Having only hit a rather poor 37 out of 60 items on my 60 before 60 list, I kindly gave myself until the end of the year to knock a few more things off. After a quick review, I added some things that I might have a chance of getting done. And this was one of them. Our girls trip away to Amsterdam had been planned a few months ago. When I say "planned" that's probs an overstatement, although 2 nights before, we did get together and at least talked about booking in a few things in.
Departure day commenced with a very civilized bubbles breakfast, a quick stop at the Duty Free shop to stock up on alcohol (embarrassed to say, we didn't get through the 3 bottles purchased) and after a short flight, we arrived into Amsterdam. Jumped on a train to central and checked in to the very cute press (darlings) themed Ink Hotel. Great spot. Dinner at the hotel, a stroll around and bed.
As sleep had evaded me and my foot was hurting from my fall (at the I "had a fall" rather than I fell over age), I was not feeling great on Saturday morning, so decided bed was the place to stay. And I did until 1.00pm when hunger woke me and lead me in search of that exquisite Dutch dining delicacy - friets. And where else but one of those insta worthy places Mannekenpis. It's a confusing name considering the Mannekenpis is in Brussels. Not bad, but at the end of the day, they're overpriced chips and mayo in a cone.
2.30pm and we met Norman, our free/not really free walking tour guide. I love free walking tours, the guides really work hard for their tips and most of them are great at what they do. And Norman was no exception. There were just the 7 of us, so it was out own private little tour. We wandered around and learnt lots and ended eating cheese. Winning all round.
Quick stop for Oliebollen - a Dutch Christmas donut and we made our way over to catch the boat for our Amsterdam Lights Festival cruise. The boat was a little more basic and not really "warm" as advertised (unless you counted the blankets), but we slowly cruised along looking at the light installations and the commentary was interesting. After that, dinner at Prince Charming (ridicule is nothing to be scared of) for some traditional Dutch food. And as the rain had stopped, it was time to take a stroll around the red light district. Lots of girls = lots of horny boys, desperation on their faces.
Feeling human after a good nights sleep, caffeinated and off we set o the Tony's Chocolonely Super Store. I had no idea this chocolate was Dutch. Plenty here in the UK, but we don't get it in Australia. Didn't fancy going back to collect personalized bars, so grabbed two off the shelf, which is a bit crazy, as it's basically the same price as back in the UK. It was time to head over to the other side and get my tick at the A'Dam Lookout. The short ferry ride is free. The ride up the very funky elevator to the look out is not, but it's pretty cool. Nice views over the city and a couple of restaurant and bar options. I did the VR experience also and then it was swing time. Waited about 20 minutes and it was time to go "over the edge". It's a little bit scary, but a great experience and a tick off the list.
On the way back, we found a FEBO - thus getting my second tick off the list! Back at the hotel to try and make a dent in our duty free alcohol and headed off to dinner at another Dutch Restaurant - this one a tram ride away in a lively part of town. If catching a tram, be sure to tap off and be quick - I got stuck on the tram, so had to walk back from the next stop. Fun night and finally got to bed around midnight - an early morning flight awaited us. Overall a lovely weekend away, although the Christmas markets had not yet started, so kind of defeated that objective.
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