Europe (The Netherlands, Antwerp, and London)

Well I have been home for just about a month now and the post vacation depression has subsided. I failed miserably about updating my previous Europe trip last summer. So I am going to attempt to be a little bit better about this trip.

The flight
Did you know there is only one international flight that leaves from Memphis? And where does it go? AMSTERDAM! Just my luck! I have always had visions of meeting a future boyfriend/husband/anything that last longer than the journey on a flight. And of course this was still the case. Who do I end up sitting next to? An overweight middle age Dutch woman who had spent a month sunning herself in Florida. Score! Not. She was quite nice, but I quickly realized my Dutch was non-existent and her English was better than my Dutch, but after the plane took off the initial pleasantries would be the extent of any sort of relationship. Maybe next time?
The actual flight itself wasn’t that bad. I made sure I went to yoga and went on a nice little 5 mile run before I left. I also drank lots and lots of water. You see, ever since my 17+ hour flight home from South Africa a few years ago my ankles swell into ginormous cankles. Not cute. So, gone are the day of windows seats and hello to aisle seats and drinking obscene amounts of water which essentially forces me out of my seat to use the bathroom and thus circulating my blood. I watched Up during dinner and was almost on the verge of tears. Dinner ended and I soon took my two Benadryl and pulled out my thermarest neck pillow. Sleepy time! Before I knew it, I was at Schiphol International Airport where Esther and her darling boy Yannick were waiting for me.

Of course there were hugs and maybe even a loud squeal or two. I finally got to meet Yannick who also happens to be in my favorite age range (2-7) and we were off to Esther’s place.

After getting settled in, I had the option of taking a nap or going to the beach with her and Yannick. In my mind I was thinking “The beach?!? It kind of cold out AND raining.” I determined I couldn’t pass it up so off we went. It was cold and it drizzled. But that didn’t stop us from playing in the sand. We warmed up with a nice little drink and poffertjes (only one of my favorite Dutch delicacies). Esther said they weren’t the best, I didn’t notice a problem and had no problem scarfing them down. Clearly, I need to eat more!

I should also mention that my feet were seriously unprepared for the weather I would be facing for the next week in Europe. I think I wore socks to the beach with my converse slipons, but if I had a brain I should have packed some boots.

The beach in Den Haag



My three year old crush at the beach with his rain coat on



Up next? Antwerpian Adventues. Car issues. London London.