More of the Amsterdam

Every evening we had great intentions of waking up early the following morning to take on more of the Netherlands.  Instead we usually enjoyed a lazy morning, let our kids play and soaked up time at the amazing farmhouse.  We finally got ourselves out the door and made our way back to Amsterdam to enjoy more of the scenery but most important was visiting Anne Frank's house. 
Driving into town, once again took some will power and determination.  We were always in search of the perfect parking garage in location to our main objective.  Staying together was important too because we didn't have dependable cell service and it just got too complicated when we were separated.  After parking we made our way in the direction to the Anne Frank house but not without a few pit stops.

Score!  It was free cone day in Amsterdam! Wassup! 

 

 

 

Waiting to go in the Anne Frank House/Museum.

Serious waiting calls for serious plans! 

Not sure what but Georgia was in charge...

 

Cameras weren't allowed inside.  The museum was fascinating and made her sacrifice and horror of life a lot more real.  We skipped a few details when telling the kids :) 

 

Typical Amsterdam scenery. 

We came very close to the Red Light District but decided even just peeking around didn't do anyone any good...and we had our kids! Uh NO!

Better than the redlight district...food and drink!  We spent the rest of our afternoon enjoying a snack and drink on one of the canals.  The weather was gorgeous and our kids behaved.  Pretty miraculous! This was another Rick Steves rec...the kitchen was actually closed but we enjoyed delish ham and cheese toasties!  

  Street music on a sunny afternoon on a canal in Amsterdam...memorable.

 

We ended our afternoon at this playground that we had to tear the kids off of.  

Location, location, location

Amsterdam and our Farmhouse!

After visiting the tulips we decided to have dinner in Amsterdam. This was our first introduction to the incredibly beautiful and crazy city.  We enjoyed the views of so many spots but were totally freaked by all the bikes.  Poor Nick was having heart palpitations...driving a standard (stick) midsized SUV on the tiny streets of Amsterdam was straight up heart failure.  He didn't enjoy the view like I did. 

 

Before heading to dinner we took a canal sunset cruise to view the sights of Amsterdam.  Very cool and a MUST if you go.  The kids loved it...not sure the other passengers loved our kids though :) 

After dinner we were off to another Rick Steeves recommendation, Toscana!  It was delish!

  

check out chuck's calzone!

 

On our way back to the car.  

Nick with 3 kids in tow along side a canal.

So one of the best parts of our trip was our friends and the farmhouse we rented as our home in Holland.  The house was about 30 minutes from everywhere we wanted to go. Great location for relaxing but still enjoying the busy streets of Amsterdam and the Dutch culture.

Check it out...

Seriously there was a mote around our house!  Well, every house!

 

 I wanted to live there forever! It was the most perfect vacation home!

 

Our kids were in heaven and so were we...since they were in the loft upstairs! 

Thatch roof...no kidding around!   

The view on our drive out.  

It was like a postcard...mostly just what you might expect Dutch countryside to look like.

Pass through the quaint little village closest to the farmhouse.

 

Holland and the Tulips!

Our second day in Holland was spent at the Keukenhof Tulip Garden!  This was the primary reason for our trip at this time of the year.  Keukenhof is only open 2 months of the year.  April and May.  We were there at the very beginning of the season.  While we weren't at peak season we were in flower heaven and blown away by God's creativity!