Europe Travel   Photo Blog   15-Apr-2026

24ish from a Spring Break Road Trip to the Low Countries

Woman in a beanie and green jacket sits by a yellow bench outside a deli, looking upward; window reads 'Day Dream Deli' with white graphics and stacked wood behind.
Two women at a lively bar clink glasses and smile at the camera with drinks in hand.

Spring break this year was a road trip: out of Barcelona, through France as per usual, a stop in Luxembourg, and north to meet Lilly in Haarlem. From there the days ran together in the good way: a lakeside spot outside Amsterdam you could only reach by boat, Madurodam (my favorite place when I was three, and still cool!), wandering Ghent and Antwerp, and good coffee where we could sit in the sun and just be together.

We folded in a few university tours for Cameron along the way, the official reason for the trip. The unofficial reasons: the wine bars, family time, boating, and loving the Low Countries.

The trip ended at Spa-Francorchamps, where we all stood above Eau Rouge for a while before splitting up. Cam and I peeled off to drive home; Kate and Lilly carried on to Paris and Bruges to meet the Camerons. Shots are a mix of Leica and iPhone, which is to say a mix of the photos I meant to take and the ones I just grabbed along the way.

Woman with long wavy hair wearing a gray knit beanie, looking to her left in a cafe setting, with a man sitting in the background.
Woman in a beige coat and white scarf stands in a dimly lit store, shelves behind her filled with bottles and jars.
Man wearing a dark cap and jacket sits at a wooden counter by a bright window, writing in a notebook with an orange cup nearby in front of him.
Two people leaning over a keyboard, one wearing a black cap and hoodie and the other a knit hat, playing together in a cozy shop.
Woman in a beanie and green jacket sits by a yellow bench outside a deli, looking upward; window reads 'Day Dream Deli' with white graphics and stacked wood behind.
Young man wearing a cap and jacket sits in a boat on a calm river at sunset, with trees along the bank behind him.
Our captain
Smiling woman in a knit beanie outdoors in a park with people in the background.
Two friends smiling for a selfie at a bar, holding glasses of red wine with a bartender and wine shelves in the background]
Dijon Wine Bar = Pinot Noir
Wine bottles lined along a slanted display rack in a shop, with a smiling person wearing a brown knit hat in the background.
Working along the way
Group of five friends taking a selfie in a European town square with a large Gothic church and ornate red-brick buildings in the background, under a cloudy sky.
Two people sit on an orange cushioned boat along a calm canal with a clear blue sky above.
Group of friends on a boat taking a sunny selfie with water and trees in the background.
Girl standing on a wooden dock by a calm lake, mouth open in surprise, wearing a black quilted vest and gray sweatpants, with houses in the background.
Smiling young woman in a black quilted vest standing by a calm river with a house in the background under a pale sky.
Smiling man in a navy jacket and flat cap taking a selfie beside a large green grassy hill sculpture by a canal edge.
Stopping the leak & saving the day
Three friends posing on a metal suspension bridge, smiling at the camera with crossing cables in the foreground.
Madurodam
Four friends posing for a selfie on a canal bridge with brick buildings and boats in the background.
Couple taking a cheerful selfie at an outdoor cafe, with a marble table in the foreground and greenery in the background.
Two friends smile for a photo in front of a medieval stone castle with towers behind them.
Casteling in Ghent
Two women at a lively bar clink glasses and smile at the camera with drinks in hand.
Los Blancos lost!
Profile of a young woman in a beige sweater and jeans sitting on a folding chair at a cafe, holding a pink cocktail with a straw.
Person in a white mesh-back cap and sunglasses looks over a winding racetrack from a high vantage point.
Spa-Francorchamps
Person leaning on a glass barrier beside a tall green chain-link fence at a race track on a sunny day, with trees in the background.
Woman posing on a second-place podium at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, smiling and making a rock-on gesture in sunglasses and casual clothing.
Setting expectations
Two women standing on a train platform with rolling suitcases, smiling at the camera as tracks extend into the distance under a blue sky.
The big train station in Spa
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