Amsterdam

Mike and I hadn't been on a couple's trip since Lilah was born. When she was one, my sister-in-law watched Lilah so I could go with Mike and my mother-in-law to Barcelona. It was amazing. 

I love traveling with my kids and experiencing things with them but it can definitely be exhausting and stressful. I was excited to be kid-free

We knew we were going to have a long day ahead of us and airport food is so expensive, so our first stop before getting to LAX was getting some lunch. Even that was a total treat. 

Getting our luggage checked in was a little stressful, but once we got on the airplane we settled right in. Our first flight as 10.5 hours. I had forgotten I got front-row seats for Mike to be able to stretch his legs. The leg room was amazing and there were only 2 seats on our row. 

After a couple of hours, they brought us dinner. I just imagined having to feed three little wiggly people while balancing a full-on dinner on a tiny tray. Instead, I enjoyed my food and even got to watch a movie which I haven't done in forever. 

The food was so good I'm craving it all over again. The roast was delicious. 

Amsterdam Day 1

We got to Amsterdam the next day in the afternoon. We took a bus from the airport and walked about a mile with our luggage. Mike didn't enjoy dragging our suitcase through the cobble stone streets. One of our wheels even broke. But finally, we made it to our Airbnb. 

We decided to take advantage of the half day. 

We were pretty tired but decided to hop on a boat tour and explore the city by water. 

The buildings looked so pretty against the canals. 

The buildings are built on sand and sway all over the place like accordions. It was fun to see and crazy to think that they have not fallen over. 

You can see like 7 other bridges if you look through this bridge. 

It was really beautiful. 

I also loved how all of the buildings were different and unique. 

Amsterdam was a lot colder than I thought it would be. I was grateful I took a big jacket. 

A cute ally way filled with shops. 

Central station behind us. 

The city wasn't too big so we walked as many streets as we could. 

The view from our AirBnb. It was so beautiful. 

Amsterdam Day 2

The next day we had a delicious breakfast. The yogurt was served out of a quart milk-looking bottle which was new to me. There were cheeses and deli and bread. Every day it felt like we had a deconstructed sandwich for breakfast. 

It was very chilly but the clouds made the colors pop out even more. 

So many bikes every where. They were really treated like cars. 

I thought these random urinals were so weird. People would just pull up, do their business, and leave. 

That day we decided to go on a bus tour. 

We ended up at a diamond shop for a tour. It was pretty boring and a waste of time. 

But, at least we learned how diamonds are made. 

The bus tour was nice because we got to see a different part of the city than just the city center. 

We walked to this really cool park that I had read about and decided to go for a stroll. 

We ended up by the Rijks museum. There were tulips everywhere. 

Dutch hot dogs. 

Nutella Struffle. 

Van Gogh museum. 

Loved the cherry blossoms. 

THIS was the yogurt I was referring to. It tasted so fresh. 

They also had these packages that were cool. It was a whole meal in a box you just had to cook it. I thought it was awesome and not as expensive as the delivery meals back in the states. 

The park we found and walked through. 

I thought this thing was cool. It was lost and found items that are left behind at the park. 

So many bikes lining the canal. I wonder how people find their bikes around here. I think I'd totally forget. 

I loved the tulips lining every street. 

More pictures of the buildings by the canal. 

I really wanted to visit Ann Frank's house but I didn't know you had to book tickets months in advance. I was so sad but we decided to at least walk by it. 

Someone offered to take a picture of us by this sculpture and we couldn't turn down the opportunity. 

Maybe one day we'll be back and I will get to go inside. I guess I never realized how many Jewish people lived in the Netherlands. They had come here to escape hostility only to be found by the Germans. 

It's crazy how the canals don't have rails. I was so glad we didn't have the kids. I honestly didn't see many kids while we were here. It didn't necessarily feel like a kid-friendly city. The tram will zoom by you, there's bikes that are silent and just have to pay attention to what's going on behind you, and then there are the canals without rails. My mother-in-law said cars go in the canal all the time. 

