She Can, So She Does

It's not always easy, and it's definitely not always obvious, but our dear friend, A, has found a way to swing through Amsterdam to visit us on a multitude of occasions while in transit to other places around the globe for her work. Her visits have ranged from a few hours to overnight, and there's usually more convenient options available to her but she always routes through here, if she can, just to see us! 

This weekend we had her for all of 10 hours, and she was the perfect excuse to open the roof deck of our new house for business!  We took advantage of the glorious spring weather, biking through Vondelpark, where we went geocaching with the kids, and breaking open a summer rosé.

I love how this lady is always game for whatever we and/or Amsterdam has to offer.  Kisses to you, A!

April 2015

Check out the heap of bikes in my bike!  it's all you can do when the kids peter out. 

April 2015

Dad and R went deep into the park looking for the geo cache:

April 2015

April 2015

This fav brunch spot of ours has a Brooklyn owner and lots of dishes that make us feel nostalgic for the US.  My go-to move is the chicken and waffles (hey, I spent five years in Georgia, which fully justifies my love affair with this dish), but the kids are all over the American-style pancakes.

April 2015

The weather has been spot on for all of A's visits, with the exception of the very first visit, a few months after our move to Amsterdam.  It was one of the rainiest October's on record in Holland, but rain or shine, the kids must be picked up from school.  And as we know, that's always on a bike in this city.

October 2013

Things did not go so well for us that day!   I got a flat tire (my only one in two years), and we had to walk the bike for a mile in the pouring rain to a bike shop, then walk another mile with the kids to tram back home.  We could only laugh about it though, and even more so because A was sporting her signature fashion: heels! 

October 2013

Because.she.can.so.she.does, A came back to Amsterdam one week later on her way home:

October 2013

 Then, there was the visit when we took A on her first canal boat cruise:

June 2014.

June 2014.

June 2014.

Lots of attention to food that trip . . . Febo (because isn't it obvious that a wall is the perfect place to serve all things fried) and an Idonesian rijsttafel, two can't-miss food outings when in Amsterdam:

June 2014

 

June 2014

Did I mention A is game for anything and everything?

Biking through Vondelpark (June 2014)

A then turned around and came back the next week, so she and I took in Albert Cuyp Market, another Amsterdam must-do and part of our everyday routine.

The very next week after that, we met up in London because, well, A was passing through. And it's only an hour flight for us.

Okay, yes, we had to be there for work too.

It was a record 90+ degrees in London that day.  We found relief in Hyde Park:

Princess Diana Memorial Fountain  (July 2014).

July 2014

Pub silly (July 2014).

July 2014

Seeing A off at Paddington Station:

July 2014

Back again in September for six whole hours, we caught lunch along the Amstel River in Ouder Kerk, a beautiful river-side town just south of Amsterdam.

September 2014

This time it was all about the bitterballen, a quintessential Dutch (fried, of course) snack.  Here's all you ever needed to know about Dutch snacks:  http://www.dutchnews.nl/features/2015/04/10-dutch-delicacies-to-buy-in-snack-bars/

September 2014

Hey, wait a minute!!!!!

 

September 2014

Then, just last October, A visited for her second canal boat cruise, this time with the entire family.  And we couldn't have been happier.

October 2014

October 2014

October 2014

October 2014

October 2014

October 2014

This doesn't even take into account our visits to see them while we've been living in Amsterdam, like our trip to the country of Georgia (the starting point for my blog) and back to Bainbridge Island last Halloween (post coming soon!