After resting at the hotel we walked around to take in our surroundings and to find a place for dinner. We decide on Pancake House, recommended by a guidebook. It sounded kid-friendly and I love breakfast food for dinner. While the girls did complain a bit they walked all the way from the hotel to the Pancake House, near the Anne Frank house, which is quite a ways from the Marriott.
The Pancake House http://www.pancake.nl/indexeng.php is small and located alongside a canal. Although we arrived early for dinner, there were quite a few diners waiting outside already, all of them tourists. By the way, you can’t be shy. No waiting list; it’s based on the honor system. And you have all come across people who think they are more important than others. No lowly waiting for them! Well, they must not know that mothers with hungry young kids in tow will not let anyone cut in line! Yeah, I had to tell a couple of grown men that we were all actually waiting for a table and not just admiring the murky canal waters.
Pancakes in Amsterdam are not at all like what Americans think of as pancakes. They are more like crepes, thick crepes. We ordered one with cheese and another called Capri which had mozzarella, onions, tomatoes and pesto sauce. The fillings were inside the pancakes. Not bad but we didn’t realize how big they were. Even two pancakes for the four of us were too much.
Still jetlagged (and we won’t really get over it for awhile) we wake up late but we manage to get to the Pancake house across from the hotel before noon. (Yes, you read that right. We had pancakes for dinner and we were going to have pancakes for breakfast.) The breakfast pancakes were just a little over the top in sweetness. My older daughter ordered Nutella and shared it with her sister. I ordered apple thinking I was going to get fresh apple slices sautéed but I ended up with a cloyingly sweet apple jam and small pieces of fresh apple on top of my pancake. Not good.
On our last day in Amsterdam it rains. We ask the concierge for breakfast idea, since the hotel’s buffet is outrageously priced, something like $60 per person! He suggests the Sports Café right across the canal in Leidesplein square. It is really a sports bar with different games on many TV screens. It also smells a bit like a frat house morning after a blowout party. I think I get eggs, I don’t even remember. My younger daughter orders a croissant and her sister gets Dutch pancakes. These pancakes were not flat like the ones we had before. They were small and round and came covered in powdered sugar. Think of the small, round, filled pancakes called ebelskivers, Danish pancakes, and you get the idea.
We didn’t just have pancakes but we did have a lot of pancakes in Amsterdam. So now you know. If you happen to be in Amsterdam with kids you can feed them, pancakes, sweet and savory, morning, noon and night! (August 2009)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Amsterdam, are we there yet??
We flew KLM. We found it to be the cheapest flight to Cairo(August 2009). Since we had to change planes in Amsterdam we decided to break our journey in Amsterdam and stay three nights. (Last time we flew the same route we endured the 8 hr layover in Amsterdam by getting a room at one of the hotels in the airport; a windowless, characterless room that would not have been out of place in backpacker country in the boonies. We ventured out to the city but did not have much time after sleeping away most of the 8 hrs in the dungeon.)
Our seats were in the front of the 747 and the space was small. The configuration was 3 and 2. My daughters and I had 3 seats together and my husband was on the aisle a row ahead of us. Not ideal. The flight was at 3:10pm and was about 9 hours and 40min long. The seats did not have individual monitors which is a major bummer especially with kids. Last time we were on a long flight, which was a Northwest plane, it had individual entertainment system with movies and video games, which the girls found fascinating. (Even I got into it and played Bejeweled as if my life depended on it.)
We hit some turbulence around mealtime when my older daughter found out that her father had not ordered her a kids meal. I don’t blame her. It looked better than the adults meal. I usually order kids meal for my girls but my husband, oh no, not this time, adult food is usually better. Come on! It's airline food in coach...it doesn't make a difference! Our 'turbulence' incident taught him a lesson and you bet he changed the kids meal order for the upcoming flights. Sometimes, you just have to let them make a mistake and learn things the hard way...
The girls managed to sleep towards the end but they were up for awhile, which is tough for us parents. As adults we know how time works, it evaporates....but not on an airplane. An airplane is a perfectly sealed environment where time courses on a different continuum and if you are parents of young children, the flight time given by the captain is irrelevant. Flight time is actually the number of hours the children are awake x 2 and if the children are bored or whiny, make it x 3. That's how it works. Of course it helps if you are prepared. We bring books, Leapster games, paper, crayons, puzzles, cards, sticker books (Highlight's Hidden Pictures is great for a trip! Our girls were 6 and 4) and snacks, definitely don't forget snacks. Although I have to say, KLM had great snacks and you could get up and get them any time you wanted.
We land in Amsterdam around 8:40am local time. We are early. We try to pick up our Holland Pass at the airport but we are told they have run out. Bummer. We find the bus stop, #11 right outside and we get on bus 197. Thanks to Trip Advisor I get all the info on how to get into town. What a great site. The ride to the Marriott where we are staying in Leidesplein takes 30min. The bus stop is right across the canal from the hotel. It is really close but with 4 suitcases, a car seat bag, numerous hand carries and the girls, it could have been closer, but it’s good enough. It only cost us 8 euros…didn’t charge for the girls. So here we are in Amsterdam, city of red lights, canals, Van Gogh, pancakes, raw fish...(August 2009)
Our seats were in the front of the 747 and the space was small. The configuration was 3 and 2. My daughters and I had 3 seats together and my husband was on the aisle a row ahead of us. Not ideal. The flight was at 3:10pm and was about 9 hours and 40min long. The seats did not have individual monitors which is a major bummer especially with kids. Last time we were on a long flight, which was a Northwest plane, it had individual entertainment system with movies and video games, which the girls found fascinating. (Even I got into it and played Bejeweled as if my life depended on it.)
