amsterdam

So, I'm basically in love with Amsterdam. I've heard people say they love it and I've heard others say they hate it. Getting there was rough and at one point Nick and I almost didn't even go, but I'm really glad we did.

Here's what happened: We got to Luton Airport with plenty of time before our flight left. We step into the security line, look at each other, and both said "oh shit". The line was ridiculously long as it was, but we finally made it towards the front after about half an hour. We step into the furthest line and realize quickly that we made a very bad choice. The security at Luton was incredibly unprofessional, rude, and disorganized. It was shocking. Basically they decided to merge two lines and allow about 40 people to skip us. Needless to say, we missed our flight. It was an absolute disaster and the first time in all my travels that I've missed a flight. It was bound to happen one day I guess!

We ended up getting another flight later on Thursday all the way at Gatwick. So we hopped on the train and travelled an hour and fifteen minutes to get there. Luckily we made it through check in and security without a hitch and had plenty of time to grab dinner and find our gate. 

We got to Amsterdam by 9 pm, checked into the hotel (Wyndham Apollo - amazing!) and had a couple drinks before venturing out to do some exploring in the city. We were both exhausted so we made our way back after a few hours of fun.

the dolphin…when in Amsterdam

Friday morning we woke up and went to a great little cafe for lunch called Mem's. We walked around, went to the Van Gogh museum, and checked out a local pub for a couple beers.

cheers

nick & i

truth

We walked to the Anne Frank House, just to check out the outside. We heard it was nice but just not worth the wait or the money so we didn't go in. Instead we went to a place called Barney's and then went on another nice long walk which involved lots of eating. That night we met up with Alex and James at a restaurant that my friend Courtney suggested to me called Razmataz. The food was delicious, the wine was great, and the conversation was hilarious. 

After dinner we walked to the Red Light District. Lots of people told me to go, lots of people told me not to. I didn't know what to think so I just decided "hey why not see it?". We did a quick walk through (I could've lived without it) and ended up at a bar to have a couple more drinks before heading back to our hotel.

red light

razmataz

i am amsterdam

canals

gorgeous city

more canals

ruks

feeling happy

even more canals

Saturday morning we woke up at 6:45 to make our flight back to London. I was definitely not ready to leave! I am certain that I'll be going back to Amsterdam before I move back to the States. And I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is thinking of going!

xx 

book of mormon // westminster // kensington // & a hundred other places

I had off all last week for my half term break and was very lucky to have my friend Nick come to London and visit. He arrived last Saturday morning and left today so he had a full 8 days in London/Amsterdam. I'm only going to post about what we did in London while he was here because we did A LOT. I'll do a separate post about our 36 hour trip to Amsterdam.

Well, first let me start with the night before Nick arrived. After months of waiting, I finally saw Book of Mormon at the Prince of Wales theatre in London. I actually can't say enough good things about it. It was one of the most hilarious things I've ever seen - it was crude and shocking but also sweet and you couldn't help but love each of the characters. I took a couple pictures before it started, but obviously I couldn't take any pictures during. If you haven't seen it yet, I would definitely encourage you to go. It's well worth the money and it's a fun night out!

So Saturday morning I woke up bright and early to get to Heathrow Airport. Nick had never been to London before so I didn't want to make him brave the tube on his own. After we got back to West Hampstead, we hit up The Wet Fish Cafe for a late brunch and then we went to Abbey Road. After Nick got his obligatory picture in front of Abbey Road (and after I accidentally dropped his new iPhone) we went to the Duke of York pub in St. John's Wood. It's only a 5 minute walk from Abbey Road and it's a great little pub; definitely one of my favorites in London. Alex and James met us there for a few drinks and then Nick and I went to get ready for our big dinner that night. We met up with several friends at Hakkasan for a very fun night out! We had an amazing dinner then went to the Dolphin club in Hackney for some dancing. 

duke of york

nick at abbey road

hakkasan

Sunday was a gorgeous day - perfect for going out and doing lots of sightseeing. We hit all the necessary places in London…Westminster Abbey, Parliament and Big Ben. Then we walked through Pimlico and Chelsea to Foxtrot Oscar for a late lunch. After our lunch, we met up at the Red Lion pub with Ali, Paul, Mel and Kyle for drinks. We went back to Ali and Paul's in Highbury to chill for a bit, then walked down to Upper Street to Gallipoli for a Turkish dinner. (I realize it's starting to sound like all I ever do is eat!)

