Back to Never-Netherland...

After finally posting our last blog entry of our Italian holiday, we have a lot of catching up to do!! We actually did quite a bit since we returned from Italy, so stay tuned for our latest adventures.

As you know, GM and GP came for a visit just two days after our return from Italy. We were quite busy while they were here.

Like most women, GM loves flowers. So, she came during the perfect time of year to see the most famous garden in the world -- Keukenhof. Grandma, Grandpa, the girls and I departed for a one-night get-away to Lisse in the Netherlands to visit Keukenhof, which coincidentally celebrated its 60th anniversary this year.

Last year, Ray and I took the girls there on probably one of its busiest days -- in April, on the Saturday of its annual flower parade. In an effort to avoid the insane traffic and Disneyland-type crowds, this time we went midweek while no special events were scheduled at the park. This turned out to be "oh-so-perfect" being able to experience the gardens with not so many people there. The gardens were again breathtakingly beautiful. And while we were there, we quickly understood why it is one of the most photographed places in the world (you must view our slide show!). I'll have to admit that the gardens were a bit nicer last year while the flowers were in its prime, in addition to the stunning carpets of flower fields exploding with color in all the surrounding areas (most were harvested by now). But even still, Keukenhof was magical... And minus the crowds meant we were able to see much more of the park than we did the previous year.

The girls had a blast exploring the park and its gardens, romping in the playgrounds, maze, petting zoo, and even climbing up a working windmill.

DS even got a little wet when she accidentally stepped into the water while crossing a stone path over a lake. Luckily, we had her slippers in the car!

After spending the day at Keukenhof, we decided to have dinner at Noordwijk, a beach resort located about 5 minutes from our hotel. Before dinner, the girls got to play on a lovely sandy beach (which kind of reminded me of California!) while my parents and I enjoyed a cocktail at one of the beach bars (so unlike California). I am really going to miss this European lifestyle!

The next day, the girls wanted more beach fun, so this time we headed for Scheveningen -- another seaside resort in the Netherlands. We walked through an enclosed pier to sample poffertjes (a traditional dutch batter treat -- think tiny pancakes, but much sweeter!), which we remembered to be so yummy when we first tried them in Amsterdam. These, too, were sinfully delish.

After walking around and stopping for lunch on the boardwalk, the girls wanted to play on the beach (as we had promised). By this time, however, it was getting VERY windy which makes playing in the sand not so much fun. So instead, they got to jump on trampolines right on the beach which was actually even more fun! By the time the girls (and mommy) finished jumping, the wind was becoming quite fierce, so we left and made it back to our car just before it started to rain. Talk about good timing!

Our little get-away turned out to be really wonderful. And, the best part was spending it with GM and GP...

It was just this time last year when we made our first trip to the Netherlands. We'll always remember DS' comment on how she really likes it here in "Neverland". From the mouths of babes...

Click here to see our first trip to Keukenhof...

Amsterdamn, its cold here...!!!

Well, at least the first day was...

The girls and I are running out of time here in Europe. We are down to our last 12 months (I know, is the glass half empty or half full, right?) Anyways, from now on, every weekend has to count...
With our home visit to LA coming up in a few days and the year pretty much winding down, we decided we still needed to get out and knock a few more "must-see" cities off our list. So we decided to make short hop out to Amsterdam, to see what the city had in store for us!

A less than two-hour drive from Brussels lands you in the capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam has some beautiful buildings with truly unique architecture. The city is built around a series of 5 canals that ring around the city center. Conveniently, most of the city's tourist attractions are near the canals and are easily accessed by several boat lines that allow you to navigate the canals and hop on or off as you please. With our two little ones, this was an ideal setup.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon and found the ambient temperature hovering around 0 degrees celsius, or 32 F. Once the wind started to blow, you knew that it was going to be a long day outside! Right across from our hotel was a casino and the Hard Rock Cafe, where we decided to stop for lunch.

After a short walk down the block, we stopped to buy some oliebollens, or "Oil Balls" as the loose translation came out to. Jo had read about these in her ever-present guide book and wanted to try them out. Although they were ok, they were not what we were expecting. In fact, the Okinawa Dango's at the JCI or Faith Methodist carnivals in California would have put these to shame!! Part of the problem was they had been sitting out for awhile and were stone cold.

We went back to the hotel to warm up in the lounge and recharge. In the evening, we walked down to the Leidseplein which was a lovely pedestrian friendly area with several restaurants. The girls and I found a charming little pizza place, where we had a simple dinner of pizza and chicken. Still a bit cold for us, the last thing we wanted was for the girls to catch a cold before flying home to LA, so we decided to call it a night.

The next day started out clear and sunny with the temps climbing up to an "almost balmy" 5 degrees C (40F). However, during this time of year, there is less than 8 hours of daylight so we decided to get out and start enjoying it.

We boarded our canal boat and made our first stop to the Anne Frank House. This is a very moving exhibit located at the same office building where she and her family spent 2 years hiding from the Nazis to avoid persecution during World War II. Unfortunately, her family was discovered and sent to a concentration camp. As we all know, her diary was left behind and as such, brought worldwide attention to her story and her account of what happened during the holocaust. It's a very sobering exhibit and something that shouldn't be missed on any visit here.

We spent the rest of the day touring the rest of the city via canal boat and had lunch at an Irish pub right alongside the canal. One thing we noticed about Amsterdam is the great variety of different cuisines available here. Indonesian food is also really big here, most likely due to the influence from the colonial days of the Dutch East Indies. Many have said the best Indonesian food comes from the Dutch. Here we all enjoyed our lunch of fish-and-chips, cottage pie and chicken satays.

Before we went home, we stopped and had some pofferties, a small crepe-like donut, served hot off the special pan and smothered in powdered sugar. If you know my girls, you would know that almost anything served warm with powdered sugar would be met with squeals of delight and some power munching. Just stand back and watch your fingers...

After a full day of walking and touring the city, it didn't take long for the girls to fall asleep in the car, on the way back home. Even after we got home, they went upstairs, brushed their teeth and fell back into a deep sleep. No doubt dreaming of warm pofferties.