I would love to record every minute of every day from our trip to Europe.  The whole trip was amazing.  However,  I have chosen to just spend the next several days highlighting some of our favorite parts (though they will be hard to choose!!).

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A couple days after arriving in Belgium, we drove up to  Netherlands for a couple days.  There were  saw old windmills still speckling the landscape....

There were canals EVERYWHERE! 

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Interesting Fact:  Did you know, when you drive along the highway, the cows and sheep you see along the road are not fenced in?  They are held in by canals.  The canals separate the different pastures, also.  You don't see fences/barbed wire/woven wire etc.  The water in this very lowland has to go somewhere and these little canals help with that, as well as keeping livestock where it belongs.  It makes for beautiful countyside without fences!

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Interesting Fact:  Home owners used to be taxed by how much frontage they had to canals.  Therefore, they built homes that had little frontage but went WAY back, instead.  This made for some neat looking homes. 

Interesting Fact:  Because the homes are so skinny and stairs are so steep, people can't get furniture in when they move.  Therefore, there are crane type hooks on top of every building that are used to hoist the furniture up on the outside of the building.  The furniture is then brought in through the window. 

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We went on a canal boat ride-tour with Gramma.  It was wonderful.  We all really enjoyed it!! 

There are bikes EVERYWHERE!  There are bike taxi's, bike riders, bike racks, ferries and even bike parking lots!!!

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We were able to go to the shore and swim in the North Sea.  What a special treat for the boys!!!   That afternoon was loads of fun. 

Lastly, the cute little streets!!!  They were so quaint--cobblestoned, narrow, filled with character!  You'll see lots more of these in my Germany pictures.