Antwerp, Belgium |
It was refreshing to finally be able to sleep as late as we wanted without having our day booked in advance. The girls woke up and immediately began playing while Carrie L and I settled in to the living room with coffee and wifi. We both agreed that we could lay around in our pajamas all day and be fine with it. But, relaxing was not why we decided to go on this trip so we knew we would have to shake the urge to veg out and go explore Antwerp.
Learning about Belgium |
Of course, Carrie had her “educational itinerary” to get through so the girls did their “apartment-schooling” in the morning and we witnessed the kids becoming more and more independent with their work. Because a lot of the initial activities were similar from country to country, they knew how to research the information and even figured out Google Translate themselves to learn new words in the three official languages of Belgium: Dutch, German and French. In addition, they learned a new math game and it is incredible to watch how their minds work and their problem solving abilities.
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Getting chocolate from the jar |
When I went to the counter to purchase the chocolate for my friends and family, I asked for the broken egg to be added to my total. The lady said she would ask her manager and when she returned, she said that I did not have to pay for the egg. After Carrie L made her purchase and we were getting ready to leave the store, one of the employees came to the girls with a jar full of chocolate letters and offered the girls one letter a piece. Elise was the last one to pick her letter and as she pulled it out of the jar, another letter from the jar came out of the jar and fell on the ground. All I could say was, “Really”?
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Enjoying our drinks |
We spent the rest of the day walking around Antwerp. The town was untouched with the original cobblestone streets and brick buildings. The weather was beautiful, around 60 degrees, and sunny which made for perfect walking conditions. It gave the Lupoli girls a break from the Norway cold and us Burk girls a break from the Singapore heat. You know the saying tragedy brings people closer together? Well, I think nice weather does the same...especially coming off of a cold winter. People were out riding their bikes, walking their dogs and sitting outside at the cafes and beer gardens visiting with family and friends. After walking for a couple of hours, we decided to sit outside at a cafe and have a few drinks. We ordered coffee, lemonade, a milkshake and ice tea. We all welcomed the break from walking and took our time while enjoying the perfect weather. On our walk back to the apartment, Carrie L stopped in a shop to buy a few souvenirs while I waited outside with the children. Throughout every country, the girls had been playing a imaginary game where they are each fairies with special powers. This game has brought it’s fair share of laughter and arguments to our trip but this time it almost brought a trip to the hospital. As the girls were deciding which special power they would each have, Grace spun away from the wall they were all leaning against and came inches from being hit by a girl speeding by on a bike. I immediately screamed “Grace!” and watched as she jumped back in terror. All three girls froze and remarked that they couldn’t believe Grace hadn’t been hit as she was as close to the bike as the car was to the bus during our Paris nightmare. Another moment of protection? Check.
After Grace was nearly taken out by the bicycle, we stopped at a roadside pita place and took our dinner back to the apartment. While Carrie worked on the blog and attempted, once again to find a hotel for us in Amsterdam, I did as many loads of laundry as possible. We decided instead of driving in the heart of Amsterdam we would take the safe alternative and stay at a hotel near the airport. Not only did this allow us to be able to catch the train in to the city, we also used Justin’s Hilton rewards and booked a two night stay for free making up for the money we spent on the apartment in Paris that we never stayed in. Even though our day had been one of simplicity, we enjoyed every bit that Antwerp had to offer us making it one of our favorite destinations on this road-trip.
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