I had forgetten about the red light district. We didn't really care to check it out but stumbled upon it accidentally a time or two while trying to find our way home. 

Such a beautiful city! 

I was also glad not to have the kids because we did so much walking. 

We bought food at the store and were able to eat fresh things without a kitchen. It was so delicious. 

The days were really long. The son would still be out at 9pm. 

The next day we bought a bus ticket to Brussels. We decided to take a break from Amsterdam and realized Brussells was only a bus drive away. After doing a little more research I realized how close we were to Paris! I couldn't believe I didn't plan a trip to Paris. We would've needed another day though and I didn't want to leave my mom with my kids for any longer than needed. But it's ok. I had never been to Brussels before so it was fun exploring. 

Early morning in the quiet streets of Amsterdam. 

We were supposed to have celebrated King's day with a friend of Marcia's but her mom was hospitalized. It worked out because we didn't mind having a break from Amsterdam. 

This was us accidentally walking by the red light district. I didn't see anyone in the windows (nor did I want to) but it's crazy to me that prostitution is legal around here. 

When we got off the bus at Brussels, it took us a minute to figure out what we wanted to do. I love downloading walking tours and exploring the city by foot so I downloaded a walking tour of Brussels and we rented some bikes. 

We were walking by the shops and saw a Chinese food place. After all the walking we had done, it sounded delicious. It was pretty good for Brussels Chinese food. 

The center of Brussels. 

A beautiful garden in downtown. 

Every building was massive. It took up an entire block. 

The walking tour walked us through an awesome park. 

We wanted to find some chocolate but didn't quite find what we were looking for. We settled for Nutella waffles instead. 

And Gelato. I was so happy our credit cards worked everywhere. So easy. 

The most massive buildings are piled right next to one another. 

So many cobblestone streets. These streets were meant to last. 

Like I said, just entire blocks of pure buildings. 

Mike on his rental bike. 

I was a little scared when we first started riding our bikes that I would get hit by cars. We were literally on the streets with them. It's crazy how bikes and cars are almost equal around here. I found out you even need to take a test to drive a bike. 

It was a little scary and intimidating but we did it and were able to explore the city up close. 

These balls were one of the first stops we did. I don't remember what they were called but everyone stopped to take pictures so we did too. 

Riding my bike right in between cars. I just hoped for the best. Thankfully everyone seemed to be really cautious. Unlike the US were people are very distracted drivers. I heard you're not supposed to use your phone while driving your bike either. Very safe. 

Brussels was so much fun. I'm glad we took a little detour to check it out! 

Amsterdam Day 4 

The next day we got to meet up with the rest of the crew. I don't know why the pictures are backward but I don't want to reupload them, haha! 

We shared an AirBnb with Matt and Taylor. It was a cute room with a nice breakfast provided. What more could we ask for? 

This day we got to meet my mother in law's cute city. 

It was so fun chatting with the kids. They didn't miss us one bit! 

Our cute room. I always rather spend my money exploring than getting a fancy room because we just come home, shower, and go back out. 

The view from Marcia's balcony. 

Marcia's cute apartment in Gouda. 

Marcia and Doug treated us to a delicious dinner. 

There were little cobble stones in front of many buildings that signified Jewish people that used to live there before being taken captive. 

Doug and Marcia also showed us their mission office. 

A picture in front of the office. 

When we first met up we went to the Rijks museum and had a yummy lunch right outside. 

There were so many incredible paintings. Van Gogh's were my least favorite, haha! 

Apparently someone tried to slash this painting so now it had glass around it. 

These huge paintings kind of blow my mind. How do you keep things to scale when it's as big as the wall? 

A took pictures of my favorites. 

It was King's day so everyone wore orange. It kind of felt like New Year's Eve and New Year's day. 

I enjoyed breakfast at every place we stayed. 

Facetiming my little man. Can you tell how sad he is that mom and dad are gone? haha! 

After the windmills, Doug and Marcia treated us to this fun pancake place. They have savory and sweet pancakes. It was fun and delicious. 

It was so yummy after having walked so much that day. 

