The French Adventure: Amsterdam

Our first day in Amsterdam, we went to the Anne Frank house - here we are in line.

No pictures were allowed inside, but it was so moving. It was silent and reverent and unforgettable. I highly recommend it if you are ever in Amsterdam, but buy tickets ahead of time online! They only let a few people in at a time since the space is so small, so it is essential to have tickets.

The canals all around the city are so beautiful. We took a boat ride to see the sights.

There are bikes EVERYWHERE in Amsterdam. Our taxi driver told us there are 800,000 residents and 900,000 bikes!

The flower markets are very popular / especially the bulb markets

We rented a car for the day and went to three small towns - the first town, Alkmaar, had a great cheese museum!

Such a charming town.

Then off to Bergen-en-zee ( I believe en-zee means by the sea) to see the ocean - the guys jumped in while mom and I sat in our long sleeves and had a drink!

And last stop at the scenic windmills

The next day we rented bikes and went to the Rijks art museum

Beautiful Rembrants were featured- such as the above photo. Ha! There were Vermeers, VanGoghs, and a family game that made the museum so much fun!

And the traditional Delft tiles - amazing

Then we continued our day on bikes to the neighborhood where my mom lived in Amsterdam 50 years ago!

Apparently the buildings and neighborhoods themselves haven't changed, just all of the shops etc.

Our last day was a rainy one so we spend most of it inside- we played glow in the dark mini golf, went to a children's museum called Nemo, ate at a floating Chinese restaurant on the water ( that seats 700 people! ) and finished it up with a visit to the wax museum.

The NEMO science museum

The Sea Palace restaurant

And the wax museum- cheesy to be sure, but fun for a rainy day!

It was such a great trip- I can't count all of the wonderful memories we are making!!!