A return to Amsterdam

Well, a return for me at least. I got to have one action-packed day to visit back in 2006 when I went to The Netherlands for a work trip. I was actually staying in a smaller town, Utrecht, and our office was in an even smaller town, Woerden. I went in to Amsterdam on a Saturday in between my Netherlands and Italy work stints and remembered loving it! I had hoped to get to spend more time there one day and really enjoyed being back again.

We stayed in a beautiful apartment in West Amsterdam (I don't think we were technically in the Jordaan, but close) overlooking the Singel canal. Our living room had huge windows looking out and it was nice to just sit and stare out at the other canal houses and the (quiet) action below. The place was actually probably too much space for us, but it was nice to be able to spread out for a few days and was actually cheaper than a lot of the hotels I found.

Conley had a ball pointing out (and riding) all the different modes of transportation - choo-choo's, buses, boats and airplanes. I think his favorite, though, was the bike. Peter rented one of the bikes with the big cargo basket on the front and I got a cruiser and we had a fun day of riding around town. Conley seemed a little nervous at first but ended up loving it and also enjoyed adding sound effects to his ride.

We took one day for a day trip to the Keukenhof Flower Park (which was amazing, but I bet even more so a few weeks later when everything was in full bloom) and to the town of Harlaam. We didn't have quite as many adult dinners with Conley sleeping peacefully in his stroller as we did on our trips last year, but it was still a great trip and a nice final memory with just the three of us. I have a feeling trips will never be quite the same once Baby "Sheesh-ter" makes her appearance!

The view from our apartment

First coffee break in Amsterdam

Doing a little shopping

Conley loved the Rijksmuseum almost as much as I did! ;)

Couldn't pass up this obligatory photo op

Conley enjoyed trying out each of the letters and
making friends with all the fellow picture-takers

Lunch at Bazar after a stroll through the Albert
Cuyp Market

Conley was mesmerized by the calliope upon our
arrival and when we were leaving - even prompted
some dancing (I had to google the word for this -
also known as a steam organ or piano)

Love the fields of yellow flowers behind them!

Tulips are my absolute favorite flower - I had wanted them for our wedding,
but turns out August is not a good month for them!

We had quite a few great Italian meals on this trip - sadly, we didn't try much
authentic Dutch cuisine!

The cutest little Italian restaurant - Piccolo - just off the main square in Haarlem

Enjoying the scenery on one of his last choo-choo
rides

Bike parking outside the train station

Our second visit to La Perla in the Jordaan for some
delicious pizza!

Finally some Dutch fare - pancakes!

Yes....more Italian

Thanks for a great trip Amsterdam!