600,000 bikes

With over 400km of dedicated bicycle paths, Amsterdam is one of the world's most bike friendly cities. So while I was really nervous about taking the city on 2 wheels, it had to be done! I kept asking the girl at the bike rental shop if she had a smaller bike since I was certain I'd fall and break my head (no helmet) - my tippy toes barely touched the ground! I hadn't ridden a bike since the 8th grade, but Charlie hadn't ridden one since he was in 3rd grade, so that gave me some comfort. If I was going to fall, I was dragging someone down with me :)

Since we couldn't really navigate the streets while riding (I could barely use a hand to scratch my butt cheek without wobbling out of control), we rode around aimlessly instead - regularly pulling over for drinks, snacks, and ice cream. I'm pretty sure we made more stops to eat, than we actually spent on the bikes that day :) We did however, manage to find the Anne Frank Huis, or the annex, which was where Anne Frank spent 2 years writing her famous diary.... looking at this picture below now, I realiz only I could muster such an inappropriately cheezy smile at such an observed site!The 3 of us finished our 2nd day in Amsterdam fairly unscathed and I was actually sad to return our bikes. It felt so free and fun - I can't wait to do it again! Although my butt did feel so sore the next morning, I thought my @ss was bitten by a huge mosquito.