…Is what Adam said when he arrived at our apartment, popped open a beer and marveled at the view down our little, narrow street.

It truly is. Our last visitors of the year came for a whirlwind week in July. About a month ago. Remember my most recent post about not being busy? Well the day after I wrote it, that all changed and things have been non-stop around here. In a good way.

But I digress. This post is about our visit from Shannon, Adam and Chris, three of my dearest friends all the way back from high school! We go wayyy back. The entire week was constant laughter and fun. I still can’t stop myself from giggling at all the memories. And we did some cool stuff too! Here’s the short list:

– Van Gogh Museum. Only my second visit. Just as great as the first.

– Anne Frank Huis. Again, my second visit. Better than my fist when I was alone. Although you don’t really talk while in there, it’s better to have company.

– Amsterdam Noord & Noorderlicht Cafe. Per Adam’s insistence, we headed to Amsterdam Noord to try out this cafe and see the street art scene up there at NDSM-Werf. Naturally, took the wrong ferry and walked for an hour in pouring rain to get there, but it was worth it:

– Road-tripped to Belgium! We hit up Ghent & Bruges, two places we also visited with M&M when they stayed with us in January. I love Belgium for the beautiful architecture, interesting beers and delicious mussels. We had pots, and pots and pots! Also got to enjoy a free concert in Bruges’ main square on a mild summer night.

– Back in Amsterdam, we went on a boat ride on the sunniest, most pleasant day in Dutch history. Couldn’t think of a better way to end the week.

I even made these delicious rosemary vodka lemonades for the occasion:

Which reminds me… I haven’t shared recipes in awhile and I have been cooking up a STORM, you guys. More on that later.

It was truly an incredible week. So much celebrating. So much fun. Until we brought them to the airport. It’s always sad when our friends and family leave us, but this was a little different. This trio leaving was a very poignant, very sad realization as well – that’s it. No more visitors are scheduled at the moment as we decide what is next for us. Are we staying in Amsterdam? Moving within Europe? Heading stateside? You’ll just have to wait and see!

Coming up: Our anniversary vacation in Italy!