2 weeks with my mom & little sister = 2 weeks of happiness, croissants, and laughter. Does it get any better?
We'd been anticiapting this trip for a while now, about 6 months to be exact. We could hardly wait to see a bit of family - as you never realize how much you are going to miss them, till 3 months goes by and then you see their face. I can't describe the feeling I had when we saw them in Amsterdam.
The few days before that were spent in a little airbnb place just outside Amsterdam - where Colin showed me the town, we scoped out some awesome restaurants for our fam, spent some time in coffee shops, and walked a few different areas just to get the lay of the land. When we met up with Kayla & mom we were ready to take the town... and wouldn't you know it - the rain started to pour. Damn you rain - my family just got here - come on!!! But of course, my family saw the silver lining in this - and we found a cafe that we made our home base sipping on tea, watching people out the window, sampling all they had to offer on their menu.
Day one was the battle with jet lag - but also the intro to the town. We took an awesome canal tour that showed us the history of Amsterdam, walked to a Pancake house that was of course closed for the family holiday (I secretly love when family businesses do that), and stumbled upon the the most adorable bakery next door that allowed us to sit outside on their tiny balcony overlooking a canal. It was such a lovely, and one of the many to come, surprises we found. After our canal tour, and watching my mom and sisters heads bob from trying to stay awake, we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap - then were off to the best Indonesian restaurant, that a local had recommended. We sat outside and watched in awe as the sun stayed out till 10:00pm - it was summer solstice and all of a sudden it felt like 2 in the afternoon. We headed back to get some much needed rest, and caught up for a few more hours in my moms hotel room. Nothing like late night family chatting, snacking and laughing. The next day was spent "cafeing" the majority of the time, loving the old ladies across the table from us, spotting people walking around in Cal Poly sweatshirt and just enjoying eachother. We did the "must do" things of course, like walked through the red light district which was surprisingly not that gross, and ate yummy frites and waffles. We were also told that this one place called "Winkels" - yes, awesome name - had the best apple pie. So we skeptically (b/c really, we've tasted some awesome apple pies before) made our way there walking through the most adorable and serene streets, watching people spill out of bars having happy hour drinks (which always looks more charming in europe), and finally found this little place. Well - its true folks - best apple pie of my ENTIRE life. This stuff blew us away and came with huge scoops of whip cream. It was kinda more like a mushy, buttery, doughy, apple cake - with a crispy crust. Ugh - I will dream about that cake for days. We also ordered some mint tea which is pretty much hot water with a giant mint leaf - again, delicious. The last day of Amsterdam was kicked off with the "must do" pancake house, and yes, it is a must do for everyone. We went to this little basement and had omelets, lamb pancakes, apple cinnamon ice cream pancakes, and bacon and mushroom crepes. Divine. We saw the Anne Franke house and cried... a lot. Mostly when watching her father talk about her. To imagine how much this father did and went through to protect his family, only to make it through the war alive and old to hear that no one else made it. It must have been so devastating - I cant even imagine. We cheered ourselves up with some tea and pringles, and found our way to a final boat tour so we could see this amazing city as it lit up in front of our eyes. It was incredible. Not to mention hilarious b/c we stuffed our 4 starbucks teas, pringles, and 2 boxes of chinese food in our purses after finding out there was no food allowed. Kayla and I sat on the back of the boat playing with the aperture and shutter speed of our cameras like little dorks, but ended up with some great shots. We walked home, collecting of course a sample of the Amsterdam desserts on the way, hung out in our hotel room till late and then prepared for our train adventure to Paris the next day.
We'd been anticiapting this trip for a while now, about 6 months to be exact. We could hardly wait to see a bit of family - as you never realize how much you are going to miss them, till 3 months goes by and then you see their face. I can't describe the feeling I had when we saw them in Amsterdam.
The few days before that were spent in a little airbnb place just outside Amsterdam - where Colin showed me the town, we scoped out some awesome restaurants for our fam, spent some time in coffee shops, and walked a few different areas just to get the lay of the land. When we met up with Kayla & mom we were ready to take the town... and wouldn't you know it - the rain started to pour. Damn you rain - my family just got here - come on!!! But of course, my family saw the silver lining in this - and we found a cafe that we made our home base sipping on tea, watching people out the window, sampling all they had to offer on their menu.
Day one was the battle with jet lag - but also the intro to the town. We took an awesome canal tour that showed us the history of Amsterdam, walked to a Pancake house that was of course closed for the family holiday (I secretly love when family businesses do that), and stumbled upon the the most adorable bakery next door that allowed us to sit outside on their tiny balcony overlooking a canal. It was such a lovely, and one of the many to come, surprises we found. After our canal tour, and watching my mom and sisters heads bob from trying to stay awake, we headed back to the hotel for a quick nap - then were off to the best Indonesian restaurant, that a local had recommended. We sat outside and watched in awe as the sun stayed out till 10:00pm - it was summer solstice and all of a sudden it felt like 2 in the afternoon. We headed back to get some much needed rest, and caught up for a few more hours in my moms hotel room. Nothing like late night family chatting, snacking and laughing. The next day was spent "cafeing" the majority of the time, loving the old ladies across the table from us, spotting people walking around in Cal Poly sweatshirt and just enjoying eachother. We did the "must do" things of course, like walked through the red light district which was surprisingly not that gross, and ate yummy frites and waffles. We were also told that this one place called "Winkels" - yes, awesome name - had the best apple pie. So we skeptically (b/c really, we've tasted some awesome apple pies before) made our way there walking through the most adorable and serene streets, watching people spill out of bars having happy hour drinks (which always looks more charming in europe), and finally found this little place. Well - its true folks - best apple pie of my ENTIRE life. This stuff blew us away and came with huge scoops of whip cream. It was kinda more like a mushy, buttery, doughy, apple cake - with a crispy crust. Ugh - I will dream about that cake for days. We also ordered some mint tea which is pretty much hot water with a giant mint leaf - again, delicious. The last day of Amsterdam was kicked off with the "must do" pancake house, and yes, it is a must do for everyone. We went to this little basement and had omelets, lamb pancakes, apple cinnamon ice cream pancakes, and bacon and mushroom crepes. Divine. We saw the Anne Franke house and cried... a lot. Mostly when watching her father talk about her. To imagine how much this father did and went through to protect his family, only to make it through the war alive and old to hear that no one else made it. It must have been so devastating - I cant even imagine. We cheered ourselves up with some tea and pringles, and found our way to a final boat tour so we could see this amazing city as it lit up in front of our eyes. It was incredible. Not to mention hilarious b/c we stuffed our 4 starbucks teas, pringles, and 2 boxes of chinese food in our purses after finding out there was no food allowed. Kayla and I sat on the back of the boat playing with the aperture and shutter speed of our cameras like little dorks, but ended up with some great shots. We walked home, collecting of course a sample of the Amsterdam desserts on the way, hung out in our hotel room till late and then prepared for our train adventure to Paris the next day.
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