European Escapade

My mom and stepdad are fortunate to have been able to travel to a lot of places and they recently realized that we haven't gone on an overseas trip all together. So this October, they decided to treat myself, my twin brother and our step brother on a trip to Europe! Thank god for the immaculate realization! hehehe.

One of the canals in Amsterdam

The plan is to enter through Amsterdam and spend a night or two in Brussels and Frankfurt. They already booked their flights on Singapore Airlines as there's an ongoing dirt-cheap "sweet-deals" promotion online (Only USD975 for a roundtrip ticket from Manila to Amsterdam!). The problem is I tried booking the same dates coming from Singapore and it turns out the promo is not applicable here. Major major bummer!!! It's almost twice the price if coming from here, ughh!!! So now I have to be on the lookout for the best airline rate. So far the cheapest is on Emirates via Dubai but I'm still holding out hoping for a promo.

Brussels

Frankfurt

To be honest, I have no idea on the places of interest in Amsterdam, Brussels or Frankfurt as I haven't done my research (Heck, I even haven't fully read up on Spain yet hehe which I know I should as it's less than a month away). Good thing my folks have been there and my mom already planned our itinerary :-). This is what she sent me through email - "we will go to ann frank house, canal tour, windmill tours, cheese factory and to volendam in amsterdam....". I love my mom, she's the only one I know who is a better travel planner than me hehehe.


I read that Brussels is a near 2.45hr train ride away while Frankfurt is 3.45hrs away. We will only be spending 7 nights all together so it's going to be quite hectic. No choice as I have limited leaves at work and they had to schedule the trip according to my availability.  We are planning to stay at Hotel Hoksbergen in Amsterdam  - a boutique hotel apartment which can acommodate all 5 of us.

View of the canal from the hotel

I'm so uber excited!! This trip is going to be epic! hehe. My step brother will be coming from Los Angeles so it truly is a special family trip, coming from different parts of the world. I feel truly blessed and grateful to have this chance to travel together with family. My parents aren't getting any younger and it's high time we get to do something special while they (we) still can. This year is going to be epic! More reason to work harder! No pain no gain! No money = no fun! hehehe :-)