It takes a little over 10 hours flying time to Tokyo from SFO. It’s a bit shorter on the way back from Tokyo, something like 9 hours. The girls do all right on the plane. We try to keep them occupied but we, perhaps I should say my husband, try our best to get our girls to sleep on the plane. It makes a difference.
Once you land at Narita International Airport, you have two practical ways to get to Tokyo. (I don’t consider a $200+ cab ride a practical option.) You can take the Narita Express to some of the more popular and central stations (Shinjuku, Shibuya, Tokyo…). Upside of taking the train, you know exactly how long it will take you; no need to worry about traffic delays. The train leaves from below the airport terminal. You might think it is convenient but it isn’t convenient enough for our family with two young children in tow. First you have to make your way down to the train level with all your luggage and kids. Then once you arrive at your station in Tokyo, you have to find your way to your hotel. That requires that you navigate a busy crowded train station with your luggage and kids and make your way outside to find a cab. Your kids are jet lagged and so are you…this is not the way to go.
Our favorite is the Airport Limousine Bus. Once you leave baggage claim you will see the bright orange and white counters for the Limousine Bus. Choose the route with your hotel on it and wait for the bus right outside the doors. There are men who will help you with your luggage too…you don’t get that with the Narita Express. The Limousine stops at nearly all the major hotels in Tokyo. If your hotel is not on the route, pick the closest one. It is much easier to catch a cab from a hotel than from a train station. Of course the Limousine Bus will have to deal with Tokyo traffic so it may take longer than the train. But depending on where you go, the door-to-door time may be equivalent. On our last trip we took the 5:20pm Bus to Roppongi area and arrived at the ANA Intercontinental at 6:40pm. From the hotel, we took a 5 min cab ride to where we were staying. Total travel time of 1hr 30min. The Narita Express takes about 55min to central Tokyo. Consider the time it will take you to navigate the station, find a cab and get to your hotel and you are looking at about the same amount of travel time but an increased amount of frustration. Take the Airport Limousine Bus…(June 2007, 2009)
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Ahh...Ski Week
So we hit the slopes again this past week. My older daughter's school was closed for the week, yes ski week, (and by the way, today too, a bit of a pain, but that's another topic.) One of the annoying things to contend with when you drive to Tahoe is the traffic. What would normally be a 3 1/2 hour trip from the Bay Area could turn into a 6 hour or worse nightmare. To avoid this scenario, my husband had the bright idea of getting up at 5am in the morning to make the trip. You think it sounds painful? well it is. We did however avoid traffic and the girls were very happy with their McDonald's pancakes for breakfast.
We were on the mountain at Squaw, with our gear on, by 10am. We had spring skiing weather. The girls improved so much over the four days we were in Tahoe. As for myself, I thought I had improved as well, when I actually made it down a black run at Northstar on our second day. But I don't think I did. On our last day at Squaw, the girls and their dad just headed downhill with no problem down a run called Exhibition (which, by the way, is coded blue on the map, but that particular section is shown as black on the signage...just so the facts are straight here...). I started down and got stuck smack in the middle of the run. My right foot just would not listen to my brain and refused to point downward. It just didn't move and it didn't move for at least 5 minutes or more. I finally tried to slide my skis down and then my foot decided to unstick itself from the parallel position it was in and pointed itself down the mountain. Just a reminder that I still lack guts when faced with a steep slope. It is actually a psychological problem I know...I made it down the black at Northstar because people have told me Northstar is not as difficult a mountain as Squaw. But as soon as I saw the black diamond next to the name of the run at Squaw, my legs froze. It just wasn't going to happen.
Thank goodness my daughters don't take after me. Although my older one had quite a scare at Squaw on our third day in Tahoe. We had an instructor for the morning that day and he thought she was ready for some hard runs. He took her down Siberia and she did fine. Someone told him the snow was good at Headwall, a black. He took her down Headwall and apparently she skied trying to avoid rocks that were showing and fell. Since it is a very steep slope, she fell quite a ways. It really frightened her. She told me she was scared and people came up to ask her if she were OK. And that did it. She didn't want to ski anything harder than Gold Coast that afternoon. Poor girl...I would have been scared too.
