Amsterdam!!!!!
Woah…just reminiscing on it takes me to cloud 9…literally lol After our four day stay in Paris, my husband and I hopped on a plane and flew to Amsterdam. The flight was literally 90mins, but I finally was able to sleep. Our last 24 hours in Paris were full of non stop activities.
When we exited the airport/shopping center we were greeted by the infamous I amsterdam sign and from that moment forward we knew that it was on and popping!! lol
Our Uber driver gave us all of the tea on Amsterdam. He informed us about the culture of the city and places we should visit during our 48 hour stay. When we arrived at our AirBnb, we were not prepared for the ultimate struggle getting inside. The listing mentioned that the host’s home did not have a lift (elevator) but we didn’t expect to have to carry four suitcases up four flights of narrow, spiral, steps. Luckily, once we finally made it inside, our host Max poured us two cold glasses of white wine. By this time, I was so sleep deprived I nearly passed out on his table lol. But since we were so early, we couldn’t check in and were left to roam the streets of Amsterdam for a few hours.
Our first stop was at a local restaurant to grab breakfast. The eggs were good, but the pancakes were nothing close to IHOP lol. They also eat a lot of ham here, similar to Paris. My husband and I don’t eat pork so unfortunately, there were no other options for breakfast meats. Nutella is also very popular in Europe. I attempted to try the pancake and Nutella mix, but ended up not liking it at all! After leaving here we stopped at a local produce market to grab some snacks and drinks, a coffeeshop to grab some….lol and headed back to our AirBnb.
Our plan for our first day was to visit the Amsterdam Dungeon, but as you can imagine we tapped out for seven hours!!!! Realizing that the night was still young, and that we weren’t getting any younger by staying in our room, we quickly got dressed and headed to the “Centre” which is like Amsterdam’s downtown area.
Our first stop was Smokey’s Coffeeshop. Now, without getting into too much detail haha, I have never experienced anything like this before! It literally was like a sports bar/pool hall….just without alcohol. From what they did offer, you could find a little something for everything lol. As my husband and I indulged in the treats from Smokey’s we were blown away at how quiet the environment was. Now don’t get me wrong, it was VERY crowded, but everyone was just so….chill lol.
Following our first coffeeshop we went to…..another one lol and finally got food. We bypassed burger joints, and chicken shacks, and decided to try Crispy’s. Needless to say we weren’t disappointed….and it’s not just because we had the munchies lol. Their chicken kabob was to die for!! After filling our bellies we headed to a nightclub and danced the night away. To our surprise the DJs at the club and the coffeeshops played music from artists like Snoop Dogg, Bob Marley, Cardi B, and JLo.
On our last day, we started early because we had to cram EVERYTHING into less than 24 hours! We finally made it to the Amsterdam Dungeon and left saying WTF! lol Definitely a cool experience. We then hopped on a canal cruise and ended our excursions at Madame Tussards Wax Museum.
Many people asked us what place we liked better, and honestly it’s hard to compare. Paris was very touristy and Amsertdam was very chill, but exciting at the same time. The bike culture is very heavy in Amsterdam. Bikers have their own lanes, traffic signals, and bike garages lol.This is something that the United States needs, seeing as though we’re an obese country. All in all, I will definitely visit Amsterdam again, probably next year for some friends’ birthdays lol. One change that I'll make is to actually stay in the centre. Everything is literally within walking distance and the entire area is a circle.
Until next time…..
Be sure to check out my vlog to see more about our anniversary vacation!