BIG BEN 

blue skies

Monday was a museum day - I took Nick to the V&A museum at South Kensington. After a few hours at the museum, we decided to go for a walk through Kensington and Kensington Gardens. We ended up at one of my favorite places - The Churchill Arms pub on Kensington Church Street. It's a pub but also a Thai restaurant and the food is so good. After dinner, we walked around Notting Hill and Holland Park, then went to see 'Her' at the Coronet Cinema.

V&A

the churchill arms

kensington gardens

the churchill arms

We were so lucky to have 3 days of amazing weather, so by Tuesday I wasn't surprised to see the rain. It was pouring and we decided it was a perfect day to try and see the matinee showing of Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre. By the time it finished, the rain had cleared off and we walked to see Buckingham Palace. We went back to my flat, got changed, and met up with Kirsten and her fiancé for a drink. We had a reservation at 9:30 for Bocca di Lupo in Soho. Dinner was amazing (how did I not gain 10 pounds in the first 3 days?!) and the restaurant is really lovely on the inside. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who loves proper Italian food. After dinner, we met back up with Kirsten and Steve for more drinks and dancing! What a fun Tuesday night we had.

victoria palace theatre

buckingham

me and kirsten

By Wednesday, we were both ready to have a little time to do some things on our own! I absolutely love having visitors, but I especially love them when they are willing to go and have some adventures on their own. So while Nick wandered all around London, I did my lesson plans and all my other little things that needed to get done. We met up later at Bond Street to go for a walk down New Bond Street, Piccadilly and Regent's Street. We walked through Carnaby Street, too and stopped for a Ben's cookie. We decided we both needed a night to just chill so we grabbed sushi back in West Hampstead at Feng's and watched TV. 

nick in cookie heaven

On Thursday, we left for Amsterdam. I'll post about that separately! We arrived back Saturday morning early and got ourselves ready for the day. We went to GBK for lunch (Nick loved it) and then to Angel to meet up with Ali and Paul. They were sitting on the roof terrace at the Castle so we joined them to soak up some sun and drink a few. After we left, we went to Ali and Paul's to freshen up before we went to the Savoy. We took the bus and got dropped off right in front of Somerset House. We did a walk through and got to see it all set up for London Fashion Week. But the highlight of the night was definitely the Savoy. It was like stepping back into the 1920's. The cocktails are expensive, but worth it just to sit and soak up the atmosphere. 

the castle in angel

bus selfies

the savoy

where the band plays 

All in all it was a very busy, really fun week! I am so lucky to have people in my life who want to come visit me in London. 

xx

K

the week so far // ffiona's & flat white & taylor swift

Sunday morning I rolled myself out of bed to go to brunch with my friend Allison (fellow UNCW/ADPi alumnae) at a gorgeous little cafe/restaurant called Ffiona's (located on Kensington Church Street). Don't ask me why it has two F's...I have no idea. I will tell you this though; the brunch is incredible. Neither of us were in the moods for cocktails at 11 am on Sunday but the owner told us that they do half price drinks at Saturday brunch. So we will definitely be going back.

brunch menu

my blueberry pancakes and allison's french toast

After stuffing myself with blueberry goodness, I ran a few errands before meeting my other friend and fellow UNCW alum Jennifer. She has lived here for 5 + years so she always knows the good spots. We decided to meet at FLAT WHITE in Soho. A few before, Jennifer told me about how the coffee there is so good because it's Australian. Now I thought to myself "I didn't know Australian coffee was any good" but I was wrong my friends. I got a flat white and it was one of the best coffees I've had. It's super small in there and very crowded but if you can snag a table up, it's definitely worth it.

After we finished our coffee, we decided to enjoy the beautiful evening (no rain!!) with a stroll around Soho, China Town and Covent Garden.

chinese new year decorations in china town

On Tuesday night, me and a few of my American girlfriends went to the O2 centre for the Taylor Swift concert. This is actually the third time I've seen her in concert. We were pleasantly surprised to walk in and find out that our tickets were on the floor level - we were only about 20 feet away from T Swiz the whole time. It was so cool seeing her perform in a different country. She came out at one point in this adorable t-shirt that said 'I *heart* UK'. The truth is, people here really do love her! It was amazing to see how many fans she had. Her concert was awesome and even though I didn't know a lot of her new songs, I loved dancing and singing to the old ones. I have some pretty embarrassing videos of me and my friends 'singing' (AKA screaming) along to her and Ellie Golding. I will spare everyone the embarrassment though and will keep the video to myself! 

Tomorrow night, I'll be going to see Book of Mormon and holy cow, I am so excited! My friend is coming from the States to visit and while he's here, I'll be going to some of the best restaurants in London (honoring my NY resolution of trying new places!) Expect a big post next week.

xx