Amsterdam

Hello!

So last weekend was Amsterdam. Tim, Ashley and I had an awesome time. Flying from Heathrow airport made us feel like we had money as we usually use the far away airports that fly budget airlines (Stansted, Gatwick or Luton). Heathrow is nice and easy because you can take the Picadilly Underground all the way to the Terminal from here in Kensington, pretty nice!! Anyways we left around 7am, and got to Amsterdam by around 1p.m. The nice think about not packing heavy and just carrying backpacks is it saves so much time checking your bag and having to wait for it after the flight. So once in Amsterdam we grabbed some food and then headed from the airport to the center of the city by train. (figuring out the train system in every city has been an adventure, I have now ridden local train transportation in Barcelona, Paris, London, and Amsterdam.

So we figured our way to the Crowne-Plaza by 2pm, the streets of Amsterdam are really easy to navigate. We decided that a nap was a good idea and enjoyed the comfort of non-dorm beds for a change!! We awoke to head off into the city and explore for dinner and the nightlife. Amsterdam doesn't sleep that's for sure, and you get that impression even at the very beginning of the night. We found a place for dinner and then headed off to explore the bars and see that famous 'red light district'....well if you've been to Amsterdam it certainly is an experience, that's for sure! Anyhow we ended up having a really good night and heading back to the hotel after enjoying some late night waffles (which they are famous for as well).

Next morning alarm clocks failed us and we ended up sleeping til just after noon - which we ended up not being too too upset about as on most trips its 'go, go, go' it was nice to relax on a trip. We got ready and headed out for a late lunch across the way at a pub. Unfortunately the entire time we were there it rained and was slightly freezing but at this point on Saturday we decided we needed to accomplish something in terms of seeing the city so we rented 'yellow bikes' and headed off to explore. Okay first, biking in Amsterdam is dangerous....there are more bikes than cars and there is an entire lane of every road for bikes. It's crazy! We basically biked down to where the Van Gogh Museum is and where the 'I AMsterdam' sign should have been , but they removed it for the first time in months as there was a function or soemthing. We followed the canals exploring back streets and even came across a candlelight march against hate crimes which was interesting. Also, nice part about Amsterdam is everyone speaks English!

We ended up at the Hard Rock Cafe for a 3 hours dinner a little bit later. It is located right on one of the canals so it was the perfect place to warm up and grab some food! At the end of dinner we made our way to a bar for a few drinks and decided to call it a night early. Sunday morning was waking up to go souvenir shopping and enjoy the sun for the first time all weekend. Sadly all good things must come to an end and we had to make our way to the airport for a 3pm flight home. Amsterdam was definitely a lot of fun, and a nice weekend was had by all.

Here are some pictures from our trip, as it rained almost the whole time the cameras weren't pulled out as much as normal:


I'm jealous as Thanksgiving approaches for all the fun you will have! I hope you have an amazing time together!!