We took advantage of the weather and drove to de Haan, on the northwest coast of Belgium. De Haan is a quaint little beach town, hundreds of years old, with beautiful architecture. Most of the buildings are white stucco with orange tile roofs. There are no high rises or modern buildings.
We headed straight to the beach and enjoyed swimming in the North Sea. The beach was 300 meters wide at low tide and stretched along the coast. Lots of sand dunes. We all went in at first. Rich and Elisabeth braved the cold for a long swim and Kate and I hid on the beach under the beach towels. Kate was overwhelmed. The girls enjoyed collecting sea shells, watching kite surfers, and strolling on the beach.
At de Haan, the local children make flowers out of colored tissue paper and sell them for sea shells. Elisabeth and Kate enjoyed collecting sea shells to buy the flowers. Perhaps they can sell their own flowers next summer...
After the beach we walked to the town center to play on the extensive play ground. We enjoyed putt putt golf, moonbounces, go carts and face painting before pizza for dinner and a relaxing drive back to Brussels.
We're thinking about returning next summer and renting a house at de Haan next the beach and the town center....
