know the symbolism behind it. Gericault was a realist painter. He was on the gloomy side of life so his paintings reflected the misery of his view of France at the time.

This is “Libery leading the People” by Eugène Delacroix.

Another of the paintings we like because it was the model for the Statue of Liberty in NYC.

“amor and psyche” by François-Édouard Picot

We had studied this painting too and are familiar with the symbolism behind it. Once you know what you’re supposed to see and the symbolism behind it, it becomes easier to comprehend.

Winged victory of samothrace

For once, the folks did not get lost…

On their way to find Mona Lisa

On their way to find Mona Lisa

On their way to find Mona Lisa

The hall where Mona Lisa is hiding

The hall where Mona Lisa is hiding

Probably some famous Roman senator.

Probably some famous Roman senator.

And like that… Mona Lisa appears!!

And like that… Mona Lisa appears!!

Pop and Auntie Z

Pop and Auntie Z

Pop and Auntie Z

I took this pic because I was wondering if they really hunted in this fashion - or lack of fashion

I took this pic because I was wondering if they really hunted in this fashion - or lack of fashion

I took this pic because I was wondering if they really hunted in this fashion - or lack of fashion

St Michael vanishing Satan - by Raphael

St Michael vanishing Satan - by Raphael

David and Goliath by Daniele de Volterra

David and Goliath by Daniele de Volterra

David and Goliath by Daniele de Volterra

Seated Virgin holding Christ child on her right knee

Seated Virgin holding Christ child on her right knee

Zoom in to see what we saw frequently here in Paris

Zoom in to see what we saw frequently here in Paris

Zoom in to see what we saw frequently here in Paris

All done with Louvre today. Definitely need to come back and spend a minimum of 3 months. It will take that long to see all the permanent collections.

On our way out of Paris now. Hopefully we will see you soon!

Things we saw on the drive from Paris to Lille

Tastes like rotisserie chicken! It’s not salty at all!!

So goooood!!

Our Hotel (BnB) Queen Christine

Heading into town (Centre of Lille)

This place was next to the place we had dinner. 🥰

Irish coffee

Basket of delicious fries

Some chicken in stinky cheese sauce.

Liege waffles with chocolate sauce

His favourite vanilla ice cream

Just some cool architecture. A mix between Dutch design and French.

Today is a different story from the last. It’s mostly just photos. This is our last French town before we head into Flanders + Dutch territories.

Dining locale fare

Trying French crepes

Lille is probably the last big city in France (North) and considered to be a college town. It used to be part of the kingdom of the Netherlands waaaaaay back when but king Louis XIV fought and it eventually became part of France in the 18th century.

Look at their architecture, you can see the Dutch influence but also see the touch of French. It’s a nice little city with 100,000+ students roaming the streets. I have not looked at what universities are in town or what their known for, but it’s a nice change from the hustle and bustle of Paris or the provincial feel of Lourdes.

We are off to Dunkirk now and then we will rest in Bruges, Belgium. It will be nice to be able to understand the language better in Belgium. My French has definitely improved since being here!

Queen Christine B & B

Breakfast spread

In the loft

Homemade jam

Strawberry lavender jam.

Our host, Christine, said that she uses a little bit of lavender to bring out the flowery flavours of the strawberries.

Breakfast gossip and stories!

Our host has very eclectic design but I actually like it!!

Au revoir, Queen Christine. Merci beaucoup !!

The beds and linens were awesome and so much more comfortable than one could only dream about.

Breakfast was so lovely! Homemade jam, baguette and croissants! Ooh La La !!

I apologise that my photos are not in order but you’re only looking at pictures! Haha

Bon! We are done here in Dunkirk and off to a new country! See you all in Belgium!

This used to be the border

Common to see these horse and buggy things throughout Brugge

Found the entrance to Diagon Alley

Water bottle refill station

In Western Europe, they are trying to minimize the water pollution so they have all these stations to refill your water bottle with CLEAN water!!