We hit some turbulence around mealtime when my older daughter found out that her father had not ordered her a kids meal. I don’t blame her. It looked better than the adults meal. I usually order kids meal for my girls but my husband, oh no, not this time, adult food is usually better. Come on! It's airline food in coach...it doesn't make a difference! Our 'turbulence' incident taught him a lesson and you bet he changed the kids meal order for the upcoming flights. Sometimes, you just have to let them make a mistake and learn things the hard way...
The girls managed to sleep towards the end but they were up for awhile, which is tough for us parents. As adults we know how time works, it evaporates....but not on an airplane. An airplane is a perfectly sealed environment where time courses on a different continuum and if you are parents of young children, the flight time given by the captain is irrelevant. Flight time is actually the number of hours the children are awake x 2 and if the children are bored or whiny, make it x 3. That's how it works. Of course it helps if you are prepared. We bring books, Leapster games, paper, crayons, puzzles, cards, sticker books (Highlight's Hidden Pictures is great for a trip! Our girls were 6 and 4) and snacks, definitely don't forget snacks. Although I have to say, KLM had great snacks and you could get up and get them any time you wanted.
We land in Amsterdam around 8:40am local time. We are early. We try to pick up our Holland Pass at the airport but we are told they have run out. Bummer. We find the bus stop, #11 right outside and we get on bus 197. Thanks to Trip Advisor I get all the info on how to get into town. What a great site. The ride to the Marriott where we are staying in Leidesplein takes 30min. The bus stop is right across the canal from the hotel. It is really close but with 4 suitcases, a car seat bag, numerous hand carries and the girls, it could have been closer, but it’s good enough. It only cost us 8 euros…didn’t charge for the girls. So here we are in Amsterdam, city of red lights, canals, Van Gogh, pancakes, raw fish...(August 2009)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Skiing in Tahoe
Skiing in California...I think it's funny. I don't think I actually associated winter sports with California before, but now I do. Winter sports is actually big here in Northern California. My older daughter's school has ice skating for PE in the winter. Many children in her school take ice skating lessons. Some of them are into ice hockey! And of course...skiing. Schools in the area close for a week in February each year for winter break or popularly known as ski week.
I like skiing but I learned to ski very late in life and cannot dismiss the nagging fear I have of tumbling down the mountain and hurting myself. I am a mediocre skier and resigned to it as a permanent status. However, my girls are a different story. They are fearless and like sports, more like their dad. So for their sake we make at least one trip a year to Tahoe.
It isn't the easiest trip to pack for. Think about the overhead involved in skiing...it's mind boggling! Skis, poles, boots, helmets, gloves, ski wear, boots for walking, snack, food and on and on and on! And let's not forget the cold, cost of lift tickets, accommodations and traffic. At least for me, it's an effort.
However, once I am on the slopes I do enjoy it. We were at Squaw Valley with our girls recently and we spent the whole day outside with them. There aren't too many activities that we engage in that allows us to spend time with them from 9am to 3pm. We get to ski, talk, eat, relax and enjoy. And the girls are learning a new skill and gaining confidence, and hopefully enjoying the time with their usually frazzled mom and dad.
So planning the trip...we cheated but I recommend it. It's the best way! Stay with friends or family who already have accommodations in Tahoe. That's what we did. If you don't know anyone who already has a place scoped out then you are on your own but you have lots of options. Condos or houses are available for rent and can be found on the internet. You can also find a variety of accommodations at Squaw or Northstar and they may throw in free lift tickets...a good deal considering how much lift tickets cost. You can also do a day trip, depending on your stamina. Skiing in sunny California...we hope to do more of it, yes, despite the overhead. (December 2009)
I like skiing but I learned to ski very late in life and cannot dismiss the nagging fear I have of tumbling down the mountain and hurting myself. I am a mediocre skier and resigned to it as a permanent status. However, my girls are a different story. They are fearless and like sports, more like their dad. So for their sake we make at least one trip a year to Tahoe.
It isn't the easiest trip to pack for. Think about the overhead involved in skiing...it's mind boggling! Skis, poles, boots, helmets, gloves, ski wear, boots for walking, snack, food and on and on and on! And let's not forget the cold, cost of lift tickets, accommodations and traffic. At least for me, it's an effort.
However, once I am on the slopes I do enjoy it. We were at Squaw Valley with our girls recently and we spent the whole day outside with them. There aren't too many activities that we engage in that allows us to spend time with them from 9am to 3pm. We get to ski, talk, eat, relax and enjoy. And the girls are learning a new skill and gaining confidence, and hopefully enjoying the time with their usually frazzled mom and dad.
So planning the trip...we cheated but I recommend it. It's the best way! Stay with friends or family who already have accommodations in Tahoe. That's what we did. If you don't know anyone who already has a place scoped out then you are on your own but you have lots of options. Condos or houses are available for rent and can be found on the internet. You can also find a variety of accommodations at Squaw or Northstar and they may throw in free lift tickets...a good deal considering how much lift tickets cost. You can also do a day trip, depending on your stamina. Skiing in sunny California...we hope to do more of it, yes, despite the overhead. (December 2009)
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