We’re back after two 24-hour days of traveling and nine days of sightseeing in three of the most beautiful countries we have ever seen.
The initial reason for this trip was to visit my uncle’s grave in the American Cemetery in Luxembourg. Seeing the grave was very emotional, and when they played our National Anthem with Carillon bells in his honor, well you can imagine.
If you enjoy beautiful flowers, good drink and food, European architecture, waterways, and a different but refreshing way of life, the Benelux countries are a destination for your bucket list. Here are a few snapshots from an amazing trip.
Fields of tulips and gorgeous box gardens and landscaped trees…
Delicious food and drink everywhere we went…
Unique means of transportation when gasoline is $10 per gallon…
And beautiful architecture everywhere we looked…
If you want to talk beautiful countryside, friendly people, bicycles, Belgian beer, Keukenhof tulip gardens, De Haar Castle, Orval Abbey, good coffee, Belgian chocolate, or any of their amazing small towns, let’s do it. ❤️
Otherwise, it is back to the reality of two weeks of dirty clothes, bills to be paid, weeds to be pulled, over 550 emails and posts to catch up on, mulch to be contemplated, an air conditioner to be fixed and more exercise, including pumping up the tires on my bike, to work off the pastries and beer we’ve enjoyed over the past couple of weeks. But, it is good to be home. 🙂
NewEnglandGardenAndThread 
Thanks for the POSTCARD post with the great photos. Looks like a great trip! You will work those extra calories off in no time. I hope you came home to flowers starting to bloom and not too many weeds!
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I’ve seen quite a few weeds, but I do have some bleeding hearts blooming which is always a good thing.
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What a paradise in pictures! You really enjoyed the best parts of those beautiful countries! I know that a mountain of catch-up work awaits you, but it’s gotta be a much more relaxed and happy mood you’re in! I love the euphoria of being home to the familiar after a good trip away – although, for me, never one as significant as the one you just took!
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BUT, you have all those sweet grand babies you get to visit, snuggle and rock. 🙂
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Welcome home! Let the weeds and emails wait and tell us more about the trip!
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Thank you for the chuckle. One more thing about the trip that I’ll post more about were the amazing bicycles riding residents of Amsterdam. I took a lot of photos of the bikes because I just couldn’t believe how many there were and how they rig them out to fit their needs. Many, many more bikes in Amsterdam than there were cars. It was just amazing AND I didn’t see any overweight people riding them. I think they have a pretty good solution to several things that plaque us here in the States. 🙂
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Welcome home, after a terrific vacation.
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I think this is the most amazing coincidence – we just returned from France, where we saw the American Cemetery near Metz and I looked for people in my father’s WWII battalion, then stopped for the afternoon in Luxembourg where my father spent the weekend before he was wounded. I plan to post about this later today and will also show a few cemetery pix. So glad you shared this.
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Wow – this coincidence gave me goosebumps. To see all those white crosses lined up and realize the impact on all of those families takes your breath away. I had seen many photos, but to see the care that is taken of those graves is a true blessing for all of us with loved ones there. I will look forward to reading your post.
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Hi, Judy, just posted. Yes, amazing how well taken care of the cemetery is. The guide there was wonderful to us.
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I am so glad you’re back — I love that you are sharing so many amazing pictures! It must be wonderful to be back in your own bed but your daily diet is going to seem pretty boring after all of that amazing stuff. I hope you brought home LOTS of chocolate! Eat a couple of pieces for us!
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Well…some Belgian chocolate did happen to find its way home with me. LOL And, my tuna sandwich with carrots for lunch was pretty boring after the last two weeks. 🙂
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Such a special honor to visit your uncle’s grave. Surely a bittersweet experience.
And, wow! Look at that food and the beautiful spots you captured and shared.
Thankful you returned home safe, with a full and happy heart.
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Thank you, Lisa. Visiting my uncle’s grave was an experience that is hard to describe. The memory of his young life and his ultimate sacrifice for our Country has been a part of my life as far back as I can remember. Standing at his grave was such an emotional experience but it was also a wonderful feeling to be there to honor his memory.
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A touching description of honoring your uncle and lovely pictures from this exciting trip.
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Don’t you hate having to get back to reality? Beautiful photos, thanks for sharing!
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🙂 Back to trimming trees today.
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What a lovely trip!! Poignant to see the grave of your uncle ,so wonderful you honor him. And then seeing ‘my’ country through your eyes, your photos are priceless! xo Johanna
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Oh you have visited the kingdom of good beer, good cheese and good pastries! But you have managed to see some tulips on the way too, so good for you! 🙂
Welcome back to reality by the way.
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I am sure the weeds missed you 🙂 Every photo is gorgeous…hope to see more on here when you’ve caught up 🙂
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I love this post! So happy you had a wonderful trip to such a beautiful location. Love all the photos! Welcome home.
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Thanks for sharing. You’ve inspired me even more to visit Holland and Belgium some day.
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It was a wonderful trip – beautiful countries. 🙂
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Fabulous trip, fabulous photos, fabulous food!
Hugs to you for your emotional moments at your Uncle’s grave… ((hugs))
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I’m convinced! Sign me up. The tulips and other gardens, the food, the architecture all look so picturesque and charming.
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