A Dutch treat!

After a whirlwind tour of Spain and Portugal we arrived in Amsterdam around 10:30am. A 10:30 arrival time means an even earlier departure time. We left Lisbon at 6am which meant we had to take a taxi to the airport around 4am. As frugal travelers we decided that it wasn't worth it to book another room at our hostel, so we spent the night out on the town. We went to Bairo Alto, a street lined with bars and packed with students. As you can imagine we were exhausted when we made it o Amsterdam. My uncle Dan (fun fact: Will has an uncle Dan who is currently in Holland, too) picked us up from the airport and took us to his house in Eemnes, a small town 30 minutes outside if Amsterdam. 

Day one consisted of lounging on the couch and catching up on sleep. 

On our second day in Holland my cousins Kiran and Aiden (ages 6 and 3) had a half day of school. We went to pick them up from school and spent the afternoon playing with them. 

We learned that playing with young kids all day is almost as exhausting as staying up all night. The next morning we caught the train into Amsterdam to do a little exploring. Will and I have both been to Amsterdam before, so we opted for walking and wandering rather than sight seeing. We had a lot of fun taking in the beauty of the canals and watching the crazy characters of the city. 

On our last day, my uncle took us into the city and took us to a few museums. We saw the temporary Van Gogh exhibit and an exhibit about the Chinese influence on Dutch culture through trading. Fun new fact, the traditional blue and white pottery (Delft) came from China. The Dutch were exposed to the Chinese pottery through trading and rather than importing it they mimicked it. After the museums we went back to Eemnes for my uncle's famous pallela. 

We both enjoyed the quaint, beautiful landscape of Holland, but we are excited for our last stop visiting Will's cousin,Willa, in Edinburgh! 

Cheers,

Katie and Will