Europe- Part 3- Amsty

Amsterdam! 

Oh my gosh. From the moment we got to Amsterdam, late Friday night, I was in love with it. We lost my dad at the train station so I had a moment to stand there doing nothing while I watched all the suitcases. I started thinking, "What are the rules? Can you move a city to the top five of your favorite cities list if you haven't even seen it in the daylight?" No, it wasn't just an awesome train station, but you can actually see A LOT of the city from right in front, I wasn't being crazy. Then I thought, "Who cares about the rules. It's my top 5 list. I can put whatever city on it, whenever I want to." 

Side note: This thought process gives a lot of insight into how I think. For some reason I think there are ALWAYS  rules and that there should ALWAYS be a plan.  I actually prayed A LOT and went to the temple before the trip to help figure some things out so I could be more easy-going and not care when plans differed from the plans we'd set.

 Mom note: Our schedule was perfect and it just seemed like one day of traveling with three naps instead of two. We got to bed around 12:30 am Amsterdam time which was like 4:30pm Salt Lake time, so Addie wasn't even really screwed up. No, she doesn't go to bed at 4:30, but she was so tired that a few hours didn't make a difference. Then we just went to bed late every night on the trip and it worked out well!  None of us even got jet lag!

Our first morning we woke up, probably late, and got, duh, chocolate croissants for breakfast. I don't quite understand people who couldn't eat chocolate croissants every day for breakfast.  We got ready and headed to catch a tram to the Van Gogh Museum. One second, Addison was smiling at everyone, the next, she had drifted off to sleep.  It was the first time she had fallen asleep in the baby carrier and from that moment on, I knew the trip would be a success.  I seem nonchalant now about the sleeping thing, but I had stressed a lot about the fact that she can ONLY sleep in a crib or while driving.  Turns out she loves the baby carrier. We have this one, BECO-- its great for non-infants and I could wear it all day. 

Van Gogh is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE artist. (We also, later, got to drive by his Parisian abode. I know, awesome.) Before we moved into our current house I had planned what artwork to put in each room only to finish and realize I had planned a different VG for each and nothing else. I love love love him. I have gone to so many museums to see his work and honestly I could study it all day, every day if I had to and not even get bored.  I feel like that about basically nothing else.  My mom and dad and Barrett all love him too so this was an obligatory stop. This museum was the cat's pajamas.  As you walk through the exhibit, you can see how and when and why he changed. You can see his environment effecting him, his friends, his life events, everything. I appreciate a human who is trying to improve their character and I really feel that as Van Gogh changed his art he was also changing his character and dealing with certain issues by changing his day-to-day. Um I could go on forever. I won't. But if you are a Van Gogh enthusiast, let's chat. 

After a good four hours at the museum and a delicious meal at their fantastic cafe, we went stopped to take some pics. Where are all the people you may be asking? How were you able to get such good pics with so few people at the beginning of August right during major holiday travel?

This is why. (See below.) The gay pride parade. It brought an extra 800,000 people to Amsterdam that weekend and was something to behold. The streets along the main parade canal were packed. Everyone was wearing crazy ensembles. Lots of pink. Egh. Music filled the streets and and a hundreds of boats full of drunk people filled the canal.  

I'm definitely one to avoid ever writing about important beliefs in a public forum, because my feelings easily get hurt when people say mean things, so call me and ask me about my thoughts. It brought a lot of interesting things to mind. Also, I'd love to chat! 

We walked around town and took in the beauty of this place.  I really wish we used brick in America more. We took a different route home than my parents so it was nice to just be somewhere new together (Addison was napping) and have a relaxing stroll.  We hung out at the hotel, walked to grab some late night pizzas, and then Addison made us hold her all night while she slept.  Ha ha. C'est la vie. 

My mom and me outside the Rijksmuseum.