Amsterdam

We just returned from a two week adventure in Iceland, Amsterdam and Paris. Although I found each place to be uniquely exciting and different, hands down Amsterdam won for the most charming city. Everywhere I turned it was so delightful I found myself constantly taking photographs. I desperately wanted to document all the adorable homes, bridges and canals we were witnessing. Between the whizzing bicycles, cobblestones streets and endless canals I found Amsterdam to be different than any other place I have visited before.  

Bicycles rule the city in Amsterdam, it seems everyone from pedestrians to cars yield when they encounter a bicycle. 

From row boats to paddle boats and motor boats there are so many different ways to experience the endless maze of canals. 

I have never thought about it before, but several times during this trip my husband was mistaken for being Dutch. Overall, they appear to be an attractive, tall, slim group of people so I suppose he fit right in. 

Springtime in Amsterdam was particularly lovely. Flower boxes and planted pots graced many of the windows, doorways and stairs. 

This was our first trip we were able to take our ONA camera bag on. It is the type of bag you not only look and feel stylish wearing, but it also serves as a very functional camera bag. 

In honor of Easter, all the chocolate shops had special easter treats. One of my favorite things to do was peer in the windows of these shops to check out the gigantic chocolate eggs, ducks, bunnies and other confectionaries they had created especially for the holiday. 

Three things which will always make me think of our time in Amsterdam are tulips, canals and gelato. We saw the most beautiful flowers, walked along the most picturesque canals and ate the most delicious gelato. 

I found the shopping and restaurants in Amsterdam to be top notch. I think it has become my favorite place to shop in all the world. 

In Amsterdam, some of our most memorable moments were dining along a canal when all of the sudden there was a torrential downpour and we had to grab our plates and run inside, eating the most delicious apple cake of our lives, Cameron trying European gelato for the first time and almost being ran over repeatedly by bicycles. We had such a wonderful time in Amsterdam, I have a feeling we will be back soon.