The final "vacances" — part one

The last two weeks the boys have been off school once again, the final vacances of the academic year. Jesse took several days off as well, and we set off for yet another new-to-us destination, this time driving northeast to the Netherlands. On our way, we spent a lovely 36 hours in Belgium with Roger and Karen Morgan. Roger is a colleague of Jesse's. What wonderful hosts! And fortunately, having raised three sons, our monkeys didn't phase them—which is always a relief when traveling with children who spend most of their time looking like this:

On Sunday afternoon Roger and Karen took us for a sylvan walk through a lovely park / arboretum / forest nearby. Despite some drizzle (and the aforementioned monkeys), it was just beautiful.

 

After spending Saturday evening and Sunday with the Morgans, it was off to the Netherlands on Monday. We didn't stay in Amsterdam itself (more on that in tomorrow's post), but we did head straight into the city on Monday afternoon for several hours. It was King's Day, a huge national holiday, and the city—not to mention every little hamlet we passed en route!—was decked out in orange, orange, and more orange. There were flags and buntings and flowers everywhere...roads were closed...people were thronging. Very festive! 

Our personal destination that afternoon was Amstelpark, which Jesse had read online hosts a huge children's yard-sale kind of thing on King's Day, and we thought the boys might enjoy it. The event apparently started as a day when kids could haul in their toys, clothes, etc. and sell to other kids and families. We found that it's transformed in recent years into so much more, though, and it was terrifically fun! There were thousands of people there, and there were indeed hundreds of blankets spread on the ground with mostly used kid gear for sale. But the super part was that kids also had gotten creative and were doing way more than selling their used stuff. Kids were playing instruments with their hats on the ground for coins, sibling groups were singing, there were homemade games and challenges galore where you could pay 50 cents to play (we loved one game that shot a chocolate covered marshmallow off a catapult that you could catch and eat); girls were giving manicures; kids were face painting; a family had strung up a hammock you could pay to lie in for a minute; friends had crafted items to sell; the girl pictured below would give you a compliment if you paid her!  :) The ingenuity was endless, and the best part was how unpolished and kid-driven and just totally creative it seemed to be. Needless to say, we didn't have any change left in our pockets by the end. 

He asked for a butterfly on one cheek and a grasshopper on the other, with a dotted line connecting them. Naturally. (You cant really see the line dotting over the bridge of his nose here, but it was super cute!)

I liked how bulbs had been planted in the knots of the trees in the park!

 *   *   *

The next day, Tuesday, we headed to west to the famous flower fields and to the storied Keukenhof Gardens. We rented a couple of bikes to see the area up close and personal. Josiah was SO excited. We haven't gotten him a bike here in France, and he's really been missing riding. Jesse and I got a tandem (with William in a seat behind), and Josiah was a champ at keeping up and riding safely.

Sure do love that boy! 

The day could hardly have been more gorgeous in pictures, but what you can't see was that a stiff wind was blowing for the first several hours and the temps were in the 40s. Our bodies stayed warm enough with our exercise, but our fingers and noses were painfully cold!! Totally worth it, though. Gorgeous!

After an hour or two of biking (and getting awfully lost for a bit), we arrived at a perfect late lunch spot. Kudos to Jesse for choosing it! It was loaded with buckets of fresh daffies and tulips, and I was basically in heaven, although the picture below looks a little stiff since I was still thawing out.  :)

Cold boy + hot chocolate =

a picture that the boys ask to see every day because it makes them laugh so hard!

After turning our bikes back in, it was into Keukenhof Gardens itself for the balance of the day. About 80 acres. 7 million bulbs. Over 800 varieties of tulips alone. Stunning. 

William got lots of oohs and ahs from passers by when this little friend spent ages on his hand. He eventually deposited his winged companion inside a tulip.  :)

Can you see my hand? These particular tulips were enormous!

They're honoring Van Gogh this year.

Yeah, I could have sat there a while. 

