{travel} waltzin' around amsterdam

Amsterdam is fabulous. The canals, the architecture, the art, the culture, the restaurants, the shops, the bikes, the fashion, the people. I just can't even do it justice with words. I'll let these photos do all the talking.

I'll be back some day, Amsterdam.

Check out my other posts on Amsterdam: the sights and the food.

xx, Jen

Amsterdam on Dwellable

{travel} amsterdam, the food

The strangest thing happened when we were in Amsterdam. We didn't really have any appetites. This does not EVER happen to me. I don't know if it was because it was such a short trip and we were trying to see as much as possible, or what... but all I know is I definitely didn't get to eat as much of the food in Amsterdam as I wanted to. Like.. we ate fries for two meals. It's fine. Luckily for us, we chose some awesome places to test out during our limited eating moments. They were all so good that I knew I needed to document them and share with you if you ever find yourself in Amsterdam! Enjoy. :)

VleminckX Homemade Fries -

We went to this fry shop because a bunch of people raved about it on TripAdvisor, claiming that they sold the best fries in all of Amsterdam! They definitely didn't disappoint! They were fresh out of the fryer, all crispy and delicious. One tip though - even if you think you are a sauce fiend, just stick with the single serving of sauce. My roomie and I can never get enough sauce usually, but wooooof that double portion was intense.

Gartine -

This was my favorite meal the entire trip! Everything was so lovely - from the decor, the fooood (my goodness, the food), the plates, and the sweet couple who run the restaurant. We walked past Gartine during the lunch hour the first day we arrived and decided to pop in to make a reservation for brunch the next day. It's a good thing we did! While we were eating, multiple groups of people attempted to walk in and score a table but were promptly turned away because all of the tables were already booked for the rest of the day.

Here's a run down of what my table ordered: Yogurt & marscapone with cranberries, coconut, and museli, sourdough toast with four year old farmers Gouda and rhubarb jam, and sourdough toast with scrambled eggs and herbs from the garden. I tried all of it and was 100% in culinary heaven. I just ordered a coffee for my drink, but my friends got a little crazier with a grapefruit orange juice, syrup of raspberries with frozen raspberries and mineral water, and berry ice cream with Sprite. Um. Just do it y'all.

We all seriously wanted to go back so that we could sample the lunch menu, but we didn't end up having enough time. I still dream of you, Gartine!

Blue -

Our friend Helena heard about this place from her friend who is in graduate school in Amsterdam. This restaurant/cafe is one of the only places with a view in the city. We stopped in on a particularly chilly, rainy day during our trip to warm up a bit. I decided to order a fresh mint tea, while my friends all went with cold pints of Amstel. The view was incredible from the restaurant, and the food that kept coming out of the kitchen looked really good too!

Lombardo's -

One thing that I severely miss in Spain are goooooood sandwiches. A traditional Spanish bocadillo is good every one in a while, but I love my sandwiches junked up with a thousand ingredients like goat cheese, avocado, grilled veggies, etc. We stumbled upon Lombardo's after wandering around the museums near the big I AMsterdam sign. We were starving after touring the Heineken factory, so we decided to take a chance on a random sandwich shop on our way home. It was an absolutely wonderful idea because everything we ordered was delicious! My roommate's brother went with a burger, while us girls chose to go with some fancy sandwiches. I ordered the grilled zucchini and goat cheese sandwich. SO GOOD.

Only 40 days until I can eat a similar sandwich in America! Weeeeeee!

Pannenkoekenhuis Upstairs Amsterdam -

I couldn't leave Amsterdam without trying a Dutch pancake. I wasn't sure what to expect. I thought that they would be closer to an American pancake texture, but they were in between that and a French crepe. I'm sure the sweet pancakes are really good, but I decided to go with a savory ham, cheese, and tomato one. I quite liked it, but I think I liked the atmosphere of the quaint restaurant more. There are only a few tables, but my friend and I lucked out by getting there right when they opened. If we would have come 10 minutes later, they probably would have turned us away because they were also completely reserved for the rest of the day.