The next morning, our last, my husband, not wanting that to be our older daughter's last experience skiing, coaxed her into skiing an 'easier' black run, Granite Chief. She did fine but my sister who skied with them told me she was a bit teary eyed but made it down. Good for her...a better person than I.
We had fun but thank goodness I am home and don't need to put on my ski boots! Skiing is fun but again there is a lot of overhead involved. As I mentioned in my other post on skiing, there is the packing, the traffic etc. Also don't forget the potty breaks! It seemed like my younger girl, who is 5, had to go so many times! And it is a royal pain! I mean...having to take off the helmet, jacket, mittens, sweater, the bib just to go to the bathroom and then having to put them all on again. But I know we are lucky to be able to do so and it's great to see the girls proud of themselves.
Skiing is definitely a workout for someone like me but snow tubing really gave me a workout!! I was sweating! I took my girls and one of my nephews tubing and boy trudging up the hill with the kids in ski boots...now that's a workout. After an hour I was spent and smelly. For those of you who don't feel that skiing is a cardio workout, just go snow tubing with 3 kids. That'll do it.
Some tips...food on the mountain is better at Squaw than Northstar. There is no comparison. We usually ate at the Arc at Squaw (thanks to my sister's recommendation). She took us one day for lunch at Sandy's Pub at the Resort at Squaw Creek (you can ski right to it on the Squaw Creek run). The kids meal is a deal there! (Obviously it is relative but we are talking about food prices on the mountain after all.)
Buy discount ski tickets before you go. You can buy them at REI and other stores in the area. We weren't planning on skiing at Northstar this time around so when we did on our second day, we were bummed we were going to have to pay full price. Luckily, a woman in line next to my husband offered him her 'buy one get one free' voucher for ski lift tickets. You can ask for the voucher from any Shell gas station if you fill up with at least 10 gallons of gas. Nice to know. Skiing at Squaw is slightly cheaper than Northstar with young kids. Adult prices are nearly identical but Squaw only charges $10 for kids 13 and under and Northstar charges $34 for 5 and above. (Although the child's ticket is good for another day of skiing at Northstar.)
Well there you go...we all survived another ski week with no serious injuries. And it was fun!
We were on the mountain at Squaw, with our gear on, by 10am. We had spring skiing weather. The girls improved so much over the four days we were in Tahoe. As for myself, I thought I had improved as well, when I actually made it down a black run at Northstar on our second day. But I don't think I did. On our last day at Squaw, the girls and their dad just headed downhill with no problem down a run called Exhibition (which, by the way, is coded blue on the map, but that particular section is shown as black on the signage...just so the facts are straight here...). I started down and got stuck smack in the middle of the run. My right foot just would not listen to my brain and refused to point downward. It just didn't move and it didn't move for at least 5 minutes or more. I finally tried to slide my skis down and then my foot decided to unstick itself from the parallel position it was in and pointed itself down the mountain. Just a reminder that I still lack guts when faced with a steep slope. It is actually a psychological problem I know...I made it down the black at Northstar because people have told me Northstar is not as difficult a mountain as Squaw. But as soon as I saw the black diamond next to the name of the run at Squaw, my legs froze. It just wasn't going to happen.
Thank goodness my daughters don't take after me. Although my older one had quite a scare at Squaw on our third day in Tahoe. We had an instructor for the morning that day and he thought she was ready for some hard runs. He took her down Siberia and she did fine. Someone told him the snow was good at Headwall, a black. He took her down Headwall and apparently she skied trying to avoid rocks that were showing and fell. Since it is a very steep slope, she fell quite a ways. It really frightened her. She told me she was scared and people came up to ask her if she were OK. And that did it. She didn't want to ski anything harder than Gold Coast that afternoon. Poor girl...I would have been scared too.
The next morning, our last, my husband, not wanting that to be our older daughter's last experience skiing, coaxed her into skiing an 'easier' black run, Granite Chief. She did fine but my sister who skied with them told me she was a bit teary eyed but made it down. Good for her...a better person than I.
We had fun but thank goodness I am home and don't need to put on my ski boots! Skiing is fun but again there is a lot of overhead involved. As I mentioned in my other post on skiing, there is the packing, the traffic etc. Also don't forget the potty breaks! It seemed like my younger girl, who is 5, had to go so many times! And it is a royal pain! I mean...having to take off the helmet, jacket, mittens, sweater, the bib just to go to the bathroom and then having to put them all on again. But I know we are lucky to be able to do so and it's great to see the girls proud of themselves.