I'll leave you with the obligatory Jesse-throwing-William shot. Tomorrow I'll try to post up the rest of the trip. 

Visitors!

In April we enjoyed two sets of visitors. Tim, Holly, Levi (3), and Theo (1) were here for a couple of days at the very start of the month, and my parents were here for a week midway through the month.

With Tim and family, we kept things simple since their kiddos were a little travel worn at the tail end of seven days that had already taken them to the south of England, Amsterdam, and Paris. Running around the local playground, visiting a nearby castle, and plenty of hanging out at home over meals and French pastries fit the bill nicely. We very much enjoyed their visit—and it was especially fun to "meet" Theo who had doubled in age since we last saw him!

 

 

*   *   *

Our time with Mom and Dad was super too. The week was restful and just lovely; we enjoyed a nice mix of "home" activities (walks, the local outdoor market, etc.) and "away" activities.

The boys made welcome banners and signs...

Dinner in the courtyard when they first arrived (can anyone spy William?)...

Mom, Dad, and I took a part-day trip to Angers while Jesse worked and the boys were at school.
Here Mom is regarding a tiny corner of the awesome Apocalypse Tapestries from the late-1300s.

Watching the Red Sox on live stream with Dad's login info!!

We especially enjoyed a very long day at Puy du Fou. It's a massive amusement type park about an hour from here, and we've wanted to visit it for quite some time. It doesn't have rides, but instead boasts a few dozen amazing spectacles and shows across an enormous park, plus several "villages" set up to replicate various times and places of the last millennium, lots of interesting shops, and pretty paths and walks and gardens. There were fire and smoke, grand battles, thousands of animals and actors, grand moving outdoor sets...it rather boggled the mind. We especially enjoyed the Viking show and the Roman amphitheater with its lions and chariot racing!

See you in New Hampshire in August, Nannan and Papa! We miss you already!

Pâques

We celebrated a beautiful Easter (Pâques) weekend. Each evening, we read a little more of the Easter story together, and on Saturday night the dark, clear sky reverberated with tolling bells from the ancient Saint Medard church around the corner. Then Sunday! The morning dawned chilly but glorious.

Of course in the midst of discussing the real meaning of Easter—both the darkness and the joy—we also enjoyed the typical cultural accompaniments. I couldn't resist getting chocolate "poules" for the boys instead of the usual Easter bunnies. They loved them!




We even managed a family shot on Sunday afternoon before changing out of church clothes ("handsome" clothes, as William calls any shirt with buttons).

Good Friday isn't typically a day off here, but Easter Monday is. With the boys off school and Jesse not needing to start his work day until early afternoon (he works many nights until 11 p.m. or midnight), we took advantage of the free hours. It was a perfect spring day, and a chateau about 45 minutes away had advertised a chasse aux œufs, Easter egg hunt.

The Chateau du Rivau is fairytale-like. It's still inhabited by the owners but several rooms and much of the grounds are open to the public. It's filled with a mix of priceless antiques and quirky modern art. Fun! 

There was a ton of real taxidermy, but art pieces were mounted in and about the legit stuff...like this knit warthog! 

The egg hunt was very different from ones back home. Of course, the first difference was that we were on the grounds of a castle....not some open lot beside a Wal-Mart.  :)  I think chateaux are becoming commonplace for Josiah and William, but it was definitely over the top for me and Jesse. A costumed staff member managed the affair. She told a story and brought the group of children all around the grounds and gardens for about an hour. There was no wild scrambling and hunting for hundreds of plastic eggs. Instead, she read clues that helped the children locate several hidden baskets and/or new clues. The baskets were filled with little chocolate eggs, evenly distributed among the children at each stop.

Can you see the boys at the top?

After the egg-hunt was over, we spent another hour enjoying the gardens, which included a little playground, a forest of hammocks, a hedge maze, climbing areas, lots of fairy-tale inspired art and sculptures, and of course beautiful flowers and scenery in every direction.

Happy Easter!