The Broughtby's European Adventures

Our friends Kate, Jesse and their daughter Mara are in Europe again! They were part of our early adventures last year in Budapest (location of the wedding of Sam and Mara - no guests invited). They visited us in Amsterdam with other friends, Mary and Steve, and then we all (minus Ryan who has a job that I guess he needs to work at) traveled to Belgium.  I had been only to Brussels before and Sam had never been to Belgium. More Belgium photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/jDQGK3W5en3R85sG6 Ghent (August 6 - 9):  This city was a pleasant surprise!  I guess it would be given I did very little research in advance of coming here.  Ghent has the European feel (old-timey as I like to call it).  I know canals should not be that interesting to a person living in Amsterdam but I really can't get enough of them!  They have canals in Ghent and we did a boat tour to get to know the city.  There is a castle right in the center of the city which we toured (am...

Our first short European summer break is here. Time to cram in as much as possible in 8 weeks.  Sam and I started with a trip to the US to visit family.  Then to London for Sam's first trip there which is significant for him since he goes to The British School of Amsterdam. He equates British accents with prestige and authority.  As is typical for us we went during the hottest weather London has had so far this year.  Profusely sweating and seeking shade is how we like to travel. 🌞 More London photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/U9bUBQAQaL2g1Gyr6 July 27 - August 1:  The trip mostly included standard London activities for kids including the Big Bus Tour, Tower of London (plus the nearby famous bridges), St. Paul's Cathedral, Buckingham Palace and the London Eye. We did get to do a few things that were new for me and Ryan including a food tour in and around the Borough Market, a trip to the Sky Garden and we met our friend Jim to see Six in the theatre ...