The Netherlands

So I had heard of the Netherlands before...and Holland...but honestly, didn't know where one could find them on a map...and where is Amsterdam?!? Well, apparently it's just a hop skip and a jump from Belgium! So we 'loaded up the family wagon'..so to speak and headed there for a little get away since the girls had a 4 day weekend. It's only about 2-3 hours away, and I didn't know what to expect so I only booked a hotel room for one night. So we arrived in Amsterdam and quickly noticed that SO HAD EVERYONE ELSE!! There were tons of people crossing streets, and what seemed like thousands of cars on the road in Amsterdam. But that doesn't even begin to speak of how many bikes there were on the street, sidewalks and bikelanes. This is the worlds biggest bike town..or something like that. It's crazy...we read somewhere that 54,000 bikes are stolen each year in Amsterdam....that's crazy!!
So we arrive at the Crown Plaza City Center upon arrival into the city. It was a great hotel and a fabulous location! We relaxed for a minute, let the girls play awhile (as they enjoy writing on EVERY PAGE of the little note pads that you find in a hotel...hours of fun for them!) then we headed out to see the sights. We learned that the boat tours were full so we headed to catch a double decker bus. This was a great way to get an overview of the city and see the major landmarks...Heineken Beer brewery, Anne Frank House, Rembrandt and Van Gogh museums, the Canals, churches....and it goes on and on. When you board the bus you get some headphones to plug in to your seat so you can hear a prerecorded tour in your own language. The girls enjoyed being at the top of the bus.

Then it was off to get some dinner, do a quick walking tour and dessert and drinks at the hotel bar/restaurant.

The next morning we knew we had to get to the boat tours early so we grabbed some breakfast at a little grocery store and boarded a boat for a tour of the canals.

 

                                                   Amelia and Daddy mapping out our routes

Then we did alittle more walking...then decided that we would stay another night in this VERY cool town...only to learn the hotel was sold out...bummer...but never fear..we found an AMAZING hotel a little further down the road! Intercontintal Hotel Amsterdam. So we packed up, and when we arrived our room wasn't ready...even though they said it would be...but they were so sweet, they upgraded us to an executive suite! oh la la!

my pictures don't do it justice, but it was really neat!

After walking around the town for a few hours, we ended our day with dinner at a nearby restaurant and headed back to the hotel to hang out. The girls loved the hotel. They made their own space/room and had a password that prohibited Brad and I from entering their space.
On Saturday morning we ordered room service for the girls then packed up and headed out to Mini Netherlands...aka Madurodam. This was a really neat park that was a mini version of the Netherlands. This was way cooler than I thought it would be. Their attention to detail was fantastic. The trains were moving, busses running people moving....crazy cool!