Netherlands: Amsterdam- Van Gogh and Banksy!

Van Gogh is my ABSOLUTE favorite artist. I love how I get lost in his vibrant colors, deep swirls of thick paint, and the feelings that his paintings evoke. So obviously, this meant that the Van Gogh Museum was an essential visit for me on this trip. I had been to Amsterdam in 2006 with Nora, and we visited this museum, but 11 years later it is a completely different place. A whole new building and everything; able to fit and display even more of his work! It is amazing!

Van Gogh

Van Gogh

Van Gogh

Van Gogh

Van Gogh

Van Gogh

After the Van Gogh Museum, we took a short walk to the Moco Museum where a Banksy exhibit was being showcased:

Banksy

Banksy

Banksy

Banksy

And then more random meandering across this canal-laden city of architectural wonder!
What I love about Amsterdam is that there are minimal cars, as everyone bikes everywhere. I wished that we lives somewhere like this...

And with that, our incredible trip comes to a close.

Netherlands: Amsterdam- Trains, Heineken, and the Red Light District

Time to transition from Paris to Amsterdam, and what better way to travel than by train!!??!!
MY.ABSOLUTE.FAVORITE.
We took the late morning train, to be lazy and relaxed, and sat back with wine and enjoyed the journey.

I am a lucky lady! My husband cleaning the train window to optimize my view. The conductor chuckled at him <3

We did the Heineken Brewery tour and it was fairly awesome, actually.
My favorite part was talking to the bartender at the end, as the 3 of us connected immediately over travel experiences...and he pretty much ignored everyone else for a good 45 minutes!

Heineken Brewery

Heineken Brewery

Heineken Brewery

Heineken Brewery: I am much more impressed with the original bottles!

Heineken Brewery

Heineken Brewery

Heineken Brewery: They still house the horses here, they were just out at the time on a publicity things :(

Heineken Brewery

Heineken Brewery

Heineken Brewery: Our awesome bartender!

Heineken Brewery: Made me think of our punny Dave Greenhalgh <3

And time for random walking around Amsterdam!

The main train station

A local brew

France: Paris- Time for the Louvre!!!!

Of note, before delving into the Louvre, we also visited the Musee d'Orsay earlier in the trip, but they had a very strict 'NO CAMERA' policy, and plenty of people around enforcing it if you tried to ignore the rule. Honestly, we don't mind, as it does tend to make you (and the people around you) be more focused and aware. I just wanted to mention that it is also a fantastic museum in the city that is worth your time!

And now: The Louvre!
We were really lucky with the Louvre Abu Dhabi opening two weeks prior to this visit, and Adam got an 'Art Pass' membership at that time. This allows him and a guest (ME!!!) unlimited access to the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Paris. We walked right into the Louvre in Paris, without waiting, just by showing this card. It was awesome, bypassing all of the lines, and there were plenty of them. We were actually some of the very first people into the museum, and immediately went to the very end (where the Mona Lisa is) and then worked our way back towards the front. It was perfect, as it felt that we had the place to ourselves most of the time!

Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Athena