Amsterdam in Pictures

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Take a Peek at Things to do in Amsterdam Through Pictures!

Last week I brought you on vacation with me to France. This week we are sightseeing in Amsterdam as I share pictures from my recent vacation there. We did some really fun outings and took in as much of this beautiful city as we could in a few days!

My girlfriend and I decided if we were going to fly overseas we might as well make the most of it. so we added a few days to our French countryside vacation with a stop in Amsterdam. I am so glad we did. It’s almost hard to say which part of the trip I loved more. I was shocked at how much I enjoyed this cool city. For starters we stayed at a high end boutique hotel called The Dylan.

The Dylan Hotel was spectacular. Small, chic, private, quiet and oh so stylish. I wanted to bottle the feel and bring it home.

From the mesmerizing wood floors and moody lounge.

To the outside paint color that inspired the color I am painting my breakfast nook. I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture of our room because it was a gorgeous two story loft that felt more like an apartment than a hotel suite.

We went straight off the plane to a walking/eating tour lead by Hungry Birds. I highly recommend this adventure. Local tours are a great way to get the lay of the land and learn interesting tidbits about the culture and history of wherever you are visiting. Kicking off the morning with pickled Herring and beer was not awesome, but the rest of the tour was deliciously fun.

We ate our way through the Albert Kuylp Market, it’s a must see spot if you visit Amsterdam. This open air market is filled with shopping and eating, you can load up on anything from souvenirs to fresh flowers and fruit.

It’s a tight race between Stroop Waffles and Poffertjes as my favorite sweet snack. Watching the batter get expertly poured into the special poffertjes tray makes my mouth water for this delicate pancake like treat. They literally melt in your mouth!

We ate famous French Fries, you need to try them with mayonnaise. Yum.

We relaxed at a small pub and I enjoyed watching the locals. Amsterdam is a very social city. People are everywhere, riding their bikes, walking and talking. Nothing feels rushed. Watching these three men enjoy each others company in the middle of the day was convicting. They weren’t in a hurry to get on to the next thing. I love the simplicity and ease that this town exudes.

We drank weird things and walked a bunch.

One of the last stops on our tour was a meat and cheese shop. It was glorious.

The grand finally dessert was a cookie from Van Stapele. A cookie shop that makes one type of cookie. That’s right ONE. It is the epitome of do one thing and do it good.  Also very convicting. This cookie is straight up legit, you have to try one should you go to Amsterdam! I think she ships too if you are extra curious.

We spent the afternoon unguided, armed with Google maps as we shopped and explored the canals.A great vacation has a healthy balance of planned and spur of the moment wanderings.

We visited the floating flower market and scoped out Delft ware in local stores.

We happened upon a gorgeous city park.

It had the most delightful gardening center with garden art I have already copied and hope to some more.

I mean how precious are these vertical masterpieces?

What a great way to use those old Amsterdam tulip trays!

We saw the locals animals first, then…

We meandered over to the Amsterdam Zoo. I ALWAYS try to get a zoo trip in, with or without kids. I love animals, but zoos are usually a great place to take in the botanical scene as well. It’s like two birds with one stone. This zoo was small enough that we got a good tour in a few hours.

The animals were really close up, which is always a treat.

We managed to squeeze in a tour of the Anne Frank house, which you need to add to your things to do list in Amsterdam. The concierge told us the tickets were sold out and that you had to get them three months in advance. On a whim we looked them up online and got two tickets for the same day! They release a small batch of tickets everyday so if you didn’t prepare ahead of time, keep trying the website day of!

Another cool thing we did was a walking tour of the Red Light District. Admittedly I was a bit skeptical of this tour, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Amsterdam is know for horrible drug use and prostitution, but this trip and tour was really eye opening in a good way. The city has had a major revitalization in recent years and the drug use and crime rates have plummeted. They are literally renting prison space to neighboring countries.

Prostitution is legal and that whole industry is obviously very sad to me, but after learning about the way the industry works I have to say it is very different than I imagined. I still wish the industry was abolished all together. My heart hurts for the women.

On the way home, after France we spent one last night in Amsterdam before catching our plane. We ate the most amazing dinner.

We walked through the entire district and city at night and felt safe and sound. 

I was once again encouraged by how active this town is – everyone rides bikes. Almost no one is over weight, it’s so different than America!

We stayed at The Monet Garden Hotel in Amsterdam, it was more moderately priced compared to The Dylan and it was pure lovely. I wanted to steal the pillows off our bed.

And the carpet. To my delight our hotel had houndstooth carpet. Can you even believe that!? What a special send off for a fabulous European vacation!Here are a few more Amsterdam pictures just for fun….the mesmerizing Tulips…Gelato for the win.A natural wall in Amsterdam, a snake pit in Texas. 😉Pattern and texture everywhere. So inspiring.And then the color palette. In LOVE.Patina and age everywhere.Choices are good!It was a sweet trip. You should definitely add Amsterdam to your bucket list!