One of my favorite spots was definitely Keukenhof. 

The tulips were so red they were even hard to look at. 

There were just miles and miles of tulips. 

So many different types of tulips everywhere. 

Everywhere we looked was absolutely picture worthy. 

Marcia and Doug making friends everywhere they went. 

These reminded me of Hawaiian tropical punch. They even looked like little pineapples. 

I loved this pink and yellow combo. So many amazing combos! 

Dwight looking like a true Englishman in his hat. 

I think because it was cloudy, the colors popped out even more. 

Everyone wished they had a garden like this and planned on how to make it happen back home. 

These looked like they were glow-in-the-dark. 

So many fun photo ops too. 

Matt dressed as Virgin Mary? 

The iconic windmills. 

Every color. So many species of tulips that I never knew existed. 

These ones were feathery looking. 

A photo op around every corner. 

The colors were so beautiful and vibrant. 

And also the absolute highlight of the trip was getting to see Marcia! 

I've missed having my best friend around. Thankfully she sends updates about her beautiful life in Gouda and I know she is an amazing missionary. 

When Marcia and Doug picked us up, they had lunch for us. I wish I was this thoughtful and cute. They know how to love others so well. 

The food was absolutely delicious by the way. 

Our first stop before visiting the tulips was visiting the windmills. 

I was worried it would be too cloudy but the clouds parted just enough to make them visible. 

We got to see one windmill get started and it was so loud! I can't imagine having to listen to that all the time and having a ginormous blade swinging around so fast while raising a family. 

It was cool to walk inside of them and see how people lived. 

When Marcia picked us up, they had little chocolates on the seats waiting for us. They are seriously the cutest! 

This is Taylor walking down from breakfast. We would go next door to the man's house and he would make us breakfast. His stairs were SO steep! 

We practically crawled up the stairs. Well, literally. 

Amsterdam Day 5 

Doug and Marcia were so sweet and drove Taylor and Ann to the airport in the morning and then came back and drove us too. We took one final walk to the market. 

So many fresh and delicious treats. 

They were baking everything right there in front of us. 

I thought the airport was more family friendly than the ones here and had lots of rooms for nursing mothers. 

We had a short flight and then had a 10-hour layover so we decided to take the tram and explore Sweden. 

It was sprinkling when we got there but thankfully it cleared up enough for us to explore the city. 

It was so beautiful. I downloaded another walking tour and we took tow walking down the streets of Sweden. 

Although it was the afternoon, we were still able to explore a lot because the sun goes down so late in Europe. 

More beautiful cobble stone streets and buildings. 

We stopped for some yummy Nutella churros. 

The city had warm tone buildings more to the liking of Amsterdam but without the canals. 

As the sun was going down, beautiful pink hews started to fill the sky. 

The sunset was unreal. I wish these pictures did it justice. 

The city was very beautiful but the sunset made it look stunning! 

Just beautiful!

I wanted to take a boat tour but I kept forgetting how late it was. Unfortunately, most of them had stopped for the day. 

After enjoying the city by the water, we walked through the more modern part of town. There were lots of stores lining the streets and restaurants also. 

There was this huge mall that looked really cool. 

It was so late but there was still sun out. 

We got back to the airport around midnight and it was surprisingly closed. Well, at least the security part of it. So, we went into the airport and found some chairs to sleep in. I was so worried we had missed our plane because I had never seen an airport closed before. By the next day around 6 am, we woke up and went through security. It was the least stressful airport I have ever been through. No one yelling at you. Everyone calm. They even allowed water. 

I slept most of the way home and enjoyed another flight without the kids. 

When we got home, our first stop was food. We decided to enjoy one last meal without the kids before heading back home to real life. 

It was such a great experience and I am so grateful for my mom for watching the kids so Mike and I could go. It was the best trip I've been in a long time and I am so happy we did it. The kids had the best time with Abuelita and Mike and I got to actually enjoy an outing. Not to mention how beautiful every place was and the fact that we got to visit with my mother-in-law whom I've missed very much. It was definitely an incredible experience.