Friday, November 18, 2011

My wonderful trip!

My trip to Europe really was the 'trip of a lifetime'.
Now I'm back it all seems like it was a dream.
This time last year I would never have thought that I would be meeting Sylvia and Sabiha.
Those two girls gave me the most wonderful time. I stayed at Sylvia's house for the first few days and really was treated like a Princess from the moment I arrived!
I took about 600 photos in the ten days I was in Europe...I'll show you just a few.
The photo above was taken in the incredibly beautiful town of Zaanse Schans.
Here we all are at the restaurant where Sylvia's son is a chef.
We had the most fantastic and delicious five course meal here, I ate all sorts of things I would never eat at home, lol!

Sylvia took me to Utrecht to meet her daughter.
Never in my life have I seen so many bicycles!
Rosanna flew in from Italy to meet me!
We all such fun together, lots of talking, laughing, presents and playing with Sylvia's dollhouses!

Sylvia took Rosanna and I to Amsterdam where there were so many beautiful old buildings.
We went for a long walk to meet...
the fabulous Karina!
Karina's mouse mansion is truly a sight to behold and she is just the loveliest person!

The day after Rosanna left Sylvia, Sabiha and I went to Paris together (we were living the dream!) on the high speed train.

Macarons at McCafe!! LOL!

We spent an afternoon walking around Montmartre and enjoyed the views from the magnificient Sacre Coeur.
We managed to find our way to Lea Frisoni's tiny shop.
Doesn't it look just like a dollhouse!
The buildings in Paris were just beautiful.
I think we took more pictures of rooftops, windows and doors in Paris than anything else!
We took an 'open top bus tour' so we could see all the sights.
We were able to get off the bus and on the next one wherever we liked.
Although it was sunny it was freezing!
I don't think I have ever been so cold in all my life!

And of course we made our pilgrimage to Laduree.
Which was every bit as fabulous as I had imagined it would be!

After Paris I stayed at Sabiha's beautiful home where I continued to enjoy the life of a Princess!
Here is the table all set for breakfast.

Sabiha took me to see some very famous windmills near Dordrecht.


All too soon I was back at the airport to make my way back home.
The Netherlands are a VERY long way from New Zealand! About 23 hours flying time. On the way there I had a 16 hour stopover in Malaysia - so it took me two days to get there.
But it was worth every minute of the travel time.
Friends here at home ask me what the best part of my trip was and I can honestly say that every day was the BEST! I really cannot pick just one day!
Thanks to my wonderful friends in Europe I really did have the time of my life!

Mercedes

32 comments:

  1. Wow! I guess the long hours of travel paid off Mercedes. Europe is just so speechlessly beautiful. It's surely a once in a lifetime experience you will cherish forever.

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  2. Looks like you had an awesome time :)

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  3. Thanks you for showing us those photos! It looks like you had a wonderful trip. These places are all so familiar to me, but even though I live quite close, I have never visited the Zaanse Schans. It is a shame New Zealand is such a long way away, as I am sure many of us would love to visit!

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  4. Mercedes, what beautiful photos! It's obvious you ladies had a wonderful time! =)

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  5. Thanks for sharing these pics Mercedes, it's obvious you had a truly wonderful time in fabulous places with very special friends.

    How amazing to find macarons at Macdonalds, that must surely be the peak of civilisation!

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  6. que de merveilleux et savoureux souvenirs!

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  7. Ah, lucky girl! Thankyou for sharing your wonderful time with us.

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  8. What a wonderful trip! It must have been incredibly fun. The photos are wonderful.
    Hugs

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  9. It sounds like a dream trip, you will have wonderful memories x

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  10. I enjoyed being there with you on this post :).

    Alas I will be in KL from 3-5 Dec. So near yet so far..

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  11. Wow, it may really be wonderful trip!

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  12. Que viaje tan chulo que has hecho, ya te habia visto en otro blog!!!!!
    Besos.

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  13. Mercedes, what a wonderful adventure. I'm so glad you had such a wonderful time.

    xo
    Claudia

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  14. What a wonderful trip, i followed it a little at Sylvia's blog.
    So special to meet your friends from the other site of the world.You made very nice pictures, thanks for sharing.
    Hugs
    Maria

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  15. What a wonderful trip you´ve had, and meating such lovely friends. A memory for life... :0)

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  16. What a beautiful trip you had! And you have all those beautiful photos as a memento!

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  17. Great pictures.. I am happy for you. Looking forward to the day when I can go to Paris.

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  18. Looks like you all had a wonderful time. Great pictures and what wonderful memories.
    Hugs Maria

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  19. I have tried all day to leave a comment :o(( may be this will be the right time.
    Glad to see what you did on your trip, it's been a real great pleasure to meet you. May be you'll be our guide in NZ sooner or later. I cross my fingers for this. Hugs to you all, Rosanna

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  20. It let me through !!!! very happy me :o))
    BTW the word verification is DYING ..not a good omen :o(

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  21. Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos. Can see you had a fantastic time.
    Mona

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  22. Thank you for sharing your days with us! I can see you have a lovely time. :D

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  23. Beautiful photos of a Memorable and Wonderful trip! Thank you for sharing with us.... it makes it feel just a tiny bit as though I was there too.... looking over your shoulder at THE Mouse Mansion, eating McMacarons.... laughing with new friends! The sights are gorgeous! LOVE those windmills!

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  24. You're trip looks so wonderful, I can understand why every day was your favorite!
    Hugs,
    Jill

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  25. I have been looking forward to seeing your photos.....looks as though you had a wonderful time. Isn't Paris an amazing city???

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  26. Thank you so much for sharing some of your photos! I'm sure you will remember this trip to the Netherlands and Paris all your life. what is better than travelling nad meeting friends?
    Geneviève

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  27. Thank you for sharing your beautiful photos. A wonderful trip to remember :)

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  28. Gracias por compartir estas fotos maravillosas.Besos desde España!!!

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  29. Wow! I am so happy that your trip was sooooo wonderful;)

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  30. Wonderful! I'm so glad you had such a good time! Thanks for sharing your lovely story and photos! :-)

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Thank you for your comments!