Skiing is definitely a workout for someone like me but snow tubing really gave me a workout!! I was sweating! I took my girls and one of my nephews tubing and boy trudging up the hill with the kids in ski boots...now that's a workout. After an hour I was spent and smelly. For those of you who don't feel that skiing is a cardio workout, just go snow tubing with 3 kids. That'll do it.
Some tips...food on the mountain is better at Squaw than Northstar. There is no comparison. We usually ate at the Arc at Squaw (thanks to my sister's recommendation). She took us one day for lunch at Sandy's Pub at the Resort at Squaw Creek (you can ski right to it on the Squaw Creek run). The kids meal is a deal there! (Obviously it is relative but we are talking about food prices on the mountain after all.)
Buy discount ski tickets before you go. You can buy them at REI and other stores in the area. We weren't planning on skiing at Northstar this time around so when we did on our second day, we were bummed we were going to have to pay full price. Luckily, a woman in line next to my husband offered him her 'buy one get one free' voucher for ski lift tickets. You can ask for the voucher from any Shell gas station if you fill up with at least 10 gallons of gas. Nice to know. Skiing at Squaw is slightly cheaper than Northstar with young kids. Adult prices are nearly identical but Squaw only charges $10 for kids 13 and under and Northstar charges $34 for 5 and above. (Although the child's ticket is good for another day of skiing at Northstar.)
Well there you go...we all survived another ski week with no serious injuries. And it was fun!
Thursday, February 4, 2010
San Francisco Outing for a Rainy Day
When the weather is icky we head up to San Francisco. There is so much to do!
One of our favorite places to go on a cold or rainy day is the Exploratorium located in the Marina (http://www.exploratorium.com/). Once we get there, it is hard to pry the girls away from all the interactive exhibits. The space is huge and it’s perfect for our active girls. There is something for everyone, educational and compelling for adults too! The one trick I have up my sleeve to quicken our exit from the Exploratorium is to mention lunch at Yank Sing, our absolute favorite dim sum restaurant.
Yank Sing is a great place for lunch with children. Once you are seated, you don’t have to wait for food. The food comes right to your table pushed on trolleys by the friendly and helpful servers. There is a huge variety of dumplings, vegetables and sweets. All you have to do is survey the food that comes by, point and choose. The girls love the place. It’s entertaining, lively and the food is delicious. The only caveat is the expense. Since you just sit there and point at what you want, you could get carried away. There are no prices displayed on the trolleys. The girls like to end their meal with sesame balls…yum, warm, sweet, somewhat crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. Yank Sing is located at One Rincon Center at 101 Spear St 415-781-1111. If you have time you can walk off lunch by crossing the street over to the Ferry Building. If you are there on a Saturday, you may catch the Farmers Market where you might just be tempted to get beautiful fresh produce, bread, fish etc. Gelato isn’t a bad idea either!
Another bad weather day outing option is the California Academy of Sciences http://www.calacademy.org/. It’s hard to see everything the Academy has to offer in one outing and it can be tiring for the children too. Some tips for your visit. If you think you are interested in the 3D movie or the planetarium, get the tickets for the showtimes you want as soon as you arrive. If you decide you don’t want to attend the shows, then just return the tickets so someone else can use them. Both are popular and the tickets go fast. (We don’t have to worry about the planetarium tickets ourselves, since my older daughter refuses to see it.) However both girls enjoyed the 3D Bugs movie that was being shown on our last visit.
The Academy boasts a Rainforest exhibit, really cool with butterflies and birds flying all around you, and fish swimming under you. It also has a beautiful Coral Reef tank…it is so large you feel like you are actually under the water. Every time we go we like to go the dive show. We enjoy watching the diver interact with the fish and answer our questions.
Besides the beautiful building, the Rainforest and the Coral Reef, my favorite feature of the Academy is the cafeteria! The Academy Café is run by Charles Phan of Slanted Door fame and Loretta Keller, owner/chef of Bizou now Coco500. (I believe she is married to Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys.) The food is good, I mean good. It is so refreshing to be able to eat good food instead of the usual kiddie fare served at zoos and children’s museums. On a sunny day, we like to get a table outside. We get fresh air and the girls can run around. It’s wonderful!
