The Netherlands: Noordwijk

In early April, we drove to the Netherlands for a long weekend with our friends the Favrettos. It was our first time driving to and on the continent, and we were somewhat apprehensive about what it would be like. I did a lot of research ahead of time, as each country has its own requirements for what you have to have in your car to drive there. We purchased a kit from Halford's (local auto store) that includes most everything you need to have for France, Belgium, and the Netherlands, then supplemented with a one-time use breathalyser (required to drive in France). 

We headed down to the Chunnel early Saturday morning, and hit no traffic around London (yay!). When you arrive at the port, you have to go through passport control in your car, and then follow signage to the holding area before boarding the train. Rather than driving through the Chunnel yourself, you drive onto a train! You drive straight through the train until you're told to stop. They then close dividers between each train car. There is space for about 3-4 vehicles per train car. We closely followed our friends' car to make sure we would be near each other on the train. Once you're parked, you can get out and walk around for the 40ish minute journey to France. Then you hop in your car and drive off the train and into France... giggling at the signs that strongly remind people to drive on the RIGHT side of the road!

The drive on the highways through France, Belgium, and the Netherlands was pretty straightforward. The road signs change to kilometers and speed limits to kmh, and various signs are (obviously) in different languages, but it was fairly simple to understand. We stopped for a quick lunch at a rest stop somewhere in Belgium, then proceeded on to Noordwijk -- the town we stayed in. We hit some traffic jams requiring rerouting (thank goodness for GPS!) but made it safely. 

Noordwijk is a seaside town between Amsterdam and The Hague, and is a popular spot in the summer months. It was fairly quiet when we were in town, which was fine by us. It is in a great location for visiting the Keukenhof Gardens and tulip fields, which was our main reason for going to Holland at this time of year. We walked down along the seaside each of the three nights we were in town, which was about a 10 minute walk from the AirBnB we stayed in. It was somewhat cool on the North Sea beach, but nice for enjoying the sunset!

Charlotte playing in the sand on the beach

Elisa and me on the beach, loosely chaperoning the kids

Looking back up toward the Noordwijk lighthouse (I am literally pouring sand out of Charlotte's shoe in this picture)

Day 2 - Sunset

Toddler wrangling, beach style

The first night we ate at a beachside restaurant, where there was a huge playground in back for the kids to run some energy off before we ate. It was too crowded inside, but we were seated on the outside deck behind some windproof glass. The second night we stayed in, as Charlotte was exhausted and had refused to nap, but the third night we ate at a Dutch pancake house (basically crepes served any which way! Paul had Mexican pancakes, but I stuck with a ham, egg, and cheese pancake and Charlotte had a raisin pancake).

We really enjoyed the AirBnB we stayed at -- the owner was 9 months pregnant and was actually in the hospital the day we left (!). It was very convenient with free parking on the street. It had very narrow and steep stairs (typical of Dutch homes) which was a bit challenging with Independent Woman Charlotte, and the bathroom was divided up in an interesting way. Toilet under the stairs, kitchen sink to wash hands, and shower closet upstairs. It worked! We were also pleased that Charlotte had her own room and a pack-and-play was provided for her. No bad AirBnB experiences yet! (4 for 4.)