Hi guys!
Really sorry about the delay in my post, no matter what I did it would not let me upload any photos! Nevermind, things happen. This week's post is about my holiday in Amsterdam. I went last week, for 5 days, from Tuesday until Saturday, and it was amazing!
Day 1
So on Tuesday morning I woke up at 4am (I know, how long!) and started getting ready! Still half unpacked, barely awake I somehow managed to be ready just on time (after the strenuous travel make-up application and complete re-pack of my suitcase after mother Bo declared my suitcase was too small - even though she's the one who suggested this particular suitcase) and off I went to pick up my boyfriend. So we got to his house, somehow managed to fit 3 - THREE - suitcases into Bo's little Fiat 500 - again, THREE - and off we went to the train station. Travelling on a Tuesday morning had a flaw - the motorway was packed, there was some problems or whatever, so the train seemed the only logical way of transport. And so we hopped on and off we went to Gatwick! Now, as soon as we got on the train the only thing me and Matt could think about was breakfast, and after double-triple-quadruple checking we found out there's a Wagamama's there, so I mean what else were we going to go for?!
Got to Gatwick and surprise, surprise, there were technical problems with the check-in, and we had to wait for HOURS AND HOURS AND HOURS (it wasn't, it was less than an hour but I'm very very very impatient so anything longer than 10 minutes seems like decades to me). But then it was sorted, and we went to security and I legit thought I was getting arrested because they had to search my bag and I thought 'crap they found my Paracetamol!!!' but it was actually just my Nintendo DS beeping because it was meant to go in a different box for a separate check but the man was cute and informed me about the bunch of Pokestops at the airport, which Matt appreciated a lot. And so off we went for breakfast, which turned into lunch because who doesn't want a Katsu curry at 10am?! It was magnificent!! Wish I got a picture of it! And then it was time to go to our gate, board the plane and off we went!!!
45 minutes later we landed in Amsterdam! All the dealings at the airport were very quick, and soon we were queuing to buy train tickets to get to our hotel. A couple of girls kindly gave us their 24-hour transport ticket, which was very kind of them, and so we departed on a journey to find our hotel.
An 11-minute train ride later we were at the hotel, and all I can say is OH MY GOD. The hotel was amazing! They had Apple Macs available for all guests to use, free movies, it smelled gorgeous, I don't think I've ever stayed in a hotel that was THIS nice. So after we checked in we went to check out the room, and it was honestly great! But seeing as at this point it was only about 1pm, we decided we didn't want to sit inside, and so we got changed and decided to check out a famous pancake bakery.
There was a tram stop about a minute walk from our hotel, which was super convenient for us as our hotel wasn't too central - still only 2 tram stops away from the centre. And so we set off. The only problem was that I didn't check where EXACTLY this pancake bakery was, and so we spent about 2/2 and a half hours looking for it. We eventually found it (it was near Anne Frank's house) and honestly, I don't think Matt ever experienced more of a 'HALLELUJAH THIS IS OVER' moment (I could see it all over his face!). We sat down, ordered some pancakes and my Lord they were AMAZING! Chocolatey, doughy goodness with a cheeky side of ice-cream - now that's what I call a proper pancake, not this toast crap we have over here. After we were done it was around 5pm, and we were absolutely knackered from travelling and then looking for a pancake bakery all over town, and so we decided to get some snacks for the room and go back to watch a movie and have an early night. So we got some chicken nuggets from Maccies, standard, got back to our hotel, had a shower, and dozed off whilst watching a movie whose name i don't remember...
 |
| Our tram stop - Princess Irendestraat |
 |
| Pancakes part I |
Day 2
 |
| Got some macaroons to try |
We woke up. We had a shower. We got dressed. And then we decided to get the most dangerous activity out of the way and rent a bike. We found a place called Mac's Bikes right outside of Vondelpark, and with our city cards we had a good discount. So we rented a bike, and after the lady and Matt spent about 10 minutes ensuring I am aware of all the traffic rules and regulations (the boring stuff basically) we FINALLY biked off. Got to Vondelpark and it was SO beautiful! We biked around, had a break to grab a drink, then set off again, and it was such an amazing experience. And then...*queue the Jaws music* we decided to bike in the city. This usually wouldn't be a problem, but seeing as in Amsterdam you're not only looking out for cars, but also buses, trams, pedestrians and other cyclists, who come at you from ALL directions, it proved rather difficult. 15 minutes, a passed red light, one near-death experience (Matt almost got hit by a car when I sped on a red light) we said enough, and returned the bikes (the relief on Matt's face was something to remember), but hey! I survived a bike ride! Almost died, but I didn't, so that counts!!!
After this we just wanted to chill, so we had a look at what shops Amsterdam offered, and spent a few Euros (I say a few, it wasn't a few, it was very many few's). For dinner we decided to try out the 'Dam Hard Rock, 11/10 recommend the food friends, 6/10 recommend the service. Overall though it was a pleasant experience with cocktails and good food. Quite honestly, I don't remember how we got back to the hotel, but I passed out cause I was KNACKERED...
Day 3
As Thursday loomed upon us, we decided this was museum day. We booked the Anne Frank house for 8pm, and so we thought we would check out the other educational stuff good ol' Dam had to offer. van Gogh museum was first, which was fun, definitely saw some funky paintings, established Van was a nutter, got some free postcards, saw the famous sunflowers...what else could you ask for?! After we got out, we've had enough of education stuff. So we looked for something else to do...
