Friday kicked off a long Girls Weekend away in Amsterdam! While I love travelling with Wayne and the kids, girls weekends are super special because they mean non-kid-friendly museums, nice restaurants and leisurely strolls through a new city. Three friends and I planned this trip awhile back to coincide with tulip season, which we heard was amazing in Holland. Turns out the rumors were true and Amsterdam is an amazing city in the spring!
We arrived after a very short flight (less than an hour!) to rainy weather but broke out the umbrellas and set out to explore the city on foot. It is an amazing city with 1500 km of canals running throughout the city and 1,500 bridges! Bicycles are everywhere and you would be amazed to see what people can carry on their bikes....multiple children, furniture, boxes and all while texting and eating! We lived in fear of the bicycle bells that indicated we were in the way (again!) and spent the weekend dodging bikes and apologizing! Oops!
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| Bike mania....one lady is eating a banana, another is carrying chairs and the third has a wheelbarrow baby holder! |
Our first day brought a nice leisurely lunch, tons of walking, a visit to the Anne Frank House and an amazing dinner! The highlight of the day was the Anne Frank House, which I highly recommend if you're not travelling with young kids. It was incredibly moving to see the home where Anne Frank hid along with her original diary entries and family photos. The biggest shock was how dark it must have been...all of the windows were covered with room darkening shades and the only natural light came via a very small skylight. To imagine over two years of hiding there was terrifying. I found myself wishing I could bring Riley here in a few years time, when she would be old enough to appreciate Anne Frank's story without being too afraid or scarred by it.
We meandered around and found a yummy restaurant for dinner, where we discovered Jillz, the most amazing sparkling cider. I must find this in England and the US!
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| We were thirsty! |
We spent Saturday walking, walking and walking some more. It was a beautiful sunny day and we took advantage of it by visiting a canal house, the flower market, several street markets and tasting Amsterdam favorites like mint tea and apple tart at
Winkel. Yum! The day finished with another amazing meal...we were really digging the food in Amsterdam!
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| I found about 2 million houses I would like to live in! |
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| Say cheese! |
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| Even the wooden tulips were beautiful! |
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| Yummy cheese! |
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| Lori being a tourist at the market with her map, camera, wooden tulips and cheese! |
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| Pretty canals |
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| Our yummy restaurant from the first night |
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| Mint tea and apple tart! Yum! |
Sunday was the day we had been waiting for...a trip to see Keukenhof Gardens and the tulip fields in Lisse. It was every bit as special as promised! We hit up a market and bought some beautiful art before heading to the bus, where we had a bit of a snafu (read: our seats were stolen and our things thrown around because we were too busy eating french fries to notice. Oops!) Luckily, all of that didn't matter when we finally reached Lisse because the tulips were amazing! Everything was in full bloom and the colors were literally spellbinding. The tulip season was late this year because of the cold winter so people going a week before us (which was predicted to be the height of the season) left disappointed. I guess it's very difficult to get the timing right and we certainly lucked out! I could definitely have spent much more time exploring the Keukenhof...next time I would rent a car and skip the tour bus, which made us feel a bit rushed. But it didn't really matter because WE SAW THE TULIPS and we still had time to enjoy another wonderful dinner and some last drinks before we had to head home on Monday. Truly an amazing weekend that surpassed all expectations...great weather, great city, great friends and great memories!
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| Pretty windmill |
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| So pretty! |
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| Neda needed her picture in the giant clogs... |
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| So I got one too! |
What a fabulous trip! Amsterdam really exceeded my expectations and I now find myself trying to squeeze in a return trip next April with Wayne and the girls! I can only imagine the cuteness of them posing in the tulip fields!
What about the Coffee Shops?
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