Amsterdam

We went to Amsterdam a few weeks ago to see our pals John and Natalie and their cutie bebe Carter!  They have a swanky place on the other side of the Museumplein on the canal and they couldn't have been better hosts and tour guides!

I'd been to Amsterdam in college with my pals, but this was Drew's first time to see this neat city.  I will say being here made me very nostalgic for college and this particular city with the girls and Kirk, cause it was such a fun time.  I found myself saying to Drew around every corner, "oh, we went here and Kirk said the FUNNIEST THING when this happened!" or "We had the best strawberry margaritas at this place right before THIS happened!" I don't think he was as amused by my trip down Memory Lane but it was fun for me.  

Bottom line: this city is cool.   Maybe one of my faves in Europe!  Here are some pics.

The "I amsterdam" sign - a pic with some fellow tourists as we were all in each other's shots.

We then went to the Van Gogh museum!  I remembered it being a lot cooler than it was this time around, though I still enjoyed it.  It could have been because I was with two guys who were bored out of their minds.

The newly renovated Rijksmuseum (Royal Museum) - basically a large museum alllll about Dutch history!  I'd already seen it and Drew was done with museums so we kept moving.

Beers on the canal with this little cutie!!

Then some apps and drinks at home before we went out on the town.  I like seeing Drew hold babies, so sue me!

A DELICIOUS rib dinner at Cafe de Klos!

Then a walk through the Red Light District to top off the evening.
Gross, weird, trashy, sad, interesting.  All of the above.

Saturday morning: we set out in the rain on John and Nat's bikes to get to the Anne Frank House early!

I was shocked that there was no line.  Know why?  Cause it was the ONE DAY in the entire year that they were closed: Yom Kippur!  We couldn't believe it.  We didn't even know it and Drew is half-Jewish, for cryin' out loud!

We consoled ourselves at The Pancake Bakery!

Yummy pancakes the size of our heads.

Poffertjes with strawberries and ice cream and whipped cream.    Happiness.

We hopped back on our bikes and attempted to outride a storm to Brouwerij'tij before it crashed on our heads.  We failed.  So we hung out in this little craft brewery our Dublin friends recommended and had some beer flights. 

Caped crusader on a bike!

We rode over to the Heineken Brewery, realized it cost way more than we wanted to spend, so we wandered around the city some more and had some beers at a cafe on the canal.  Beers beers beers.  

We got home early evening for G&Ts with John and Nat and a home made meal!

Blue skies greeted us on Sunday morning as we attempted round 2 at the Anne Frank House.  We made it!  This is the Westerkerk, overlooking the building.

The famous bookcase.

Seeing the museum again made me want to read the book again.  I remember reading it in 6th grade and not really understanding what it all meant and being relatively bored because there was no real plot to speak of.  Obviously now I feel differently and think I'd enjoy it a great deal more.

Just some pretty canal shots in the sun.

John and Nat have a boat, did I mention that?  We've been hearing about this amazing boat for over a year now and we were determined to get a canal cruise.  Drew had also been eyeing these "Skipper" and "First Mate" hats in Dublin for months in anticipation of this ride!

It didn't disappoint!  Neither did the weather.

I have 2 thick coats on and a scarf, in case you're wondering why I weigh 300 lbs in this picture.

And I had to add some food porn to the post by way of my Croque Madame at George.  Yummm.

Like I said: great city, great friends, great time.

Off to pack for Dallas in 2 days!  I can't wait.  More soon.