Windy Adventures...

My good friend Windy arrived in Brussels and I was so excited for our fun week ahead!  She was my "official" first friend to visit and we were going to take advantage of her first Euro-adventure.  As soon as she landed we started right away with our jam-packed week!  The morning she arrived I had a going-away party for a friend, a baby shower, and a family cookout.  So, we had a busy day before our early morning flight to Dublin, Ireland.

I was very excited to be arriving in Ireland!

Dublin Castle-it was a cute castle right in the middle of the city.  

I love all the neat doors in Europe and Windy looked too cute in front of this one!

Pretty church a long our walk in the city.

This was literally Wal-mart on the street!  Everything from toilet paper to finger nail polish was for sale.  I'm not sure why they drag all this stuff out of the building everyday but it was quite a sight.

We finally made it to the Guinness brewery.  We walked for a while to get there and it looked so close on the map (and Dublin is not that big).....Windy and I were very good about taking the long way to anywhere we were going....kind of the joke of this trip.  Anways, we had a nice, informative time at the brewery and got a little taste test.  Pretty cool to taste some Guinness from the place where it is actually made.

Temple Bar area....very pretty during the day and a bit wilder at night.

I had to get my pic with the Leprechaun!!

We had a great time in Dublin!  It was a nice getaway for me and the people were very friendly.  I loved the accent!

We were driving back from the airport and the GPS was taking us by Butte de Lion.  I thought it would be a good time for Windy to see it and take a few pics.  Then we decided it was such a great day, that we should have lunch and go to the top!  I called Mike and he brought the kids over.  Man, it was a hike up those stairs (226 to be exact) especially after a late night in Dublin with an early flight back to Brussels.  But we did it, and we got it checked off the list!

At the top!

My pretty girls

Kind of a scary look down and there was really no barrier except that one railing.  Good thing the kids didn't decide to take a roll down the hill!

Walking down was a bit easier....

A pic of the Panorama

Love this pic!  

Inside the Panorama...it was a neat exhibit of the battle

Fun day!

PARIS

The next day we were off to Paris.  Emerson got to go along on this trip.  The train ride was fun and made for less driving for me!

Notre Dame-Emerson was much more popular than any of the sights in Paris.  She had about 5 people ask to take her pic.  In this pic, you can see the lady on the right taking our pic as well.  Windy had to ask her to move out of the way so she could take one.  Emerson just wanted to watch the pigeons.

My fave pic of the week!  Looks like no one else is there!

Stinkin cute!

The next few days we stayed in Belgium.  There really is so much to see just in this tiny little country.  I hope I will be able to see lots of it while we are living here!

Beautiful Grand Place in downtown Brussels.  I take pics every time I go down there, always something new!

We walked, shopped, and ate yummy waffles...perfect day!

Everyone that visits me gets a trip to the chocolate outlet. So, if you wanna go, come visit!!!  I've posted about it before....yummy free samples, that I always end up regretting later.  I've learned two things..1)bring a bottle of water (if they sold the stuff, they'd make a fortune!) and 2)only eat half of the piece of chocolate!  Those are my suggestions to visitors, I think I need to listen to myself sometimes too!!  We had Drake with us this time, he's the only kid that has even been to the outlet.  Poor Preslee & Kade are always at school....I need to take them sometime and Mike I guess too.  But Drake enjoys the taste testing for sure....he usually has a chocolate-covered face to prove it.

After our visit to chocolate heaven, we decided to go to a castle that wasn't too far away.....

Gaasbeek Castle    This was such a beautiful castle!  As soon as we walked in we saw some men setting up what looked like party decor.  I told Windy that this is where I want my birthday party to be!  It's a 16th century castle that was built on ruins of a castle built in 1240.  It was out in the middle of nowhere, which most things here are, and once we found where to park we had to walk for awhile to get to the castle.  We really didn't know if we were getting anywhere or not, then this gorgeous place popped into our view.

The Gardens

DOOR!

The grounds were amazing!

Drake doing his "Gap" pose...:)

The kids were out of school that Thursday & Friday, so we had to do a few kid-friendly things.  Although, they just whined and whined when I told them to get in the car because we were going sight-seeing.  They always do that and then have a great time when we end up somewhere...as was the case this time as well.

Castle of Veves
This castle had been on my to-do list too.  After the drive to the middle of nowhere, we finally found it....and it was closed.  Such a bummer!  In Belgium, you just never know.  It was such a cute castle on the outside too.  It's known as the "fairytale castle."  Well, I'll have to come back..Windy, I'll post pics. :)

Then we decided to go to the town of Namur because it was on our way back home.  We went to the citadel for some fabulous views!

City of Namur

The kids decided to explore some of the secret tunnels.  Windy had to go find them after awhile!

The next day we went to Leuven.  Great city and shopping!  The kids HATE to shop, unless we are looking for them some clothes of course.  This was Kade's pick of the day and he was not taking "No" for an answer!

Cool Cat...which was the name of the store that we had to hurry up and get out of because the music was not G rated!

Then we were off the Kessel Lo...a beautiful park in Leuven.  It's huge and had a lot of different things to do.  The kids loved it and can't wait to go back!

Preslee found herself a mate :)

Cute crooked fence

Ahhh....Amsterdam, the place everyone wants to go but will you really admit that you were there???  Hahaha!  No, it was one of the most quaint, cute places that I have been.  The canals are picturesque and everyone riding their bikes (and I mean everyone!) definitely lets you know you are in the Netherlands.  And of course the windmills....

Cheese, Cheese Everywhere!!  And we couldn't resist it!  We walked into this shop and the first thing the guy said was.."don't put this pic on facebook."  Too funny!  He already knew us well.  We had some great cheese, bread, and sausage for a snack!

Beautiful!

So, we were in Amsterdam and had to get a taste of the red light district.  Not that walking by all the "coffee shops" wasn't enough, but we thought, what the heck.  And what better way to get a quick glimpse than on a bicycle with someone else doing all the work!  This is the guy who got the job!  We told him we just wanted a "drive-thru", and after that "drive thru" I had seen enough for a lifetime! And that's all I have to say about that.... 

Well, it was time for Windy to go home :( And we had an amazing time!   This is a great pic of how I felt after she left...pooped, but it was totally worth it.  She's planning her next trip back (and for those of you who know Windy, you know she is literally already planning it even though it could be a year from now!!) and I can't wait!!!  Until next time Windy....

Next visitors..Gran, Beth, & Bret!