Oh Happy Day!

Anyone who knows me, knows I love to 

travel the world.  But there is nothing better

than coming home.  The joy and comfort of 

sleeping in your own bed (I call mine The Cloud),

having your best doggie friend follow you around

to make sure you don't leave again, touring your

garden to see what has changed since you were

last at home, and just being surrounded by the

people and things you love...

Today we are all home at the same time, a thing

that doesn't happen all that often any more.  We

didn't expect Brennan until next week as he is 

working on a special project, but we got a news this 

morning that he is sick and there is no better place

to get better than at home.  The homemade chicken

 soup is on the stove, ready for when he wakes up.

Dinner for the rest of us (vegetarian of course) is

being prepped and then for dessert we will celebrate

the holidays we have missed as a family.

A Happy Day!

I hope you have one as well!

Versailles

This morning we hopped on the RER and

headed out to Versailles.

Officially, Versailles is closed on Mondays.

But we were here for the gardens.

We have already been to the chateau

and felt we didn't need to see it again.

Europe at this time of year has been

so crowded.  Even more crowded than 

when I have been here in June.  This is

why we usually never go to Europe at this

time but this year was Wonderful's big 

birthday and we also wanted to visit 

Keukenhof.

So to visit the gardens without the tour 

groups and throngs of people was a delight.

(For people from New Jersey in the USA, it 

was like going down the shore in the winter,

my favorite time.)

The Orangerie and the Swiss Lake.

Stunning...

We strolled through vast allees of trees

and viewed tons of statues...

and fountains...

Then, it was time for this:

My favorite part of Versaille is

the Hamlet.

It was Marie Antoinette's escape from 

court life.  She would go here to act like

a peasant.

Renting bicycles is a great way to 

see out of the way places that would

be too far to walk to.

The end of the Grand Canal looking 

back to the Chateau.

As we were leaving the sun finally

came out ~ Murphy's Law.

Happy Birthday Mr. Wonderful!

 

Today is Mr. Wonderful's birthday, it is

a milestone birthday and his wish was to

spend it in Paris.  We were up very early

this morning and left Brussels on the hi

speed train.  We checked into our apartment

and then it was time to hit the streets.

 

 

First stop was a Birthday lunch at

Café Med on the Ile St. Louis.

 

 

Quiche, Mushroom Risotto and Crepes

with a carafe of white.

 

 

Then to walk it off with a stroll

along the Seine.

 

 

And a bit of exploring in our

neighborhood, the Marais.

 

 

Now home for a rest and if the weather

cooperates we plan to have an elegant

picnic on the Champs du Mars and watch

the Eiffel Tower glitter.

 

 

 

The Grand Place ~ Brussels, Belgium

 

We are in Brussels and visiting the

Grand Place ~ it was recently voted the

most beautiful square in Europe. This

building is the Town Hall.

 

Here at the American Homestead travel

guide, we believe in telling the truth so

your trip is as enjoyable as possible.

Make a short stop in Brussels.

There is just not a lot going on in Brussels.

If you are taking the train from say Amsterdam

to Paris, hop off the train in Brussels, don't even

bother to store your bags.  The Grand Place is a

few short blocks away.

 

 

Buy some frites, walk around the square and

enjoy the beautiful buildings...

 

 

...pick up some chocolates to enjoy later on

the train and get out of town!

 

 

I'll share some photos of the beautiful

buildings you will see in the square.

 

 

The King's House

 

 

Lining the square are many Guild Halls.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Outside My Window ~ Amsterdam

We had an absolutely beautiful apartment in

Amsterdam.  Since we had spent Saturday at

the Open Air Museum in Arnhem, then got up

early on Sunday and had a Murphy's Law

morning of track problems which meant a long

journey and hopping on and off 8 different trains

with luggage, then we toured the largest garden

in the world at Keukenhof.  By the time we made

it back to Amsterdam we were exhausted.

We stopped off at the grocery store and bought

some appetizers and something for dinner. 

This is often part of our travel plan.  We like

to travel, and that gets expensive so we rent

apartments that are often the same price as 

a hotel room.  And in expensive cities, like

Amsterdam, we eat some meals at our

home away from home.

Here is a video I made of the apartment.

Our apartment looks out on the 

lovely Singel Canal.

During dinner we admired the neighboring

buildings.  We especially loved this one with

the red awnings.  And check out that great

car ~ what kind is that?

People were out in boats enjoying

the canals and fabulous weather.

In the middle of our peaceful evening we

heard this.  It looks like a demonstration

but actually it is a celebration for their

soccer team.

This does look quite frightening though.

After dark we took a stroll

through our neighborhood.

Then headed home for some much

needed rest.

 

 

Keukenhof Gardens

Keukenhof is a grand display garden located

about an hour outside of Amsterdam in Lisse. 

It is called the largest flower garden in the world.

It is an elaborate display of one of the things

the Dutch are known for ~ tulips.

The tulip fields in the countryside are

beyond belief.  The color stretches as

far as the eye can see.

The gardens are open for about 2

months every year, during tulip time.

Keukenhof plants about 7 million 

bulbs for the display gardens.

In the 2 month period that it is open

Keukenhof hosts 800,00 visitors.

Arnhem Open Air Museum

Arnhem, the Netherlands

 

 

We are traveling through the Netherlands and

today we visited the Open Air Museum in Arnhem.

 

 

Wherever I happen to travel, if I see this type

I HAVE to visit.  I learn so much about a place

by viewing a sampling of their houses.

 

 

Usually, this type of museum has a collection

of homes and historic buildings from around

the region.

 

Check out that fabulous roof!

 

 

At this museum there are many buildings,

they show how people lived and worked.

 

 

They show home styles from the very poor

day laborers to the wealthy.

 

 

I want to have a small cottage with these

little cubby hole beds.  There is only room

for the mattress.  It looks so cosy.

 

 

This is a unique structure.  It is a small

cottage for a TB patient.  Notice it is on

a turntable so the building can be moved

to be in the sun and to catch the breeze.

 

 

There is an old store selling unique items.

 

 

And of course, wooden shoes...

 

 

After walking around for over 5 hours, I

was exhausted.  I went inside a windmill

and started watching a video.  The video

told of when the townspeople of Arnhem

were forced to leave their town during WWII.

They packed their belongings in baby carriages

and carts pulled by bicycles and headed out

into the streets.  Some of them went to the

museum I was visiting.  I didn't even know

that museum existed in the 40's.  At the time,

600 people from the town went to live in some

of the very houses I had toured that day.

 

 

It wasn't until later in the day when I was

back in town, that I found out that day was

Memorial Day in the Netherlands.  That

made our visit even more special.