Oh, the places you'll go: Veere & Middelburg

January 10

Our first visit of the day was Vermeer manufacturing. When I first walked in the warehouse it smelled just like my dad's shop- I felt like I was home! We got to tour the place and learn about the history of the company... Probably more interesting for the guys on the trip. We stopped at Veere next just to walk through the town- it was small, quaint, and deserted. Someone said it's more of a vacation home spot for the people- I would love to come back to Veere in the summer and see it in action. The streets are lined with brick homes and orange roofs and such pretty front courtyards- a bery cute town. Next was onto Middelburg where we got lunch and walked around the town. It's much different than Amsterdam! There aren't "coffee houses" (aka drug dealers) on every street corner, pubs every other building, or trams and thousands of bikes that just might run you over. Most of the students did quite a bit of shopping- I got a watch because I don't have my phone to give me the time, and Ted bought a golf club. I will laugh hysterically when it doesn't fit in his luggage! Otherwise it was a low-key afternoon. We boarded the bus and took a two hour drive over the border to Brugge, Belgium, where we will stay for two nights. Dinner at the hotel and then the evening is ours to walk around Brugge.

If you're wondering how we get eveywhere, we take our 60 passenger bus to all of the sites we visit. The trips so far have lasted anywhere from 15 minutes to three hours. It's usually pretty quiet on the bus- kids sleep or listen to music. Apparently I missed an entire city of sightseeing yesterday because I slept through it.... Whoops!

Finally, I able to get some pictures up! I compiling a few from the past couple days. Enjoy!