The scary stairs we had to use to access the restaurant, typical to the old houses in Amsterdam.

I so thoroughly enjoyed my time in Amsterdam! Look out for a post tomorrow with some fun photos my friend, Helena, and I took while wandering around the city on our last day.

Check out my first post on the sights in Amsterdam if you missed it!

xx, Jen

Amsterdam on Dwellable

{travel} amsterdam, the sights

Ten years ago I fell in love with Florence. It was my first time visiting Europe, so I was absolutely enthralled with the beauty and history of the old Italian city. I declared it to be THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD, which is a lot coming from an indecisive 13 year old!

In March, all of my 13 year old thoughts disappeared. That familiar feeling of falling in love with a city took over my body again as I stood on the top tower of the Alcazar, drinking in the view of Granada. From the windy cobblestone streets to the majestic Alhambra up on the hill, I couldn't imagine a more beautiful place. I declared on my Facebook page that I had left a piece of my heart in the gorgeous Andalusian city.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. I went to Amsterdam on a whim, after booking my plane tickets and hostel two days prior. I didn't know what to expect, except for being sure that I would see some legal prostitution and marijuana ingestion take place. Red light district and coffee shops aside, Amsterdam is a wonderous city filled with charming restaurants, beautiful canal houses, a million bicycles, and ridiculously stylish & attractive people. The city is picture perfect, and so much more than I expected it to be. And my goodness, the fashion. It took all of the willpower I had not to run into every single store we passed and buy everything in sight. Needless to say, that familiar feeling of falling in love with a city hit me again.

My girlfraaaaands

If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I went a little InstaHappy when I was in Holland. It's no different for my blog. I'm planning on doing a few blog posts on Amsterdam because the sights, food, and scenery / people all deserve their own posts! I hope you don't mind, friends. :)

The land in Amsterdam is broken up by many different canals. I stayed very close to the Prinsengracht street / canal. My friends were lucky enough to book a place, way before I looked into the trip, right on the canal. 

One of the many "coffee shops" around town. Note that this one is called Easy Times. hehe. They literally open at 8 - 9 AM and stay open until about 1. You can get your fix any time of the day, if that's your thing!

Old houses off of Dam Street. A little harbor is just on the other side of the fence. Lots of tourist boats were lined up, ready to take foreigners on a canal tour. I absolutely love how large the windows are on the houses in Amsterdam. Natural light is my best friend.

One of the famous museums in Amsterdam - the Rikjsmuseum. We didn't make it inside, but the gardens were beautiful!

I do not understand how people take good pictures with the Amsterdam sign. It is definitely not something we accomplished while we were there. The best we could do was "DAM." Ha. Oh well!

No words.

One of the things I probably could have done without while I was in Amsterdam was the Heineken museum. It was fun enough, but I would have much rather sat in a cute restaurant and bar and ordered a Heineken!

On the other hand, I'm SO GLAD I didn't miss out on visiting the house Anne Frank, her family, and family friends hid out in during WWII. It was incredible to walk through a place I've read and learned about since I was a child. I think it is so important to continue to spread knowledge about the Holocaust, especially since there is STILL so much prejudice, hatred, and turmoil today.

I'd love to someday end back up in Holland during the spring season. There were still so many beautiful flowers blooming and for sale in late September. I can only imagine what it would look like earlier in the year. 

My friend Helena and I also checked out the Van Gogh museum. I would have enjoyed it more if I hadn't already been so tired from walking around for hours earlier in the day. His work is exquisite in person, but we missed out on seeing Starry Night in person. Guess I'll have to fly back to the States to do it - it is hanging up in the MOMA in NYC! Gosh.

If there is one thing I've discovered about myself, it is that I am going to continue to leave little pieces of my heart all over the world. My intent is not just to enjoy traveling, but to learn about new cultures, eat new food, and live like the locals, even if only for a weekend. So, here's to you Amsterdam. A piece of me will always be with you now too.

xx, Jen

Amsterdam on Dwellable