Day 8 started out with a fabulous breakfast at our hotel. We drank more cappuccinos and ate more food then this blog could possibly handle…it was unreal. Everything was fabulous! We headed out in our car to visit some of Amsterdam’s suburbs.
First stop…the city of Delft! Delft is famous because it’s the home of Royal Delft, the blue and white pottery. My mom is o-b-s-e-s-s-e-d with blue and white, so I knew I needed to go to the factory itself and find her a treasure (especially since she watched my kids for 10 days!). (You can tell that it’s cold out! Look how bundled I am under my coat!)
Here I am with my treasures for my mama. The factory was really, really neat…it was one of my favorite things we did.
After we left Delft, we drove to the city of Den Haag. It was beautiful!
I told Andrew that this might have been one of the best moments of my life..first, we stopped for lunch outside under this covered patio with big heaters (so we were toasty warm), as soon as we sat down, it started raining (perfect timing for us to stop), the restaurant had Wi-Fi (so I could look at Pinterest…hey, I had spent 8 full days talking to Andrew non-stop…mama needed a moment to look at Pinterest!), their special that day was Pumpkin Soup (and well, let’s face it, I’m obsessed with all-things pumpkin!) and as we sat down, they started playing a Michael Buble CD (hello! I would leave Andrew in a nanosecond for him). Really, the best day of my life is the day I touched Michael Buble the day my kids were born (I have to say that, right?) but this day was pretty darn close. Happy moment!
We drove back to Amsterdam and finished our day with a walk to dinner…
…through the Red Light District.
This wasn’t new to us. We did what all good parents do and took our kids through there two years ago, but for some reason, I hadn’t exactly remembered how gross it really is.
It’s really unattractive, naked women standing in store windows waiting for people to come pay to have sex with them. It’s several blocks of this. If you ever go to Amsterdam, you have to visit. It’s pretty comical in my opinion. It’s also a part of their culture and history, so you have to see it and experience it. However, prepare yourself! And bring a lot of anti-bacterial. I don’t know…just walking down the street made me want to wash my hands!
On a second note, right before dinner, my sweet hubby pulled out his map and he had marked on there my favorite little handbag store and told me we could go pick out something for my birthday (which is this Thursday). Isn’t that sweet?! It wasn’t the gift that I found so sweet, but it was the fact that he had thought about it beforehand and marked it on his map. I’m a really blessed to girl to have met him…all thanks to my baby brother.
Click here for Days 9 and 10.
Aubrey says
Oh lord, your faces in the red light district are AWESOME! My reaction exactly. 🙂
Sheaffer {Pinterest Told Me To} says
"Make sure you bring plenty of anti-bacterial"….HILARIOUS! And wait…I haven't heard about a new bag. You must show me tonight!
Aubs says
loving the "anti-bacterial" ~ ha!! to know me is to know that i ALWAYS have all kinds of anti-bacterial wipes, gel, spray….any form you need it in i've got ya covered!
and what a sweet hubby!! are you going to share pics of your new bag?!
Anonymous says
Show us ALL the new bag! I bet it's super cute!
Chelsi McDonald says
So sweet! I laughed so hard when you said you would full-on leave your hubby for Buble… mine knows if Gosling comes a calling, it's on! I have been a reader for a long time but this is my first comment. Thank you for sharing your pretty, sweet, oh-so-bright (those coats! I die!) life with us!
Tara G. says
Has your mom discovered Lomonosov china? 🙂
Anonymous says
What are your favorite shoes for traveling/walking when on vacation?
mel @ the larson lingo says
Oh my goodness, your faces are so funny in the red light district! I literally laughed out loud when I read the anti bacterial line. So funny! And, how sweet is your hubby?!?! I want to see your new purse!! Love the pic of you in front of the blue/white plates. It reminds me of my Grandma (who is turning 101 on Saturday!!!) She loves those blue & white plates and has a collection of them that still hang in her house.
Mix and Match Mama says
For this trip, I wore my Hunter rain boots almost every day. They were comfy, kept me warm and dry.
Angela Ellingson says
The Red Light District makes me so sad. I wonder how many of those people are forced into that horrible situation?? I've been hearing more and more about sex trafficking right here in the US. Devastating. Praying for those victims.
Anyway, LOVE that Andrew had planned ahead of time to take you to the purse store. 🙂