Visiting Neverland

One of my favorite stories to tell about when Stinkerbell was in Pre-school goes something like this:  I am in the process of dropping her off at school one morning when she asks me if we can go to Neverland.  I tell her that she can go, in her dreams, but adults aren't allowed in Neverland.  That is what makes it so unique; it's only for kids at heart.  She shakes her head no and says that she wants me to come too.  I repeat that Neverland is a place for kids; a place where kids don't have to worry about adults telling them what to do and when to do it.  Once again she shakes her head and says but then how come M (her friend from class) and her mommy get to go together.  And it was my turn to shake my head a bit and chuckle.  I finally understand and tell her that they aren't going to Neverland.  They are going to The Netherlands because that is where their home is.  And then I promised that of course, I would take her someday.  And that someday finally came at the second half of our Spring Break  (about 2 weeks ago).

We had barely recovered from our week-long journey through Jordan.  In fact, I didn't even have the time to finish all the laundry before I had to fill the suitcases again.  No matter because we were super excited to finally be getting to Amsterdam.

We arrived in time for a quick bite to eat, where it tried the Bitterballs (verdict - tasty!) and to tuck the kids into bed.  Which took a turn for the different when MadHatter decided that she would rather not share a bed with Stinkerbell but would prefer to sleep on the floor, on top of the couch cushions, tucked between the wall and the sofa.  We obliged, and this is where she slept for the duration.  Which was just fine with Stinkerbell as she got the whole bed to herself.

The next morning we didn't rush out the door.  It was the one day that the weather was not supposed to cooperate so I had booked some indoor activities, with the first one not scheduled until 11 am so we could laze around and have a leisurely breakfast.  Then, imagine my surprise when we walk outside and are greeted by this...

Who knew?  But we still had a tour to make so off we headed to the Heineken experience.  Located in the original brewery right in the heart of the city.  The tour is interactive and self-paced, so we were on our own to explore and enjoy.  Which we truly did.  They have indeed made sure that the tour is fun for everyone of all ages.

 The original brewery, built in 1864.

 The original green bottle.

 Logo's through the years.

 Stirring the hops and grinding the wheat.

  They let you taste the Wort (it's sweet) but some of us liked it more than others.

 Then they showed us what it was like to be "brewed."  You are the beer and go through the bottling process...

  And we all got a small beer at the end (don't worry, hers is mine...)

Then we had some selfie fun.  Heineken has stations set up all over the place to take pictures, play games, sing karaoke...

We finally made it downstairs to the cellar where we each got two free drinks at the bar before heading off to our next adventure - the Van Gogh Museum.  As I count Van Gogh as one of my favorite artists, as does MadHatter, we were very excited to be learning more about his life, his struggles, and his work.  

When we arrived, the girls were given a treasure hunt booklet.  Covering questions from all times in Vincent's life and asking the girls to do their own drawings of his famous painting, or finding their favorites kept them busy and engaged on each and every floor. There was not a single moment of the 2 hours we were in there that either of the girls said they were bored or that they didn't want to be there anymore.  They were enthralled and so excited to finish the booklet and claim their prize (a postcard of their favorite Van Gogh painting), and the adults were so happy that the girls were so engrossed in a museum.  (there are no photos allowed inside so I can only give you the quick snaps I got before and after)

Filling out their forms.

Back outside we had finally gotten the weather they had predicted all day - cold, damp and dreary.  It didn't stop the girls from wanting to play at the park we passed by on the way home.  And since they were running around and keeping warm, B and I decided that we needed their hats more than they did...

Dinner and a quick trip back to the hotel rounded out the day.  We needed our rest because tomorrow we had a pretty strenuous day planned.