Amsterdam: 3 steps in the "correct" way to drink beer!

After a really fun (and fattening) flight to Europe, I was so excited to make it to Amsterdam! It was my first time to visit the famous destination. I was struck by the beauty of the Netherlands' capital city, and it felt amazing to view in person the historic buildings that I have only seen before in movies.

Amsterdam from the air

My sister, Alicia, and her daughter, Elizabeth, drove in from Germany to meet my husband, Nathan, and me. We spent the first day being complete tourists!

We did stroll through the "red light district," but we didn't make too big of a deal about it since Elizabeth is only seven years old. I did spy three young ladies with rollers in their hair, and assumed they were, *ahem*, ladies of the district.  ;)  

The first stop for us after a long, HOT walk through town, was the Van Gogh Museum. I enjoyed learning about the master painter's life and struggles, and it was wonderful to see so many of his pieces in one place.

One of Van Gogh's many self-portraits... ears still intact

Next stop was the Heineken Experience, and it was SO interactive! I don't have enough to describe it, but it was educational and entertaining. You walk through the historic brewery, and learn about the beer brewing process plus the history of the brand. 

I was so impressed by how much there was to do, and how fun they made it. There was even a room that was almost a "ride," but not really. You are supposedly beer that is going through the process of being brewed. It was like one of those 4D cinemas that move and spray water and air at you, kind of like the Soarin' ride at Disney's Epcot. That was my favorite part!

This lady talked us through each ingredient that makes Heineken unique-- she said it's all about the "A" strand of yeast, which is still only used today by the company

Then they teach you the "proper" way to drink beer in order to get the best taste. Here it is in 3 steps:

1. Swirl and smell your beer-- just like with wine, it helps you better appreciate it. Then go in for the drink...

2. Tip your glass (or stein) far back with a firm hand.

3. Take a big swig! If you take sips, you are drinking the bitter foam at the top.

Nathan's happy face after finishing his beer samples-- I don't even like beer, but I confess that I drank some just to say I did. The Experience is REALLY GOOD MARKETING!

Elizabeth and her traditional Dutch pancake, served with syrup and powdered sugar

After the Experience, we wandered around the city a little bit more before heading back to the hotel. Nathan had to head back in to work, so my sister, niece and I explored Amsterdam on our own the second day.

Westerkerk Church

 Lovely canals wind throughout the city

 Obsessed with the Anne Frank House, but the line was more than 3 hours long and we didn't have time for it-- my sister went before, and said it is worth the visit

So pretty!

We stepped into the Amsterdam Tulip Museum, but it was burning up hot inside, so we immediately left. This part of Europe is experiencing a "heat wave," although I'm from Louisiana and Florida so this is nothing to me. However, I am indeed saddened that most places don't have air conditioning! 

We loved the Amsterdam Cheese Museum, which helps you "relive the experience of cheese-making" and allows you to taste the "unique flavor of the best cheese in Holland." It was so much fun to read about making cheese!

Say "cheese," please! #CheeseSelfie

I was all excited to taste the raw milk flavors-- I ended up purchasing the Truffle style

My sister likes the iconic Delftware, so we peeked into one of those stores

After a wonderful two days, my sister, niece and I left and made our way five hours south to her home in Germany. I'm throwing in a couple of village photos, because these are ALL over the country! My sister says they're called "bergs"... she lives in Weselberg, one of these tiny villages (population: 1,340). The view is AMAZING. Country living!

Have you ever been to Europe? What parts did you visit? Comment below, and let me know! Thanks for reading, as always.  :)

Photos from our 8-day Carnival "Breeze" Cruise to Aruba, Curaçao, Dominican Republic and Turks and Caicos

Nathan and I did an 8-day Southern Caribbean cruise from Miami in April, and I've been meaning to post these pics in a blog for weeks now. Better late than never! Here's a QUICK VIDEO from Carnival on the ports of call and the ship we took.

Leaving Miami

It was the longest cruise we've ever done, and it was the 6th cruise we've taken. All of the ports of call were new to us, which is great because when you cruise from Miami a lot you can start to see the same Caribbean ports of call as options (like, we've cruised to Cozumel twice, and the Bahamas twice... not that I'm complaining, you understand).

