For the love of souvenirs!

Love ’em.  Big ones, small ones, tacky ones, fancy ones, one size fits all, edible ones.  You name it…I love it!  SOUVENIRS!  If I could just find that one person in life (ahem…Susan) who I could go on vacation with and visit nothing but souvenir shops…life would be simply perfect!  Well, I did manage to convince my parents and Daniel (who can be a hard sell) that we needed to hit up a couple of souvenir shops.  Afterall, I go to every city with a few things in mind.  Would you like some examples?  OK!

London = teapot, photo of William and Kate, photo with red phone booth (see below)…

Uh...check this one off the list! Where is the double-decker red bus next?

Germany = beer stein, Hoffbrau Haus t-shirt

Ireland = lucky horseshoe necklace, something wool

Italy = I will eat my souvenir once I go!

And, finally, Amsterdam = wooden shoes and tulips (check and check!)  Thank you Amsterdam for having a plethora of delightful shops to feed my guilty pleasure!

You know this is a good sign!!!

BONUS! Wooden shoe SLIPPERS! I am wearing them right now as I blog about this. Great purch!

To those of you who adore souvenirs I say, “Bon Ap!”

Scooter of my dreams….I think I will name her Annabelle…

I have lived here too long.  I now want to trade in my fancy new Highlander for a Vespa Scooter.  What’s wrong with me!!!!???  Actually, nothing is wrong with me.  They didn’t offer the Highlander in power blue.  Therefore…scooter wins!

She is going to be a real beaute around the streets of Little Rock…the wind  in my hair, the pavement under my feet….oh the looks I will get!  “Look at that B**CH!  She’s gone lost her mind!”  There is no way you can look at little Annabelle here and tell me you wouldn’t just fall in love with her.  In fact, I dare to bet that most of you would be begging me to pick you up for work/dinner/movies/etc.  Who doesn’t want to feel this little hot rod’s power beneath their booty?

Coming to a Little Rock near you (as soon as I convince Daniel it is safe to drive ‘er on a road that is NOT just my driveway)…

This is a duo that was MEANT to be. Soulmates!

Anne Frank Haus…

This post will now lead you to the educational portion of my blog (don’t worry, just one)!

History is so, so, so NOT my forte.  However, WWII history and the history of the Nazis and Jews and the Holocaust is very much “in my wheelhouse”!  I am very intrigued by it and love to learn about it.  So, naturally, I wanted to visit the Anne Frank museum while we were in Amsterdam.  Not only the museum, but it is the house that they hid in for years until the Nazis discovered their hiding place.  It was so interesting and so sad.

For once, I was the one getting educated!  See for yourself…I bet you can’t help but be interested…Bon Ap!

The house itself...Anne and her family lived here in hiding. Their secret hideaway was camouflaged by a bookcase.

Here is what Anne actually looked like.

As usual...Daniel sneaking illegal photos 😉

Amsterdam or Bust!

Mom and Dad wanted to do a little traveling during their 10-day European vacay.  So…their choice of destinations…Amsterdam.  At the time that my mother was telling me she really wanted to go to Amsterdam, I thought it a little strange, but what the heck…sounds good to me!

A couple of weeks after we booked our tickets, mom called to tell me that some girls at work were telling her that Amsterdam is the maryjane capital of the world.  Oh, and that there is an area…”the redlight district”…that is a very common hooker hangout.  I said, “Yea.  Where have you been?  Under a rock?!”  I thought those were the only 2 things that Amsterdam was known for!

Well, thus began a journey.  I do have to say, we did it up right this time.  Here is our first class ticket to Amsterdam…Bon Ap!

Kicked back and loving first class train tickets!

Daniel and I didn't think they were too shabby ourselves!

NERD ALERT! Daniel downloaded an app to tell us how fast we were going on the train! Yes, there's an APP for THAT!

Doghouse Daddy-O…

You will kindly remember that Mom and Dad hit up Le Louvre on Wednesday–well–kinda hit up Le Louvre!  It turns out that Mom was hoping to learn a thing or two and Dad might have been a little….um….uncooperative.  Come Thursday, Dad was all about learning at Versailles.  He even got the audio tour and followed it!  I knew exactly what he was up to–making amends!  Ha ha.  Meanwhile…I trapsed ahead and stopped to sit on every bench and wait on the ‘rents.  I have to admit that I was getting a pretty big kick out of watching my father “pretend learn”.  Well done, Dad!  Bon Ap!

Can't you just see the immense amount of knowledge that is being gained here!?

I think he is slightly annoyed with the audio tour at this point...

Mom, on the other hand, was eating that knowledge up!

"Hey Dad, Do you think you could tell me what this whole Palace thing is all about when you get done?" I have never really listened to my audio tour!

VER.SIGH.

I pretty much feel like I have been to Versailles (VER.SIGH.) 932 times at this point.  But, being the loving daughter that I am, I went again with Madre and Padre.  I am going to spare you any further photos of the Palace of Versailles, but here are some lovely family photos (or at least PART of the family–Daniel conveniently had to work!)

We made it through the casa pretty quickly and then out to the gardens.  I think Mom and Dad saw a lot of walking and some more stairs in their future if we decided to wander around the gardens too much, so instead, we found a cute little cafe to have some lunch and drinkies!  Bon Ap!

Close up! Hey, my arms are not very long...what can I say?!

And now…what to eat?  What to drink?  Where to go?  Hmmmm….

This will do just fine! Oh, and the waiter spoke great English--bonus!

Mom and Dad really liked the Oktoberfest Paulaner. Stay tuned....that Paulaner beer will make another appearance at Oktoberfest Munich!

A three minute tour…

After their morning of sight seeing at La Defense, my parents headed to Le Louvre.  What did they think you ask?  I am pretty sure they hated it.  They managed to get through the biggest museum in the world in approximately 3.2 seconds.  You can tell they were just ready to get out…look how blurry the photos are!  Bon Ap!

And the crowning moment...Mona Lisa (kinda)

To be honest, Mom and Dad, my sentiments exactly!

Wednesday’s Highlights…

As is typical on Wednesday mornings…I had my French lesson at La Defense.  So, while I was learnin’ me some Francais…Q&L were seein’ the sights.  Basically, those sights consist of Napoleon’s Thumb and La Grande Arche (named accordingly).  Bon Ap!

La Defense...

Napoleon's thumb (no idea the significance?)

La Grande Arche (my French lessons are on the 2nd-to-highest level for those of you who care)...

Choco-tinis…yes please!

After a delightful day on the river cruise, we scurried back to the apartment and quickly began to partake in Chambord Choco-tinis!  The Hanssens picked these up at duty-free on their way to see The Barnetts–a perfect pairing!  Bon Ap!

Daniel says, “Thanks for the Chivas too!” The Frenchies won’t know what to do with our non-wine selection at the next partay!

Don’t forget the River Cruise…

For some reason myself and my family LOVE cruises.  I am not talking about the big, fancy Carnival-type cruises.  I am talking about every dolphin cruise, shell-searching cruise, whale cruise, river cruise, sunset cruise…and of course, the Seine River Cruise.  So, Tuesday happened and we headed to the River.

Of course, I must mention this plan came about right after we went to the Le Louvre and it was closed.  Of course it was closed!  What was I thinking…it was Tuesday.  So stupid and so typical.  Dear France, you irritate the crud out of me sometimes!  Bon Ap!

Apparently the cruise photographer (AKA:  My Dad) loved the bridges of Paris…here are a few…

Round bridges...

Old bridges...

New bridges...

Three bridges...

Square bridges...

Fancy bridges...

Overall…it was the Dr. Seuss of bridge viewing…