Away in Amsterdam

As we all know, traveling with children can be quite an experience. You never really know how it is going to turn out. Will they act up on the plane, get bored in the car,  get sick, like the food or even just have fun?

We took a vacation to visit family in Amsterdam, Netherlands. This was going to be our first trip to Amsterdam, so we were all excited. At the time, Sophia was just over a year old and loved using her new walking skills. This was going to be her first airplane trip. We left Houston on a ten hour flight to Amsterdam. Our flight departed around 5:00 p.m. Houston time and would arrive a little after 8:00 a.m. in Amsterdam. I must say it was nice flying at night, because Sophia was used to going to sleep at night and after they served dinner, she began to fall asleep, as did the rest of us. We woke up and looked up at the travel log on the screen and saw we had about an hour left before we would land.

We touched down in Amsterdam, and my sister was there to greet us. We took a taxi back to her place, and then we were off and running. When my husband is on vacation, it is like something is inside of him and he wants to go explore everything. With my sister as a guide we put Sophia in her stroller and began to stroll through the streets and canals of Amsterdam.

Besides all the old, historic, streets and buildings, one thing that is everywhere in Amsterdam is people on bicycles. It was amazing to see how many people used bicycles as their form of transportation. They even had a three-story parking garage only for bicycles. There is a certain charm about Amsterdam that grabs hold of you, and just walking the streets, entices the eyes with many wonderful sights.

Buildings hundreds of years old are still standing, and it is amazing walking on these old cobblestone streets. There are so many wonderful little shops, parks and cafes surrounded by canals. I was thrilled because their were so many cheese shops. You get entranced walking these old streets window shopping. Plus, Amsterdam has many open air markets, with people selling everything you can imagine. Another thing I love, is the flower markets, with rows and rows of fresh tulips and other flowers. Almost every place you go in Amsterdam is a postcard moment. From the moment we woke up till the sun would go down, my husband had us strolling all over Amsterdam perusing the museums, parks, shops, malls, markets, art galleries and yes even the Red Light District.

As Sophia was still a little young to know what really was going on, we hauled her in her baby chariot stroller up, down and all around Amsterdam. The plane ride was just the first of many modes of transportation Sophia  experienced while in Amsterdam. She also took a trip down the canals on a cruise, she rode a bus, the tram and even a train when we went to visit my aunt in Eindhoven. Talk about planes, trains and automobiles, we did it all. LOL.

We had a wonderful time in Amsterdam and it was so sad that it had to end. However, we are definitely planning on returning, not only to see my family again but just to enjoy such a wonderful place and to visit.

Sincerely,