Brussels & Amsterdam

What a trip! We are back home now but had an unforgettable time in Brussels and Amsterdam. Mostly Amsterdam. Brussels is much smaller and slower paced and everything you'd want to see i.e., Mannenken pis, the Grand Place can be done in a day or two. Read about the Mannenken pis. It's an interesting story and I wish we had more time to visit the museum that houses all the costumes this bronze statue owns. It is custom for visiting dignitaries to bring a costume for the Mannenken pis that is representative of their country. As you can tell from our pictures, the weather was less than inviting in both cities but we made the most of it as do the locals. When the rain starts coming down you can duck into a cafe for a cup of coffee.

Now Amsterdam. This city is my favorite! The Dutch speak near perfect English and are very open and friendly. Being able to get around by bike with the kids is just so incredibly freeing. The City of Bikes has bike only lanes and stoplights just for cyclists. There are parks and open spaces every few blocks and Vondelpark is immense with several cafes and restaurants at its perimeter.

We found a babysitting service and had dinner without the girls. We enjoyed ourselves so much and liked the babysitter that we did it again.  If you're ever in Amsterdam and need a sitter, contact Pamela at kind4kids and ask for Malou. Amsterdam is very diverse and our half Barbadian half Dutch graduate student babysitter is a reflection of the interesting people you can meet in this city.

Why am I just now finding out that there's a robust experimental economics department at one of the universities in Amsterdam? 

Begium: an escargot lunch truck!

The shops and museums around the Grand Place

The Grand Place. The buildings have gilded facades.

Riding bikes in Amsterdam

Walking around town

Museumplein "museum square"

Grace and Ally must have spent a good 30 minutes waving to the passing tourists in the boats