Since you are already there, an amazing free treat would be to walk across to the De Young Museum as you leave the Academy. You can go up the 144 ft tower and enjoy an expansive view from the observation floor (which is gorgeous with a floor to ceiling glass windows all around). It is incredible! On a clear day you can see the GG bridge, the ocean, downtown. I always feel like a tourist and it actually makes me feel like I went out of town. It’s transportative (ok, not a word but that’s how I feel) and I really feel like I had a chance to get away. By the way, the De Young also has a great cafeteria.
The Golden Gate Park has so many more features! We like the Japanese Tea Garden and sometimes enjoy having tea and Japanese crackers at the little rest place in the Garden. The botanical garden is great. The girls love the playground…the cement slide and the climbing structure there are really fun. The merry-go-round is nearby and when it’s open it’s nice. The Conservatory is another great place to go in the park.
Speaking of merry-go-rounds, our favorite is the one at the Yerba Buena Gardens. Check it out next time you are downtown. After the ride, play at the playground or go ice-skating. Zeum is also there.
One of our favorite places to go on a cold or rainy day is the Exploratorium located in the Marina (http://www.exploratorium.com/). Once we get there, it is hard to pry the girls away from all the interactive exhibits. The space is huge and it’s perfect for our active girls. There is something for everyone, educational and compelling for adults too! The one trick I have up my sleeve to quicken our exit from the Exploratorium is to mention lunch at Yank Sing, our absolute favorite dim sum restaurant.
Yank Sing is a great place for lunch with children. Once you are seated, you don’t have to wait for food. The food comes right to your table pushed on trolleys by the friendly and helpful servers. There is a huge variety of dumplings, vegetables and sweets. All you have to do is survey the food that comes by, point and choose. The girls love the place. It’s entertaining, lively and the food is delicious. The only caveat is the expense. Since you just sit there and point at what you want, you could get carried away. There are no prices displayed on the trolleys. The girls like to end their meal with sesame balls…yum, warm, sweet, somewhat crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. Yank Sing is located at One Rincon Center at 101 Spear St 415-781-1111. If you have time you can walk off lunch by crossing the street over to the Ferry Building. If you are there on a Saturday, you may catch the Farmers Market where you might just be tempted to get beautiful fresh produce, bread, fish etc. Gelato isn’t a bad idea either!
Another bad weather day outing option is the California Academy of Sciences http://www.calacademy.org/. It’s hard to see everything the Academy has to offer in one outing and it can be tiring for the children too. Some tips for your visit. If you think you are interested in the 3D movie or the planetarium, get the tickets for the showtimes you want as soon as you arrive. If you decide you don’t want to attend the shows, then just return the tickets so someone else can use them. Both are popular and the tickets go fast. (We don’t have to worry about the planetarium tickets ourselves, since my older daughter refuses to see it.) However both girls enjoyed the 3D Bugs movie that was being shown on our last visit.
The Academy boasts a Rainforest exhibit, really cool with butterflies and birds flying all around you, and fish swimming under you. It also has a beautiful Coral Reef tank…it is so large you feel like you are actually under the water. Every time we go we like to go the dive show. We enjoy watching the diver interact with the fish and answer our questions.
Besides the beautiful building, the Rainforest and the Coral Reef, my favorite feature of the Academy is the cafeteria! The Academy Café is run by Charles Phan of Slanted Door fame and Loretta Keller, owner/chef of Bizou now Coco500. (I believe she is married to Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys.) The food is good, I mean good. It is so refreshing to be able to eat good food instead of the usual kiddie fare served at zoos and children’s museums. On a sunny day, we like to get a table outside. We get fresh air and the girls can run around. It’s wonderful!
Since you are already there, an amazing free treat would be to walk across to the De Young Museum as you leave the Academy. You can go up the 144 ft tower and enjoy an expansive view from the observation floor (which is gorgeous with a floor to ceiling glass windows all around). It is incredible! On a clear day you can see the GG bridge, the ocean, downtown. I always feel like a tourist and it actually makes me feel like I went out of town. It’s transportative (ok, not a word but that’s how I feel) and I really feel like I had a chance to get away. By the way, the De Young also has a great cafeteria.
