Amsterdam - Three full days of fun!

We enjoyed three more full days in Amsterdam before heading home on Monday morning.

Friday
We enjoyed breakfast in the room and then headed off to Artis Zoo - the weather was absolutely perfect for a day at the zoo! It was a nice walk - about 1 mile from the hotel through the canals - and then we arrived. The zoo was spectacular. Both J and I agree it was one of our favorite zoos - I don't think any zoo will ever beat Sydney, but Amsterdam's zoo is my second favorite. We got to see a lot of animals including camels, lions, a very active jaguar, peacocks, sea lions, and a big bear. Sophia also enjoyed the various play areas in the park and even rode a carousel with 5 other kids for 50 Euro Cents (side note- Amsterdam seemed so inexpensive compared to Geneva). We enjoyed a mid-morning snack of fresh mini-pancakes and also had lunch at the zoo. Sophia had a proper 'kid's meal' complete with a toy lion and we learned that she loves Fristi, a strawberry yogurt drink. After the zoo, she was ready for a nap so we headed back to the hotel.

After naptime, we decided to do the Heineken Experience. This was fun for all of us - the building was quite interesting - and the tour covered everything from the founding of the company to its marketing (i loved that part) to what makes it taste like it does to the company's principles and employee plans. We all had to wear wristbands stating if we could drink or not- S was proud of her red bracelet. We then walked through some neighborhoods and decided to have burgers at Burger Bar, which were quite yummy. We then walked back to the hotel and played at a local playground before heading to bed.

Saturday
On Saturday morning, we decided to head to Vondelpark - a very large park in Amsterdam. By this time, we were getting used to the tram so the trip was quite easy. We wandered around a bit and then found a play area for S to play in - that was a ton of fun. Interesting thing - the entire play area was on sand so we all had our shoes off.

We then headed to the Pancake Bakery for lunch- I found this on the Internet and yes, it was touristy, but it was also very yummy! J enjoyed a savory pancake with ham and onions while I enjoyed a sweet pancake with strawberries, bananas, and Nutella. S enjoyed a plain pancake with a special Princess gift including a wand! She loved it. That evening, we wandered the city some more and found a pub for dinner. S seemed quite tired this night so we didn't stay out late.

Sunday

J went for a morning run in Vondelpark while S and I played in the room. After that, we headed to Starbucks for breakfast and then to the Nemo Science Center - I really enjoyed this center. It was a bit too advanced for S but she had fun playing with the water experiments and the bubbles. We enjoyed lunch on the beautiful Terrace and walked up and down the water pools here - it was hot! After a nice nap, we decided to play at the hotel pool. S kept wanting to practice holding her breath so that was fun. 

We decided to have dinner close to the hotel in a beautiful square with a castle - we found a very yummy Mexican restaurant and really enjoyed our last dinner. There was a free concert/party on the square so the music entertained us while we ate. We walked a bit more and then decided to go to bed - we had to wake up early on Monday to head back.

This was definitely a fun vacation. S will tell you that her favorite parts were: the airplane ride, the lion at the zoo, her yummy drink (the previously mentioned Fristi), and the swimming pool.