Netherlands

We had an amazing time in the Netherlands.  This is the country of my ancestors.  My great Grandparents were from a small village in the south Netherlands, near Rotterdam called Strijen.  We spent most of our time in Amsterdam.  We walked the city and explored by bus and trolley.   We also did a canal boat tour.  The houses along the canal are beautiful! Some lean and tip, and it is a feast for the eyes!  In the Netherlands they are serious bikers!  Each road has a bike lane, and they are well used, like cars.  They travel at fast speeds and I am sure we almost got hit at least a dozen times.  It was hard to remember to look for bikes as well as cars before stepping off the curb.

The kids had a great time meeting up with our friends the Miller family!  We would be traveling with them for the next week.  It was wonderful to be with good friends!  They are living in Germany for a few months while their Dad works on his European accounts for work.  

In Amsterdam we visited the shop where Anne Frank and her family hid.  Luckily we were able to obtain tickets to visit for a late afternoon. If you do not plan ahead (and we had not) tickets can be very hard to get.  It was a special visit, Isabel had recently read the Diary of Anne Frank and she was very interested in visiting.  She reverently took Olivia under her care and explained the history of what occurred in the building and living quarters we visited and why the family had to hide.

We took the train to about an hour west of Amsterdam to Haarlem.  From here we rented bikes and headed out to bike the paths thru the tulip fields.  It was beautiful!  The wind and chill did not stop us from enjoying the beauty.  The family we rented our little place from loaned us extra hats and gloves to keep the wind and chill at bay.

Tulip Field Workers...  I stopped to watch, as I didn't realize these flowers are still hand picked.  English is very common through out the Netherlands, so I attempted to ask the workers some questions, but they just looked at me and spoke in another language to each other.  David had stopped next to me and said-- I think they are laughing at you.  I agreed.  Then we heard a worker from the back call out to one closer to us, and I heard a language I recognized and it was not Dutch.  David instantly responded to the comment, as they were speaking Polish.  The worker had loudly said (in Polish) "She doesn't understand you" and David instantly replied, in Polish, "She doesn't, but I do!"  All their heads instantly popped up and they turned to look at David.  Gone was the laughing at me, and they were of course friendly to someone who spoke their same language.

Biking the Tulips fields and visiting Kukenhoff was beautiful.  However we did not account for the head wind we would have to ride back in, and the kids struggled and we were late.  We tried calling the bike shop to let them know we were running a few minutes late, but they did not answer their phone.  They were closed when we arrived! We called the after hours number on their sign but they did not answer at all!  We ended up storing the bikes at the bike parking in the train station and we returned in the morning to return the bikes.  It was an extra hassle to our day, but in the end it worked out.

The Next day we picked up rental cars to tour more of the Netherlands.  My Grandmother's family is from the Netherlands.  They immigrated in the early 1900s to Utah and I was curious to see the land of my ancestors.  We went to the beach to see the sand dunes. We stopped by the Temple outside of Rotterdam, and we went to the Dyjk's to see the beautiful windmills and learn about the amazing engineering of the dutch in clearing out and controlling water.  From there we stopped in the small town of Strijen, where my Grandmother's family was from.

Paris

We arrived by train for a short weekend visit to Paris!  We had to squeezed everything in!  The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Arc du Triumph, and the Museum D'Orsay.  And after all that we still had a couple hours left in the day so we fit the Louvre in too.  When it's only an hour or so before closing, there's no lines to get in.  We walked right up to buy tickets and in to the museum.  We rushed around the museum seeing the highlights.  For dinner we made a reservation with a local restaurant that was recommended to us by one of our french dive guides in Mexico.  The local tradition of Raclette.  He told us every time he returns home to France- this is what he wants to eat!  It was absolutely delicious! Yummy cheese melted onto bread and potatoes.  We also tried a couple recommended Fondues as well! After all we were in Paris- you must eat the cheese!

On our last day in Paris we attended church in the morning, then visited with the members in a linger longer lunch.  Then we headed up to Sacre Coeur and enjoyed the beautiful view of the city from up there.  We wandered the streets in that area, it has a very artsy boutique feel.  Then we were off to the train station for an afternoon journey to Amsterdam!  Tomorrow we would meet up with our friends from home-- The Miller Family!

Turin

We stopped in Turin for less than 24 hours.  We took a late train from Venice to Turin and after a good nights sleep and breakfast, we headed to the World Renowned Egyptian Museum in Turin.  After visiting for several hours we took an afternoon train to Paris!

Milan-Venice

We flew nonstop from NYC to Milan, Italy.  Our tickets were $450 roundtrip, a great deal!  We had a couple hours before our train left from Milan to Venice, so in route to the central trail station, we detour to see the famous Duomo (cathedral) in Milan.  As we walked from the Duomo, thru the shopping Galeria, to the main train station, we found several refugees walking the streets, giving away bracelets and asking for donations.  We found this throughout northern italy and Paris, many refugees selling on the streets, or homeless refugee families on the streets.  In southern Italy, and the Netherlands and Scotland, we did not see this.

We made it to our train on time, and were able to stop for some yummy italian lunch, and treats along the way.

Venice is beautiful!  We enjoyed wandering the streets, carrying our bags up and over bridges, crossing canal after canal after canal.  

The view from our room and private balcony.  Can't get any better! We were exhausted and ready for bed, but if we slept, we knew we'd be up in the middle of the night.  So we headed out for a Gondola ride, and some pizza for dinner.  One thing we learned in Venice, was that many of the high tourist cities of Italy charge a "table fee" just to sit and eat dinner in their restaurant.  What?!?  This is not gratuity, a completely separate fee, and it's per person, about $1.50 per person on average.

The next day, after a good nights sleep, we left our bags at the front desk and set out to explore more of Venice.  We walked, and walked and walked.  We had fun exploring the squares found in every neighborhood. The markets were fun to browse, and we loved the glass shops all made nearby on Murano Island.  For lunch we grabbed a few yummy panini sandwiches from a street shop.  We picked up a few souvenirs and then it was time to head back to the train station, and take the late afternoon train to Turin.

Europe 2016

Headed for a Europe 3 week whirlwind trip!  We decided to take just our 3 oldest children who are all capable of a good hike, can carry their own luggage, and handle long days and late nights.  Our first stop is an 18 hour layover in NYC.

Our flight arrived late and after a good night sleep, we headed into the city to meet up with Aunt Suzie.  She works as a nanny in Brooklyn.  We met the cute kids she nanny's and then we all headed into the city to the MET.  Savannah wanted to go see the art there.  We had a fun time visiting Suzie!  Then we were back to the airport for our long flight to Italy!