Amsterdam

We were so excited for our Amsterdam trip for a few reasons:

• Our Dallas friends who now live in Paris were joining us
• I was reconnecting with one of my Dutch friends from St. Clare's University- 10 years later
• We were meeting the wife and daughter of one our our Miami University friends- 7 years later
• The city is obviously incredible

The trip did not disappoint!

The first night we tried to ease ourselves into the long weekend ahead.  We bounced from a tapas restaurant to an unbelievably strange karaoke bar, to legally and/or illegally drinking beers in streets to a quick walk through the Red Light District.  Our early to bed idea, didn't end up too early after all.

 Friday morning we made our way through the winding streets and squares of Amsterdam, over the bridges and canals to get to the Anne Frank House.

When this churches bells rang, Anne Frank could tell what time it was while they were in hiding in the attack.

Musician Park

 After Anne Frank, we stopped by Koen's Language and Culture Center to have a cup of coffee and get a good recommendation for lunch.  Little did we know, he had taken it upon himself to be our full time tour guide.

Lunch at a brown bar in the Spui neighborhood

A canal tour

A quick stop at a local favorite for beers and "old cheese"

The Flower Market

A photography exhibition put on by one of Koen's friends, called "Second Nature" by Guy Tillman who traveled the world.  Photographs were talen in Tahiti, Johannesburg, Sao Paulo etc.

The back gardens and guest house of the Art Gallery

That evening our "Brown Bar" pub crawl started with another karaoke bar...

...and ended with a good dance session at a local club.

After going to bed at 4am, our bike tour came around pretty quickly the next day.  And of course, Koen was our tour guide.  He rode us by the third most famous opera venue (behind NYC and Vienna), by the Van Gogh Museum, through the Fashion and Design district and gardens...

through the most ritzy of the Amsterdam neighborhoods...

to a fantastic Saturday market...

...with a quick stop in Vondel Park for lunch.

Back on the bikes, we rode by the Heineken Experience...

Stopped at one of the only breweries for a tasting...

...and had a true Dutch experience at the Everyday Market eating raw herring and fried cod.  I opted for the warm waffle sandwich stuffed with butterscotch.

We ended the bike tour by crossing the "skinny bridge."

Then it was off to happy hour at Chads to meet his wife and adorable baby girl.

They picked out a fantastic place for dinner that evening.

I wanted to take these home with me, but they wouldn't fit in my luggage.

We had a great time, a great tour guide and were in great company!  Hopefully we will get back to Amsterdam in the summer to take advantage of warmer temps and all the outdoor activities!

A February Filled With Visitors

We were very very lucky that 4 guests decided to brave the UK weather and visit us during the worst time of year!  There were a few flight delays and cancellations, but that didn't stop us from having a great time once everyone arrived.

First came Mom Sieger...the greatest and longest visitor!  We kicked off her trip with tapas at the Rock Garden and one too many glasses of free champagne.

We visited the Little Chapel...which the locals are VERY proud of

Josh didn't take it quite as seriously

We went to a Valentines Day afternoon tea at the Farmhouse...

...and cooked Josh a special dinner of scallops and sea bass picked up from the Fresh Sea Market that morning (a refreshing change from never ending chicken)

Side note- I am wearing shorts under this extremely tacky V-day outfit

Then the next set of guests arrived- good friends Mark & Mallory, all the way from Austin.  We did one night of wining and dining at a French favorite, Petite Bistro...

 ...and then taught them everything RUGBY with a day long PWC event that kicked off at 11am and ended at 11pm.

The golf ball did make an appearance, sorry Mark!

After their departure, we got to spend time with Jackie, one of my parents good friends who flew in for a long weekend. 

We did an island tour on Sunday of Jerbourg point, the Guernsey coasts and back to the Little Chapel.

And the month ended with a mother/daughter trip to Jersey.  The start was very comical- This is the airport at 9am.  A few hours of this fog...

...led to this



...and this.

7 hours later, 1 trip up and back to refuel, and a lot of circling to find a 3 minute fog opening to "drop down" - we arrived.  We concluded we could have swam their quicker.

 

View from our balcony in St. Brelade Bay

 We quickly headed to St. Helier to visit the market, shop, have a late lunch and -of course- stop for a glass of wine.

And what a fun treat it was to have our dessert delivered to our room after dinner.

We did a little more exploring Sunday

 

Stopped off at one of the oldest churches in Europe.

Enjoyed some time relaxing in the spa with a facial and hot stone massage

Had a quick lunch with a view

and climbed some cliffs.

Thanks so much to everyone who visited.  You made the long, gloomy, cold month of February fly by! Next time visit in the summer ;)

The Only Way to Get Me Outside in January...

I stumbled upon one of the greatest finds in Guernsey and surprised Josh with an afternoon on the adult trampolines at Oatlands.  Onlookers may have thought we were 8 years old again.

We have a hysterical video of Josh mastering the one jump between all 8 trampolines...but it is too big to upload to the blog.  So this picture sums up his exhaustion after perfecting this skill.