A Day in Amsterdam

I had 8 hours to spend in the beautiful (yet cloudy) Amsterdam, and I packed a lot into such a short amount of time. As soon as I arrived, I made my way to the iconic Dam Waterfront to take a few pictures.

I usually don’t spend a lot of time researching or planning where to eat when I travel, but I wanted to be sure to get some of Holland’s famous fries (frites) while here. I decided to get them from Mannekenpis, as they supposedly have the number one rated fries in the whole country. I have to say, they were REALLY good (but I also just really like french fries)! I got mine with ketchup and fritessaus, which is similar to mayonnaise but is a little sweeter and supposedly has less fat (not that I was worrying about that today...). I was SO tempted to get them again before I left, but decided against it (and am regretting it!)

One of my favorite parts of the day was visiting the Bloemenmarkt, the world’s only floating flower market. It was filled with every color of tulips, different varieties of tulip bulbs, and so many other flowers and color flower items. I wanted so badly to buy some tulips! 100% will be planning a trip to Holland’s tulip fields this spring.

Another highlight was renting a bicycle from for the afternoon and biking around with locals and tourists alike. It was so fun to explore and get a little bit lost on the quaint cobblestone streets of the canal filled city.

I biked to the I Amsterdam letters and through Vondal Park.  It was quite the rainy and cold afternoon, so I returned my bike earlier than I had planned to and decided to walk instead. Despite the weather, it was still an enjoyable day (minus my umbrella inverting a million times)(see picture below hahaha).

In the evening I took a canal cruise to see more of the city, and I loved seeing how the houses/buildings looked from the canal, especially with the lights shining onto the water. The bridges were cute too with round white lights outlining them. Pictured below is the famous view of the "7 Bridges," where one can see seven different arcs lit up in a row. 

Before I left I went to Pancakes Amsterdam to get a Dutch pancake, a thin and flat crepe like pancake. I ordered one with bananas, almonds, and chocolate. It was good, but I would have preferred a second helping of the french fries mentioned earlier.

P.S. If you like cheese, go to Amsterdam because there are so many cheese shops on every street, all offering free samples!

Love,