Hotel Keur Zandvoort

... to make it up some steep stairs to our loft. Not the glamorous kind of loft you understand.... An actual loft! Well it was better than that but it was very high up. We were lucky to be staying in the jordaan region of Amsterdam, which is very quiet, a locals area rather than tourists. We found a lovely place just across the street to have ...

... settled into our private cabin, which is a really nice way to travel! The kids can be relatively loud without disturbing a whole car of people. Ben is well contained. Carly is sitting in her bucket seat and just took a nap. I am typing my trip report at the table. Very comfortable! We are 2.5 hrs out from Amsterdam and about to set the kids up with a movie on the laptop. Then maybe lunch and a nap. We arrived at ...

... way to The Grasshopper and easily ordered some "Bubble Gum" and a lighter from a helpful salesclerk -- not an experience you'll have anywhere else in the world... After a hazy hour on the Grasshopper's open-air terrace, we were suddenly quite hungry. We crossed a canal and found ourselves at the home of Amsterdam's best french fries. For 5 euros, we were treated to a massive cone of perfectly-fried potatoes slathered in mayonnaise and BBQ sauce. We ate here at least 3 times in our ...

... in the kiosks. This presents a 3D, shadowbox effect throughout the museum and it also makes you feel like you're spying on something. Sort of a paranoid, looking-out-the-window-at-something-men acing-coming-to-get- you, feeling. The Museum covers the resistance efforts and the Jewish experience during the occupation. It also covers daily life under the occupation with movies, radio broadcasts, a clandestine printing press, and sound effects of starving ...

... of old men sunning themselves wearing thongs. Sat at an outdoor cafe and enjoyed some Jenever. One thing I noticed is that alot of people smoke and dogs are allowed everywhere. Even in restaurants and stores! Some places even place water bowls out for them! We went to a cheese shop at the Magna Plaza Shopping Center by Dam Square. Ate a bunch of free samples an bought two wheels of gouda for our travels ...

... to have a tick and tapeworm treatment every time she travels out of the UK. Our hotel was more like an apartment. It only lacked kitchen utensils and a method of cooking. The place was great. The owner was wonderful and gave us lots of recommendations for places to take the dog. We then hopped back into the car and went into Amsterdam. It only took us 35 minutes to get there. We popped into the vet and ...

... known to have inspired Van Gogh. As is usually the case I felt thoroughly exhausted after visiting the museum and so we headed back. At night we walked through the Red Light District to see what all the fuss was about. It was definitely not an experience you would encounter at in the U.S. I have heard it referred to as "the Dutch's favorite form of window shopping." After this we got some take out Thai food ...

So Amsterdam... Again it was a long trip and we got in at about 7pm. Thankfully it was still light but our hostel was a bit out of the way. At least we didn't have snorers this time! Because by this stage we were aware of our financial situation declining, we decided to stay three nights, look for two in the city centre, and then just get back to London and work out our next step. As I've mentioned to a few people, someone described Amsterdam as an amusement park for ...

... fly home to America. I had to adjust to being back on my own. Its kind of amazing how easy it is to get used to being with people. I felt very spoiled with them because they were just like my friends back at home and I felt like I knew them for much longer than I actually had. That and I didn't look at a map once!! Serioulsy, that is a treat! I put some Amsterdam pictures up on my faceboook, I am still working on the others. Hopefully I will get to that in the next few days!

... adorable and shy, essentially hiding behind Lauren unsure of their new guests. We arrived on the day following Election Day, so for the better part of the morning, we watched CNN and BBC awaiting the results of what turned out to be a very favorable election for the blue team. Then we took a nap and a shower and felt refreshed enough to begin exploring. Since we got a late start, we decided to do some informal exploration of the city center and its surroundings. We stopped at a ...