The day before we saw these funky pedalos on the canal, and so we decided - even with a 50%-50% chance of me ending up in the canal - that we want to try it out. We found a stand, and booked one pedalo for an hour. The problem is this stuff looks much easier when you're observing than when you're actually doing it. My first mistake was running onto the pedalo, completely forgetting that it is BASICALLY A BOAT, on the CANAL, with nothing preventing you from FALLING INTO THE CANAL if you don't get in carefully. However I managed to avoid that palaver with an outstanding trick I like to call 'falling into my seat and almost breaking a leg'. I think it's safe to say from then on it went downhill - we crashed into a bridge, into a houseboat, into another boat and then we almost hit a duck. But then Matt figured out it's better if he steers the pedalo, and so we went peacefully along the canal. It was an amazing experience and also an amazing workout - I actually promise it is hard work, do not be fooled by all those people looking content and like they know what they're doing because they DON'T. Now, at the end, we had to tie the pedalo to the little dock thing, and so one person had to stay in the pedalo. I mean I don't really understand how we came to the decision it was going to be me staying in that pedalo, but hey ho, life goes on. After multiple trials of reversing the boat so that Matt could actually tie it properly - and after the realisation I'm going to be a crappy driver - we FINALLY managed to deal with the task at hand, and I jumped out swiftly, without an accidental almost-injury.
We only had an hour and a bit until the Anne Frank tour, so we decided to walk there and have a look at more shops en route. We got to the Anne Frank house, but cameras weren't allowed so I haven't got any photos :(. But!!! We booked the Icebar for that night too! We got to the bar, got some little coins to redeem free drinks, and then we went inside. You get handed jackets to survive the freezing cold, and mine didn't have a zip! After the initial panic of getting frostbite and dying of the cold, I was forced to go in there without a done-up jacket. All I could think was 'get this alcohol in me to warm up'. But it wasn't actually that bad! I mean obviously it was cold, but it was definitely something you can survive in shorts - speaking from personal experience. After we got out of the ice bit, we stayed in the warm bar, because we got one free drink, and then we bought others because it was SO SO SO cheap. About an hour later we stumbled out of the bar, and we were STARVING. So slightly intoxicated, we went to BK and got SO. MUCH. FOOD. We jumped on the tram, and off to the hotel we went. Got to the hotel, put Pitch Perfect on, pigged out on our food, and fell asleep pretty content and happy (slightly feeling a hangover).
Day 4
 |
| I look well chuffed with myself |
After we got out, we went to the House of Bols, which if I'm honest was pretty boring, except for the smelly activity right at the beginning. You get a free cocktail after, but our bartender was a trainee and so we left FULL cocktails at the nearest table and decided to leave.
And so our search for glow golf began. Now I cannot express how much of a trek this was. It was like 3 tram stops, and a further 25 minute walk. But it was worth it! Stashed away at some hidden cafe, there was the greatest, 3D glow-in-the-dark golf course. I almost won, I think this is the first activity I was actually good at from the beginning. It all went too quickly! When we finished, I was starving, so we decided to go to this cute Italian place for dinner. 2 pizzas and a garlic bread later we were still peckish, and there was this pancake house I have been eyeing up for the past 3 days, and so we went for another pancake! The excuse was - how else can you compare which pancake was better if you only tried ONE?! But this one was FAAAAAAR better! I cannot express the joy I felt when I tasted this pancake...it was everything you look for in a pancake; thin dough, well baked, not too thick or thin spread of nutella, banana ice cream on the side, a sprinkle of icing sugar, its own choir singing holy songs about how amazing it is...if I could eat that pancake forever I would have. Afterwards the day was nearing an end, and yet again we were absolutely knackered. And so we departed back to the hotel, and had a long nap...
Day 5 -the last day
We woke up on Saturday morning, and it was fairly late as we allowed ourselves a lie-in. As we had to check out before 4pm, we decided to stay in, watch a movie, pack and make sure we have everything. So we watched a couple of movies, had a shower, got ready, packed everything, and went to check out. Citizen M was good to us, and we waved our last goodbye as we went to the train station, already planning when we can visit a different branch of this hotel (stay tuned for a planned New York trip). I had a palaver with the train tickets. Obviously you have to go through a gate to get to the platforms, just like in the UK. But the ticket just was not doing anything for me, and so in order to make the train I had to sneak in with some pregnant lady when she beeped her ticket. Absolute shambles! I promise it was valid, we only bought them 4 minutes before and Matt's was working PERFECTLY! 10 minutes later we were at the airport, checked in, handed our luggage in, and off we went to explore the shops. Our flight was delayed by 30 minutes, but this wasn't a catastrophe. When we got to our gate, we started reminiscing about the best AND the funniest parts of our trip, and once we took off we started regretting not going for longer.
So the Dam trip was a success! Did all the touristy stuff, all the leisurely stuff, all the other stuff...
- Rent a bike and survive = CHECK
- Visit a museum = CHECK
- Get on the canal = CHECK
- Get drunk = CHECK
- Survive the trip without an injury = CHECK CHECK CHECK
I could check off some other stuff but I think I'll keep this blog PG, but you get what I mean...
I hope you enjoyed this post, sorry for the delay! Let me know what you think. Have you been on any holidays yet> Done anything fun? Let me know! Thank you for reading!
iwi x
No comments:
Post a Comment