Dear blisscationists, today I want to talk about Amsterdam and how I realised that I am probably the most ridiculous blogger on the entire internet.
I am PMSL just remembering this trip. You see a cute picture on Instagram and you have no idea of what happened behind it; but that’s the magic of photography, it captures an instant and with it the memory that surrounds that moment. In this case, these memories have got me into tears, as I remember how ridiculous some of these moments were!
First things first. I forgot my camera. Yeap; I am that kind of person who leaves the camera behind with its battery plugged and charging in the home office…I am an utter disaster. Worst thing is that I realised when Victor said: where is the camera? There was no way we could make it to the airport on time if we turned back, so I guessed my OnePlus 5 camera had to step up throughout this trip.
Bristol to Amsterdam with KLM ✈️
When we arrived at the airport and took a taxi; it was late and I was tired. To our surprise, an overwhelming majority of the fleet were Tesla cars (jaw dropping sound); fluffing awesomeness. Apparently, Tesla’s vehicles have become particularly popular taxis in the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway; that’s what our taxi driver said at least.
…so this is how famous people feel when they arrive at JFK airport in New York, right? Slow motion hair movement, the driver opening the door (I suddenly feel a bit of a diva, very Shay Mitchell) and then offering us water. #feelinglikeroyalty
We stayed at the Moxy Amsterdam Houthavens 3*** , courtesy of Marriott Hotel – not because we are super cool and get stuff for free, but because my fiancé is a consultant and stays at a Marriott hotel on an weekly basis. Marriott Bonvoy reward points babes 😎.
The hotel is quite new. You can see that it’s been decorated with a youngster vibe, aiming for hashtags and an influencer-based clientele. Maybe they got it right; never taken so many pictures inside a hotel.
We had dinner at the Moxy, which doesn’t own a kitchen. It has a variety of pre-cooked meals and snacks. We tried to find a place to eat in the neighborhood, but the hotel is in the middle of nowhere and the two nearest restaurants had their kitchen closed by the time we arrived. The food wasn’t actually disappointing at all, probably because looking at those packaged meals my expectations were minimal. I ate grilled salmon with vegetables and potatoes with what I believe was lemon-herb butter sauce.
The hotel is supposedly well-connected to the city centre, but we were unlucky and the nearest bust stop was closed, so we had to walk to the next one which was a bit further away than expected. When we went for a walk the night before, we saw a few car2go electric cars parked around the hotel. We checked it out on their website and we agreed that it probably was the best and most convenient solution to go from the hotel to the city centre. Tesla, complimentary hotel…who would walk 15 min to take the bus after that? And I wondered, am I becoming a snob? Probably.
How it works?
- Join car2go.
- Find & reserve. With the car2go app you see immediately which cars are available nearby. Choose one and reserve it up to 20 minutes before departure.
- Drive. Use your car2go app to start your rental, then simply drive to your destination.
- Park. You can park your car2go for free on every public parking lot within the car2go home area.
In the city centre, you can park at any electric parking space and leave the car charging; actually, if your battery is < 25% you get 10 free minutes by leaving the car plugged to a charging tower.
If you want to know more about how it works and prices, visit their website https://www.car2go.com/NL/en/amsterdam/
So we were finally there. In the heart of Amsterdam. 🖤
Following the recommendations from our friends Marta Conde and Belén Matas, we decided to take part in the Sandemans ‘Free Tour of Amsterdam’. It starts in front of the National Monument in Dam Square; we 100% recommend it. This ~2½-hour walking tour covers the main sights of the inner city. Our guide had a very unique style of combining history with entertainment/jokes. We experienced the history of the city, from its start as a muddy village on the river Amstel, to how it became the most important trading city in Europe. On this tour, you’ll hear the stories you’d never hear otherwise. We enjoyed it so much that we ended up booking another two tours on that same day: ‘Red Light District Tour’ and ‘Alternative Tour of Amsterdam’.
By the way, I lost those sunglasses. I left them in a car2go. 🙄
In between tours, we had lunch at Sonneveld. This place was recommended by the tour guy.
We were exhausted by the end of the day because we pretty much walked everywhere. So right after the last tour, which finished by the Red Light District, we had a beer at the micro-brewery Brouwerij De Prael to give a rest to our feet. If you love beer, you will like this place.
Someone said liquid bacon?
We had dinner at a close by small Thai restaurant, Thaise Snackbar Bird. I had red Thai curry.
