Amsterdam

Oh, Amsterdam.  I love you. Our trip to Amsterdam was a MUCH needed weekend away to remind us of why we chose to live in Europe.  We picked Amsterdam because it was only a couple hours away and it was kind of last minute trip.  We decided to drive because the train was really expensive and we found a place to park that cost only 8 Euro per day...that is a steal. We considered it our "doggymoon" before our wild child arrived.  I can best describe our trip as eating, drinking and walking our way through Amsterdam. I forgot the memory card for my camera so we used our i phone all weekend so some pictures are better than others.

Thursday: Left our house at 11 and arrived at the Ajax Futbol Stadium which served as our parking lot.  Hopped on the Metro and took a 20 minute ride into the Central Station, Amsterdam's largest train station in the center of the city.  From there, our hotel was about a 5 minute walk- amazing location. We stayed at the Nh Barbizon thanks to Priceline and their last minute deals. We were asked if we wanted a room with a view, so we said yes.  Little did we know, we could open our window and step onto the canal dock.

view from room

view of room from across the canal

After checking in, we just started walking.  Literally, we picked a direction and walked.  Within 3 or 4 blocks we were in the infamous Red Light District. During the day, its fairly PG from the outside.  But there was a distinct smell...oh yeah, cannabis...everywhere.  No need to even go in the coffee shops, just walking by you get the idea.

The Bulldog coffee shop, and girl eating munchies outside

amazing doner and falafel sandwiches

Dam Square enjoying first and only dutch beers, the belgians got you beat there

After exploring for a few hours we headed back toward our hotel and came up on the oldest bar in Amsterdam.  Didn't know that until we walked in, the extensive beer menu is what actually caught our eye. LOVED this place.  Met some locals and our one beer before dinner turned into three.  This is when we realized that we really like Dutch people.

Het Elfde Gebod

Kasteel Cuvee du Chateau...I LOVE this beer

So after our happy hour(s), we went to a sushi restaurant for a late dinner.  And then visited a few more cafe's before heading back to the hotel. 

Late night canal stroll

Friday:  Started the rainy day with a giant mochachino at a cafe outside our hotel.  The crew sang and dance to Adele and made some amazing coffee and breakfast. Made the rain much more bearable. Then we started walking.  Our guidebook actually had a walking tour it recommend so we used that to get started.  We saw Dam Square, the stock exchange, flower market and ended at the Art Museums.  We did the Stedeliijk Museum.  The most modern of the museums, it was 85% awesome, 10% didn't get it but appreciated it, 5% WTF is that.  I have tons of pics that I will post in its own post later.

favorite pic of the weekend

loved the architecture

dream home

in front of Rijksmuseum

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at the House of Bols.  They make Genever, which is what Gin was developed from.  The tour was fine, but the tasting at the end was delicious. I left there with yogurt flavored liquor, sounds weird but its so good.  Then we made our way to dinner and home for the night to people watch from our window.  

California Creamin'- Amaratto, Bols Yogurt liqueur, lemoncello and lemon bitters 

dinner spot- Pizzeria Azzurno- great food and quiet atmosphere even if they did have a cat walking around

people watching from our room

Saturday: Breakfast (same spot as day before) and journey home to enjoy the rest of the weekend.

So, all of you potential visitors out there.  We will be happy to take you to Amsterdam!  We already have an agenda of what we want to do next time. 

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