I spent the early part of October in Amsterdam for a girls trip to celebrate a belated 60th birthday for my mom. It was me, her, my sister-in-law Anna and my mom’s good friend Cathy (who also turned 60 this year). We spent about 5 days there and had an absolutely great time.
We were originally thinking we’d do a day trip or so out of the city but decided against it and it was nice to not have to rush to get things done and jam pack each day. We fit tons in (constant walking which I love, averaging about 8 miles or so each day) without feeling like we needed a vacation from our vacation. The city is easy to navigate, clean, safe, friendly, and like Anna’s American friend turned Netherlands local said, “it just works”. They take care of their people (I don’t think I saw anyone that was homeless) and their people take care of their city (minus the roughly 100 bikes per day that end up in the canals ha).
I thoroughly enjoyed being there and would love to go back in the spring when we could see the tulips in bloom (my favorite flower).
Here’s what we did on Thursday, day 1 (we left on Wednesday evening our time and arrived there Thursday morning their time which worked out perfectly).
Delta Sky Lounge waiting for mom and Cathy.Our crew is ready to go!Love their itinerary so you know exactly what to expect.Our hosts decorated our Airbnb for the birthday and left us lots of little goodies!Our view in our Jordaan Airbnb.Pancake Bakery which came highly recommended. Their pancakes reminded me of crepes and American pancakes had a big baby.Here’s the history and I ordered the special which is on the wall (minus meat and cheese).Mini stroopwafel (classic Dutch treat) to accompany my espresso. Approaching our apartment (you can see the banner in our window).Uber + walking to buy me a new breast pump because even though I brought my electric converter, I didn’t think about the voltage and such sooooo it blew a fuse and broke. Pumps and Picasso.Picasso in the park (Vondelpark).Food Hallen which consisted of a bunch of different little spots with various food choices.We sat here and ordered a drink.Went with the traditional Heineken and gin (they are known for their gin). It tasted sweeter and smoother than ours but still not my cup of tea to just sip on (or shoot and chase with a beer). Various houseboats and canal scenery. Café SonneveldNight cap at a little local spot near our apartment, Café Lowietje. Here a local man introduced himself to us and invited us to check out the bar he owns (also nearby) on Saturday for Irish music, which we did and you will see pics of later.
Successful first day getting acquainted and knocking things off our Amsterdam bucket list. Stay tuned for day 2!
Erika Reid Bell 