A view of our ship from the water in Grand Turk

With such a long cruise, there are enough sea days to allow you to fully relax. I loaded up my iPhone's Kindle app with books, and brought books to keep me entertained. I also enjoyed the ship itself, the Carnival Breeze, which had watersides, the Punchliner comedy club presented by George Lopez (which we loved), and even a multi-dimensional Thrill Theater, which made you feel more immersed in what you were watching since it would spray you with water, blow wind at you and move the seats during the 3D showings.

I think my favorite port of call for the sheer enjoyment factor was Grand Turk in Turks and Caicos. It was just a simple place where as soon as you walked off the ship, you were on the beach. You didn't have to worry about taxis, going far away, etc. Everything was right there!

Our shore excursion was a boat ride to a small, private island, where the water was shallow and we got to encounter stingrays. 

Unfortunately, I left my ship towel on the small boat, so the second half of my excursion was filled with a bit of worry while I waited for it to return with the other excursion crowd. But it made it back in time for me to grab my towel and get back on the big cruise ship. We almost missed our cruise ship a couple of cruises ago in St. Maarten, and I never want to go through that stress again!!

My favorite relaxation spot in the entire cruise! Look how close our beach was to the ship... and the snorkeling was great right there.

The next port of call was the southeastern tip of the Dominican Republic, La Romana. I really enjoyed the history of that place, because we took the Santo Domingo city tour. It's the capital of the DR. The bus ride was almost two hours long, but our tour guide was AMAZING and talked about La Romana the entire time... he kept it really interesting. 

The lighthouse where Christopher Columbus' remains lie... the Columbus Lighthouse honors the memory of the discoverer of the Americas.

 

The photo on the left shows the outside Alcazar de Colon, the palace of Hispaniola's first Governor and son of Christopher Columbus, Don Diego Colon... it had a lot of historic artifacts inside, seen on the right. 

This is the First Cathedral of the Americas! So historic!!

We walked through the Colonial Zone and visited the National Pantheon. This is a Christopher Columbus statue. I was worried about pigeon poo. Watch your head! ;)

Lots of walking, lots to see

The next port was Dutch Curaçao, which was adorable/funky! Just pulling in to the port, you are immediately greeted by the sight of those bright Easter-egg-colored buildings. Love it.

We learned during our city tour that the reason the bright painting began was because of political corruption-- a former governor said he had an eye condition that caused him pain when he looked at white buildings, so he passed a law that required buildings to be painted colors. After he died, it turned out that he OWNED the paint factories! So he was profiting from it. Despite those negative beginnings, it has probably paid off for the island in terms of recognition and tourism value through the years.

Hello, cuteness!

The flag, and our ship in the distance behind the awesome cityscape

The city tour had a nice stop at the local aquarium

We stopped at an original Curacao liqueur factory, which makes a liqueur flavored with the dried peel of the laraha citrus fruit

This is the famous "swinging lady," the Queen Emma Bridge-- hinged and opens for passing boats

Getting back on the boat, with a fellow passenger taking a picture beside us, haha

Our final port of call was Aruba. After singing the Beach Boys song "Kokomo" for years, I was excited about this one-- and it ended up being a tiny bit of a let-down. Maybe I was just "cruised-out," or we chose the wrong shore excursion, but I just wasn't that impressed. Still, it's a Caribbean island, so you can't go too wrong with it! ;) 

We snorkeled, and the boat ride there was fun because it took us along the shoreline so we got to see the island edges of Aruba.

I know I'm spoiled because I snorkel all the time here in Florida, but I wasn't loving the snorkeling there. Visibility was not great, although it was kind of hauntingly cool to see the submerged ship off the coastline (it was deliberately sunk to avoid capture by the Germans some decades ago).

A lot of times on cruises, you can just wander around in the tourist areas and shop, but we are not really into that. So after walking around for a bit, I was ready to hop back on the boat and head home.

The ship itself was nice and new, and the entertainment was pretty good, with the comedy club being my favorite. All I did was EAT AND EAT AND EAT, and I also loved our balcony room. It was so nice to sit on the balcony, watch the waves and read a book. :) Yay cruising!

Ship atrium

  

I love the cruising life! Super fun and relaxing!

With one of the hilarious comedians 

Our dining buddies

The waiters always put on a show

So, all in all, a very successful trip that left me relaxed and refreshed. I also love how your cell phone loses signal when you are off-shore, so you are truly unplugged. I highly recommend cruising if you haven't done it yet!