Amsterdam has always been on my list of places to visit and experience and I'm so glad I finally did it. A week in a beautiful city, with delicious food, welcoming people and incredible architecture. A week was just enough time to start ticking off my to-do list.
Here's just a glimpse of it all.
The shops and markets:
I had a lot of recommendations for places to shop. Particularly vintage spots that my friends knew I'd adore. My favourite was 1953 Retro and Chic. It was like walking back in time into a lady's wardrobe in the 1940s. I was a little overwhelmed by how many things I wanted so I ended up going in three times during my five-day visit. If I ever go back to Amsterdam, I'll be rushing back here for a boater hat most definitely. Another shop I loved and purchased from was Suite Benedict. It caught my eye on our third day of exploring when I was in search of a cafe. I ended up purchasing a few wardrobe staples from here and I now intend on shopping on their website a lot, now I'm back home. I've added photos and links below to what I bought.
Markets I loved were the many flower market of course and the whole of Waterlooplein. There was so much to explore that we spent most afternoons walking past stalls with artworks, flowers, food and antiques. An interesting experience I had and probably will never forget was when I was at an art stall checking out beautiful sketches of women and the artist asked if she could take a photo of me for her next piece.
Markets I loved were the many flower market of course and the whole of Waterlooplein. There was so much to explore that we spent most afternoons walking past stalls with artworks, flowers, food and antiques. An interesting experience I had and probably will never forget was when I was at an art stall checking out beautiful sketches of women and the artist asked if she could take a photo of me for her next piece.
The tourist spots:
Amsterdam is known for its museums and wow did I have a hard time choosing which ones to visit. I didn't fancy visiting every single one of them so my list was made a little shorter. That being said, I still didn't get through that short list completely. Luckily I did go to the Moco Museum, which was on the top of my list for two reasons; all of Banksy pieces and most important of all- Roy Lichtenstein's 3D installation room. The 3D room has been on my list to see and be in for so long now. Roy Lichtenstein has been my favourite artist since I was in school studying art. So once I was in that room I was completely in my element and ready to blend in with everything polka dot (hence the scarf). My second favourite of the tourist spots I visited was the royal palace. The architecture inside and outside of the palace was incredible. I wanted to take so many photos but unfortunately wasn't allowed so I only managed to get a few sneaky ones like the one above of the citizens' hall.
Another place I found to be one of my highlights was Boom Chicago. It's an amazing comedy club that left me in stitches the whole way through. We chose to go on their improv night and it was so much fun watching comedians improvise funny stories based on the topic words the audience gave them.
Another place I found to be one of my highlights was Boom Chicago. It's an amazing comedy club that left me in stitches the whole way through. We chose to go on their improv night and it was so much fun watching comedians improvise funny stories based on the topic words the audience gave them.
The Food:
I was a little worried about what I was going to eat in Amsterdam as I don't eat meat anymore, however, to my surprise Amsterdam had so much to offer for anyone whos vegan or vegetarian.
My breakfast spot was definitely Bagels and Beans. Trying my first bagel with vegan cream cheese was an experience. To quote my friend "shall we stay here and live on bagels?". I could not stay away from the place. Another spot my friend and I loved was Deer Mama. One night we fancied a beyond burger so we thought we'd look online for a place that did them in Amsterdam and to our surprise, there was this place around the corner from our hotel.
The sex museum I found was pretty boring and if anything overrated. To sum it up, it was basically a house with lots of ceramic penises and photos of vintage pornography I had already seen as wallpaper in a pub here in London.
Now I wouldn't say weed is a no for everyone, if you have experience in smoking weed or eating edibles then go wild, however, if you don't then Amsterdam is probably not the best place to have your first time high in. The weed is extremely strong and even half an edible can be too much for some people. Just be safe.
So there you have it, my experience and recommendations for a city that has been on my travel list for years now. Safe to say there is still so much more I could have done and unfortunately didn't get to see/do. However, that just means I'll be going back again.
Things I wouldn't recommend to everyone:
I wasn't going to add this part in but then I thought its probably worth mentioning as some people may be curious. Funny enough, the two things I found to be eye openers and a little boring were things I suppose Amsterdam is most known for; weed and sex.The sex museum I found was pretty boring and if anything overrated. To sum it up, it was basically a house with lots of ceramic penises and photos of vintage pornography I had already seen as wallpaper in a pub here in London.
Now I wouldn't say weed is a no for everyone, if you have experience in smoking weed or eating edibles then go wild, however, if you don't then Amsterdam is probably not the best place to have your first time high in. The weed is extremely strong and even half an edible can be too much for some people. Just be safe.
So there you have it, my experience and recommendations for a city that has been on my travel list for years now. Safe to say there is still so much more I could have done and unfortunately didn't get to see/do. However, that just means I'll be going back again.
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