CenterParcs Zandvoort Part 2

July 9, 2024 / bashleyf / Leave a comment

Well the week is over and I can say that I have not come to love this CenterParcs like I thought I would. Actually the longer we stay the more I dislike it. I don’t want to make a whole post complaining about a hotel, so I’ll just say that things here feel harder and more inconvenient than at the other CenterParcs.

There were just lots of small disappointments over the week. The trip would have been so much better if things were a little different, but I have been trying to appreciate the important things. Leo is having fun and has no idea of all the things I was hoping to do. I got an entire week off of work and got to spend it all with Leo. We have never taken a trip just the two of us.

The weather has been awful. I have been kind of shocked. I didn’t know it could be so cold and rainy during summer! It has rained every day that we have been here, but there have been some breaks. The worst has been the wind though. It has been so cold and ugly out.

Yesterday the weather finally changed and we were able to get some beach toys and head to the beach. Leo really wanted a big pirate shovel so hopefully they will let us carry it onto the plane because it’s not fitting in a suitcase 😂

I will be at home for a few weeks and then it will be my trip to London with Sofia. I’m so excited to go to London. This trip has made me realize that I need to find some inside activities, just in case London has crappy weather when we go. Leo doesn’t mind hanging out inside and being a bit lazy, but Sofia would hate that.

This trip has been good for a Leo. Since he’s the baby of the family he can be pretty reliant on Sofia. He has gained some independence this trip. He even made some friends all on his own at the playground. It has been great to see. Since him and Sofia won’t be in the same class at school anymore I am happy to see him making friends all by himself and gaining that confidence.

I’m surprised that Leo doesn’t seem to be that homesick. 7 days is a long time for him to be away from home, his dad, and his sister. He hasn’t talked about home while we’ve been here. I thought he would get homesick but I think he would actually love even longer vacations. Leo loves routine and he has fully adjusted to our vacation routine. This morning he has even been trying to convince me to stay.

We’re at the train station now waiting to head to the airport. Even though it wasn’t the trip that I envisioned we are both sad to be headed home. I’m back to work tomorrow already. It’s always tough getting to spend so much time with a kid and then going back to work and not getting to see them nearly as much.

CenterParcs Zandvoort Part 1

July 3, 2024July 3, 2024 / bashleyf / Leave a comment

We made it to CenterParcs Zandvoort! When I booked this one I noticed the reviews are quite a bit lower than some of the other CenterParcs Resorts. I see why and I don’t like it as much as the one we went to before, but I chose this one more for its location than the actual resort.

I chose this one because it’s right on the beach and there is a train station that’s about a 10 minute walk from the hotel. The train can take us to some cute nearby towns, and Amsterdam is only about a 30 minute train ride away. Sofia loves site seeing and traveling, but Leo needs more breaks and down time. Sofia is much more independent, but Leo doesn’t like to do things on his own.

I’m like Sofia in my travel style, so I figured this specific Centerparcs would be a good compromise for me and Leo. He gets lots of down time and we can go to Amsterdam for a few hours of site seeing. We can be together 24/7 which Leo loves, but we will also have lots of different things to keep us busy when we want to be.

We haven’t even been here for 24 hours yet so I really can’t give a fair assessment of this place. It’s not as charming as the last one and just has a different vibe. It also doesn’t have quite as many activities on site, but that’s okay because there is so much more nearby. The other resort we couldn’t even really leave because we didn’t have a car. Unfortunately it has been raining all morning, so we haven’t gotten to venture out much. We did check out the indoor playground. It’s not as big as the other one, but it’s still nice and Leo loves it.

This CenterParcs has cottages like they all do, but it also has a hotel. Leo and I chose the hotel for a few reasons. First, it was hundreds cheaper. We’re staying for 7 days and I think the cheapest cottage was €400-€500 more. Plus the breakfast buffet is included with the hotel, so that’s one less meal to pay for. It doesn’t have a kitchen though, so we can’t cook. It has a beach view, which I really love.

