Den Haag & Scheveningen

Sunday afternoon we ventured to Den Haag and Scheveningen, which was only about a 5 minute drive from Madurodam. We didnt even have a map, but luckily found a place to mark and an information point. We had a late lunch and ventured out on the town! Den Haag is the seat of the Dutch government and the home to the Queen, although we didnt get to see her.

Binnenhof (the real deal...remember the mini version!) Dutch Parliament

The medieval Ridderzaal, or Knights Hall inside the Binnenhof

Statue and courtyard inside. It was huge and the building was so pretty. The building sits right next to a large canal.

A terrible picture of The Palace which was Hollands first covered shopping mall and where we had lunch.

This building, which I cannot remember the name of is famous for its colorful round design. It is a shopping center and we also saw it in mini at Madurodam.

Palace of Peace-the UN Judaical Headquarters

It was huge! And a beautiful rose color. I could for sure move in :)

We also went to the art museum in town to see Vermeer's famous portrait: The Girl with the Pearl Earring. Prints are all over Holland but it was amazing to see in person. The colors and his use of light was amazing to see. (no pictures inside). We were then off to the beach of Scheveningen, only about 10 minutes away.

There is a long boardwalk with tons of shops and restaurants. It would be an awesome place to come back to in the "summer" haha. I say that because Im not sure you actually can ever get into the water here...its freezing, but who knows, I could be wrong. The long pier is full of shops, restaurants and you can even bungee jump off the tall tower! (Dont worry mom, I did not....unlike my sister who bungee jumped over a waterfall in Australia...not that brave)

We went to a pancake house to make sure Andrea and Jennifer could experience the BEST of dutch foods. The LOVED it :) And we all got to enjoy the amazing sunset! Now be prepared to be super impressed with my photography skills....haha, not really....

(yes my hair was crazy because it was SUPER windy!)

It was AMAZING to see and so BEAUTIFUL!!

Once the sunset, we made our way back to the car, which I have to add that we rescued right in time before getting our first parking ticket! We had only enough change to park for 30 minutes and may have stayed just a little bit longer :) The nice Dutch police men let us go, yay and we were on our way back to Haarlem. Such a fun way to spend a Sunday!

Other then that, not too much is going on here. Andrea and Jennifer come back from Paris today and Ive heard they LOVE it (I mean, whats not to love!). And they CLIMBED over 1,300 stairs to the top of the Effiel Tower....WAY too many for me. I very much appreciate the elevator ride to the top. I cannot wait to hear all about their French adventures. Until then, its just Dutch life as usual around here.

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