The Golden Gate Park has so many more features! We like the Japanese Tea Garden and sometimes enjoy having tea and Japanese crackers at the little rest place in the Garden. The botanical garden is great. The girls love the playground…the cement slide and the climbing structure there are really fun. The merry-go-round is nearby and when it’s open it’s nice. The Conservatory is another great place to go in the park.
Speaking of merry-go-rounds, our favorite is the one at the Yerba Buena Gardens. Check it out next time you are downtown. After the ride, play at the playground or go ice-skating. Zeum is also there.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
More Than Pancakes, Raw Fish Anyone?
There is definitely more than pancakes in Amsterdam. Holland is known for cheese and the cheese is good. We picked up lots of cheese at the airport on our way out; Gouda, Edam etc. It’s also known for Indonesian food so we had to have it.
We booked a table for dinner at Sama Sebo, right near the Marriott. The restaurant is recommended in guidebooks and known for its rijsttafel (literally, rice table). The atmosphere is nice and the staff is friendly. (However there was one strange lady who kept looking over at us from another table. I couldn’t tell if she were bothered by the presence of children in the dining room or she was just weird. Thank goodness she left before our food came.) We ordered rijsttafel, which was too much food and most of it bad, except for the chicken. The food was too heavy for our taste. I personally would not recommend it but I suspect I will be in the minority on this one. The waitstaff made up for the food by being so nice to the girls. They showered our daughters with over a dozen chocolate pieces!
The Dutch are also famous for fish, such as cod, herring, salmon and mackerel. We like fish in general and looked forward to trying some. We got our first chance at the Van Gogh Museum café. The girls had hot chocolate which they liked and I had a salad with smoked fish, herring and salmon. The salad was really good. Based on this, my husband decides we should have more fish. It’s a good thought.
The next day, we stop by the supermarket to get some food and picnic next to the canal nearby. My husband, since it was his idea, led the shopping expedition and came away with cheese, bread and fish among other things. Generously, he hands me a whole herring (no head). I eyed it suspiciously and did think it looked very oily. It also had small pieces of onions on it. It seemed a bit intimidating but I generally like fish so I took a big bite and yuck! it was raw!! I eat sushi but sushi isn’t usually whole fish and oily and oniony. I’m afraid I did not swallow. I pride myself on being quite adventurous with food but I met my match. My husband could not eat it either.
To make up for the raw herring we set out to find Puccini (Puccini Bomboni Singel 184, 1016 AA Amsterdam), touted as having some of the best chocolates. The store is cute, minimalistic. I thought it would be a sit down dessert place but it is not. It just has lots of handmade chocolates! The woman at the store was not friendly, certainly not kid-friendly. She asked our girls to step away from the long table where all the chocolates were piled. The girls weren’t touching…oh well. I didn’t let that stop me and picked out 2 pieces for myself. The kids each got one and their daddy picked one. The pieces are large so a couple will suffice (plus they are expensive). I chose chocolate with hazelnut and another with walnuts. The chocolates were yummy and definitely worth the visit.
I have to mention the cafeterias on the upper floors of the department stores in Amsterdam. Great dining option with children...attractive, clean, reasonably priced and variety of food. We liked it a lot. (August 2009)
We booked a table for dinner at Sama Sebo, right near the Marriott. The restaurant is recommended in guidebooks and known for its rijsttafel (literally, rice table). The atmosphere is nice and the staff is friendly. (However there was one strange lady who kept looking over at us from another table. I couldn’t tell if she were bothered by the presence of children in the dining room or she was just weird. Thank goodness she left before our food came.) We ordered rijsttafel, which was too much food and most of it bad, except for the chicken. The food was too heavy for our taste. I personally would not recommend it but I suspect I will be in the minority on this one. The waitstaff made up for the food by being so nice to the girls. They showered our daughters with over a dozen chocolate pieces!
The Dutch are also famous for fish, such as cod, herring, salmon and mackerel. We like fish in general and looked forward to trying some. We got our first chance at the Van Gogh Museum café. The girls had hot chocolate which they liked and I had a salad with smoked fish, herring and salmon. The salad was really good. Based on this, my husband decides we should have more fish. It’s a good thought.
