Tuesday afternoon.

After nap time, we took the tram to a playground we had seen from the canal tour. It was located right near the Heineken factory. I'm still not sure if it was open to the public, but nobody questioned our presence, so the kids played away.

Cool play structure! 

There were several areas to the playground - a few sand pits, this huge climbing structure, some seesaws, a traffic light, and many other fun things.

Can you spot SpiderZ?

There was a trampoline!!!

S played in a sand pit, while Z was on the swings with J.

 After the kids were done playing, we ate dinner right around the corner from the park, at a pancake house. 

Banged up nose.

S took a tumble on our way up to the apartment before nap time. She tripped in a doorway on a raised door frame and something hit her lip and gums, because both had cuts on them. Poor S! You can see in the background there is a carousel in the middle of the restaurant. 

My dinner - chicken schnitzel, although I split the chicken with everybody so they had a little protein with dinner. The pea veggie mixture was awful.

S's dinner - strawberries and whipped cream.

Z opted for mixed fruit and whipped cream on his pancake.

J got bacon, cheese and mushrooms on his.

Poffertjes.

 We all split these. They were yummy and very very bad for us. I will enjoy getting back to a normal diet once we are home. I'm really looking forward to seeing my kitchen again, and to having my normal coffee drinks. The Starbucks drinks in Amsterdam are not the same as in the U.S.

Tuesday morning.

This morning we took a canal boat tour. 

All ready to board!

The kids got activity books to help keep them occupied. 

Z & J. 

S & me. 

Ahoy matey!

We all had headphones to listen to a tour while we rode. The kids' was about pirates. S didn't listen to hers. 

Clock tower with four different clock faces, all of which are supposed to be on the same time but all are on different times, causing the bells to ring at completely random intervals. 

Clock tower from farther away. 

Eye. 

Nemo - science center for kids. 

Carre theater. 

Z completed one of the pages in the booklet for a chance to win a prize. 

Where we boarded our seafaring vessel. 

We want for lunch immediately after the tour, especially since S was complaining of hunger the whole tour. We ate at an Irish pub, and J had "the Irish breakfast." 

Hard Rock Cafe, which was next to the Irish pub. 

Monday pre dinner/dinner

After nap time, we took the tram back to the museum quarter to play on a playground. The Van Gogh museum was closed, so I was able to take better photos. 

Bunny ears. 

No bunny ears. 

This playground almost gave me a heart attack. 

Z was actually stuck at this point. 

While Z finished climbing, I took a couple of photos with S. She wanted to touch the water, so I let her (and then she put her fingers in her mouth- disgusting!!!). 

Striking a pose. 

It started raining, and it was getting cold, so we took the tram back to our neighborhood and went to the same restaurant, Bosco. It has a limited, set menu, which changes daily. 

Z ate mussels again, which we got as a starter. This is the second time he ate them, so I guess it isn't a fluke - he must really like them. 

He was pretty grumpy, and was impatient waiting for the other food to come, and kept making a yucky face, so we all mDe yucky faces. 

Z. 

J. 

S. 

Me. 

At the end, the waiter (Z's friend) let Z help him get the check. 

Z, our little waiter. 

Monday- winners and losers.

I was woken up this morning by this.

She was tickling my neck. I slept with S, because J is sick and coughing, and she usually gets scared at night. Every so often she whimpers, and I just have to touch her head and she stops. 

Z ended up going into J's room last night to sleep because he was scared. I don't know how he slept with all the coughing, but he did. He is taking a nap right now...

We began the day by going to Coster Diamonds for a tour, but all they did was give us wristbands and let us in to wander around by ourselves. We saw some diamonds in cases, and saw some guys supposedly working, and then S had to pee. I had to walk all the way through the maze of the building in a hurry to find a bathroom without a line. Once she was finished, we walked back to find Z and J, but there really wasn't much to see at all. Z begged us for permission to buy a diamond, but we said no (of course). Pretty much a waste, but luckily a free waste of time. 

Next, we took two trams back to a different part of Vondelpark in search of two different playgrounds. 

The kids got hungry, so we stopped in a bakery on the way.

We found the first playground. The Vondelpark playground was designed by the landscape architecture firm Carve. Its footprints link two circular playgrounds (which were designed by Aldo van Eyck in the 60's).

 Here is Z climbing up one structure.

You can find the Vondelpark playground by taking Amstelveenseweg to Felvoroute, and it is right by the Vondeltuin cafe. It was a rainy cloudy day, so not the best day for really playing on either playground, as there was wet sand everywhere, and the rain made the bars really slippery. There were some tough kids still playing away, though. On a beautiful sunny day, it would be heaven for all families, with the climbing and sand pit and the outdoor cafe for parents.

The large view.

There is Z, in the orange grey jacket.

S wasn't really interested in playing on that structure. She was still a little small to be able to climb up it, so we searched for the next playground. 

The treehouse play structure!!!!

We found it, after a lot of whining on S's part. It is really cool! Head left soon after Emmalaan joins Flevoroute. If you look at Google maps, you will see how the paths create a starfish above the Flevoroute. It is in the lower segment that backs to the Flevoroute, and on the other side of the structure are water fountains in the pond. I think it is 75 meters in length that is all suspended above ground. 

J helped S go through it the first time, and then I went through it with her on her second time. 

Z loved it!

There is S, with J behind her.

Waiting for the tram after a long walk back (and lots of carrying S). Upon seeing the photo, Z couldn't believe J gave him bunny ears. Z thought HE was the only funny one. 

We stopped for a late lunch at Ted's, right near our apartment. It serves breakfast all day long. The kitchen was backed up, so we had to wait a long time. In my opinion, it was overpriced. The serving sizes were pretty small.

Z, making kissing noises.

Z had said he saw people outside who "kept marrying each other." I asked him what he meant, and he made a kissing noise. Funny. Now we are back home for a late nap time. 

Sunday night dinner

We are at Bosco for dinner last night, a restaurant right near our apartment. 

Z got pasta, I got a roasted veggie salad, J got mussels and pasta, and S got a cheeseburger. 

All was shared and eaten. Z actually ate two of J's mussels! This is huge! Z never touches ANY type of seafood, not even shrimp. I was so proud of him. He actually liked them!

The waiter let Z help prepare our desserts. He got to put on caramel sauce and whipped cream. We were sitting right in front of the kitchen, and Z was playing games with the chef. Nice crew.