Center Parcs

As promised, I'm finally getting around to telling you all about our weekend getaway to Center Parcs.  Center Parcs is a huge franchise with parks in multiple countries, but we decided to go with one close to home.  Within 30 minutes from our house lies Center Parcs - De Kempervennen, who knew you could go on vacation so close to home, ha-ha!  But I must admit, I felt worlds away from Eindhoven and when we returned home we all felt relaxed and rejuvenated.  Center Parcs offers cottages you can rent for the weekend or longer, and within the park they offer more activities than I could even start to list.  You can also visit the park for the day, if you're not interested in staying in one of the cottages.  Since we were going with two families we went ahead and rented one of the larger cottages, and this one was even equipped with things for the kids, like a bunk bed and toys.  The cottages are all located in the woods and once you've unloaded your car you're required to take it to a parking lot on the outskirts of the park, which means it's quiet and you walk everywhere.  Besides the cottage being located in the quiet of the woods, ours was also situated next to a pond.  All we had to do was open the door to the terrace and we could walk down to the duck filled pond, and considering we all brought our dogs they too were ecstatic.  You can make the trip as expensive or affordable as you like, you can request every package they offer (even grocery or meal delivery) or you can bring things from home.  Since we weren't travelling far we loaded our cars up with every amenity you can imagine, anything to make the stay more comfortable.  We brought a lot of food but we also were sure to eat at a couple of the restaurants while we were there.  Besides treating ourselves to everything from bbq to pizza, we also made sure to try out a handful of the offered activities.  In the course of the weekend, we swam at the large indoor tropical pool, the kids played at 4 different playgrounds, played midget golf, the guys played basketball, went to a petting zoo, the kids play in one of the many lakes, and even sat lakeside in the sand for lunch and drinks watching people wakeboard & waterski.  There were many more things we wanted to do, but there just wasn't enough time, we'll save things like the swan-shaped pedal boats and the white-water slide for the next trip.  You can even rent bikes, go indoor snow skiing, or play tennis is you like, oh yeah, and instead of the normal cottage I think you can also rent a houseboat.  They really have it all!  Some highlights for me, the underwater disposable camera I brought and the hopefully great shots I took at the pool and on the water slides (still have to get it developed) and the afternoon on the water I felt like I was back in Florida just minus the excruciating heat.  (Wish I could give you more pics but I don't like posting too many pics of my family & friends on my blog.)  A big thanks to the hubby for making this possible! 
 

And of course to all you mother's out there, especially mine, Happy Mother's Day!

Weekend Getaway

I would like to be sitting down telling you all about our great weekend getaway to Center Parcs (De Kempervennen) but instead I am busy unpacking, doing laundry, and preparing for our nieces to visit.  I hope to squeeze in a post before Wordless Wednesday but not sure if my agenda will allow that.  If not, you'll hear from me by the end of the week!

Water Parks

During our holiday we decided to try out one of the local indoor water parks (it was too hot to be outside).  I'm from Florida, I'm used to Wet 'n Wild, Typhoon Lagoon, & Adventure Island, which are some of the best water parks in the US.  These parks are hard to compete with!  I'm not really used to the concept of indoor water parks, prior to moving to the Netherlands I had never been to an indoor water park before.  To be fair, they do their best with little space.  We often go to the indoor pool inclusive slides here in Eindhoven, called the Tongelreep.  It also hosts many different pools for many different activities.  This time we decided to go to the Center Parcs, Kempervennen.  Who knew we had such a great place so near by, swimming, wake boarding, skiing, camping, hiking, playgrounds, animals, etc.!  I've heard of it, but just thought it was a camp site, it's way more. 

The indoor water park (Aqua Mundo) consisted of 3 big slides, 1 wave pool, a pool with an aquarium, & kiddie area.  For what we paid, it was worth it, and the kids had a great time.  I thought I had seen it all at the parks in Florida but Aqua Mundo has the "wildwaterbaan".  It's a slide that is broken up into multiple slides, just as you recover from one slide the next one starts, it was great!  Part of it is indoors and part outdoors.  Luckily my husband & I love water, so we didn't mind taking our toddler & 2 nieces around 20 times on the slide. 

I can't really explain the set up so I included pictures (no that's not us in the pics, I found them online).  Sure, we all walked away with bruises and a few close calls, but overall it was a fun day and I would definitely recommend it to others!