NJ came to Belgium in July! My good friends Eileen, Sherry and Stacy arrived for a weeks stay. It was a great visit, jam packed with sight seeing, girl talk, and NJ native Jon Bon Jovi!
Belgium welcomed the girls with rain, giving them a feel for our life here right away! First thing on the agenda (yes I actually had an agenda) was a quick tour of Brussels.
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| Sherry came prepared with an umbrella |
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| No tour is complete without paying respects to the little man |
My guests took a little rest at our place and then I prescribed them with the best cure that I know for jet lag: Belgian Beer. A few of them and you will surely sleep through the night!
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| Stacy strikes a pose |
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| Interesting bar across from the Antwerp Cathedral - filled with all things relgious |
Besides beer, another Belgian specialty is an alcohol called Jenever. It is made in hundreds of flavors.
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| At the Jenver bar, where they have over 200 flavors to choose from |
The next day we took a drive to Brugge and spent the day wandering the streets of this famous medieval city. Today's lesson of the day was "Cava". Do you see a theme here?
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| Little Cava anyone? |
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| Girls gone Wild |
Sunday was all about Bon Jovi! The concert was on the beach in Ze Brugge. Luckily the weather was great, at least for Belgium. There were 35,000 people at the show. No seats, we just carved out a spot on the beach and sang along to all our favorite songs. Except for Stacy who tried really hard to turn my Sayreville HS sweatshirt into a backstage pass (it is also JBJ's high school alma mater). She is commended for her efforts, but those guards were just not cooperative!
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| Go Bombers! |
Next on the agenda was Holland. The day began with a bike ride that offered views of the oldest windmills in the country. We then drove to Amsterdam where we were welcomed by our gracious host, Freck, who let us use his apartment for two nights. It is nice to have an Uncle with well placed friends (Thanks to Eileen's Uncle Joe!). This was my third time to Amsterdam, but the first time without kids. I finally saw the Anne Frank house and found it extremely moving. On the total opposite end of the spectrum, I also finally saw the Red Light district. Strange experience with all of the tourists (including us) walking around while women just stand in the window waiting for a customer.
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| Go girls go! |
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| This is a multi-level parking lot for bicycles in Amsterdam! |
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| Our accommodations were right on a canal |
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| Our host joined us for a few drinks |
The last day was spent in shopping in Antwerp. The girls were lucky to be here for one of the two times a year that they allow sales in Belgium (July and Dec). It is rare that I even get to shop here since the stores are closed on Sunday, so this was a real treat for me.
Everything is better when you get to share it with friends! Thanks girls for a great visit!!
Such an amazing time..great friends, laughs and sights! Thank you for being so gracious and taking around. I look forward to seeing more of Europe but this was a great way to pop my European cherry :)
ReplyDeleteStacy
Truly a wonderful vacation/visit and history lesson. Loved it, loved it, loved it!
ReplyDeleteTracie - your Agenda was AWESOME! Thanks so much for planning everything. And a special thanks to Hugh for giving us his wife and the kids for loaning us their Mom for the week.