Brugge Guild Hall

Holy Blood Basilica

Saint Salvator

Funky yet tasty Cheetos! They’re mega tiny! Size of like a BB

All you can eat ribs at Mozart’s

That’s all for you today. We will see you all tomorrow morning

Chasing the golden hour

Entrance to a special convent

Swan Lake

Golden hour in Brugge

A view from our room

Breakfast is served

Our breakfast place was Español 🇪🇸 owned

Last minute souvenir browsing

And like that, it’s time to say “Tot ziens!” We enjoyed our short stay immensely!!

Scenic route leaving Belgium to NL

Looks like a sign you would see in Amish country

Translation: \240focus on the road

I don’t know if this is a Belgian thing or Benelux … but I kept seeing him.

Took us roughly 3 hours to get from almost coastal (west) Belgium to eastern NL.

The drive to our hotel

Our hotel with a rich history

Some sort of greenhouse

Sun going down

On our way to see a bridge too far

Arnhem

Some sort of stadium

Where the van den Vlekkert clan is from ^

John Frost Bridge

Also known as The Bridge too far

Chicken salad starter from Thai restaurant

Beef salad

Panang chicken

Pad Thai

Pop wondering what to do with his decoration

The restaurant and decor

Decor in front of the hotel

True, true TRUE, Mr Kissinger!

That’s it for tonight. We kept the day light so Pop had time to recover from the hustle and bustle. Tomorrow we’re off to the Airborne Museum to tell us more about Operation Market Garden. Good night.

Around 6.30-7am

Dropping off some of the luggage

Surrounded by trees

Took a walk in the forest and found this lovely gazebo

Overlooking a meadow

Pop enjoying breakfast

View from parking lot

We will be leaving soon to see the airborne museum (market garden museum)

I took some videos of the “Airborne Experience” but it did not save well. I will try again later. So for now, I am just making a bookmark here.

Goodbye Oosterbeek. Thank you for the memories!!

Goodbye, Arnhem! Thank you for historical lessons. I hope we don’t go through that again but for those who gave their lives and fought what was an impossible war, we are grateful to you.

Nothing Asian about this burger

Home of AZ football

Our hotel!

Yes!! It used to be a prison

Outside of hotel

Heading into town

Alkmaar’s windmill

Dumb church wouldn’t let Clare and me in when we were here in 2018

Police station

The big church

Cool hoodie

Town hall

Town plate (lights up)

Indonesian to go

The end of the town centre (shopping area)

Sunset over alkmaar

José’s street/neighbourhood

Leaving Alkmaar

Evert-Jan’s first flat when I met him.

Met up early in the morning to Sligro (think Costco) with José and did some browsing …

Found teeny bottles of wine

What a bargain price for saucijzenbroodje!!

Never heard of chickendale except when Max and Toty watched Chip & Dale

Oooh!! \240What a price for chocolate shaving

We don’t have these but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist - giant capers!

You can see the considerable size difference with the capers on the shelves above.

Cemetery entrance in alkmaar

The courtyard of our “prison”

Decided to visit Heiloo/Limmen and Egmond

Truly country side

We came to see the abbey

Cow just looking to see me snap a pic

Entrance of the abbey store

They have a small orchard

My ginkgo leaf as a remembrance of those we love to lost memories

Since the Netherlands is reclaimed land from the ocean, their soil has lots of calcium from seashells

Then we left to check out this miraculous spot.

Legend has it that fishermen were caught in a torrential storm and they saw the Virgin Mary and prayed to her and she said, “if you believe the wind will take you ashore.” They believed and they were rescued from the storm.

Later they wanted to build a church in her honour and as they were looking for a place to put the church, they saw a statue of the Virgin Mary and that is the spot they began building.

If you honour me, the wind will change. If you look at the very back, you can see the statue of Mary.

Inside of the chapel

A view from the sidewalk of our hotel

Our cosy little room

A view from our window

The plaza around the corner from our hotel

Apple pie, latte and something called not so pink cake.

It must have been vegan baking because everything was hard as a rock!! The green cake was supposed to be pandan + coconut (buko pandan?!)

A cappuccino

Funny looking saucer under my latte

Leiden is the oldest university in all of the Netherlands. It was founded in 1575. It was a gift from the Willem the Silent as a thank you for their support

As you walk around throughout the town, you can see poems in different languages, equations, art and other university significance throughout the university perimeter (which feels like all the town centre)

The drug store

Is that guy coughing on me??

