Amsterdam Outside

We're back from Amsterdam. What a lovely city! We were fortunate with the weather, it only rained one day, so we spent most of our time outside. We also took the bus from Paris to Amsterdam (because it was so cheap). People were shocked that we spent 8 hours on a bus but when you come from a country as big as Canada that long of a bus ride isn't a big deal. Three countries in 8 hours is fast for me!

I think Amsterdam can be summed up in two words: canals and bicycles. 

Finding the best apple pie is apparently a big thing to do in this city. We found it at Winkel's. But another place (I can't remember the name) was a close second. 

Paris is certainly not the best place to find great beer. So we were happy to stumble upon a brewery located in a windmill. How dutch!

We also did several free walking tours. This is an excellent way to see the city and you can get a ton of good tips from the local guides. If you are wondering about the following pictures, you'll have to go to Amsterdam and take one of the free tours to find out!

We also took a walking tour of  "coffee shops" but don't expect to find coffee at these places. The Grey Area is the only American owned coffee shop in Amsterdam and apparently Snoop Dog goes there every time he's in town. Another interesting tidbit is that part of the movie Oceans Twelve was filmed at De Dampkring coffee shop.  Our last walking tour was of the Red Light district but, for obvious reasons, you can't take pictures there.

The warm weather and flowers made me realize that I don't have to be afraid of winter anymore!