BACK HOME AGAIN IN INDIANA

John and I left oh dark early and arrived at the Amsterdam  Airport in plenty of time for our flight to Newark!  Luckily, both of our flights were ON TIME and had plenty of room (even in the back of the bus)!  Thank you, United!

It felt wonderful to be back home again!  A great big THANK YOU to Jonathan for picking us up at the airport and for taking such good care of our Shallie girl!

Another great big THANK YOU to Chloe and August for dropping us off at the airport two and a half weeks ago!  And THANKS, Jas, Chloe and August for the wonderful artwork welcoming us home!

What an AMAZING trip we had—thanks for following along!  It sure feels great to be home!!!

BACK TO AMSTERDAM WE GO!

Bruges was chilly and windy and wet this morning.  Yes, it was definitely time to go!  We took the train from Bruges to Antwerp.

Central Station in Antwerp was beautiful!

Outside, the streets were lined with jewelry stores!  Remember, Antwerp is the diamond capital of the world!  (No, we did not go shopping!)

When we arrived back in Amsterdam, it felt like Fall had arrived!  Brrr!

We checked into our hotel and their driver gave us a lift to a local Mexican restaurant, where we enjoyed the very last meal of our European vacation!  (And a last brewski as well!)

Back at the hotel, this sign welcomed us: “Today is a good day to have a good day!”  Words to live by!

Tomorrow’s port:  THE GOOD ‘OL USA!!!!

OUT AND ABOUT IN BRUGES!

John booked us on a walking/boating tour today!  We started by walking…such pretty areas with beautiful old buildings.

After our walking tour, we jumped in a boat and set off through the canals!  Ahhhh, what an amazing way to tour this beautiful town!

After our tour, we chose a nearby pub to enjoy a beer and do what we love to do—people watch!  Bruges is THE place to watch people!

We also watched some dark clouds rolling in.

We opted to stay dry as long as possible and ordered lunch!  My broccoli soup was the best I’d ever had!  John loved his stew as well!  It quickly became the perfect day for soups and stews!  Brrrrrr!

We got chilled quickly, (probably because we were both fighting colds)!  We ventured back to the hotel, turned up the heat, and it wasn’t long before the sun was out again!  (Are we lucky or what?)  Our last dinner in Bruges was SO GOOD!

Tomorrow we head back to AMSTERDAM as we begin our journey back to the states!

BRUGES, BELGIUM!

We left Amsterdam this morning and took a four hour train ride.  It was chilly, overcast and rainy.  In other words, the PERFECT day to travel!

We arrived in Belgium, caught an Uber and our first thought as we neared the center of town was, “OMG, BRUGES!”  It was utterly magnificent!  I looked at John and immediately said, “I could spend a month here!”

One day a year, the town has a “No car day” and that day was today!  The streets were filled with walkers, bikers, street musicians, all adding to the excitement that is Bruges!

We finally sat down, enjoyed a Brewski and people watched!  It was SOMUCHFUN!

Then it was back to walking!  We walked up and down the canals, in and out of the Belgium chocolate and lace and waffle shops! 

We finally found a cute cafe near our hotel (which is adjacent to the main square) and ordered another beer, a salad and a bucket of mussels for dinner!  You just can’t go wrong with a bucket of mussels!

Yes, they were as good as they looked!  We called it an early night (we’re both nursing colds) and we’re totally psyched for another day in marvelous BRUGES, BELGIUM!