Delft.

This weekend was the first of many tiny "vacations" in the Netherlands and surrounding area.
I was fortunate to go to my friend Eline's aunt and uncle's home to stay outside the city of Delft.
They lived in a very cute home with a small farm that had goats, chickens, horses, a dog that looks great in a scarf, and a cat!

It was so nice and secluded that it felt very peaceful and relaxing while we were there.
Our adventure began on Saturday morning when we got to the train station and put money on our train cards. We checked in and hopped on the train to Rotterdam where we then would switch over to another train for Delft. Things went smoothly but since the train was busy we had to split up and sit a distance from each other. I luckily sat next to my friend Rebekah who had a travel book so we began searching for our next destination and quickly found a very delicious sounding paragraph related to Belgium waffles - so that will probably be it.

First, we talked, then slept a little, and before we knew it we were in Rotterdam! We got out and switched trains. No problem. Then we waited a mere 10 min. to Delft and hopped off. Perfect! We made it! Or so we thought.

Eline's uncle was picking us up and we were unable to located his vehicle or him! We were really confused until someone mentioned that maybe Delft actually has two stations.
Yes.
She was correct.
We had actually gotten off in Delft "South" AKA Delft... the ghetto.
So he drove to pick us up - how sweet :) We got in a car... yes - for the first time in a week I rode in a car again - weird! Then we drove to their beautiful home and had a delicious lunch that was made up of a lot of breads - which we needed the energy from because sight-seeing is tiring!
Eline's aunt is very good at giving tours and also a lot of historical information about Delft so the whole afternoon we learned a lot. I really appreciated seeing the tourist attractions as well as the hidden treasures of Delft.
It was a lovely afternoon that we spent together and we ended at Eline's cousin's apartment for coffee/tea and chocolates we bought in Delft. We also ate stroopwaffels. YUM :D We took Eline's cousin and a movie back to Eline's Aunt and Uncle's and watched a little of the movie, ate dinner, finished the movie and then she took us out on the town. We hit up a little restaurant/bar and had some drinks. Then we headed back to our cute beds for some shut-eye :)

We woke up for church in the famous church "Nieuw Kerk" for an English translation. It worked perfectly and we even got to see where the royal family is buried underneath the church. The people at the church were very friendly even though it was huge and cold. After church we went back to the house, read some little kid books in dutch, ate some cake, had some warm soup and then more ... BREAD with various jams, jellies, butters, sugars, sprinkles etc. Its quite fun to try something different on your bread every time but I always end with PB and choc. sprinkles because you just can't go wrong ... LEKKER!

After the meal we went with some more of their family to the seashore. It really was a beautiful day for the beach... not. ;)
The wind was blowing and the water was spraying while the sea raged and yet... we saw it.
Who knows if I'll ever make it back there so I am so thankful for the chance to see the sea despite the terrible weather.
There are sand dunes surrounding the sea so there was a lot of sand that got in my eyes :(
We drove back to Delft and then had a final meal, said thank-yous and good-byes, hopped on the train back to Zwolle.
I skyped my fam. tonight and we have a rough draft of the things we will do with our time together here. I am so excited that they are coming :)
Now that I am home-sweet-home I look forward to some sleep and more Dutch lessons tomorrow!
Good night!