For my 18th Birthday present off my mum, I was lucky enough to be treated to a long weekend in Amsterdam with my Mum, Auntie, Uncle, Godsister (ChloĆ©) and her boyfriend (Tim) which is a place I have always wanted to visit. We went for 4 days at the beginning of April and it was a dream! Unfortunately I’m now sat back in dreary England but by writing this I am reminiscing on the most wonderful weekend! Here are some snaps from the weekend for you to have a nosey at!
On our first day, we arrived in Amsterdam at 9am and once we’d left the airport and arrived at the hotel, we dropped our bags off and headed out exploring. We walked for miles to check out the area... We actually did 20,000 steps that day!
We then went for some drinks at a pub and chilled out till dinner time where we went to a lovely Italian in the Jordaan area.
On day 2, we spent the morning on a canal trip, which was probably the highlight of the holiday. It was just so lovely to cruise along the canal taking in the sights in the sunshine.
We then moved on to the Rejig museum... which wasn’t quite my thing if I’m honest, but it was interesting to see it all anyway!
Next up on the agenda was the Heineken Experience which was really interesting to see how all the Heineken beer is made and produced. Although I am not the avid beer drinker myself, it was nice to see everyone else have a good time and drink my free beers too!
I indulged in a sweet potato veggie burrito and some nachos which we all shared, then I also had a few bits of vegetable sushi too! It was all so incredibly delicious and definitely my favourite meal of the weekend!
Day 3 took us to Keukenof which was such a lovely day! We saw hundreds and hundreds of tulips and other flowers including orchids and lilies!
I even spotted a frozen yoghurt stand which I obviously had to have one!
Once we arrived back from Keukenof we headed up the A’dam Tower, which we saw all across the top of Amsterdam. It was so wonderful and the weather was glorious - it reached 22 degrees when we were up there which was so lovely!
For dinner, we hadn’t planned where we were going so we searched around and ended up back in the lovely Jordaan area and went to a place called Seasons which was amazing! I had vegetable risotto which was delicious and very much enjoyed after a long tiring day!
Day 4 was our final day in Amsterdam but luckily our flight wasn’t till late on in the evening so we still had a whole day left in the city. I found a lovely pancake house when researching about Amsterdam so I decided for one breakfast that we would all go there. This pancake house was called Mook Pancakes, and the breakfasts were delicious. I had my pancakes with strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and banana with a tiny drizzle of maple syrup. I also had a pear juice with it which was really refreshing in the morning!
We then all headed on the tram to Dam square to have a look around as we hadn’t been before. I liked it there as it seemed quite a quirky place. Next, me and my mum got on the tram to Museumplaine to go to the Banksy Exhibition which I thoroughly enjoyed. While we looked around there, the rest of the group went to the Body World Museum but that didn’t really take my fancy!
After we finished at the museums, we all got back together and travelled to Rembrandt Square for a drink which consisted of beer, coffee and hot chocolate... any guesses which one I had!
Chloe had done lots of research for the trip and had found 1 of the 9 windmills in Amsterdam, and just outside was such a quirky little pub which served flights of beer and we all enjoyed some cheese and everyone else, the sausage!
After this we all wondered back to the hotel to collect our cases and head to the airport!
Here is where we said goodbye to ChloƩ and Tim as they flew to Wales and we were flying to Essex.
Sadly, this is where the birthday trip to Amsterdam ended! I had the best weekend which the most wonderful people and I couldn’t have wished for more. I want to thank my mum... again, for giving me the best birthday gift ever and I will be forever grateful, love you lots Mummy!