Here’s the story about the place in which, when Faith {one of my roomies you met from my Portugal post} makes a comment about wanting coffee, I point to a coffee shop… BUT a coffee shop in Amsterdam is NOT like a Starbucks or Pete’s Coffee. A coffees shop in Amsterdam is a place known for selling weed and those kind of products, so I really don’t know what they refer to legit coffee shops {like the ones we are used to}. Anyways… I’ll start this trip from the beginning with you, because it was a busy and relaxing trip to say the least.
I have been wanting to visit Amsterdam since I got to Europe because I had heard so many good things about it and when my roommates in Madrid went, I didn’t join them BECAUSE I was originally going for a festival with a guy I had met; HOWEVER, that is a story for another time {so if you want to hear about that, feel free to reach out to me personally}. All that matters though is that I FINALLY made it.
So, basically because I end work the latest, Kaylie {one of my other roomies}, Lauren, and I headed to the airport and were on our way to meet up with Faith who had flown out earlier on Friday because she went to France on Wednesday and was meeting up with us. Faith had set up the AirBNB where we were going to stay right in the center of the city, so when the three of us landed, we headed straight to the address Faith had given us {which was wrong… BUT we eventually made it about forty minutes later}. Upon our arrival, with our mindsets of going to sleep early so that we could have a busy day, Faith was popping the Veuve and we were out of the door within an hour to take on the city at night. Because Ryan {who’s been to Amsterdam about eighteen times} sent me a list of things to do and to look out for, we knew where would be good and we knew where to stay away from.
We managed to walk to the W Hotel a few streets away and I somehow managed to talk the bouncers into letting us into the exclusive party… Honestly, I don't know how, but all that matters is that we made it in. There we were surrounded by people in wigs, midgets dancing around the floor, strobe lights, men in leather, and so many more other sights. When we got home, around three o'clock in the morning, I made broccoli for Faith and myself, and then we were all off to bed.
Not expecting to have a late morning, we managed to sleep until around eleven o’clock, and then we got ready as soon as we could so that we could make it to The Avocado Show for brunch: a restaurant that strictly uses avocado in EVERY dish, and every singly plate that they bring out is so aesthetically pleasing. To say the least, it was my recommendation that I had found by being tagged in a Facebook post about it a multitude of times; however, we had about an hour wait, so we decided to walk around the neighborhood in which it was located and take some pictures in front of a wall that we had seen when we were driving up. Once time had passed and we indulged in our dishes, we were out, energized, and ready to start our day.
Following our brunch, we headed to near where our little canal cruise was supposed to be that we had bought tickets for when we woke up and because we were a little bit early, we got to walk around a little bit. The city was BEAUTIFUL and kind of reminded me of London in a way, especially with the weather, so I guess that kind of helps with the explanation of why I enjoyed Amsterdam. There were people on bikes EVERYWHERE and the sections that were designated for bike racks were INSANEEEEE!!
Our boat cruise began its journey during mid afternoon and only lasted about an hour or so, but it was neat to see the entirety of the city just by going in and out of canals. I had NO idea prior to seeing where our AirBNB was on a map, how much water consumed Amsterdam. We popped a bottle of champagne {mainly for pictures because it was apparently terrible}, learned about some of the history of the Netherlands, talked about our plans, and took tons of pictures {per usual}. Once we had made it back to the dock, I lead us to the “IAMSTERDAM” letters where a skate competition just so happened to be taking place and we hung out there for a little bit.
When the weather started to get a bit chilly for us, we headed to our place, got changed, and were ready to begin the night. Around eight in the evening, we made our way to the Red Light region of Amsterdam and walked around a little bit. Looking in shops, and not quite making it to the infamous red light street. By nine, we wound up at a delicious thai food restaurant {Bird Thais Restaurant}, that both Ryan and Donovan {my supervisor from work} recommended, and that lasted about what felt like three hours. Following dinner, we walked deeper into the Red Light District where we found ourselves on the main street… It was PACKED!! So many people pushing and shoving. So many men walking in and out of the lit rooms. So many new experiences for me which were so eyeopening. It was sad to me seeing the girls in the windows trying to grasp the attention of men who walk by… Our night on the street didn't last long at all however, because not all of us were comfortable and we were not about to let one person go home alone, so we managed to find a random club where we basically just stood for a few minutes, and then we went home to get a good night’s sleep.
For our last day, we wanted a delicious and filling breakfast, so we went to a place named Pancakes that Ryan had recommended in the city center region, which was about a ten minute walk from our place, and we stuffed our faces with big pancakes and crispy bacon. I don't know if they were some of the best pancakes {and homemade syrup} we had ever had or if we were just extremely hungry, but whatever it was, it was one of the most fulfilling meals of our trip. Following breakfast, we headed right across the street to the Amsterdam Sex Museum and did our walk through which was kind of interesting and funny at the same time. There was history about the introduction of sex into the movie industry, there were articles about Marilyn Monroe as the sexual icon, there were random and weird sculptures, among other things that filled the three story museum.
When we had finished there, we didn't have TOO much time to kill, so rather than just sitting around and doing nothing, we decided to do a walk through of the Picasso Museum and then head back to the skate competition because it was such a fun atmosphere {and it was located right next to the museum}. We stopped at the market just next door to pick up some food and then had a big picnic while listening to music and watching known skaters from all over the world. For about an hour to an hour and a half, we watched the competition and then decided it would be best to head back to the AirBNB to grab our luggage and catch the train back to the airport.
Following my trip to Amsterdam there is still so much I wish I could have done when I was there. To begin with, one of the main things I wanted to do was go on a tour of the Helen Keller home; however, when I looked up tickets to go on a tour {a week before we had even left}, there was no availability, I also think it would have been fun to go in a couple of the museums that Ryan had sent me to check out and I would have LOVED to go on a bike ride around the city because there are so many hidden gems within Amsterdam that I feel like we didn't get to witness. It was definitely a fun trip though, so don’t get me wrong BUT I would love to go back in the future!!
Where will I be off to next weekend?! Honest, if any of you have any recommendations, reach out to me because as of now, I have no plans and although I love Barcelona, I LOVE exploring the world!! Stay tuned!!
xoxo V
