Amsterdam 2014

Hello again to all of my sweeties, today I am back to tell you about- or show you- my latest adventure. Myself and my lovely mother went to visit my sister in Amsterdam earlier in July, just for a weekend. Amsterdam is an absolutely gorgeous city, even prettier than Vilnius- there's more Victorian-inspired buildings, skyscrapers, colourful people and the city itself has a large mix of, well, everything- such a varied mix that overwhelms you and almost has a cheeky and witty taste. I loved Amsterdam- the city itself is beautiful, canals, tall terraced apartments, flavours of history and bicycles everywhere, and I've tried my best to capture this all on my Canon. Believe it or not, with a Canon slung around your neck, a tiny backpack on your back and jelly flats on your feet make it not the easiest thing in the world to run for the bus, but thankfully the bus drivers are like the ones in Ireland- friendly and chatty, and will wait for you:)

Upon our arrival, we went to Rotterdam, the city with the largest port in Europe. I saw a few ships and things, but nothing too impressive as it was cold, cloudy and I couldn't wait to go to bed after my flight.

We headed into Amsterdam the very next day- the city centre. 

The Netherlands is one of the few countries where cannabis- or 'weed'- is legal. Coffee Shops mean something a little different here- these are 'cafes' where cannabis cigarettes are sold, and if you choose to smoke weed, you must only do it in these little coffee shops. The Bulldog is a chain of cannabis coffee shops throughout Amsterdam, I must have seen about 20 over my stay. In the Red Light District, theres about 3 in a row- no photos from there because of obvious reasons (I hid my Canon in a shopping bag to avoid confiscation).  

I saw a bachelor party across the street- when you have a bachelor party in Holland, the groom must dress up as a girl. His friends saw me snapping a picture of the party across the street, and I came over to tell him he looked beautiful, and to take a picture. Here's me making his bride jealous (thankfully she wasn't there or I would've been in trouble).

A customised Magnum to celebrate their 25th anniversary- mine is topped with strawberry sugar, rose petals (actually tasty), pralines and white chocolate. For 4 euros, it was undeniably delicious.

The view opposite the Anne Frank house- which I did visit, and recommend highly. It makes the reality of World War II very real, and the museum raises the awareness of how wars effect people, and future generations.

In all its glory, Amsterdam would be nothing without its people- and as it is such a big city, it overflows in creative juices. Just like the heroin and cocaine salt and pepper shakers shown earlier on, there is a lot of genius and beautiful minds in the city.

I visited the Van Gogh Museum too- once again, I highly recommend it. The museum is very modern, and as you ascend from the bottom floor to the 3rd, Van Gogh's life goes on up until his death. I like how the museum is not just about Vincent, but about his friends, fellow artists, and even showcases a photo gallery, where the photographer sourced her inspiration from Van Gogh's work. My favourite Van Gogh's work is The Irises- I even bought an overpriced mug, with this painting on it.

I had a wonderful time in Amsterdam- even though I was very tired for a lot of it. It is a wonderful city- I hope to definitely come back and see even more of it, and maybe even live in an expensive townhouse along the canals one day, and owning a white motorcycle. In the meantime, I'm off to Lithuania shortly- no worries however, as I've got all of my blog posts scheduled, so stay tuned :)

Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed browsing through my little glimpse of Amsterdam as much as I enjoyed photographing it :)

My Twitter- @gabysayshey

Gaby x