The Beloved Road: A European adventure

Well, we've been on a bit of an adventure! And not just any adventure, but an adventure that looks set to change the course of our lives for at least the next few months.

Mr. O and I are going Dutch! Literally going Dutch, starting to work for a company based in the Netherlands. We're not moving there, but from September we'll be spending a few weeks at a time out in the city of Utrecht.

We are so excited! We've been fancying doing something different for quite a long time and this is just the perfect opportunity for us - a non-scary introduction to moving away from everything we know without actually having to transport our whole lives abroad. That's the beauty of it, we won't actually be moving. We get to keep our lovely flat and spend weeks at a time at home, with regular sojourns across to the continent.

So, in the midst of all this excitement, it seemed only right that we went and visited our new city! You know what? I think Mr. O and I are going to be very happy here.

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We started our first afternoon in Utrecht with a lunch stop at the popular bakery, De Bakkerswinkel. This was such a pretty spot for lunch, with cute little tables lining the outside of the shop and overlooking a small canal. We studied the menu for quite some time, before both deciding on the roast beef sandwich. Oh my word, this sandwich was a thing of beauty and I now appreciate quite how seriously the Dutch take their 'broodjes' (seriously, it's pretty difficult to find a non-sandwichy lunch). I have a feeling De Bakkerswinkel will become a favourite of ours.

Tummies satisfied, we set about tackling the Domtoren, the tallest church tower in the Netherlands, right in the heart of Utrecht. The tower is pretty beautiful from outside, but we loved our guided tour up to the top - we saw the most gorgeous stained glass windows, mahoosive clanging bells and had an incredible view out across the city. It was a great way to have a nosey of our new neighbourhood!

I'm pretty certain that climbing up and down the Domtoren's 465 steps (phew!) meant I burnt up more than enough calories to fully enjoy the large slice of carrot cake that we treated ourselves to at Barbeton later that afternoon. We loved the modern look of this cafe, particularly the cool map of Utrecht on the wall. And Mr. O practically had to drag me away from the most stunning vase of flowers!