How We Spent our Summer Vacation

A canal lined with houses and houseboats in Den Bosch

 I wasn’t quite sure what the term “Benelux” meant when our great friends Rudy (Dutch) and Ellen (American) invited us to take a Benelux trip with them. Benelux, it turns out, is the name for the commerce union of Luxembourg, Belgium, and Holland, bound together by similar languages and economic interests. 

I don’t know about you, but our favorite sort of vacation is one where friends in the know take us in hand and shows us the sights in an unfamiliar place. These countries are Rudy’s old stomping grounds, and Ellen’s too, so it was great fun to see the area through their eyes. Accompanied by our dear Northern Ireland friends John and Joan, we squeezed our suitcases into the car and off we went.

First stop, Luxembourg, a high-drama city with castles and fortifications that sit among cliffs and gorges of dizzying dimensions. We stayed nearby in the deep countryside, in a 12th century château which is now the Temps d’Or Hotel, that wowed us. The owner, the young and impossibly elegant Count of Amsembourg (we now know him as Gaston) , who is raising his young family there, showed us the spectacular building and grounds.

Luxumbourg, old and new

The Castle at the Temps d'Or

Then on to Den Bosch, our main destination. If you haven’t been to Holland, you must of course go first to Amsterdam, one of my favorite cities in Europe. But it’s been a while since we visited there, and we hear it’s now pretty much overrun with tourists. So check it off your list, then hurry on to Den Bosch to relax. It’s a charming and welcoming small city, with plenty of bikes zipping by since it’s closed to traffic in the center. Unlike the dramatic Amsterdam, it reveals its charms slowly: shady canals that pop up unexpectedly, winding streets that delight, a grand and perky central square, and the best shopping in Holland.

Stepped gables like this one are typical of Dutch architecture and became popular in the 1600's.

The Bossche Bol was created in Den Bosch and is their signature dessert. An incredibly light pastry filled with whipped cream and coated with chocolate, oh la la!

As in many European cities, there are often fabulous gardens tucked away behind row houses. This private garden we visited in Den Bosch was exceptionally beautiful.

We loved seeing Antwerp again on our brief stopover. Hit the bars in the evening if you love beer, revelry, and music, those Belgians know how to party.

The Virgin Mary, patron saint of Antwerp, is everywhere in the city. As is beer.

Then, something totally different: we went to the “Belgian Riveria”. Who knew? I didn’t hear an Anglo voice the whole time we were there,  so for us it seemed a well-kept secret. Knokke, a medium sized city on the North Sea and English Channel, was our base. The beaches were so wide that there were summer pop-up cabanas and restaurants ON the beach. Just behind the beach row of apartments (We stayed in a beautiful one, thanks to the kindness of Rudy’s brother and partner, who own it) are pretty houses and great shopping and restaurants. As on the French Riviera, we loved cruising through the gorgeous neighborhoods and marveling over lipstick red Ferraris and Porsches in every color. 

We took our morning coffee barefoot on the beach

My new passion: Belgian waffles. Unlike the ones I've had in the states, they are incredibly light, and crunchy.

We made a side trip to Bruges, which was quiet when we visited 10 years ago. Though it may be THE most beautiful city in Europe, even in the off-season it seems that it’s now packed with too many tourists. It’s a problem that’s growing, from Charleston to Paris, and no one seems to have a solution.

One of the lovely canals that winds through Bruges, with sun-bathing swans.

Bruges is chock full of eye-candy for lovers of architecture.

Then back home, with a layover in Reims, with its amazing–and enormous– cathedral.

Aperitifs with a view, in Reims

A big bisous to Rudy, our tour guide extraordinaire, and to Ellen, his able side-kick. Merci for a beautiful Benelux-urious trip!

IF YOU GO: We loved the Golden Tulip Hotel Cental in Den Bosch, which also has a bustling restaurant and bar that spills out onto the main square. Our one night in Antwerp we stayed in a quirky, millennial-hip hotel with the best breakfast of the trip, the Hotel Banks. In Reims, we liked the Continental, located on the restaurant street and a short walk to the cathedral.

Favorite READS: I hereby appoint our reader Natalia as our "Favorite Reads" editor, as she always has a wonderful book to recommend. I'm adding her recommendation this week to my list, toute de suite: All the Flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio. It looks wonderful.

In the COMMENTS: Suzanne, I think a puff pastry would work just fine, I've used that myself. Kiki, the only thing that compares to a French peach is a Georgia peach! We are still dreaming of peaches, and to add to our peach recipe collection, Anne in Vancouver sent by email her own recipe for a Peach Crumble Pie. Thanks Anne, this will be my end of summer dessert.

RECIPE: Anne's Peach Crumble Pie

• 1 single pie crust, unbaked, in a 9" pie plate
• 1/2 cup (125ml) all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup (125ml) lightly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (50ml) butter, cold and cut into small pieces
• 3 eggs
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/4 cup (50ml) granulated sugar
• 19oz (540ml) peach slices
• 1/3 cup (75ml) sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 375F (190C). Combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter until crumbly. Spread half of mixture on the pie crust. Beat egg, lemon juice, and granulated sugar together thoroughly. Fold in peaches and turn into pie shell. Turn mixture into crust. Mix almonds with remaining crumble mixture. Sprinkle evenly over peaches. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until set.