The next day, we stop by the supermarket to get some food and picnic next to the canal nearby. My husband, since it was his idea, led the shopping expedition and came away with cheese, bread and fish among other things. Generously, he hands me a whole herring (no head). I eyed it suspiciously and did think it looked very oily. It also had small pieces of onions on it. It seemed a bit intimidating but I generally like fish so I took a big bite and yuck! it was raw!! I eat sushi but sushi isn’t usually whole fish and oily and oniony. I’m afraid I did not swallow. I pride myself on being quite adventurous with food but I met my match. My husband could not eat it either.
To make up for the raw herring we set out to find Puccini (Puccini Bomboni Singel 184, 1016 AA Amsterdam), touted as having some of the best chocolates. The store is cute, minimalistic. I thought it would be a sit down dessert place but it is not. It just has lots of handmade chocolates! The woman at the store was not friendly, certainly not kid-friendly. She asked our girls to step away from the long table where all the chocolates were piled. The girls weren’t touching…oh well. I didn’t let that stop me and picked out 2 pieces for myself. The kids each got one and their daddy picked one. The pieces are large so a couple will suffice (plus they are expensive). I chose chocolate with hazelnut and another with walnuts. The chocolates were yummy and definitely worth the visit.
I have to mention the cafeterias on the upper floors of the department stores in Amsterdam. Great dining option with children...attractive, clean, reasonably priced and variety of food. We liked it a lot. (August 2009)
Medical Help in Amsterdam
One of the things parents worry about when travelling with young children is medical care, especially when travelling abroad. I probably should make it a habit to print out a list of English speaking doctors and clinics before a trip. Another option is to contact the local US Consulate and ask for a list of medical professionals recommended. I did neither prior to this trip (or for any of our previous trips). And what do you know. We needed a doctor for our younger daughter on our last day in Amsterdam.
I had noticed a reddish tinge near my younger daughter’s right eye the day before we left Amsterdam. I thought it would just go away but it didn’t and in fact the next morning, she looked like someone had punched her really hard in the eye. The poor girl!
The concierge at the Marriott was so helpful finding a doctor. The concierge found us a clinic and I spoke with a nurse who thought it might be an insect bite. I knew it wasn’t an infection because there wasn’t any discharge. Still, we were leaving for Cairo that evening and we decided to see a doctor just to be safe. (We felt it would be easier to see a doctor in Amsterdam than in Cairo.)
The doctor was a really nice lady and she examined our daughter’s eye thoroughly and pronounced it was a blocked gland; nothing to do…maybe a warm compress. She only charged us about US$60. It was quick, competent and reassuring. It was then time to get back to the hotel, get our luggage and take the bus back to the airport. (August 2009)
I had noticed a reddish tinge near my younger daughter’s right eye the day before we left Amsterdam. I thought it would just go away but it didn’t and in fact the next morning, she looked like someone had punched her really hard in the eye. The poor girl!
The concierge at the Marriott was so helpful finding a doctor. The concierge found us a clinic and I spoke with a nurse who thought it might be an insect bite. I knew it wasn’t an infection because there wasn’t any discharge. Still, we were leaving for Cairo that evening and we decided to see a doctor just to be safe. (We felt it would be easier to see a doctor in Amsterdam than in Cairo.)
The doctor was a really nice lady and she examined our daughter’s eye thoroughly and pronounced it was a blocked gland; nothing to do…maybe a warm compress. She only charged us about US$60. It was quick, competent and reassuring. It was then time to get back to the hotel, get our luggage and take the bus back to the airport. (August 2009)
Monday, February 1, 2010
Museums, Playgrounds and Other Things To Do in Amsterdam
Museumplein, where Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum, and the Diamond Museum are located, is only 5-10minutes by foot from the Marriott. Vondelpark is right next door to the Marriott. (Being next to a park and major attractions make the Marriott super convenient.)
I read about the Holland Pass before leaving the US and purchased them from the KLM website since it gave a discount. The Holland Pass came in very handy. The pass allows the holder to ‘jump the queue’. It totally saved us from waiting in the rain for at least an hour and a half at the Rijksmuseum. Our main reason for going was to see the Vermeers and the Rembrandts. Our favorite was Vermeer’s “The Milkmaid”. The milk looked like it was actually flowing out of the pitcher. The must see painting “The Love Letter’ was on loan to Canada. I was disappointed but the visit was still fabulous. If you have the time, the museum has activities for children. We didn’t but wish we had.
