Window shopping in Jordaan

Amsterdam day 4

Day four started with breakfast at Grebroeder Niemeijer (for the second time during our stay - it was that good) where we got to see how croissants are made. We then had a browse in a great toy shop called Mechanisch Speelgoed, which was full to the rafters of wonderful old tin toys. We also checked out the kids section of the public library, Oba, which was such a great and inviting library, not like the intimidating and unwelcoming British Library we have here. What a stay we had! So varied, such great food, scenery and company. If we one day tire of London I know where we're moving.

Amsterdam day 3 part II

Can you ride a bike without holding onto the handlebars? At 38 I still can't. The hubby can though - and with a child on the back too it turns out. Nutter! In the afternoon of our third day we cycled back to Vondelpark, and then later rode through the city and made our way to Eye, the gorgeous film museum/cinema - such a wonderful building. We didn't really check it out properly though; we only went there for some mighty fine cakes and madeleines (soooooo good, you must go if you go to the 'Dam). Actually the food was pretty amazing everywhere we ate in Amsterdam. You can't really tell, as I didn't take any pictures of any of the food - I was too busy eating it. Besides, seeing people taking pictures of their food in the restaurants all the time these days (which I've been guilty of many times over the years) makes me want to hide my camera now. So I give you a tea bag instead - haha! Our last blow out meal was at Rainarai, which was just amazing. A-mazing. Man I want to go back so bad. Sigh. Have a good weekend!

Amsterdam day 3 part I

A snack before a late breakfast.

No 100 Haarleemerdijk.

Spying.

Making nice.

Getting ready to wave at a passing canal boat.

Amsterdam day 2

Some pictures from our second day in Amsterdam, in the order they were taken. We started the day at Nemo (the Science Centre) where we had fun making huge bubbles. Then we had some lunch at Dwaze Zaken where I took the picture of the chairs (like you do). We then got on a canal boat for a tour around the canals of the city, something I thought Oomoo would enjoy (he didn't - he got bored pretty quickly) and then made the obligatory pit stop for some apple pie at Winkel (if you go to Amsterdam I implore you to go - it's so goooooood). Finally we had some amazing thai food for dinner at Kinnaree, where I snuck the picture of the woman matching the wall behind her :)

Amsterdam calling

A couple of weeks ago we hopped on the train to Amsterdam for a three night stay to hang out with our dear friend Z. It was a bit nerve racking as we weren't sure if we would make it; Oomoo had come down with chicken pox just a few days before and the hubby had an almighty jet lag. Luckily Oomoo got well in time for our departure, so off we went. I've just recently got a new DSLR camera, so it was a good place to try it out. These pics are all from our first day there; we dropped our bags off in the flat we were staying in and then immediately hired bikes (a must!). Within an hour of arriving Oomoo said "Why can't we move to this country?". And I must say something kinda clicked this third time round in Amsterdam. I actually started day dreaming about living there too. It's such a beautiful city and the tempo of life is so much slower than here, no one is in a rush and everyone is pootling along nicely on their bikes. Anyway, we rode ours to Vondelpark and had a bit of a play, and then got caught in an almighty downpour and all arrived drenched at Z's flat (pics 5-8), and Oomoo got to help feed Duana the tortoise! I have a feeling that his memories from the trip will stay with him for a long time - we can't wait to go back. More pics to come and happy long weekend to yous!

Wiped out

Yo. Sorry about the radio silence. My man has been working abroad for the last couple of weeks, so it's just been me and the Oomster - which in turn means I don't really have the time or the energy to be anything more than "mamma". Hopefully everything will return back to normal at the end of next week. Thank you so much for your blog birthday wishes peeps, so nice to hear from you. See you soon innit.

He's been at it again

I think I know what to do with my Canon 400D when I upgrade to a full frame camera - I'll give it to Oomoo! He took these with it, and even though it's pretty heavy and bulky for his small hands, he was still happy walking around Southbank for ages with it around his neck and snapping away. I've had to fight my instincts of wanting to straighten these before I put them up, but I've left them framed as he took them. See the man in the hat in the third picture? There was such a great moment when Oomoo spotted him, you could tell he'd seen something that would have been a good picture, but the man spotted him too and quickly started walking away, hence the back shot. I hope I'm passing on the joy of photography to my son, just like my god father passed it on to me when I was a kid. I'm eternally grateful for being introduced to it at such a young age; and to think that Oomoo is six years younger than I was when I started… who knows what kind of eye he'll develop?


On another note: the blog is six years old today. Hipp hipp! I didn't really have a plan about what I wanted this place to be when I started it, more than I wanted to make sure I took pictures more regurlarly. I never imagined that six years down the line I'd be posting pictures that my son (who wasn't even born then) had taken. Funny how life goes. I'm so glad to still have this space, and that I still enjoy putting posts together, all 862 of them. Thank you so much for stopping by over the years and for your continued support - here's hoping there'll be at least another six years to come!

From the V to the A

Last Saturday we went to two museums; the V&A in the morning and the Science Museum in the afternoon. As you can imagine we were all pretty wiped out afterwards! Never the less, the V&A is a new favourite of ours, as kids can pick up adventure packs with different themes (we chose animals and then the Middle Ages) and walk around the galleries on a mission to find specific things. AND it's not packed like all other museums are on a weekend. I'll miss our quiet weekdays (when London is quiet and not as crowded) once Oomoo starts school (!) in September. From then on we'll be packed in like sardines with everyone else, trying to enjoy what this amazing city has to offer. Until then we have to make the most of it. Happy (busy or quiet) weekend!