As mentioned in my previous entry, day 2 of our amazing road trip charrozcaldo was Netherlands!
This was another out of the blue moment. Going back to 2015, we went to the Netherlands around the last week of May, aiming to catch the field of tulips but WALEY! Their festival ended 17th of May but we got there the next day! As in, literal na latak nalang of tulips yung naabutan because everything were already harvested. So I just promised myself that I’ll come back.
2018. Eto na yung chance ko. Because we had an extra day from our Belgium trip, we decided to go ahead and see the tulips cause why not, we were only 2 hours away.
Same as the first time, we went to Lisse where they house Keukenhof- Dubbed as THE Garden of Europe. The festival has already started and there’s loads of tourists everywhere as in sold out mga besh. I was only after the actual fields but since there was a hint of curiosity of what is going on inside, might as well!
Getting into the garden costs €18. In all honesty mga besh, I felt like it was a total rip off. Di sulit. I mean the whole place is nicely done, but for the price and the volume of people coming in, I thought it could be a bit cheaper (plus they charged I think €6 for the parking). The whole place was so crowded!
The best time to go to see the fields would probably be towards the end of April, before they start harvesting all the flowers. And if I were to decide, I would just pass on the garden and just hire a bike/car to go around instead. The fields were everwhere but the challenge was to find one that wasn’t harvested yet. Luckily, through the help of instagram locations and some online searching, we’ve managed to find some spots!
It was really worth it going around to look for the fields. It was truly a feast for the eyes, my pictures/videos wouldn’t do justice and I’m glad I’ve got it ticked off my bucket list.
PS! Here’s my Belgium with a bit of the tulips video! Ü
It’s been a while mga beh but heto nanaman po tayo sa mga talak series ko and this time, I will make chika about my latest lamyerda… Belgium!
From the usual flying, we tried to explore our options- in short, kung saan mas makakatipid! Honestly, the flights at the time would cost around £120 each and hindi pwede yang mga ganyang ganap! We also went to see if we could hop on a train instead but it would cost aroung £80-90 each and I still found it a bit pricey. I was aiming for around the £50-60 range so mega hanap si auntie until, tiiiiing! I had a revelation char! Why don’t we just drive?
Driving from England (Port of Dover) to France (Calais or Dunkirk)
I learned na you could do this two ways: drive yourself through the Euro Tunnel or ride the ferry (RORO levels) and just start driving when you get to the other side. The first one did sound appealing cause it’s much faster BUT it’s a £120 charge (for two na to so pasok na sa banga). The latter naman, would take us 2 hours to cruise the English channel BUT, it would only cost us a tumataginting na SEBENTY SEBEN POUNDS ONLY! Oh di ba? Winner! The catch though, is that when you’re driving around EU, there are certain requirements like making sure your insurance covers that country and that you have mandatory equipments that is available in your car (fire extinguisher, hazard jackets, road triangles, etc) which you can buy a complete pack in Halfords.
The are also buses from London to Belgium/France/Netherlands which is also cheaper but of course would take around 8 hours or more. Worth a try for some who don’t mind.
The English Channel
There were actually a variety of ferries to choose from but I opted for the DFDS company. Just make sure that you book on their actual website cause when I compared with like a travel site, they do have the same initial price pero tadtad sa hidden charges when you check out. Also, perstaym ko to so talagang napasigaw ako pagka angkas namin ng “Shakay nah!”
I think what I liked about this mode of travel is there were no strict allowance ecklavoo. Kahit magbaon kapa ng 5litres of shampoo keri lang. Parang ang chill lang promise! Daan daan ka lang sa booths, they will quickly inspect and swab your car for safety; they also have immigration there so may tatak padin yung passport.
We originally booked for 10pm kasi we will still come from work and anticipated traffic since it was a long holiday. Luckily, we checked in around 7:45 pm and they just offered us of we’d like to ride on the 8pm one so gora! It was the perfect time cause we get to catch the golden hour while cruising the English channel.
They had a communal area in the ship and they had restaurants (not much to offer but keri nadin), small shop to buy essentials (careful cause prices are doubled); they also have a number of slot machines and currency exchange booth. Upon booking, they did offer me if I wanted to avail the lounge (additional £12 /person/journey) but since the theme is tipid travel, I just refused which was a good call. Looking at the open area, it was actually not that bad. And the journey was just for 2 hours anyway so keri boom boom na.
Because of the time difference, we arrived at Port Dunkirk ( yeap, that Dunkirk from the movie. A must watch!) at around 11pm and checked in and rested for the morning.
