Playing Tourists: Den Haag & Amsterdam

{1st row: The Binnenhof in The Hague, IAMsterdam letters, The Heineken Experience. 2nd row: The Heineken Experience.  
3rd row: in the sun(!) pizza pies at Pastanini, riding bicycles Dutch style}

Having my brother and his girlfriend, Kelsey, visit us in Holland was such a treat. With our guests staying the weekend, I loved that our kitchen was crowded when we cooked meals together and that we shared bicycles side-saddle like true Dutchies!

Not only did I spend some much needed quality time with my brother but we also got to experience Den Haag (our current home) and Amsterdam (our previous home) as tourists would. Some of the fun things we did included walks along the charming quintessential Dutch canals, dinner at our absolute favorite Italian restaurant and spending the afternoon beer tasting and playing at the Heineken Experience!

For anyone who has ever thought the Heineken Experience is a tourist rip-off (as I admittedly did) it is so worth every euro! Tickets are €18 which includes a ton of interactive games, loads of Amsterdam history, a glimpse at the gorgeous Heineken shire horses, three generous beer tastings and even a 20 minute boat ride through the canals! We spent a good two hours at the museum before realizing that we had to catch the train home and get dinner started or else I think we could have stayed even longer, and drank even more.

It was a great weekend to have family in town - I love that my brother and I both live in Europe now! 

Thanks so much for visiting, Carlo and Kelsey! See you in London in a couple weeks!

*   *   *