Is ontbijt inbegrepen

Dag! So we were off to the Netherlands (a.k.a Holland which can be used to interchangeably), but first we made a stop in Antwerp which is a city close to Holland above Brussels. The weather was a bit nicer today and we got another early start because we had another busy day of multiple towns to visit. Although Antwerp is Brussels second biggest city it still has a small old world feel when you are in the old city centre. We sat and had a cappuccino in the city centre because for some reason we were all literally exhausted and could hardly keep our eyes open, and then walked around and looked at the beautiful cathedral that was nearby as well as the Stadhuis and the surrounding guildhalls. From there we headed towards Holland. We were hoping for some large sign to welcome us to what Natalie and Jenna call “your home country” to me because of all the blonde hair people but there was just a tiny simple sign. Jenna was incensed that they didn’t even have a border patrol, it was like she wanted to be frisked by Dutch officials or something haha. We made our way to Kinderdijk which is the best spot in the Netherlands to see the famous windmills that Holland is famous for. It is a tiny little town that literally if you blink you are out of when you are driving. The windmills were really soo cool to see and there were 19 windmills dotted in this field. We found this little trail that was off the beaten path and decided to park and walk down it even though im pretty sure it was private property. I was a little nervous (surprise surprise) but we just decided to play the dumb American card if anyone got mad at us. It was such a cute little road on one side was these little cottages with a canal and beautiful little gardens with sheep and goats surrounding them. One particular goat which was tied up close to the road Jenna decided to make friends with and was petting when he decided to start nibbling on her shoe which consequently made her freak out a little, lose her balance and fall backwards and almost in to a marsh. Natalie and I were laughing so hard and Natalie then fell over because of her hysteric laughter while I managed to snap a couple photos of the spill which are what I like to call priceless. A man was out there farming his garden and ended up taking a picture for us which turned out super cute. After walking down the road and admiring the windmills from a much closer proximity we headed to Den Haag which is a seaside city in Holland to the West of Rotterdam. It is an up and coming city and ended up being a pretty cool place. It had a beachfront area that we decided to stop at and we had some fun frolicking around on the beach and chatting with some Irish guys that we met who were doing close to the same itinerary as us. We also saw some really beautiful embassy mansions in Den Haag that we made Natalie drive us around to see because Jenna and I thought it was so cool. There really are so many blondes in Holland obviously because they are Dutch and I feel right at home! When we left Den Haag en route to Gouda Rue got us pretty lost and we ended up turning a 20 min drive in to an almost hour drive, and were thinking this town of Gouda better be worth it. Since all of us love cheese we were excited to try the local fare. It was getting to be about 6pm so a lot of the shops were closed but the central square was so cute and we ended up getting some great Amsterdam cheese as well as 48 month aged gouda for our picnic dinner was delicious. Natalie informed me that some gouda is aged up to like 5 years which I guess is supposed to be delicious however sounds nasty to me haha. We made it to Rotterdam by around 730 and checked in to our super cute hotel that we got a great deal on and had our picnic in our room of delicious gouda and Amsterdam cheese, salami and prosciutto, French bread, wasa toasts, tapenade, olives, and beer. To top it off since of course I need a sweet treat I had some nutella on toasts and these little cute cakes! Today was a super busy day but another great one and I think that the windmills might be my favorite thing I have seen so far. My mom has always wanted to see the windmills so I took lots of pictures and videos for her to see because they were so cool. Here are some of the memorable quotes of the day that we want to remember...Jenna stating that Nathalie is low maintenance she is moderate maintenance and that I am high maintenance hahahha. Nathalie talking about how Dutch women are so tall and how its because its always so cloudy there and so evolution has caused them to be taller to be closer to the sun. Jenna giving her explanation of why its ok for us to go on this little private lookin road to see the windmills "there is a sign and a trash can therefore we can trespass here!" and at the end of tonight Nathalie saying she needed water, Jenna saying no she needed beer and me sayin beer is water with hopps so your cool!Off to Leiden, Delft, and Amsterdam tomorrow! Wahoo! Waar is de badkamer