Brussels and Bruges July 3rd-5th

We arrived in Brussels and went straight to check into the Marriott where half the family would stay, the other half stayed at our house! As we walked you could hear Blaine's sigh of relief as he walked into a familiar American Hotel complete with a club lounge that we took great advantage of!! Even the babies were excited about the nice hotel! We then headed out to the Grand Place, Manneken Pis, and to eat some famous Belgian Waffles!

The next morning we got an early start and got on the train to go to the charming city of Bruges. To start the day off we did a boat tour. The boat tours are recommended by every guide book and I have always wanted to do one. Well €7, a boat with tourists jammed in like sardines, overheating from an abnormally hot day in Belgium, and 2 fussy babies later, I do not know if I would recommend a boat tour! But I'm glad we did it so I can check it off the list of things I wanted to do!

Then we were off on foot to check out the rest of the city.

Everyone went to check out the Modonna and Child sculpture by Michaelangelo. It is featured in the recent movie Monuments Men. I have seen it before so I waited outside with these darling little babies!

And then the group climbed the main square's belfry, or bell tower, and again I waited outside with this crazy girl and the babies! I love this girl and how much baby bonding time we had on the trip!

It was a very fun day and lucky Maddie got a tummy rub the whole way home on the train!! She sure has loved having Mimi and Papa around!

 

Brussels: Happy 4th of July

We got all dressed up in our patriotic red, white and blue and headed out to explore Brussels! Our first stop was the Neuhaus Chocolate outlet. This is a hidden gem in Brussels because you get to go sample all the finest Belgium chocolate for free. Then if you haven't had enough chocolate you can buy large boxes of chocolate at a very discounted price. Let's just say if you do not leave this place sick to your stomach you have not taken full advantage of it!

Then we headed downtown to the Grand Place.

Next stop was our favorite waffle shop. Then on to the King's Palace. 

We then had some down time at the hotel before our family photo shoot at my favorite park by our house!

There were no fireworks, no parade, no BBQ but it was still a great 4th because we got to be with family. A huge thanks to Brenda and Blaine for making this trip of a lifetime possible!! Love you all!