Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Oh there's more....

DAY 3 - Oh my this is going to take forever, so this may result in some bullet points. :)

We headed to Amsterdam for the day.  On the way to the train station we passed adorable school children on their way to school and we enjoyed croissants from this great little bakery right by our hotel. We rode the train into Amsterdam, and I loved it.  I always enjoy trains and public transportation in general due to the people watching.  As far as Amsterdam goes, these would be the main points.
  •  BIKES EVERYWHERE! :)
  • Lots of pot. It was everywhere.
  • A walk around Amsterdam on our way to Ann Frank's house.
  • Surprises in the window (naked women of all shapes and sizes). Yes they do exist and can take you by surprise when you're not expecting them even after reading about them in every guidebook.  
  • A visit to Ann Frank's house, which beautiful and very sobering. 
  • Who knew there were such varieties of pancakes as we ate at the Pancake house for lunch
  • Wandered to the Dam square, the architecture and movement of people was intriguing.  
  • Flower market. I loved all of the Tulip bulbs
  • Red light district. 
  • Fell asleep on the boat tour of the city.
  • A lovely exit at the beautiful train station. 








Before we could leave the Netherlands behind I HAD to see a windmill.  And luckily due to a misguided GPS we ended up on a back road and sure enough found a few windmills.  I could leave happy. 




Beyond Paris

Every time that I sit down to try and write about the rest of this trip I feel extremely overwhelmed. The same applies to the majority of my trips.  I really want to capture what the trip was in detail but yet it seems to always be a little boring and overwhelming.  I just wish I could bring everybody along so you'd know firsthand. :)

Here are some highlights:


Day 2

Morning in Paris...
We rode the subway to church and we got there a little early. It was posted online to start at 9 and actually started at 9:30.  Also as we came to find out later they started with Relief Society and Priesthood rather than Sacrament meeting.  While I probably only understood 40% of the meeting I still appreciated being there.  I absolutely LOVE hearing the gospel in other languages, it is a continual testament that God loves all of his children.  Plus I just love the warmth that other people share despite the language barrier, including kisses on the cheek (which I think caught Michelle and Kelson off guard).
                     

After church we stopped in a bakery quickly for breakfast (shrimp quiche not my favorite) then made our way back to the hotel to head off to the Netherlands.  The drive there was beautiful.  We made an unplanned stop in Rotterdam on our way to Amsterdam, and it was well worth it.  The city boasts one of the largest ports in the world, and is a gateway from the North Sea to the rest of Europe.  Most of the city had been demolished in WWII, therefore the majority of the city had to be rebuilt resulting in an array of design and architecture.
Check out those windows! :)
 I loved walking around enjoying the sunset on the port. Overall people we just genuinely nice; a lady running stopped to take our picture, the waitress at the restaurant was polite, they were extremely patient with our inability to speak dutch, and they laughed at us dancing in the street.  Plus I don't know if it was due to the fact that I was hungry, but I think the best meal of the trip was in Rotterdam.  The flavors were simply fantastic.


Then we made it to an ADORABLE little town, Abcour just outside of Amsterdam, where we stayed the night.  It was exactly how I would have pictured Holland.  The houses were quaint and there was a small canal that ran through the middle of the town.  Once again the receptionist was very kind, and might I add VERY tall.  The boys settled in for the night, but Michelle and I went on a little walk to explore this very quiet town at night.