Strolling around town …

And then I found this super cute and peaceful looking guy!!

And his brother!

They look so peaceful and I feel calm when I look at them.

A few shots of ONE of Leiden’s windmills.

This land used to be covered in windmills and in Leiden, I believe, they used to have 5 but only 2 still stand. One is a museum and the other is somewhere else by the town gate.

Near the windmill we found these “harps”. Or they look like harps to us

I think this is called “Singel Park” and they had this mosaic bench

On the other side of the bench, it says, “you sit here”

We will be passing on this bridge maybe everyday we remain

The folks did not want to join us for dinner so we opted for something they would not normally eat.

Pizza al tonno

But they definitely missed out on something delicious!!

I don’t normally like canned tuna but this pizza (which can be found nearly everywhere on the continent) is what I crave when we arrive. I wonder if I can convince them to give it a try?? If you think about it, it’s really just a giant open faced tuna sandwich.

This is where they used to do livestock trading back in the day.

Starting our day with breakfast at Kopje van Leiden

This is our fave place to have coffee in town. The picture below shows it with the black awning near the green boat on the left side of the picture below.

Like other Dutch villages/towns Leiden is also surrounded by water as a defense.

A view from the other side of the street looking at the Beestenmarkt

Crossing the bridge from the other side

The view from our hotel street looking at the town

We are off to start our day. Had to wake the folks with some breakfast and coffee and hopefully, the jolt of Java Joe will do the trick too.

See you all soon.

From left to right:

Tuna salad, garlic butter and tapenade

Our go to for seafood - kibbeling met salad

Sashimi for the folks

This fish restaurant also has a fish market

Not innocently walking by!!

This seagull attacked this girl! It totally tried to steal her earrings!! We saw the whole thing and will testify in court what we saw! Haha

Enjoying a warm day seaside

Fishermen enjoying their herring

Singel Park

We woke up at our normal time and took a walk to the train station to grab coffee. YES! We walked THAT far justitie get coffee.

Cool camera that you will see again

Phew! We made it to station. Look what time we arrived

Current weather in Leiden

The stupid toilet 🚾 was on the OTHER side of the security gates (to prevent homeless people from camping in the station.) so the nice train police guy helped me get in with a one time pass through the gate to get to these EXPENSIVE toilets!

Then I saw the Cutie! 🥰

Bike parking at the station

No car parking

Snooty van den got in my shot! Haha

Sunrise and windmill

Back at the park

Here is the camera again.

Almost home from our walk

Gorgeous colours

In our square again

View from our window

Maintenance vacuuming the square

Ahhhh! Breakfast is served

Heading into Delft to see what’s happening there today. 😉

Stay tuned for the rest of the day

We made it into Delft

Thank you for being a trooper!!

Graffiti in Delft

What deals in farmers’ market!!

Flame Lily

New church

City Hall

Old man house

Lemme park my bike

Cool concept

More delft blue graffiti

Royal family genology

Beef stew

Warm ham sandwich

Kroketten broodjes met mijne ee-peets! Hehe

Zoom to see delft blue houses

Nice day for wandering town

Translation: find what you’re not looking for

For Clare

Bastos boy!

Thank you for a nice outing, Delft! We will see you again soon.

Wow! For an import beer, this is cheap to me!

This is the church up close

I believe it used to be to be a Catholic Church. It’s called Marekerk.

Hartebrugkerk

I believe this is a Protestant church still in use.

Just some nice quotes I found in a coffee place. If it weren’t so far from the hotel,we would switch between this one and kopje van Leiden

Peanut butter store.

People say this place has great variations of peanut butter … so maybe we can check it out today

Dutch version of Michael’s

Found the Batman Boat

Pop kept eating dinner from this place so we decided to try it too.

Chicken satay

Pop’s favourite version of adobo

Indo-Chinese

Later… a visit to the youngest van den Vlekkert family.

Daniel, Marieke and papa

Iris and Arma

The Brothers!

