Amsterdam day 2...

After a good night's rest, we were all able to get in a good breakfast and some time to relax before taking the bus back into the city. We did some sightseeing and shopping before a light lunch at several of the marketplace shops. Everyone enjoyed the cheese shop where we were able to watch the cheese making process and sample many different kinds of Dutch cheeses. Of course, we left there with several souvenirs that I'm sure won't make it back to the states. Then it was off to our own guided canal tour in an electric boat. Our informative guide showed us many interesting buildings and answered many questions we had about the canal system and the locks. Even though it was a weekday, there were many people just sitting on the canals enjoying some snacks and the warm sun. The boys were very interested in some of the locals that were sunning by the water's edge. After the tour, we took the bus back to the hotel to clean up and make dinner plans. We walked a little over a mile and a half to a quaint little cafe where we partook in some of the local fare. After coffee, we again took a nice walk back to relax in the hotel lobby for a while before heading up to sleep for the night.

Day one in Amsterdam

After a long night of travel and navigating our way around the city to the Ibis Amsterdam City West Hotel, we were able to all check in and take a well deserved power nap. The boys were incredibly excited to find a Burger King next door to the hotel... imagine that all the way to Amsterdam and the boys wanted Burger King. After a late lunch, we were lucky enough to have our own personal tour guide (Kim Paes) to the city. We took bus ride into the central station and went on an incredible adventure with many interesting sights of people, buildings and the beautiful canals. As everyone began to get hungry, Tomas decided on an Argentinian restaurant to showcase the food of his homeland. We all enjoyed our meals very much and continued to walk around the city. On the bus ride back to the hotel we were very surprised to see that it was already almost 10 pm and the sun was still out. To end the night, a few had ice cream and others went directly to bed to rest up for our next day's adventures. Stay tuned for more from Europe 2013!!!