ready, set, go...

are you ready to be bored yet??
the following post is like 3 billion pictures of me prancing about Belgium and Holland.
and well, let's be honest... by about the 4th picture in you are going to have already clicked back to your home page.
plus.. don't count on any witty commentary.
i am far to jet-lagged up for such frivolities tonight.

so with out further ado..
our trip to Europe:

this was our most darling hotel in Brussels.
minus the twin bed issue, i lurved it.

each room had different hand painted pictures above the beds,
AND
room service offered emergency medical in addition to dental care.
you never know.

just go ahead and wish your home town offered belgian chocolate covered strawberries on every corner.

unbeknownst to me, i paid 4 euro for this damn picture.
turns out, van gough is a con artist.

supposedly rubbing this saint was good luck.
yet again i fret... another con.
:)

we hit the Netherlands just right and celebrated not one but TWO national holidays with them.
charming street performers could be found every 5 steps. these were some of my favorite.

i forget what church this was in.. we saw about a dozen.
but whoa.. i was mostly just creeped a bit by it all.
however, these paintings were incredible... and huge.

mmmmm....
yet again,
delicious.

Bruges.

this is Michelangelo's Madonna and the Child.
it was beautiful, and apparently one of the only few of his works located outside of Italy.

hubby posing in Bruges.
we loved Bruges.

alright... let's talk about it.
the biking situation in Holland is insane.
seriously.. every one, and i mean everyone rides a bike.
it is kind of incredible, and definitely a site to behold.
i for one adore it and have officially decided a bike for me will be purchased in the near future...

preferably one like this.
mmkay Dustin??

Amsterdam

The Anne Frank house.
turns out i forgot that she actually was in Holland the whole time she was in hiding.
how pleasantly surprised i was to "remember" and was able to walk through.
it was really moving to walk through and see...
and even crazier to think it happened only 60 years ago.

holla back

uh oh...
scouts honor i have no recollection of taking this picture.
dustin promises he didn't snap it either.
naturally this lead us to the only conclusion of her family kidnapping my camera.
either way..
Thank You.

true blue Holland tulips.

Haarlem train station.

best meal. ever.

this was our last day in Amsterdam, and my favorite.
we rented bikes and rode all about the city, i dung my bell as often as i could, and tried to pretend it hasn't been 10+ years since i have ridden farther than a block on two wheels.

yep.
i've still got it.

and lastly,
a street in the red light district.
i also didn't realize that the "Red Light District" actually truly was because of the red lights.
i'm quick on the uptake like that .
i was expecting a lot more nasty..
let's just say i was in Vegas a month ago.. and it makes Amsterdam look like child's play.
perhaps it would be different at night though??
i don't know.

PHEW...
we are done.
it was an amazing 10 days. but i missed my girls to the moon.
i couldn't wait to get home to them. 10 days felt like 10 years. honestly.
they seem so much older, and cuter, AND much more needy for their mama.

i still cannot thank my family enough. MOSTLY my perfect mama for watching the girls and making this trip possible.
hopefully in a few days they will stop addressing me as nannie, and i will be able to sharpen up on my mothering skills. it's amazing how quickly those can fly out the window.
hmph.

Dear Europe,
Stay beautiful, stylish, and charming until i can come back one day.
xo,
brooke