Tom Kapitulnik

A view of the Eiffel Tower in the distance.

Our final part of the trip- four whirlwind days in three beautiful and unique cities.edit. We landed in Belgium and immediately began making our way to Amsterdam. The next morning, we went to the House of Anne Frank. I read read Anne Franks diary and learned about the Holocaust for many years, but actually seeing the annex and her diary really impacted me. It just felt so much more real- I could see the diary in which Anne had written in and the room in which she had lived. After leaving the museum, we took a boat tour in the many canals of Amsterdam. The city was beautiful- there were old houses with intricate decorations, trees lining every canal and hundreds of bicycles on every street. We spent the rest of the day exploring the streets and shops of Amsterdam. We then left Amsterdam and made our way to Brussels.

The next morning we were in Brussels. We started in the Grand Place, and then took a tour of the royal palace. My mom grew up in Brussels, so she wanted to take us to her childhood home. Before we visited, we stopped at an ice cream store that was around when my mom lived in Brussels. It was her favorite ice cream shop, and she was so excited to take us there. After enjoying the delicious ice cream, we walked over to my moms old apartment. It was an emotional moment for her to see the place that she grew up in, and it was interesting to learn more about her as a child.

That evening, we made our way to Paris. Early the next morning, we headed to the Arch de Triumph and the Eiffel Tower. We then went on a cruise on a seine. We got off at the Notre Dame stop. After exploring the streets for a while, we found a little pizzeria to satisfy our hunger. Afterwards, we took a tour of the Pantheon. However, it was in French, so I only understood the parts that my mom was able to translate. We made our way to the Notre dame and then ate dinner and got ice cream.

The next day, we only went into Paris around noon. We headed for the Louvre, which was beautiful but extremely large. My family got lost a few times, and by the time we finally left almost the entire day had passed. We made a quick stop in Montmartre, a beautiful neighborhood in Paris with a church that overlooks the entire city. After enjoying the view, we left Paris and made our way to Brussels. The next morning, it was finally time to go home.