The next morning we awoke in Rotterdam.  I went on an early run across the bridge the locals call “the swan”.

I love running in foreign cities.  It’s such a fun way to get your bearings and familiarize yourself with the area.  Then the three of us took an Uber to do some shopping down town.  We walked around all morning and by 11 am felt like it was time to try some famous apple pie from Dudok.  It was a home run.  

Later, we walked around to see more of the city.   We stopped by the Cube Houses and an awesome indoor farmers’ market.  Zach left with some frozen yogurt and I left with a sweet new water bottle.

Oddly enough, Rotterdam reminded me a lot of Johannesburg.  It was a fun city with tons of different cultures.  That night we had dinner on the boat and set off for a new country.

We sailed for most of the day on our way to Ghent, Belgium.  We watched movies in our room, did some services at the spa (I had an amazing facial), did some laundry down at the ship’s facilities, and got dessert ordered to our room that night.

The next day we arrived in Belgium.  The first city we stopped in was Ghent.  My second favorite city of the entire trip.  Zach went on an E-Bike tour with his family that morning and Calvin and I lounged around and had breakfast sent to our room.

Later we took the shuttle into the central part of the city and from the second we set foot there I loved it.  The architecture, the people, the whole city had such a great vibe.

We walked around popping in and out of churches and chocolate shops.  After getting a few sweet souvenirs for family back home – we stopped at a spot to get a legit Belgian Waffle.

The chocolate shop was recommended by a staff member on our ship and everything we bought was delicious.  I know this because…well…I bought tons of chocolate for gifts and ate 80 percent of it.  Only one bar survived the next two days – which I saved for my mom.  We eventually had to go back and buy more in a different city to bring back to my family.  

Something I have never been good at [with both of my children] is nursing in public.  I don’t feel totally comfortable which translates poorly to my babies.  I swear they can sense my anxiousness.  I had to get over my issues really quick on this trip.  In order to get out and see all we wanted to – I had to nurse anywhere and everywhere.  Buses, crowded restaurants, monuments, and even on a canal boat tour.  I’m glad though – I needed to be pushed out of my comfort zone and by the end of the trip it wasn’t a source of worry for me. 

After our waffles we went back to the ship so Cal could take a nap and we could relax for a bit.

For dinner we went back into town to eat at a trendy pizza place – Eat Love Pizza with the whole group.

Afterwards we walked down to main canal in the city and grabbed some ice cream to go before getting back to the boat.

The next morning we had a private tour of Brugge, Belgium.  I didn’t expect it to be – but this city was by far my favorite of the entire trip.  Two large vans picked up our group bright and early and we made our way to Brugge where we met our tour guide, Andy.

We walked around the main square for a few minutes until Cal woke up and needed to eat.

Andy showed us a darling little cafe where we could order hot chocolate and croissants and I could nurse.
After the three of us had our mid-morning snack we met back up with the group.

The walking tour was really great – thanks to our hilarious tour guide.  We walked all around the city and got a side of interesting tidbits.

We ended the tour with a late lunch by stopping off at Andy’s recommendation – a local Italian place.  Afterwards we walked around, bought more chocolate [I gambled on some dark chocolate with basil – also a tip from Andy] and met the group back at the vans to head home.

We did a ton of walking and retired to the boat for the rest of the night.