The next day we arrived in Antwerp.  Zach’s family did another bike tour of the city and the three of us shopped down town.  We hit up a bunch of stores, walked around the diamond district, and saw one of the main attractions:  a beautiful cathedral.  A lot of people warned me about taking a stroller to Europe [with the cobblestone streets and all] but I am so glad we took it.  We logged some serious miles on that bad boy.

The weather the entire trip had been so beautiful – it didn’t get down to the chillier temperatures until the last few days.  We toured inside the cathedral to warm up for a bit.

We ate a late lunch at Wagamama and then did a bit more shopping.

After we hit up the Nike store [and Cal got fed inside of one of the dressing rooms] we made our way over to Laduree to snag some treats to take back to the boat.

We had dinner on the boat that night and got to bed for our early wake-up call the next day.

That day was one of my favorites.  Gina hired a private bus and tour guide to take us to Brussels for the day.  We all loaded up on the coach and set off.

First we saw a popular site – the Atomium – built for the World’s Fair in the 50’s.

My personal favorite photo of the day – featuring Sean.

Then our bus stopped at a gorgeous cathedral and we walked to a popular shopping area with the most amazing glass roof and chocolate shops on chocolate shops on chocolate shops.  Too many to choose from – but I managed to pop into one I had read about in my research and buy two more boxes.

We stopped at the main square with beautiful buildings all gilded in gold.

Then we walked to Mannekin Pis – one of the most famous statues/fountains in the city.

Also, where Chad had one of many of his waffle breaks.

We stopped at a Cafe called Charlie’s for lunch.  I was totally gaga over the tile.  The food was just as fabulous as the interior of the restaurant.

We met back up at the bus afterwards so we could tour the palace and the royal gardens and greenhouses.  We felt really lucky because the greenhouses are only open a short window of time – and we happened to be there during that period.

Zach and I reported back to the bus so I could feed Cal – but Zach couldn’t resist a waffle truck in the same parking lot.  He got one to go for the ride back to the boat.

We had a dinner reservation later that night in Antwerp at Sir Anthony Van Dijck.  As part of the booking – the cruise line treated us to one fancy shmancy dinner on land.  It happened to have a Michelin Star and was quite the showcase.  Cal was a dream and slept through 4 out of the 5 courses.  When we got back we got ready for bed and ready to head back to Holland.

The next day we arrived in Dordrecht.  It felt like we were in the Dutch version of Cape Cod.  We walked through the entire city in a few hours.  It is small, but so charming.

We stopped by a local market in the square.  Zach got his fries he’d been craving since the first day. 

Then we met up with the rest of his family on our way to a beautiful church.We found them eating soup, bread, and pancakes outside a little bakery.
Afterwards we met up with Zach’s parents for dinner in the Bistro on the boat.  That night they had a tasting menu – which we decided to give a go.

It was a little wild for our taste, but the dessert [banana bread pudding with fresh berries and walnuts] was out of this world.  It was so good, in fact, that we asked for it the following night.  We were disappointed to hear they were out of it – but later the staff made another batch and had it sent to our room.  I could have kissed them all on the mouth.  I feel like we owe the extra special service to Sean.  He saved a Russian guy at dinner a few nights prior by giving him the Heimlich.  The staff on the ship was so grateful they made us a special apple pie our last night for dessert.  Sean saved us too – by packing antibiotics that Zach took advantage of when he came down with a nasty cold at the beginning of our trip.  He was even thoughtful enough to pack baby Amoxicillin for Calvin if he needed it.  Everyone needs an Uncle Sean!  That night we made our last stop – back to Amsterdam where we started.