She travels... Amsterdam

| Lows: 2°C || Highs: 14°C | Seeing as I enjoy reading back on my Budapest post so much, I've written one for Amsterdam to keep a beautifully picture-filled record of my time in the city. On Monday afternoon my sister, Becca, and I set out on our first holiday together without our parents - adventure time! We parked at a good friend's house in Essex, followed by a lift to the airport (thank you, J!)

Cue fast food meal number one of the holiday. London Southend Airport is really small and with just 5 gates it was very easy to navigate! Before we knew it we had landed in Amsterdam, and we were now going to see if my many hours of planning would pay off! After buying our transport tickets and hopping on the hotel shuttle we checked into hotel number one! Hotel numero uno was the cheapest of all the hotels to allow for one night in a really nice hotel at the end of our stay (continue reading to see just how cool it really was)! Day 1 We awoke to the snow that we hadn't seen in the dark the night before...

...and then our stomachs led us across the road to the nearby McDonald's for breakfast - fun fact: they don't serve hash browns with their McMuffins in the Netherlands, their meal deal includes a croissant instead! On the way to breakfast we passed a river that was almost entirely frozen over(!), and below is a picture of it, still frozen, that evening.

After a quick bus ride we were nearly at Anne Frank's house, just a 15 minute walk down the side of the canal stood between us and the museum. Inside the house I learnt so much about Anne Frank and her family. I didn't know much before we went in, other than my (very) limited knowledge that stems from the film The Fault In Our Stars... Speaking of which, after we'd checked a few more items of our 'must do/see list', we went in hunt of the TFIOS bench. I didn't know what this bench was and why it was significant but Becca informed me it was from a famous scene in the film. And it wasn't too hard to find once we discovered it has it's own spot on Google Maps! 

 We headed further into the city after a drink in the Anne Frank café, or rather we headed further out when I navigated us the wrong way up the canal! Tram line 14 to the rescue, we were now back on track and in search of the Sex Museum... yes you heard it right, and yes it really is full of everything sex-related. I'll let you discover it all for yourself should you ever find yourself in Amsterdam...

Moving swiftly on, we went in search of a street I've been wanting to photograph ever since I saw it on one of Pinterest's '10 places in the world you must visit' lists. Wijdesteeg - a small street covered in graffiti, including the paving tiles!!

Image: Google/Flickr

Now what stood in front of us (or not) was one of the biggest 'Pinterest Fails' I've ever witnessed - the entire street has been torn out, buildings and all...

We could only laugh!!

After a quick trip to Primark, a walk up the red light district, an inappropriate question asked by a man on a bike, a short shopping spree in Pandora and a souvenir shop visit, we were ready for dinner: New York Pizza takeaway it was! The evening was spent in our hotel room eating our way through so many carbs and watching NCIS. Day 2 Day two began much like day one, only with a later start. Fuelled up on McDonald's breakfast, we checked out of the budget hotel and took everything by bus to hotel number two. I was very excited! I'd read somewhere that the hotel rooms are made from shipping containers stacked one on top of the other. And we all know my thoughts on shipping containers (if you don't know but you want to then click here).

Picture Source: Google Maps

There are so many perks and quirks in Amsterdam's inner city CitizenM hotel - for starters, your room is controlled by an iPad - mood lighting, blinds, tv, and all!

We had a play with all of the rooms features before making our way to the nearby train station. Adventure number 2 was underway, we were to head out into Old Holland in search of some very cute houses and a bike hire shop. We found the houses but no sign of the bike hire shop! Deciding we now didn't have enough time to cycle around, we strolled through the pretty houses and shops. And we were so glad we did because we found a hidden gem that one would only find on foot! We stopped by for a waffle whilst surrounded by the cutest of things.

Zaanse Schans is a very picturesque area, see below for yourself!

 As we left this little town(?) we smelt chocolate in the air! Quickly followed by the scent of the local brewery... not so nice! But the sweet smell of chocolate returned soon enough (which was a much welcomed scent, especially compared to the weed fumes we'd been exposed to on our way past every "coffee shop" back in the city centre). On board the train back to the hotel we reached a speed of 141km/hour, which in comparison to the slow and peaceful tram rides felt really really fast.
Becca had booked us a table at a local Italian restaurant. Walking down the streets we felt so out of place; everything look really expensive. Modern houses with fancy garages lined the streets that held countless Porsche cars.

The man who greeted us took our coats and led us to our table. We had a bread basket, a main and drink each, followed by a dessert to share - the total cost coming to no more than €34! Upon leaving we were taken to retrieve our coats, given a lollipop, and wished a safe flight home! L'Arena we hope to visit you again soon.

An evening in the hotel followed: we grabbed a couple of Barcardi Cokes at the bar before heading to our room and watching The Danish Girl, one of the many films available to watch for free in the XL Kingsized bed.

Day 3

The arrival of day three meant the arrival of our last day in Amsterdam. We left our baggage at the hotel whilst we made our last trip into the city. Today was to be more chilled than the previous two; we were both tired and had a late drive home ahead of us.

We grabbed brunch and finished it in style with a 'mix your own' McFlurry! Yes, they really do exist.

After paying €1 (!) for us both use the restaurant loo, we made our way to the AlbertCuypMarkt, a really big market not too far from the centre of Amsterdam!  

A short Primark shopping spree (and a *free* toilet trip) later, we were in search of YoYo Fresh Tea Bar. We'd heard that they sell bubble tea, something we both apprehensively wanted to try. If you haven't experienced bubble tea before, you are truly missing out! We went for small drinks, and it really was plenty. Our choice... Base: Iced Green Tea, Flavour Shot: Passion Fruit, Topping: Mango Poppings. 'Poppings' are little balls of liquid coated in a thin jelly layer that disintegrates on your tongue, causing the flavour to burst out of them. One of the best things about bubble teas are the 'pierce your own' lids with giant straws! Like a bigger, grown up, improved 'Kwenchy Cup'!

Our next stop was to be our last stop before heading back to the hotel and collecting our luggage. This next stop was also to be food-related. There was a definite food theme arising in day three. We were on the hunt for some Poffertjes (mini pancakes), a Dutch speciality. They were delicious! Definitely a food to try when in Holland.

And there marked the end of our first ever sisters only holiday. All that was to follow was an hour in the hotel playing on the iMacs and waiting for our train, a one-stop train journey to the airport, a McDonald's, a flight, a long queue at the UK border control, and a drive home.

I spent almost the entire of the next 48 hours in bed recovering from all of the travelling (the life of a girl with chronic fatigue)! But I'm so grateful that my body held up so well whilst we were away.

**this post is not sponsored by McDonald's**

***we just ate a lot of it, and now I'm glad to be eating fruit and veg again!***

I'll finish typing there, but here are just a few more pictures of a such beautiful place...

Amy xo