Kicking off our summer holiday it was off to

Amsterdam

The family, including my dad,  started our summer holiday on the European continent by spending 3 days in Amsterdam.  We flew on KLM from London to Amsterdam which is only a 45 minute flight over the North Sea. 

We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Hotel 200 metres from the Central Train Station in the heart of the city. Amsterdam is known for their beautiful canals throughout the city, notorious night life, and very progressive attitudes.

click here for the pictures

Kathy and I  got to visit one of the  infamous Amsterdam "Coffee Shops" where we sampled some local delicacies.  This specific Coffee House we went to was called the "No Problem Cafe"  and featured quite an assortment of patrons barely visible through the smoke.    Funny, it didn't smell like tobacco though. 

The weather was OK, though mostly overcast with brief spells of rain.   Kathy enjoyed the shopping and discovered a new local brew called Grolsch Premium Lager.  As Amsterdam is the diamond capital of Europe (as she tells me), we did go shopping and unbelievably we were able to find a new bauble for her highness.

Video of our Amsterdam Adventure is at page bottom

If you ask the boys what they liked best, they would probably tell you 'Fun Street' which was their name for the corner of the 'Red Light District' that we stumbled upon and quickly left.  Talk about boys asking questions...  

•     "Why are the ladies in those cages?"        
•     "Aren't they Cold?"      
•     "Boy She Has Cool Harley Boots!"
•     "What Are They Doing?"                        
•     "Can We Wave Back At Them??

---

The Definitive Amsterdam Family Story...

I had looked at the map of the city and saw where the Red Light District clearly was located. So we headed in the opposite direction, to hire a couple canal boats and navigate through Amsterdam's famous canals.

So all 7 of us strike out with me holding Bradley by the hand as we walked through the city. Alas, I get briefly distracted and discover I am no longer holding Brad's hand. Looking quickly backwards, I see that friendly Bradley had stopped in front of a window which had a red light blazing cross the top of it. Brad was smiling and waving at someone on the other side of the window.

To Kathy's horror, Brad was waving at a woman who had nothing on, except for a striking pair of leather Motorcycle Boots which Bradley just loved. Quickly, we jerked him away from that sight while he was telling his Brothers all about these great Harley Boots he had just seen.

---

We toured Madamme Tussaud's Wax Museum, which to Brettie's anger did not feature a graphic Chamber of Horrors.   We rented some Canal Peddle Boats and peddled up and down the Canals.  Dad and the boys did some swimming in the hotel and also discovered a workout room which they all tackled eagerly.

For eats, we had some good Italian food and some great sandwiches from a Swiss cafe we found close to the hotel.   All in all a great start to our European adventure.    Check out some of the other pictures we took while there.

While we were there, Bradley lost his first tooth in Amsterdam, beginning a series of lost teeth across Europe.   Most of the family thought that it wouldn't come out until Germany, but Brett got in there and yanked it out.   Luckily the Dutch Tooth Fairy visited Bradley in his hotel room that night and left him the sum of 1 Guilder for his front tooth.

At the end of our 3 days, we boarded a train for Koln Germany and the adventures that awaited us there....