ACT 2: 07.2013

so we went to amsterdam in may. yes, it's july as i type this. yes, i am a horrible blogger. i think i start every blog post with some declaration of how bad i am at keeping up with this blog & how i will try harder. hmmm.... well, back to amsterdam...
we had a great time, really fell in love with the city.... it's beautiful. the canals, the narrow houses, the cafes, the bikes.... the atmosphere is fabulous! minus the red light district/ tourist areas - that was a bit too much for us.... yes there are drugs & prostitution, but we didn't participate in either activity, so it didn't really bother us. what bothered us more were the crowds in those areas. just too many people.... but we found some really quiet, nice areas of amsterdam that we just loved....
we rented out a local woman's apartment in the jordaan area.... she had a cat, tom, that we took care of for her & we really got a feel for more of the local life than we would if we had stayed in a hotel. we went to the grocery store, had a few beers at the neighborhood pub, took lena to the neighborhood playground, it felt more home like, even if we were only there for a long weekend....
we went to the huge vondelpark - amazing park.... so much to see & do there. went to the museum area - only went into the modern art museum (which we went through at a very brisk pace) - went to the kid's science museum NEMO, which was geared more for older kids, but because everything is interactive lena still has a blast running around.... we ate delicious frites, walked through the flower market & a flea market, tried not to get run over by the bikes, & of course ate outside for every meal (our favorite thing & what we loved about australia too - outdoor cafes along all the streets)....
it was a great trip & if we had more time & money would be back to visit in a heartbeat!