Leaving France, Entering Holland (Delft and Noordwijk)

This morning, we packed up, stripped the beds and left France. First, we stopped in Hesdin one last time because Bianca had seen some shoes in the store window the first night and wanted to try them on. Unfortunately, they didn't have her size, but I ended up with a new pair of sandals. I'm in love! We also stopped at a Boulangerie for pastries. Mine was a flat, twisted chocolate pastry. So good!

One last door in France (Hesdin)

Then we drove. I liked France, but that house was horribly uncomfortable and I'm pretty sure there is some kind of creature (or ghost) living in the attic as one night, I woke up from a scratching in the ceiling. Plus, the house was so humid it felt like we were getting into wet sheets every night. Bianca couldn't tune her viola last night, it was so humid.

We drove through Belgium. I'm not impressed with Belgium; it looks so industrial, with none of the charm of France. Then we drove into The Netherlands. Within a mile of entering the country, things stopped looking industrial and were just beautiful. Windmills, flowers, charming everything. We stopped in Delft on the way. Delft is where Vermeer (who painted Girl with a Pearl Earring) was from. It's also famous for Delftware (the blue-and-white pottery). It was a gorgeous old city.

In Delft town center (Stadhuis)

Cathedral in Delft town center

We had lunch at Grand Cafe Willem van Oranje. I had schnitzel but the girls had pancakes (Bianca's had bacon and apples), Portia had mini pancakes with Ice (which I know now is actually dessert). Portia did love her meal and rightfully so! Eric had this amazing seafood dish that I wished I had ordered. It was raining while we ate but we sat out in the Delft market square under the umbrellas and ate.

One of the pretty canals in Delft, with lilypads

We shopped a little after lunch. I ended up buying a rain jacket in a second-hand store because it was raining. I also got Bianca a pair of high-tops she wanted.

After a couple hours, we continued our drive to Noordwijk, a beautiful coastal city where we're staying. Our little house is snug but so nice! So much better than our last house. The owner had put fresh peonies in a vase (it's almost as if he know how sad I was that I was missing my own peonies blooming back home) an a box of Dutch cookies.

Eric wasn't feeling well so he laid down while Portia, Bianca and I walked on the beach (which is a short walk from our house). They're always picking at shells! This was odd, though, because the beach was strewn with tons of jellyfish.

We unpacked and got situated. Portia and Bianca have bunkbeds.

We broke open the box of Dutch cookies and went to bed.

Doors of Delft