Spring is Here!

So excited that it's getting warmer so we can get back out and enjoy the city more!  We've had a few things going on over the past couple weeks since I last wrote.  My girlfriend, Kellie, came to visit us again!  She will likely be the only visitor that will have visited twice while we are here.  We are lucky that her company's European office is only 20 minutes away from our house.  We went on many long walks along the river and through the city and it was also St. Patty's Day weekend so we went out for dinner and drinks to celebrate along with Steve and Sarah.
We have also recently discovered a few new restaurants here in Maastricht including La Bodega - a Spanish Tapas restaurant, Gio's - an excellent Italian restaurant, and Pakhoes - a French restaurant where Jamie and I celebrated my birthday.
This past weekend we had beautiful sunny weather so we were very excited to get our bikes out for the season!  I took a bike trip with two neighbor ladies in the morning around Belgium and the Southern part of the Netherlands and then took a bike ride with Jamie later in the afternoon to the city of Valkenburg.  All in all I biked 70 kilometers . . a lot of fun but not recommended for the first ride of the season . .  my butt is a little sore today!!!  :)
 Happy Spring!

Kellie's 2nd Visit to Maastricht & Celebrating St. Patty's Day!

 My Birthday dinner at restaurant Pakhoes

 Second bike ride of the day to Valkenburg, Netherlands

 Valkenburg, Netherlands

Enjoying a drink in Valkenburg before our trek back.

Dinner at Cafe Zuid in Maastricht after a long day of biking!!!
(Bitterballen, Tapenade, Beef Carpacio & Chicken Wings)

Trip 12: Denmark & Sweden

Since most of our travels have been focused on central and southern Europe we decided that we needed to visit Scandinavia so we took a weekend trip to Denmark and Sweden along with Steve and Sarah.  We stayed in Copenhagen, Denmark and also took a day trip to Malmo, Sweden via a train taking us over the Oresund Bridge (the longest road and rail bridge in Europe).

Copenhagen, Denmark

Nyhaven, the 17th century waterfront in Copenhagen

 Nyhaven / The Little Mermaid Statue, an icon of Copenhagen

 On top of Round Tower with panoramic views of Copenhagen

 Rosenborg Castle

 

 The city of towers and steeples!!!

 Dinner at Puk, a traditional Danish restaurant / Delicious herring for a starter and meat & potato entree

Drinks at our hotel bar (First Hotel Twentyseven)

Malmo, Sweden

 Malmo Central Station

 City Hall / Griffin Sculpture

 Steve & the 'Jazz Flute'

Amsterdam, Maastricht & Trip 11: Paris, France

We've had a lot going on this past week.  My Mom and Mike came to visit for 9 days.  We spent some time here in Maastricht - showed them around the city, the squares, a few bakeries & cafes, did some shopping, went to Jamie's favorite Belgian restaurant, Witloof, for his birthday and gelato for dessert since Luna Rossa, our gelato shop, just opened for the season.
We also took a day trip to Amsterdam where we enjoyed a canal tour, walked all around the city, visited the red light district, central station and had dinner at Humphrey's.
For the weekend we drove four hours to Paris and stayed at the same hotel, Duquesne Eiffel Hotel, that Jamie and I stayed at a couple of years ago when we were there on vacation.  We toured Notre Dame Cathedral, visited the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, walked along the Seine River and Champs-Elysees, enjoyed delicious french food and of course stopped in for a few famous Laduree macarons.  All in all it was a nice weekend getaway and a great visit!

Paris, France

Eiffel Tower

Notre Dame

Inside Notre Dame

Stained glass windows of Notre Dame

 

Walking around Paris

 Arc de Triomphe & Shopping along the Champps Elysees (Cartier . . I wish!)

Laduree bakery (founded in 1862) / Selecting our macaron flavors inside

 Amsterdam, Netherlands

 Central Station 

 Did you know there are over 100 canals spanning 100 kilometers (60 miles) and over 1,000 bridges in Amsterdam?

That is why Amsterdam is known as 'The Venice of the North'

Maastricht, Netherlands 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maastricht

 Walking across the13th century St. Servaas Brug (The Stone Bridge) /
A view of Onze Lieve Vrouwe Basilica (Basilica of Our Lady - 11th Century Church) from the bridge

Town Hall in Markt Square /  Vrijthof Square (featuring St Servaas Church & St. Jan's Cathedral) 

 Helpoort & portions of the medieval city walls

 Helpoort - a 13th century town gate (the oldest in the Netherlands)

Jamie's birthday dinner at Witloof, belgian restaurant