With a ton of travel always around the corner we took the month of June off to recover, relax and to share our home with friends and family!
My Uncle Daryl made it out for the second time on Holland America! We spent the day visiting and catching up! I made sure to take Daryl to the Winkel for the city's best Apple Pie!
Shortly after my Uncle's visit, my friend Tara, who had been backpacking solo thru Paris and Brugge, made her way to Amsterdam! We walked around the city, made our way through bars, cafes and shops, and floated around the canals - Indy's first boat ride! Such a lovely girl and a wonderful time!
For the end of June we had the most amazing sunny and warm days. Those living in Amsterdam know the sun and warmth won't last forever, so it is important to take advantage of outdoor seating at cafes, and boat trips around the canals and Amstel whenever you can! To that end, our buddy Jeff planned on taking us out on his boat one nice Sunday afternoon - that is, until he noticed his boat's rudder was missing. A kind Dutch neighbor believed Jeff's rudder fell off into the canal and fished it out after an hour of skimming the canal bottom with a magnet. Lucky for us, he found the rudder and we spent the rest of the day boating around town!!!!
This year was our second year of celebrating The 4th of July while living in Amsterdam! I would honestly have to say the food spread, drinks and music put on by Kirk's co-worker made the evening a memorable one! Not only did she have amazing eats - mac-n-cheese, red and blue jello shots, chips, brownies and milk and tomato soup; she also had great decor - even red toilet paper! We played beer pong out on the terrace with an amazing view and danced the night away!
We also celebrated our friend Jennifer's 31st birthday! It was exactly a year ago when we met her and Johnny - time sure flies! Johnny took these amazing pictures!
A week later, my friend Kyla and her cousin Rada started their 2 week Europe trip in Amsterdam! The weather could not have been better - they went on Mike's Bike Tour, explored all the museums, ate on the canals, tried dutch pancakes and walked through the Albert Cuyp market. Their first night in we got a group together for a mini boat ride with Paap! Such a perfect night!!! Later we made our way to Pata Negra for some tapas. I adore thiat place, it was my first Amsterdam restaurant! We also dined at Donna Sofia and ate really amazing Italian pasta dishes! And of course we made our way through the Red Light and sipped on beers in Rembrandtplein!
After that, my cousin Lisa and Jacob made it out for the long weekend! Lisa flew from Seattle and planned a 5-week backpack trip through Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany and Austria. Jacob is currently living in Geneva for an internship. He originally planned on making it out a night earlier than Lisa, but purchased a flight from Amsterdam to Geneva instead of Geneva to Amsterdam. The ticket change alone would of cost him 500 euros - so he opted to hitchhike. Jacob made it 2 days later via hitchhiking to northern France and taking a train the rest of the way here!
We are so grateful that family and friends make the time to come visit us here! We have so much to show, and love to host anytime! It is always a nice way to remember how lucky we are to live in such a great city!
Friday, July 22, started with an early drive to Champagne, France (about a 5 hour drive from Amsterdam) to celebrate the union of our friends Lisa and Per. We met Lisa and Per about a year ago through Denessa. Such a lovely couple and what an honor to be invited to their beautiful wedding! Another couple, Scott and Jo, joined us for the drive and weekend!
The festivities took place in Epernay, in the northern part of Champagne, about 130 km from Paris. We stayed at the boutique hotel Jean Moet. After arriving we met with the wedding guests for some early champagne tasting at the Bel Azur where they had two champagne houses represented (Telmont and Damery). Afterward the bride and groom invited us to attend an early evening of snacks and drinks to become better acquainted with the other guests! We walked around and stepped into little champagne stores. One store smelled like my Auntie Ann's house - funny that I had to come to France to experience a scent from my family's past - what a nice memory to have!
The next morning Kirk and I did a tour at the Moet & Chandron champagne house. The tour walked us through the largest champagne caves in the world and ended with 2 tastings of Imperial champagne and Rose. Moet was established in 1743 and annually produces over 29 million bottles of champagne. Dom Perignon is produced by Moet and is only a vintage champagne which means it is only made in the "best year." We purchased a 2002 Vintage Moet and will definitely save it for a special occasion!
The wedding took place at L'Eglise Notre Dame in Epernay. Such a beautiful cathedral placed in this tiny and quiet french town.
The champagne reception, dinner and dancing took place at the Chateau de Dorman. Lisa and Per coordinated a Ceili dance after the dinner - something I have never experienced before!!! We had tasty appetizers on the terrace, endless glasses of champagne and a 7 course dinner!
Thanks for the invite and the wonderful Champagne weekend, Lisa and Per!!!! Once we got back to Amsterdam, we found ourselves with another guest in town - our friend Brian from LA. We used to play soccer together on Sunday's and he was out visiting with his family! Good times!
On a heavier note, over the weekend Amy Winehouse passed away and the Norway attacks (two sequential terrorist attacks against the government and the civilian population at a summer camp). A moment we will always remember where we were when we heard such tragic news. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the individuals affected by these tragedies.
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