That is the end of the night. I was too tired to finish posting but I also had to try and make some space in my luggage for everything we’ve collected along the way.

A view from our window

A view from the square showing you the weather today

Across the bridge from the square

Breakfast is served

The folks fave place to eat

But they did try this Ichi Ban Japanese yesterday

Who knew they served breakfast in their mcDo’s! They open so late.

Ok. Time to explore more of the Netherlands. See you in the next entry

It is going eastward a smidgen and you can tell by the scenery

This used to be the fish market

Such lovely flowers

Calluna plants

Hardy Fuchsia

Hellebore or Christmas Rose

Another view of fish market

Famous Dutch catholic priest who was known for his intelligence and philosophy

Janskerk

Gothic church known for their stained glass and on the list of top 109 Dutch Monuments

Old city hall

Stadhuis

Side view of Stahuis

They folks went to discover Gouda cheese!!

The tourist/information building

How they used to weigh cheese

Cow and cheese (funny name)

Koeien en kaas

The truth does not drown in water and does not burn in fire- Ukrainian Proverb

Yoohoo!!

Kaasboerin

Our cheese sampler! Woah Nellie!!

The left side is considered to be “young cheese” or less than 6 months aging. Bottom left going up: jong belegen (no additional flavours added), basil or pesto kaas (jong + basil) - it’s that mint green or pistachio looking chunky cheese and lastly, top left is herb jong (think garden flavoured cream cheese). Oh! Forgot there was some Brie in there too.

The right side is considered oude kaas. That means it’s 12+ months aging. Bottoms right is: Gouda cheese, middle has cumin seeds and the top one that looks like cheddar cheese is Gouda with sambal (or slight chili flavour). It’s not spicy at all but has a very VERY minor tingle of heat.

The other stuff on the kaasbord: cheese puff balls, some plain circle crackers and nuts. We also learned how to use jams! Haha Our host taught us to dip our plain cheese in the jams - cherry chutney and fig/onion chutney. Not too shabby!! There was also some mustard one, which we enjoyed as well.

Cheese coma

Auntie saying thanks to the Cheesehead for the experience

Gouda is also known for their stroopwafel!

I should have gotten a pack because it tasted different and MUCH better than the ones we’ve been eating

Used to be a cloister for the sisters of Mary Magdalene in 1450

St Anthony’s street

Following the coven

Goodbye ladies! See you another day!!

We had steak for dinner

And shrimp

You would think the portions are small but in reality it’s just right. You don’t feel as if you need to roll out of the restaurant because you’re too full!!

Then we dropped the folks off

The bridge pic in all its glory

The other side of the bridge

Facing the square that I do most of my journaling

Look how quiet it is now

Webster University Leiden Campus

The other side of our square and the 2nd windmill in Leiden

We decided to take a walk and found this British pub

We came here to see American football but instead found them watching…

DARTS!!

I guess if you can watch people play poker on tele you can watch darts too.

View from the lobby window of our hotel

Sunrise from our window

Oooh! The sky is gorgeous!

Working on repainting the bridge

Heading out of Leiden and into Amsterdam

Oof! It’s cold outside!

We stopped at La Place for breakfast

Pop’s fave tuna sandwich

My fave farmer’s cheese sandwich

Kaas broodje

A view from our table

Anyone need the Pipi room??

I won’t give you too much explanation about the microbe museum because you can see it below

A view from the microscope

Listening intently to the lecture

(In het Nederlands)

That’s the end of the microbe museum!

So…. I ventured outside. The grounds of the museum also share a space with the zoo and the big (maybe they mean GRAND) \240museum (what that means, I don’t know)

Found some flamingoes

Outside was a cool park

The grounds of Artis

See? Is it supposed to be BIG or GRAND museum?

Found this guy enjoying lunch

Summer season is gone

I finished early so I took a walk around the neighbourhood (after Papa took his walk and showed me his cool pic of the car below)

I know that the Artis area used to be a Jewish district. The history of the area is quite sad. But papa told me that Plantage means plantation and look what someone had for their house!

The resistance museum

That’s the end of Amsterdam exploration. See you again soon!!