We arrived in Amsterdam on Easter Sunday. Our room (at another amazing Hilton) wasn't ready so we enjoyed some free drinks on a patio that overlooked a canal.
Once we got into our rooms and cleaned up a bit we popped over to the Executive Lounge... that's right... more VIP treatment! Check out the cute Easter treats we found!
In the last couple of months I have realized that now that I am 25, alcohol is not the enemy that it was when I was 15! I have been trying to '
acquire a taste for wine' so that I'm not the only dork at the table not drinking for the rest of my life. Wine was free in the lounge so I tried to develop my taste for it...
Clearly I'm not there yet!
After the Executive Lounge we made our way to the Anne Frank House. The line to get in wound around the corner and we were going leave(because John
Shamshoian doesn't do lines) but then we struck up a conversation with 3 guys from Israel. Talking to them put life into perspective. They told us about how the things we only see on the news affected their lives personally.
We enjoyed the beautiful canals on our walk back to our hotel. The lights shining on the water create an enchanting atmosphere that reminded me of how lucky we are to be able to travel and experience this life that God has given us.
Pretty cool huh, we found this on our way back to the hotel... it's even spelled the right way!
On Monday morning we set out for the
VanGough Museum... but not before I took this picture to prove to future generations that Brad and I don't always slum it when we travel :)
This is the lookout from the patio of the Hilton...
ahhhh wish I was there relaxing right now!
Okay, so here we are in the foyer of the
VanGough Museum. We just couldn't
contain our excitement (My dad is faking... I'm not, I love
VanGough!).
Here are some of my favourites. Please keep in mind that I risked life and limb (and getting kicked out of a museum) to get these... have I mentioned that I love the rush of sneaking pictures???
My dad actually risked himself for this one... it's my favourite
painting. Good job
After taking lots of ridicule for not enjoying museums (
ie not enjoying culture) this is my dad... appreciating art. He outlasted us all at
VanGough. When this picture was taken we were all begging him to leave... he was doing this to spite us!
Amsterdam is a city of bikes, literally hundreds of thousands of bikes. I took at least 2o pictures of bikes but this one was my favorite. It makes me long for
SLO and lazy Saturdays riding around eating
Raspberry Pinwheels.
After the museum we took a canal cruise. It was incredibly relaxing, I actually caught a little shut eye on the boat. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and this is perhaps the best way to enjoy it.
After a long day cruising the canals, we ate dinner in the Executive Lounge and then relaxed in our rooms. Late in the evening my dad, Brad and I went down to the bar/patio and enjoyed some complimentary drinks. These were my favourite hours of the whole trip... we were not on a tour, not
appreciating art, not trying to find
anything... just relaxing,
enjoying each other's company!
The curtains in our room were letting a bit of light in and this is the image that it cast on the ceiling. It makes me think of light pouring out of heaven... an image of Grace. Brad thinks I'm silly for putting this in but... I like it so, maybe someone else will too!
On Wednesday morning I was melancholy, knowing that this was my dad and Shelly's last day with us.
We set out to go shopping and found this chicks along the way. Shelly and I raced to take pictures...
here's my dad and Brad looking on, probably talking about how silly their wives are!
As we wandered around I took some pictures of street signs so to document how crazy they were... these serve as a constant reminder while I'm in London that I should be thankful
because here, at least I can pronounce the names of the streets I can't find!
Ever a real estate man... the boys are just checking out property prices.
Brad's fascination with
Mou prompted me to take this picture of a painting we found while window shopping.
We spent the day meandering through the city, shopping and eating our way through Amsterdam.
Despite its obvious shady side, (which I decided not to blog about, although we did see it on Tuesday night) Amsterdam is an enchanting city. We had an amazing 12 days with my dad and Shelly. Words cannot express how excited I was when they came to London or how sad I was to see them go. My only solace was found in the fact that John Paul gets marries in 2 months (HOLY COW) which means that I'll see my family soon!!! We are so blessed to have families that we can't wait to get home to... we love you all!
