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After a long journey from Bruges we arrive at Flying Pig Beach Hostel in Noordwijk (about an hour and a half outside of Amsterdam).

Staying outside was not only cost efficient but also the best decision we could have made!

The first day we travelled into Amsterdam and hired bikes. Unfortunately I was too small for an adult bike so I had to be demoted to a child’s bike (on the upside it was a very cute bike). We spent the day cycling around the city seeing the sites. I would highly recommend hiring bikes once you get used to the roads it’s so fun travelling around the city like locals and I only got hit by a car once, (at a very slow speed don’t worry, both the bike and I came out unscathed). We ended the afternoon with a canal tour after putting our bikes in a car park for bikes.

The next day we had a well deserved lie-in and then spent the day at the fair ground and chilling at the beach. Iona the sweetheart that she is won me a toy tiger at the fair (the day before I had commented that it was harder to sleep without my prized Floppsy). Tulip the tiger in tow we headed to a beach bar for Dinner. After heading back to the hostel to pack and shower we came back out to the beach for some cheese, grapes and wine budget style. Iona spent the rest of the evening teaching me pool, which I wasn’t actually too bad at for a beginner (although I think Iona let me off with a lot).

The next day we headed out to an impressive tulip botanical garden, where we once again had to do a minor bit of scamming, it was €30 for 18 and up, but €15 for 17 and younger so of course we used our baby faces to the best of our advantage. It was such a beautiful sight to see all the different kinds of tulips and the smell was unreal. We had another picturesque lunch amongst the tulips. With all the colours in the garden it felt as if we were in In The Night Garden. A couple storage warnings from the amount of photos taken later we were back on the bus. And on to the next location Berlin…

Ok don’t get too worried by the title…

1. We were the scammers
2. Only kind of…
3. We didn’t mean it I swear

No really I swear!

The scene of our scamming starts in our Bedroom in Paris after a late night Maze Runner watch. I received a strange charge on my card. Oh crap, how have I been scammed in the first proper day of my interailing? I check the location “Paris” I haven’t spent €45 anywhere in Paris. I alert Monzo that it’s a suspected scam. They instantly refund me the money and cancel my card. The next morning when I wake up I notice an Email about 10 minutes after the strange charge. It’s our hostel in Bruges sending me a receipt. Okay in my defence the hostel had said that it was pay at the property! I had sacrificed my Monzo card for nothing… Better safe than sorry I guess?

After an early rise and a journey over a draw bridge and moat. We arrive at our hostel, no complaints from them (yay free hostel!).

We spent the rest of the day exploring Bruges. First stop? Waffles of course! When in Rome… well Belgium? After a very indulgent and tasty waffle, we get up to leave and start happily skipping down the road to our next destination. But someone is chasing after us, who could it be? Ohhh the waiter with the cheque. We had been gossiping and chatting so much that we had forgotten to pay. Obviously we went back and paid and he was very understanding, narrowly avoiding scamming yet another unsuspecting Belgian.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Bruges. Most notably the Basilica of the Holy Blood. Say what you want about Catholics but they know how to do a relic. The Church or in this case Basilica was beautiful on its own but to see the relic itself was truly humbling. Believed to be the blood of Jesus himself, it is housed in an ornate glass tube. Brought from the Holy Land by Thierry, Count of Flanders, and collected by Joseph of Arimathea, it is now protected by a very strict Belgian security man. He made sure that no one skipped the line and the strict silence was observed in the area where the relic was on Display. What a blessing to be in the presence of our Lord and Saviour’s blood.

After exploring the city some more we had a rather underwhelming dinner. Maybe it’s my general distaste for chips or maybe the Frites are just not worth the hype… After all they’re just chips!

The next day we had a spot of breakfast next to a windmill and two rather friendly ducks. I mean really they were really rather friendly. I think if I had the confidence I could have hand fed them. After saying goodbye to our new best friends Donald and Daisy, we headed back into town to grab some of that famous Belgian chocolate and I can confirm that it was in fact worth the hype!

After a very stressful few days consisting of many phone calls, loads of emails and countless Royal Mail tracker checks… I finally had my passport! I was on my way to Paris to meet Iona who had already set off (on the day we had planned to leave). But of course nothing could be that simple, after my Mum and I turned up at the post office to intercept my passport before it was sent out for delivery we raced home and booked me on the next flight to Paris (which inconveniently was from Glasgow). I had an hour to pack and jump on the next train into Glasgow.

Of course I treated myself to a McDonald’s breakfast and then a burrito for lunch, after all I deserved it after such a stressful few days of waiting for the Irish passport office to return my UK passport. Luckily for me I managed to fly in style, a whole row to myself what a win! With a good book and a carton of coconut water I was 2 hours out from starting a joint childhood dream and promise with my life long best friend.

Once I arrived in Paris I jumped into a Taxi, drove for an hour and was reunited with Iona. I settled into our accommodation, Iona’s family friend’s house. Thank you to LJ and her lovely family for hosting us.

That evening we made a huge discovery, Iona does in fact like movies! After a lifetime of not enjoying movies, we put on The Maze Runner and to everyone’s surprise Iona not only enjoyed it but requested to watch the second film the next evening! Drop me your suggestions of movies similar to The Maze Runner please.

Due to my late arrival we had 1 day to complete Paris, we hit the major spots: The Eiffel Tower, The Arc De Triomphe, The Louvre and Notredam. We had the most French lunch you could imagine, baguettes next to The Eiffel tower!

The best part of the day was without a doubt climbing to the top of The Eiffel Tower. For those who don’t know my parents got engaged at the top of The Eiffel Tower, (legend has it my Dad thought due to my Mum’s fear of heights she was more likely to say yes in an effort to get down as fast as possible). Either way it was a very romantic spot. Iona jokingly got down on one knee (of course I said yes!).

After a busy day of sightseeing we went home to pack and watch the second Maze Runner movie. But we had company… TORTOISES! LJ’s oldest son had gone on holiday with his girlfriend and their family had volunteered to babysit, well tortoisesit her shell babies.

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