Earlier this year I visited Amsterdam for the first time ever. It had always been somewhere that was on my bucket list and after I invited along on a trip with some fellow bloggers, I thought there was no time like the present. We got everything booked up and less than a month later I was sat on the plane ready to take off. Talk about last minute…
Before going to Amsterdam I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew there was a lot of canals, incredible food, coffee shops and sex museums. To be honest, that’s pretty much what I found when I got there.
As I am hoping to go back to Amsterdam at some point in the near future (we’re thinking for the Spring Break Festival next year), I thought I’d share with you some of the main reasons I fell in love with Amsterdam:
The Food
Ah, food.
I love trying new foods while travelling and although I am not the most adventurous, Amsterdam had a lot to offer than I knew I’d want to get in my belly. We had chocolate covered waffles, frites, stroopwaffles, giant pizza slices and so much more. As I can only eat so much, we didn’t even get to try everything we wanted so that is DEFINITELY an excuse to go back.
The Buildings
I LOVE looking at buildings (I think my Instagram gives that away a little) and the buildings in Amsterdam did not disappoint. From the incredible Central Station to the rows of buildings along Damrak, the whole city was very pleasing to the eyes.
The Design
One thing I noticed while wandering around Amsterdam was that everywhere was so damn Stylish, haha, geddit?
The brunch bars had an impeccable design, apartments looked as though they were beautiful both inside and out and even out hotel had a quirky design edge to it. I loved seeing the different styles Amsterdam designers have and it’s even given me a little bit of inspiration for my own home – right now I’m in love with these Colour collection blinds designed by Scholten & Baijings as they’d look stunning in my bedroom.
The History
We didn’t get the chance to go to many museums as we only visited for 2 and a half days, excluded travel. We did however, learn a lot from the museums we did go to. My favourite was definitely the sex museum as between all the weird and wonderful things there I actually learnt a few things. When I go back next time I’d love to visit a few more of the museums, especially the Rijksmuseum.
The Nightlife
On Saturday night me, Ashton and Tamzin headed out for the night. We had found an Irish Bar in the Red Light District that did pretty cheap drinks for a city, so we started there and made our way around the bars in the area. Before we knew it, it was 5am and we were crawling home. ooops.
It was such a good night out that I’d go back purely for this reason!
The Canals
Every corner you turned there seemed to be another canal and it was honestly so much fun walking around, getting lost. The Jordann area of the city was incredibly pretty and I *think* one of my favourites bits. We sat outside a couple of times as it was such good weather and it was the most relaxed I’ve been in a long time, which is amazing considering the buzz and energy of the city!
Have you ever been to Amsterdam? What did you love the most?
Kirsty Leanne
xoxo