Once we got into our rooms and cleaned up a bit we popped over to the Executive Lounge... that's right... more VIP treatment! Check out the cute Easter treats we found!
In the last couple of months I have realized that now that I am 25, alcohol is not the enemy that it was when I was 15! I have been trying to 'acquire a taste for wine' so that I'm not the only dork at the table not drinking for the rest of my life. Wine was free in the lounge so I tried to develop my taste for it...
Clearly I'm not there yet!
After the Executive Lounge we made our way to the Anne Frank House. The line to get in wound around the corner and we were going leave(because John Shamshoian doesn't do lines) but then we struck up a conversation with 3 guys from Israel. Talking to them put life into perspective. They told us about how the things we only see on the news affected their lives personally.
We enjoyed the beautiful canals on our walk back to our hotel. The lights shining on the water create an enchanting atmosphere that reminded me of how lucky we are to be able to travel and experience this life that God has given us.
Pretty cool huh, we found this on our way back to the hotel... it's even spelled the right way!
On Monday morning we set out for the VanGough Museum... but not before I took this picture to prove to future generations that Brad and I don't always slum it when we travel :)
This is the lookout from the patio of the Hilton... ahhhh wish I was there relaxing right now!
Okay, so here we are in the foyer of the VanGough Museum. We just couldn't contain our excitement (My dad is faking... I'm not, I love VanGough!).
Here are some of my favourites. Please keep in mind that I risked life and limb (and getting kicked out of a museum) to get these... have I mentioned that I love the rush of sneaking pictures???
My dad actually risked himself for this one... it's my favourite painting. Good job 
After taking lots of ridicule for not enjoying museums (ie not enjoying culture) this is my dad... appreciating art. He outlasted us all at VanGough. When this picture was taken we were all begging him to leave... he was doing this to spite us!
Amsterdam is a city of bikes, literally hundreds of thousands of bikes. I took at least 2o pictures of bikes but this one was my favorite. It makes me long for SLO and lazy Saturdays riding around eating Raspberry Pinwheels.
After the museum we took a canal cruise. It was incredibly relaxing, I actually caught a little shut eye on the boat. Amsterdam is a beautiful city and this is perhaps the best way to enjoy it.
After a long day cruising the canals, we ate dinner in the Executive Lounge and then relaxed in our rooms. Late in the evening my dad, Brad and I went down to the bar/patio and enjoyed some complimentary drinks. These were my favourite hours of the whole trip... we were not on a tour, not appreciating art, not trying to find anything... just relaxing, enjoying each other's company!
The curtains in our room were letting a bit of light in and this is the image that it cast on the ceiling. It makes me think of light pouring out of heaven... an image of Grace. Brad thinks I'm silly for putting this in but... I like it so, maybe someone else will too!
On Wednesday morning I was melancholy, knowing that this was my dad and Shelly's last day with us.
We set out to go shopping and found this chicks along the way. Shelly and I raced to take pictures...
here's my dad and Brad looking on, probably talking about how silly their wives are!
As we wandered around I took some pictures of street signs so to document how crazy they were... these serve as a constant reminder while I'm in London that I should be thankful because here, at least I can pronounce the names of the streets I can't find!
Ever a real estate man... the boys are just checking out property prices.
Brad's fascination with Mou prompted me to take this picture of a painting we found while window shopping.
We spent the day meandering through the city, shopping and eating our way through Amsterdam.
Despite its obvious shady side, (which I decided not to blog about, although we did see it on Tuesday night) Amsterdam is an enchanting city. We had an amazing 12 days with my dad and Shelly. Words cannot express how excited I was when they came to London or how sad I was to see them go. My only solace was found in the fact that John Paul gets marries in 2 months (HOLY COW) which means that I'll see my family soon!!! We are so blessed to have families that we can't wait to get home to... we love you all!
No comments:
Post a Comment