Delft and Scheveningen

I realized this post is a bit out of order, but in early October we took a day-trip to the quaint town of Delft. Delft is best known for it's blue and white porcelain, but this peaceful Dutch town has so much more to offer. We enjoyed wandering along the canals and visiting the New Church where Dutch ruler William I of Orange is buried.  

  I love that you can sit and eat your sandwich right on the canal. 

 The New Church

From Delft we took the tram through The Hague to reach the "Dutch Coney Island." The story goes that during WWII Dutch Soldiers would ask visitors to pronounce Scheveningen to weed out potential German spies. We happened to catch one of the last sunny days of the season and the kids enjoyed playing in the water and riding the carousel. 

 When in Europe....

Terschelling with Auntie Lindsay

I have been seriously behind on my blogging, but it's time to get caught up. This past October we were thrilled to have Auntie Lindsay come to visit, especially considering the fact that she was still recovering from hip surgery. But in true Lindsay fashion, she flew across the ocean without complaint to spend the week playing with her niece and nephew.

The highlight of the trip was taking Lindsay to the Dutch Island, Terschelling, in the North Sea. We had been there over the summer and knew she would love it, so she and I went back with the kids. Here are a few pictures from the ferry ride over:

The first night we had an excellent fondue dinner at one of our favorite restaurants on the island. They have a special play area for the kids that Jake remembered and Casey was happy to lay under the table hoping she might get to sample the delicious food as well.

I still dream about that chocolate dessert.

The next day we took a stroll on the beach. It was slightly windy, but still beautiful. 

The day after we got back from Terschelling we visited one of our favorite little German towns, Monschau, where we take all of our visitors. The half-timbered houses and the stream running through the town make a great backdrop. 

Lindsay's last night with us happened to be Halloween and she was a great sport and tagged along for "Trick or Treating"with Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf. 

We were so sad to say goodbye after such a fun week, but it was a lot easier knowing we would see Auntie Lindsay again in just a few weeks. Thanks for coming to play with us Auntie! 

Linds and Jake in Maastricht.

London Anniversary Trip

To celebrate Bill's promotion and 7 years of marriage we packed our bags, boarded a plane and escaped to London for a visit. This was of course possible because of Nana and Grandpa who were gracious enough to babysit their grandkids for a few days. We thought the best way to keep them young is to leave them with a 3 year-old and 2 year-old in an international setting; I think our plan worked.

This being Bill's first trip to London, we had lots of ground to cover in a short amount of time. I, of course, had a nonstop itinerary planned. We managed to cover all the basics and fell in love with the city while doing so.

 Bill inside our B & B

 We loved our little hotel in South Kensington.

First activity for the day was a double-decker bus tour. We lucked out with good weather and no rain. Here are some pictures from the bus:

 Loved this little house.

 

  Trafalgar Square

 

"Hey look kids, there's Big Ben and Parliament." 

 

The London Eye on the Thames River

 St. Paul's Cathedral

Tower Bridge

Grabbing lunch at the Borough Market. We could have eaten there for days! 

See what I mean? 

"Why yes, I would like a meringue the size of my head, thank you." 

Making a phone call outside of Westminster Abbey. 

 Inside the Abbey courtyard.  

Hangin' with Winston. 

The first night we toasted to 7 wonderful (and busy!) years of marriage with the London Eye champagne experience. 

 It was a bit overcast, but still a great view of the city. 

 On the way to dinner we passed by one of London's charming little pubs. 

Day 2 started early with a visit to the Portobello Road Market in Notting Hill, a favorite spot for antiquing and people watching. 

Our room

Courtyard at our B&B

Bill in the study at the B&B

Next stop was Tower of London...

The hand-made poppies outside the Tower of London were on display in honor of the 100th anniversary of WW1. 888,246 poppies were installed, one for each British and Colonial fatality during the war.

 Best tour guide ever. I highly recommend the Beefeater tour, and it's free! 

Great view of the bridge from the Tower.

That night, we had a yummy dinner in SoHo before heading to the theater for a performance of "Once." Sadly, all our pictures from the night were on my old phone which is now broken. We of course, loved the Irish music and the pub on stage that they opened up as an actual pub during intermission. 

The next morning we started with a nice run in Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park and then went to Kensington Palace to hang out with Will and Kate. 

 The King in his throne!

 I knew my closet was missing something. 

High tea at the Orangery

Final stop on the tour was Buckingham Palace. The Queen only opens up select parts of the palace during the months of August and September when she is away at Windsor Castle. We were lucky enough to visit during this time. Pictures are not allowed, but we thought that Buckingham was the most elegant palace we had ever seen, even more so than Versailles. 

Oh London, how we love you, can't wait to go back someday! A big thank you goes out to Nana and Grandpa for making this trip possible and taking great care of the kids while we were away.