We ♥ Amsterdam!

Since we were so close now, we had to do a quick visit to Amsterdam. So we went to have lunch and stroll around the famous grachten/canals and to see the beautiful gabled houses along these canals in the city centre. A house in these streets will cost you a few million dollars, and most of the houses are actually sectioned off for students. So 20 rooms in one house! Catching a whopping rent every month. But some are just single homes for the rich and famous. I am talking about the Keizersgracht and Leidsegracht, this is were we are here. Isn't it gorgeous??

We have some real Dutch lunch, some sandwiches and coffee and stroll around the area. We had planned to go to the Anne Frank House as well with the girls, but the waiting line was at least a 3-4 hour wait... the people were standing there outside lining up till no end... so we decided to just walk around and enjoy the nice weather and sight seeings of this beautiful city.

A few of these boats, are actually house boats. People live there permanently. How fun is that! Although a bit small for my taste... I would have no idea what to do with all my furniture....





So fun to see the terraces on the side, people are famous for drinking coffee in the Netherlands, so everywhere you see little coffee shops... and I don't mean the infamous coffee shops, just the regular ones where you can have a beer, coffee or tea and just gaze at the people... a real Dutch hobby! People watching!



Just posing in front of the Anne Frank House, too long a wait, next time we book a time slot!





A lot of people customize and dress up their bikes... :-)



Corner of Leidsegracht and Keizersgracht.





I love all these gabled houses, so pretty! Wish I could own one.... prime property here! Do you know why the houses are so small? In the olden days, the taxes you had to pay was of the width of the house, it didn't matter how deep it was...





Our last evening in Holland with Marisca, Martijn, Wim and Annemarie we have a great BBQ and some vino...



while the kids each with their own electronic device are having also fun... each in their own way!



Being away and on vacation for 7,5 weeks was great, but a bit long! I was done now too... ready to unpack my 380 boxes that are waiting for me in the new house!

Living out of your suitcase for so long gets to you after a while!
But we had a great time and some wonderful memories!

How about you? Do you like long vacations or rather go a few times and split it into smaller breaks??
Mireille xx