in bloom {Holland & Belgium}

We missed the tulips blooming in the outskirts of Amsterdam by just a few weeks, but there wasn't a shortage of blossoms during our somewhat chilly visit last week.

The Bloemenmarket in Amsterdam:

Filled with spring blooms and lots of bulbs.This was my favorite seller.

Look at the size of these bulbs! They were at least the size of a softball.
The Bloemenmarket is the world's only floating flower market. Here you can see the back side of the booths, lining the Singel canal. There are quite a few touristy souvenir shops mixed in but it's worth a stroll just to see/smell the flowers.

Trees were budding with sweet shades of green and some bushes were starting to burst with color after a few sun-filled days in Amsterdam.
A peek into Amsterdam's urban park, Vondelpark. The grass is green and you can see the various hues of green and yellow amongst the branches. Aside from the flower market in Amsterdam, I wasn't expecting to see many blooms in either country during our visit. In fact, the forecast called for rain and temps in the low 40s so I wasn't expecting sunshine, not a drop of rain OR temps in the mid 50s either! Ha, we lucked out.

Just beyond this gate lies a heavenly spot in Bruges, one that totally caught me off guard and drew me back for a second visit during our short stay.

Welcome to the Begijnhof. This area was founded in 1245 and is currently a monastery for the Benedictine sisters (more info here). Upon first glance, I was intrigued by the beautiful white brick houses inside.

I noticed the soft green courtyard to my left...

...but once I fully turned to see this, my jaw dropped open and I felt goose bumps all over.

A large green pasture with centuries old, moss covered poplar trees all leaning in unison. Birds softly landing on the thin grass covered with bright yellow daffodils. The original church was burnt to the ground in the late 1500's so this church was rebuilt in 1609. Signs inside the grounds asked for visitors to be silent and not to take photos, but several people were taking photos and I just had to snap a couple. The grounds and surroundings here are exactly how I envision my 'happy place', you know that place you go to in your mind in a meditative state {or when you're late and get stuck in traffic and just want to scream at the world to "get out of my way!!!", but you take a deep breath and force your mind to shift gears} This is it for me, right here in the Begijnhof in Bruges. Ah...one last peek.

Do you ever get sad looking back at photos from happy times? We had such a nice time on our trip and the day I snapped these photos was my favorite day overall. We talked about how fun it would be to buy a small place in Belgium, giving us access to so many other European cities that we'd love to visit. There were so many beautiful, small brick homes on the outskirts of Bruges {as seen from the train} that I found myself daydreaming about what it would be like to live there, a slower pace of life and surrounded by so much history and culture. Ah to dream. ☺

We have bright blue skies and the temps are supposed to be in the low 80s this weekend so life is good here in Houston right now.

Hope your weekend is filled with sunshine and blooms!

xo~
Tricia