Last night we walked to the main dome, which has the pools and the restaurants. We haven’t gone into the pool area yet, so I’m excited to check out the pools later. The rest of the dome was okay, nothing particularly impressive. They also have a farm/petting zoo here somewhere.

The weather makes me realize how lucky I was on my trip with Sofia. If it had rained it would have really sucked because we were outside the whole time. At least here we have inside activities to keep us busy. Even so, I really hope the rain lets up soon so we can go into the nearby town and maybe head to the beach. And go to Amsterdam of course.

I will make a part 2 once I have actually gotten to see the park. Like I said, we really haven’t seen much. I don’t dislike this place at all, but I bet I will end up loving it by the time we leave.

Center Parcs Erperheide

November 30, 2023May 11, 2024 / bashleyf / Leave a comment

We’re about to leave CenterParcs to head to the airport. It has been so much fun. I was supposed to take Leo on a vacation in two months, but I’m just going to come back here with the whole family. I really want Kyle to see this place and I think Leo will like having Sofia here. Sofia is more independent and social than Leo is and even she has missed having a playmate here. She keeps trying to speak Portuguese and doesn’t understand why no one responds.

We finally got a break in the rain two days ago. We went to see the animals at the petting zoo. There is also the farmer’s house which has bunnies and Guinea pigs. During certain hours you can pet them which Sofia loved. She rode a pony and did the kid’s safari. The safari was tough because she was actually driving the car so I had to help her steer around a bit.

Yesterday she did an activity called “wanna be.” They have a few of them, like wanna be a farmer and wanna be a chef. She did the chef one and it was a special holiday one. They made cookies. For that one I dropped her off at the kid’s club for 1.5 hours. I got to walk around and check things out a bit more. They have lots of fun toys in the kid’s club. I think usually the club is for kids under 4/5 unless there are planned activities but I’m not sure.

We’re sad to leave but super excited to come back in a few months. No travel plans until then but this will be our first Christmas season with a car so I’m hoping to go see some lights. We still haven’t been to Coimbra yet at Christmas time.

Residency Renewal and Center Parcs resort

November 26, 2023May 11, 2024 / bashleyf / Leave a comment

Recently SEF has changed to AIMA. Our residency permits are up for renewal in December and things have been a mess. I have been following posts on Americans & Friends (the Facebook group) and many people making appointments have been getting emails that they’re cancelled and to wait for further details. Some people have had success using the old SEF online renewal portal, so I gave it a try.

It was really easy. I just click renew and then they review it and 48 hours later you pay the fee- €170 as of right now. It says concluded and in theory my residency card should arrive in 5 or so weeks. I just did mine for now to see if it actually works or if I donated €170 to the universe. It says Leo’s is not eligible for online renewal so I will still have to navigate the new AIMA system to renew his. Things are a mess right now and lots of people have expired cards, so I expect the same to happen with Leo but hopefully it gets sorted out soon. It’s almost impossible to get an appointment right now.

Yesterday Sofia and I made it to Center Parcs in Belgium. This place seems amazing for small kids. They have fun stuff like a huge indoor pool, big indoor playground, a farm, and then they have planned activities like pony rides, arts & crafts, and kid’s disco. Some are free and some you have to pay for. They also have some restaurants and a small market on site.

Today we checked out a lot of the indoor stuff. They have an amazing Aqua Zone with a bunch of different pools. My favorite was the lazy river and the indoor/outdoor pool. The outdoor setting is amazing.

There is a huge indoor play area. Our favorite was the foam ball area. You gather all the balls to fill a thing in the top that eventually spills over. There is so much we haven’t even done yet. There is a farm and pony stables that I want to go see. Sofia is scheduled for pony rides on Tuesday. Today she made a stuffed animal which she really enjoyed. This place is amazing and has been a lot of fun. Tomorrow is supposed to rain but hopefully Tuesday and Wednesday will be clear.