Number one on the list of favorites? That has to be the Amsterdam zoo ARTIS. After all, a visit to ARTIS is always fun, no one can make us doubt that. A day at the zoo is probably (almost) a regular thing in the weekend. Admiring wild (and less wild) animals; the kids - and ourselves too - think it's fantastic. Just an afternoon of watching animals together. And even on colder days it's still fun. Then we just dive into the warmth of the indoor aquarium, where Nemo might be swimming around. Or rainbow...

ARTIS

Truth be told, it is the busiest, most touristy market in the city. Many stalls, for many people. That means a wonderful day of wandering. Buy goodies for the weekend at the stalls and always buy flowers Sijmons. That is in the end namely the best part, because here the kids can choose a flower themselves (shhh: because that is a secret, otherwise the flowers will be used up...). And on the way home I actually eat all the new acquisitions I just scored. That's how it should be, visiting the market.

It is Pancake farm Meerzicht where we go for, right, pancakes. Hand on heart that they are the tastiest in the whole of the Netherlands. No, no: not those thick 'American' stacked pancakes. Please don't. Here it is the traditional pancake that can be found on the menu. Preferably without any fuss (although you can order all kinds of crazy things, whatever floats your… appetite) with a sticky layer of syrup or a big pile of icing sugar. And then you can relax with the kids in the playground or take a walk through the Amsterdamse Bos. After all, you are there.

Oh and if you want to spend a whole day there, why not visit the Ridammerhoeve goat farm (note: it's a 3 kilometer hike first). The animals can be fed and a little further on the goats and piglets are waiting for a cuddle. Sweet.