Hallo Holland!

I’ve always enjoyed traveling in the states (especially to Arizona), but I have ALWAYS dreamed of traveling abroad.

I counted down the months, days, and finally the hours till “THE VACATION” would start!

On August 11.2015. I flew with Uncle Russell, Aunt Elisabeth and Serenity to Germany, England and then to Holland... where we said our goodbyes to Uncle Russell and Aunt Elisabeth who continued on to Congo, Africa.

I was so excited to begin my adventure in Holland!

Let's get on the roof! 

Everyone this is a .... CANAL 

Windmills are beautiful and useful! 

This windmill still grinds flour!

Our hostess Esther :) 

Time to go shopping

Cheesecake, yummy!

Esther and her bunny Beau

On day 4  we toured a HUGE palace 

Would you like your room to look like this? 

Trophy room 

The stables 

Walking the beautiful gardens

Inside this hedge is where the fair ladies of the palace would walk, they didn't like to spend to much time in the sunshine as being tan was associated with being a peasant! 

A royal peacock

Sadly we forgot to take our day 5 photo...thus my sad face and Serenity's happy one! 

Day 5 was spent shopping, eating and laughing! We also got to visit a greenhouse! 

We only ordered 2 slices and look what came!!! 

Jonathan and Christiaan 

Touring the greenhouse (this is the soil room) 

They used these funny little carts to get around, and of course I made Serenity drive ;)

 

Terrariums are very popular right now in Europe 

Succulents are popular in Europe as well...specifically Sempervivums! 

Here is a little history: 

A common name for Sempervivums is houseleek, derived from the practice of growing them on rooftops between the thatching. In ancient times they were thought to guard against thunderbolts, storms and sorcery, and to ensure the prosperity of the occupants!

Day 6

Thanks to this cappuccino machine we were bright and "perky" every morning :) 

A typical Dutch breakfast....bread and cheese! 

We said a sad goodbye to Esther and her family and went to stay with the Hut family (above). 

We had never had the pleasure of meeting them before, but they welcomed us right into their home! 

On Sunday after Church we went on a walk in the rain... 

We crossed bridges and lots of puddles!

 It was fun to watch Serenity because in Arizona they hardly ever have rain. 

She never gets to walk around with an umbrella, poor thing ;)

I and Marjan 

Good times!

Beautiful Holland! 

Enjoying the  meal... 

One of my favorite Dutch foods is Hagelslag

Lots of bikes parked at the train station! 

Sad goodbyes again :( 

-We had to take the train to the airport to meet up with Uncle Russell and Aunt Liz-

Unfortunately, Serenity's green bag (that you can see on Marjans shoulder in the picture before) stayed there even after we got onto the train...

Thankfully all turned out well, except that Marjan and her parents had to drive 2hours to the airport to return it.

A journalist 

Chillaxing on the train

...Waiting in the airport...

I didn't want to share my Cheez-its (Serenity is happy she got one!) 

Enjoying a traditional Dutch apple pie with cream. 

Happily reunited :)

Day 8 was an eventful day touring Amsterdam, Leiden, Harrlem and the coast!

Enjoying my bread and cheese at the Hotel

I just have to share some pictures of a Cheese shop with you :) 

Drooling?

Would you like a sample?

We got to visit Corrie Ten Booms home. It was such a neat experience to see the place I had read about so many times! 

The Ten Booms were an amazing family. 

This is the Hiding Place (above)

Visiting an Cathedral 

Mozart and Handel both preformed on this organ (below)

Then we drove to the coast...

My "parents" at the coast!

Us girls 

Drinking some Hot Cocoa to warm up! It was a very cold and blustery day :) 

A picture of a most delicious salad  

Shoes and seashells! 

Uncle Russell and Aunt Liz with 

Michiel Hagenouw who was kind enough to be our guide for the day!

Everyone rides bikes in Holland 

Trying a Dutch Sausage!

I loved this big red door

One last windmill photo!

I arrived in Holland with high expectations and they were totally exceeded! But if you do ever venture to Holland I think that I probably should warn you that the food in Holland is heavenly... (Did you see those photos?) 

and I uhum, gained 5 whole pounds :o 

I really would love to go back to Holland in the winter time and go ice skating on the frozen canals!  

Sharing a page with you,

  Zoë

To read Serenity's side of the story click here

or Aunt Elisabeth's here