June 29, 2025
Another short flight travel day arrived and even though our flight was just after 10AM we had to be up around 6AM to finish packing. Even short flights consume a lot of lead up time after spacing out in an apartment for a week. We headed to the airport in a van with questionable brakes. It was a smooth drive, likely because it was so early on a Sunday, which I was grateful for given the brake situation. Lenny yelled “Goodbye big park!!” as we passed Luxembourg garden and just like that 27 days in France have come to a close.
The boys continue to be happy to sit at airport gates and on planes for any amount of time. A variety of snacks and unlimited iPad time is not something they seem to tire of. The flight was only an hour and twenty minutes and went smoothly except for a slightly delayed take off. Somehow 17 people checked bags but did not make it onto the plane so their bags needed to be removed prior to takeoff.
Our AirBnb owner had helped arrange a taxi that could handle all 7 of us and our bags. We all fit comfortably enough for the 30 minutes drive. Bri got to enjoy one last car ride smushed between the boys.
We arrived at the boat we will be staying on, all but Grandma and Nonno are on the boat, and were surprised at how big it was. When booking this so many months ago we thought it would be a real thrill for the kids and we were right! The boys where thrilled with all aspects of it including the tiny door we need to go through to get in and out of the living quarters. Once through the tiny door the inside is cozy but plenty of room for all. It had three bedrooms, a main living room/kitchen, and a utility room with a full size washer and dryer. Also there is air conditioning, a rare thing in Amsterdam, but really lucky for us as there is a heat wave and it is going to be in the 90s for a few days.
Once we passed all our luggage through the tiny door and down the steps we made our way out to find lunch and a park. We briefly stopped at a few small parks on our way to lunch. Any chance Ollie gets to practice his dead hang he wants to.
There are more bikes than I remember all over the city. We found a few that seemed to be abandoned, given away by being covered in bird poop. They were tagged, we think for removal by the city. Having the kids not only look out for cars but also bikes will be a challenge. They both would have been taken out a few times if not for our watching.
We eventually got some take away soup and lentil curry for lunch then found a park with some shade. On our way home Kayleen stopped off at the grocery store near our boat called, Jumbo. They had a whole display of the delicious sprinkles we have to special order in Hoboken. The boys, Bri, and I headed back to the boat where we meet up with my parents.
Lenny was becoming trouble at this point, tired out from a travel day and not being able to sleep in this morning. Grandma somehow ended up with the board game Risk out and playing her made up version of the game with them. I am not sure how she had the patience for that, especially with Lenny in his current state, but Kayleen and I took advantage and escaped for a boat ride ALONE. Ollie did notice us leaving out one of the portholes but was more interest in the game of Risk than chasing us.
The owner let us use his old, slightly dinged up, oversized row boat with a 5 horsepower motor to cruise the canals. I was able to get it started by tying a frayed rope around the kill switch, since the dead man's clip was gone, and we were off. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon so the canals were busy with sight seeing boats, booze cruises, and private boats. We didn’t overthink it before we took off but once out there it did cross my mind more than once that I had no idea what the canal etiquette was. I did my best to stay away from other boats and once out into the larger harbor area it was easy going. There wasn’t a lot of gas left so we didn’t go too far but got a taste of how nice it would be to drive around in one of the nicer boats. We docked without much issue with my Dad’s help and vowed to get more gas for a longer ride next time.
Shortly after we arrived back Grandma was at the end of her patience with Risk. Everyone gathered themselves and we headed to dinner. Lenny probably could have stayed home and gone to bed as it took multiple scoldings to get him to the restaurant.
First we all sat down at a bar on a canal only to look up the menu and realize they only did light snacks. We made it another block and found a place to sit outside in the shade. We were grateful when our server brought out colored pencils/markers and coloring books for the boys. Lenny quickly discovered the sticker page and took advantage of that.
The food was good and everyone was touched by Oma’s Soup on the menu. We parted ways with my parents, their Airbnb is a 10 min walk away, and got home with everyone excited to get the boys to bed. Then have some quite time sitting on the deck and watching boats go up and down the canal until we went to bed.