I am still in awe with the fact na you can be in two countries at once (Mandy Moore levels) here in Europe. From Dunkirk, France, it was just an hour drive getting to our first destination- Brugge, Belgium
Be, welcome daw.
Walking around Brugges
The city was so energetic yet chill at the same time. We were lucky cause we were blessed with a sunny weather so we had the chance to really roam around and appreciate it’s gothic architecture.
They also had canals where you can cruise and basically see around (only 7 euros each).
Of course, what is a trip to Belgium without an authentic truffle and waffle experience.
All in all, you can probably see all the sights for one whole day.
Break it to me GHENT-ly
From Brugge, it was another hour drive to Ghent. They had pretty much the same structures but some areas looked more metro.
Main reason why we suddenly decided to go to Belgium: this guy right here! ( JV, Hubby’s bestest friend).
After Ghent, it was another hour drive to get to Leuven where JV and his family is staying.
On our day 2, we had a side trip to Netherlands ( 2 hours drive) which I will probably talk about in another entry (para mas maayos).
Fast forward to day 3, we finally went to Brussels which was 45 minutes away from where we were staying.
Similar to most countries in the EU, I’ve noticed that most of these cities usually have their centre square which is usually their main paandar and then the rest of the tourist sites are spread everywhere.
I’m currently exploring taking candid photos of other people. Parang bet ko pang i-explore itey.
In fairness kay daddeeey
Cuteee children on their field trip! Random fact: I’ve always wanted to be a pre-school teacher
I did’t make any effort to research why pero bet nila itong si totoy. Sikat siya dito for some reason.
The Atomium – huge structure depicting atoms.
Honestly, ito yung pinaka highlight for me- the European Union Headquarters. Other than that, solb nako.
I think 2-3 days would be enough to explore its main cities and I would say Brugge was my favourite. Other must try is of course, their waffles and I love their legit Belgian truffles and my gad, I love the beer! (Sorry, no pictures na kasi nasa chanda ko na lahat plus, tipid memory din for wordpress!)
Anyway, I’m still editing our videos (I’ll embed it here soon) but see you soon on my next lamyerda diaries! Taaa!!
Update! From 150 raw videos to 20 minute clips to this!
I’ve decided to cancel my bank shift for this weekend. I thought after all those weeks of work, I deserve some rest and relaxation.
R&R officially commenced Friday night. Hubby had boys night out, housemate Mike went globtrotting somewhere so I had the house all to myself! I did my usual thing – bubble bath, face mask, aromatherapy and relaxing spa music. Eng sherep beh. The only thing missing was a full body massage but I have yet to find a place/person who offers this at a reasonable price. Anyway, the main goal was to relax and na-achieve naman. Pak!
Saturday. The plan was to go to the beach however, I woke up really late and was actually not in the mood to move so we decided to cancel it. Out of nowhere, nagkayayaan. We ended up driving 2 hours to Oxford. I fell in love instantly. I just adore the ambiance. Plus ang daming gwapo mga veh, I kenat! Char! It just had a very chill vibe which I did not expect at first. It wasn’t as crowded as Cambridge although the buildings/structures were quite similar sans the canal. I can actually see myself living here. Add extra point cause they have a branch of Shoryu Ramen. I think the only downside will be 1) Oxford has been dubbed as one the most expensive cities to live on 2) A bit farther from Central London.
Anyway, back to Lamyerda Diaries- it was a 2 hour drive from Essex and the first spot we went to was the Blenheim Castle and gardens.
Entering the actual castle would cost £26- ang mahal mag mashie! Since were more interested in just strolling around, we opted for the park and garden tour which only cost 16 quid.
It kind of had a Kensington gardens feel but 3x times bigger! And there’s more area with a wide variety of trees plus a really huge pond/lake in the middle. Walking through the whole adult park area alone took us around 30-45 minutes. Luckily, the weather cooperated so di nakaka haggardo v.
One other feature of the place was their Pleasure Park where they house the Marlborough Maze.
After the Blenheim, we went to their high street. Knowing it was a Saturday evening, I kind of expected it to be packed but nope! Pubs/bars were packed but not as busy as a Saturday night in London (esp. Soho area).
Radcliffe Camera
Unfortunately, it was too late to enter the Christ Church Uni to see the big dining hall and stairs from Harry Potter movies so we just sat and people watched outside.
I wonder how busy the area gets on weekdays. I’m looking forward to visit again soon!
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