Travel is back on! Brianna and Paul had been planning their DREAM HONEYMOON since they won their trip in October. This beautiful couple got married in May and headed off to Holland shortly after, for two weeks of bliss. Brianna has shared some of their favourite moments with us!

Tell us about your trip.

We went to Holland for two weeks and stayed in a beautiful boutique hotel in Liden which was centrally located between Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and we spent every day travelling and doing something new. We tried to pack as much into every day as possible - seeing classic and modern art, history, culture, adventure, you name it! While we did our research at home as to what there was to do, once we were there we didn't actually plan much of our trip in advance. Instead, we went and did whatever seemed interesting to us at the time - like seeing the Straat Museum of Street Art in Amsterdam, riding the Ferris Wheel on a pier overlooking the ocean by the Hague, or going to the historic Cheese Market in Gouda. We averaged about 20,000 steps per day as we wandered around historic towns and cities and tried all kinds of different food from herbed crème brulée in a fancy restaurant to a pickled herring sandwich from a street vendor.

What was the BEST part or part of your trip?

Our FAVORITE part of the trip was our experience at a Michelin star restaurant - it was totally next level! The food and service were absolutely mind-blowing, and it was a unique experience because we don't have Michelin Star restaurants in Canada. Our seven-course meal, complete with wine pairings and amuse-bouche was easily some of the best foods we've ever had in our lives.

What was the most romantic moment of your honeymoon?

The most romantic moment was on our first day in Holland, we were sitting out on a floating patio, in a new country, on a beautiful day, and that was the first real moment of calm we had since getting married. The weather was beautiful, the drinks were delicious, and we got to have a moment where we both realized that we were finally married, and it was perfect.

What was the best food you tried?

Aside from the Michelin star experience - Paul and I both agreed that the fries (and accompanying fry sauce) were amazing because the fries were always made fresh and they were served nice and hot! Another favourite of ours was the "Aardbien Slofjes" or "Strawberry Slippers" which were almond pastries with custard and strawberries.

Were there any funny mishaps that happened during your trip?

We were wandering around Amsterdam near the end of our trip and saw what looked to be a small open art gallery with a couple of people sitting on folding chairs outside hanging around and playing on their phones, so we thought we would go and check it out. As we wandered in, one of the artists greeted us and we quickly realized that not only was the gallery not open yet. The artists inside were finishing the setup for a massive art show that was supposed to start the next day. The artist we met was really friendly and let us look around anyways, but it turns out we had walked into what was going to be a massive street art show that had been advertised globally and had street artists and connoisseurs coming from all across Europe. So, we kind of ended up with some accidental VIP access to this show a day early!

Was there anything you two hadn’t planned on doing but are very happy you did?

We went to the Teyler's Museum in Haarlem which is the first and oldest museum in the Netherlands. It was filled to the brim with art, science, and history and was originally opened in 1784. We saw fossils, inventions, art, and architecture, as well as the original house of the museum's founder Pieter Teyler. After he died, he wanted his closest friends to continue working on his ideals of supporting people and spreading knowledge about religion, art, and science.

Do you have any tips for couples planning their honeymoon?

Our biggest tip would have to be don’t plan everything - in fact, leave a few days where you don't have anything planned, and try something new! Most of our best memories and experiences came from things we didn't plan. Also, we found out about a lot of experiences while we were already in the Netherlands, and it left us the space to go out and try it!

If you can, pick a centrally located place to stay and venture out for day trips rather than packing up every couple of days and switching hotels. This gave us a lot of extra time with each other, and our travel time on trains going from city to city was a lot more relaxed. If we missed one train, we could go grab a coffee and catch the next train in 20 minutes or so.

Also, pack light and do laundry! We were gone for two weeks and only packed enough clothes for one week. This gave us a forced "day off" as we did our laundry, but also left room in our suitcases for any shopping we ended up doing.

This Holland holiday has got us planning our next vacation. Stay tuned as more of our DREAM HONEYMOON winners head off on their adventures!

XOXO In Bloom