Heb je een fiets?

I arrived safely in Amsterdam and spent a few hours walking all around the city. I'm staying in de Pijp near Sarphatipark, and I walked all around the center of town and back. My biggest impression: bikes everywhere! I mean, everywhere and anywhere. For every car, you see 50-100 bikes going by. You'll see mothers with two children perched on their bikes, one in front and one in back in these ingenious little bike seats. You'll see people pushing around cargo bikes, bikes that fold in half, bikes with tiny windshields and rainflaps for the baby seats. I love it. I'd fit right in here with my awesome women's Trek bike that has an orange milk crate strapped on back. It just needs 2 baby seats attached to it and then I would look like a true Dutch woman.

It would have been fun to have Inga with me today as I wandered around town, but it will be much easier tomorrow at the conference without a toddler to run after. It's werid--I haven't had any time truly to myself for 5 1/2 years. I occasionally go on walks by myself in the evenings, but I don't think I've ever had a day where I haven't been around one or more of my children. And before that, I was married for 8 years. Today, I have nothing I have to do, no one to watch after, no one to talk to. It's been so long that I don't quite know what to do with myself!

Pictures coming once I get back to France. Pretty much all my pictures are of bikes.