Planning

One of the most fun things about living in Europe is travelling.  There are so MANY totally different place to explore that are so near by.  It makes planning terrifically fun.

We spent the weekend planning a short jaunt for the Easter weekend.  We have annual passes to a local amusement park (Tripsdrill--they open for the season in two weeks, look for a post about it then) which do not expire until March 31.  One of the perks of the annual pass is one free entry to a sister park in Holland, Efteling.  Here is a shot of the entry that I pulled off of the internet.

So, for a fun and budget weekend trip, we have planned a getaway to try out this park on teh day before those passes expire.  It will also be the kids' first time in Holland.

There are always good last minute deals to be had and the internet makes finding them so easy (HOW did we all plan trips before the invention of the internet???).  We found a 3 bedroom house in a vacation community in Belgium, about an hour from the park, and were able to book two nights at 100 Euro per night.  It looks like a pretty are, and worth checking out as possible place to spend a week sometime in the warmer months.  We always like trees and lakes:

As this is a short jaunt and meant just for fun and not for some cultural extravaganza, we will likely just hang out at the indoor pool complex at the resort area (included with the house rental), and wander the trails in teh area when we arrive on Friday afternoon:

We'll have dinner at the house and then spend all day Saturday at the Efteling.  It looks promising as a unique and fun amusement park.  Those of you who know us well know that we LOVE theme parks--any of them that are unique and their own things are a huge thrill to us.  thrill rides or not--we just love the theming and uniqueness of them (what we don't love?  Anything that feels like just another generic Six Flags).  

For Easter Sunday, we are hoping to spend a few hours exploring Antwerp before we head home in the evening.  High on the list of "hope to sees" is the cathedral.

So, there is a little taste of our Easter plans.  I hope to have some nice photos to share when we get back (all of these are from the internet).  I wish you all the best in planning some Easter fun as well.

--Hadley