I still think Jicsaw in Cricklade, Swindon (UK) is the best Thai restaurant I have ever been to (and we have been to Thailand). If you have a favourite Thai place, let me know in the comments the name and city.
The following day we decided to explore the tulip fields. We took a train from Amsterdam Sloterdijk (central station) to Schiphol airport (bear in mind there is no direct transport to Keukenhof). Once you arrive at Schiphol, walk to the bust station in front of the airport and take bus number 858; it runs every 15min, but it only runs during Keukenhof open season.
Once we got there, we rented orange bikes and decided to explore the area.
We took a detour and ended up at the beach. If I only knew, I would have brought my swimwear because it was hot! 33°C hot exactly.
At that beach I saw a really good idea if you have children. It’s a waterproof bracelet on which you write your mobile number; if your child gets lost, whoever finds the kid only needs to call the number.
Seeing the tulip fields is quite an experience. You see so many pictures online and wondered if it is actually that impressive when you are there. I mean, flowers are beautiful but… jaw dropping? Actually, it was incredibly beautiful. I asked Victor to take 623 pictures so I could use 4 – please tell me is not just me…😩. There should be a “The-photographer-behind-your-Instagram-posts Appreciation Day”. In the end, Víctor took some beautiful shots!
We had a drink close to the beach and headed back to Amsterdam. These pictures may look glamorous but not so much me sweating…summarising, I need to do more exercise.
Back in Amsterdam we wondered around the city centre and visited the Van Gogh Museum. Strongly recommended if you like paintings and museums. My dad paints and I am quite good but I get bored…but I do appreciate a good piece of art.
This one above is my favourite one from Van Gogh. The Japanese style is captivating.
During this trip, the tour guy probably gave us the best piece of advice which I have been applying to every trip so far.
“Don’t do the recommended things when visiting a city if you are not interested at all in them. Tailor your trip and do the things you love. If you don’t like museums don’t visit them; follow your heart, not what people or tourism websites think you should be doing.”
Best advice ever.
Following this piece of advice, we included two additional visits to our weekend.
1. Gassan’s diamonds factory.
Victor parents own two jewelry shops, so I have come to learn more about diamonds. It was a fascinating tour; we saw people cutting the diamonds, polishing them and we learn about the shape, the cut, the carats, the clarity, etc. We had a chance to see some beautiful diamonds after a short marketing presentation, when they obviously try to convince you to buy one. I do want another diamond…but no money mrs…
2. My favourite kind of museum: Amsterdam Cheese Museum.
I mean, they have a tiny museum(?), but it’s basically a store full of cheese. Who cares? Cheese is always a good idea and it gave us the opportunity to buy some souvenir cheese.
After we had a nice breakfast, we visited the World Press Photo Exhibition 2018 on its world-wide tour showcasing the stories that matter with photography from the 61st annual World Press Photo contest. https://www.worldpressphoto.org/ All of them were really good; but I guess that if you are showcased in this exhibition, you must be one of the best photographers in the world.
We spent a good couple of hours looking at the exhibition; after that, we had lunch at De Bazar Amsterdam. It’s a Moroccan restaurant; cheap and good food.
We kept exploring Amsterdam and its streets during the rest of the day.
You know that I am obsessed with ramen…so when I had the chance I go to a ramen place – Amsterdam is no different. We had ramen (karaka ramen which is spicy) and a bao at Ramen-ya. It wasn’t the best ramen I have had, but enough to keep me going until the next time I was in London. By the way, if you are in London…please visit my post My favourite places to eat in London (Asian food). These are some of my favourite places!
I mentioned earlier that there were some ridiculous moments during this trip. Minutes before the below picture was taken, I struggled to get on top of the M. THAT should have filmed. Not glamorous at all. Have you ever seen a seal crawling on top of a flat rock?
Exactly.
You can see that I am lifting my finger, right? There was a kid who didn’t care I was on the M and was trying to jump on it… with me there… so I am just basically asking him to wait a minute. Don’t know which kid is worse.
If you are wondering where is the marijuana and the smoking…you got the wrong post. I stopped smoking (tobacco) 6 years ago, so I do not intend to fill my lungs with any kind of smoke anymore. I am OK with other people smoking in front of me, but I do believe that cannabis should be only prescribed to those who really need it due to an illness and pain. I am a pharmacist after all.
In the end we had a wonderful time in the Netherlands. The weather was really nice during our stay and we enjoyed the vibe. It is a place I could easily see myself living at.
If you have any questions about our trip, please leave a comment with your question. Otherwise, DM me on Instagram @myblisscation.
Love, Angela.