Thought we'd save a little money by having the middle boy's Bar Mitzvah in Israel instead of a party in Los Angeles like we did for the older boy...boy were we wrong. Though not cheap we had a blast. I'm not going to bore you all with the usual pics of business class on KLM and Air France. There are countless threads with identical pictures to the ones I would have posted.
I didn't have a trip report in mind when I took the pictures so some of these may include me and the family. I'll probably upload these in batches and welcome any questions about the trip along the way.
Part I: Amsterdam
Only hours after the kids finished school, we headed to LAX to board our KLM flight to Amsterdam. We had three days to fit in as much as we could
The end of the Tom Bradley terminal is an absolute zoo. Five different flights were crowded into this large room where we were shuttled to a remote gate where the plane was located. At some point the aircraft was changed from a 747 to a 777.
We stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Amsterdam Centraal Station. Perfect location for walking to the canals, red light district, museum, etc. Very good diamond perks with a nice spread for both evening cocktails and breakfast.
We did a nice little boat tour with boatamsterdam.com that included unlimited soft drinks, beer, and wine.
No shortage of bikes in this city
I'll try to keep the family shots to a minimum. Highly recommend Cafe Bern!
Say cheese!
The next day, we did a three hour biking tour with We Bike Amsterdam. Thijs was a fantastic tour guide. Great way to see the city.
Learned about the architecture
It is customary there to hang your backpack outside when you graduate.
Excellent fries from Mannekenpis (love that name)!
Parking is certainly a premium
More bikes and my goofball son
One of many dudes who could not handle the Red Light District
My kids thought this was an invitation for criminals
Had we not just missed tulip season we would have seen this instead of looking at a picture of it at the tulip museum
The door to the Anne Frank House which is next to the museum. Glad we got tickets in advance.
These were two separate triangles that formed a Star of David at the right vantage point in the Jewish Quarter.
Obligatory I Am Amsterdam shot
Had trouble choosing between the Rijks Museum and Van Gogh. We ended up at Rijks because of the variety with this option.
View from our hotel room
Gorgeous city. Had an amazing time.
Next up:
Part II: Tel Aviv-Yaffo