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