I think the girls enjoyed the Van Gogh Museum; one of the keys to a pleasant experience? a stroller from the museum for our younger one. What a great idea! We could not have lasted as long as we did without the stroller. The Dutch are so thoughtful…one of the ladies took one look at our youngest and offered us the stroller. The girls and I agreed that we liked the happier paintings than the darker ones. We liked “The Irises”, “The Sunflower” and “The Yellow House”.
If the children get tired of the museums, the open square bordered by the museums is a great place to run around. It is a really nice open space with a huge red and white “I Am Amsterdam” sculpture, kids playground, water feature and cafes. Kids loved it! (Another great playground is the UJ Klaren park near the De Pijp neighborhood. It has a built in trampoline in the ground, a huge spider web type climbing feature and lots of swings. The girls didn’t want to leave.)
A fun and non-taxing way to see Amsterdam is to take a canal boat cruise. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it but the girls were bored half way through the tour. It’s still a great thing to do with the kids…especially towards the end of the day when they are too tired to walk.
If you ask the girls what they enjoyed or remembered most about Amsterdam, they just might tell you that they really liked the souvenir stores. Both of them became obsessed with the wooden clogs piggy banks and stuffed cows. They wanted to enter every single store they came across. They were good about comparing prices and in the end they did end up with the clog piggy banks and yes, the stuffed cows. And oh right, they tried on the wooden clogs every chance they got. (August 2009)
I read about the Holland Pass before leaving the US and purchased them from the KLM website since it gave a discount. The Holland Pass came in very handy. The pass allows the holder to ‘jump the queue’. It totally saved us from waiting in the rain for at least an hour and a half at the Rijksmuseum. Our main reason for going was to see the Vermeers and the Rembrandts. Our favorite was Vermeer’s “The Milkmaid”. The milk looked like it was actually flowing out of the pitcher. The must see painting “The Love Letter’ was on loan to Canada. I was disappointed but the visit was still fabulous. If you have the time, the museum has activities for children. We didn’t but wish we had.
I think the girls enjoyed the Van Gogh Museum; one of the keys to a pleasant experience? a stroller from the museum for our younger one. What a great idea! We could not have lasted as long as we did without the stroller. The Dutch are so thoughtful…one of the ladies took one look at our youngest and offered us the stroller. The girls and I agreed that we liked the happier paintings than the darker ones. We liked “The Irises”, “The Sunflower” and “The Yellow House”.
If the children get tired of the museums, the open square bordered by the museums is a great place to run around. It is a really nice open space with a huge red and white “I Am Amsterdam” sculpture, kids playground, water feature and cafes. Kids loved it! (Another great playground is the UJ Klaren park near the De Pijp neighborhood. It has a built in trampoline in the ground, a huge spider web type climbing feature and lots of swings. The girls didn’t want to leave.)
A fun and non-taxing way to see Amsterdam is to take a canal boat cruise. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed it but the girls were bored half way through the tour. It’s still a great thing to do with the kids…especially towards the end of the day when they are too tired to walk.
If you ask the girls what they enjoyed or remembered most about Amsterdam, they just might tell you that they really liked the souvenir stores. Both of them became obsessed with the wooden clogs piggy banks and stuffed cows. They wanted to enter every single store they came across. They were good about comparing prices and in the end they did end up with the clog piggy banks and yes, the stuffed cows. And oh right, they tried on the wooden clogs every chance they got. (August 2009)
Hotel + Free Laundry in Amsterdam
The Marriott in Leidseplein looks like a large cement block, not much character but I liked it. I loved the location, the service, the free laundry, the beds, the pillows and the spacious room. Hotel rooms in Europe are usually a joke in terms of space and value but this one was comfortable. We didn’t have a view but it was fine because it was quiet. The staff was also nice and we were able to check in early a little before noon, which is about when we made it to the hotel. Did I mention the free laundry? Free laundry just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Now travelling with kids, access to laundry makes a hotel an automatic 5 star accommodation for me. (August 2009)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
