Amsterdam - Day 1

Fun facts I learned in my first day in Amsterdam:

1. A strong cheese smell gives Arin a headache.

2. Van Gogh only painted for 10 years.

3. There are 765,000 people in Amsterdam and 600,000 bikes. And they go fast.

It sure did not feel like a summer day here in Amsterdam today, but we still had a great day! Started our day at the Anne Frank house museum. It was a cold wait outside....

It was a really well done exhibit and it was crazy to be walking around the actual house. 

Unfortunately, there were not pictures allowed inside, but the original book shelf door was there. It was a sad story, but I was incredible impressed by Anne Frank's insight into the war at such a young age. To warm our souls and our bellies we went down the street to The Pancake Bakery, known to have the best Dutch pancakes in Amsterdam and even the world. You try to pick what'd you'd get with a menu like this:

These are all pancakes except one small omelet section. We decided to split everything three ways and got the Indonesian Savory pancake, Mexican savory pancake and a Nutella and banana one. The pancakes were closer to crepes than America pancakes and that made me happy!

I continued my clean plate club tradition. Next we walked off our puppy tummies past beautiful canals.

And finally reached the classic Amsterdam sight.

It was absolutely impossible to get a picture with out anyone else in it... I obviously ended up sharing my moment with the casual guy next to me.

It was just a short walk to the Van Gogh museum. I honestly had no idea that Van Gogh did all his paintings in only 10 years and that he started very traditional artist before he moved to his heavy brush strokes and colorful palettes. It's crazy Van Gogh didn't become famous until after he died and that he would use the backside of canvases or just paint over paintings he wasn't found of. Here are some of my favorites:

A classic selfie done old school style.

I love the yellow gold and blue in this picture.

Horseys. What more do I need to say?

First the skeleton is so accurate and then the cigaret was just added to ruffle the teacher's feathers.

Amsterdam!

This is an enlarged painting of the house Van Gogh had in Amsterdam painted by him of course.

They said he was inspired by Japanese art and loved drawing/painting peasants both of which are demonstrated here.

Gorgeous.

Amazing.

Arin and I just hung out at the bar under our hostel as Paige rocked a Skype interview. Then we all went to Walk to Wok for dinner. While this wasn't a Dutch stable or a classic Amsterdam establishment I did enjoy picking my ingredients and....

Watching them make them.

And eating them.

We decided to finish off our night with some cider and early to bed.

We've got another fun day planned for tomorrow! Amsterdam is flying by.

Travel Day - London to Amsterdam

So last night we started to get an uneasy feeling about our eurail passes as we tried to look up train schedules and procedures. We set our alarms a little earlier and went straight to the station in the morning. Unfortunately our suspicions were confirmed as the gentleman at the counter told us we need to have a separate ticket/s (all for their own costs), which we should have reserved months ago. He then told us there was no available trains for today... Luckily he corrected himself and said there was none available for eurail passes and we could pay in full. He also told us London isn't even part of eurail. Well I wish the person we'd talk to when we booked these passes had told us ANY OF THIS. Finally, all of the companies ONLY LET YOU BOOK IN PERSON in the countries they're active. How are you supposed to do that from America? Ironically, the only other flustered customer by the help desk was another American guy. Anyways, we were on our way and staying optimistic about the trains in the future.

We had no trouble wasting time at the station sitting in a cafe. We got on our trains with no trouble and I was pretty giddy to be riding a real big time train.

Our bags and backpacks fit perfectly above us and we got a little booth with fold out tables for the three of us. I also got the best snacks with what I had left in pounds. Strawberrys (best ones I've ever had maybe its because they are from 'Merica) which are pretty cheap here along with all other berries/fruit. I also got some wasabi peas that cleared my sinuses. 

The first train flew by with a lot of dark tunnels and ear popping and some pretty green and yellow fields. I was sad we couldn't stay longer in Brussels because I could have gone for waffles, chocolate and French fries. Although, there were waffles in the vending machine there. And a charging station were you have to petal for your charging energy. We got on our next train no problem, but we didn't have assigned seats because it was over booked, but they always assume about 20% of people don't show up. Until the first stop we were all together, but unfortunately people came to claim those seats and we all got broken up and there was no room for my luggage and I was a nervous mess with it in the storage area. Luckily the second to last stop a ton of people got off and we were able to get another both together and move my luggage above me (and bring a full sigh of relief). It was fun arriving seeing some of the canals and beautiful buildings.

We were able to figure out our next leg of our trip (to paris) at the station with one of the nicest women! She explained a lot of important information and said it was so rude and self centered that the people in London and Brussels didn't help us more! We got a discount on our next train and supposedly Italy should be much less expensive or even free because its all regional trains. Fingers crossed.

Our hostel is even better than the last! We have a bigger room with a big door window looking out on a canal and no bunk beds. It's also located right over a sports bar and we arrived at happy hour (buy one get one free on 1/2 pints or full pints of Heineken) and 20% off all food all the time! We indulged.

I was pleasantly surprised with the burger it had cucumbers, shredded carrots, lettuce and a special sauce. After we cleaned up in our very own bath room to go explore for the night. This wasn't too bad a view when we walked out...

We wandered down the two main streets and took in the wide array of people Amsterdam attracts. We also inadvertently noticed that the red light district perpendicularly crosses these streets... It wasn't as bad as I had in mind... I guess... Lots of lovely barely clothed ladies standing in doorways. We walked by the Bulldog Bar that was plays early 2000s America rap and it seemed like a winner to us! We had a great time and a little more Heineken.

(Check the new necklace.) We had a lovely first night and we can't wait to see what this city has to offer during the day time!

London - Day 4

Still a day behind! Yesterday we decided to act like locals. We slept in a little, ate our free breakfast and took the tube to the Portobello Market. The market was about a mile long and it was broken into different type of markets like antiques, food, new goods and a flea market. It was obviously a local favorite because the streets were packed! The best thing about shopping with Paige and Arin is that we all like to move at the same speed aka slowly looking at and trying on everything. Even things I wasn't interested in were fun to look at. We were starving by the time we got to the food section. I decided to get chicken and onion on a Mediterranean salad

I ate everything! (Including the olives, tomatoes and raw onions! I feel like such a big girl now) Arin and Paige split the seafood paella.

It looked pretty good in the take out box, but even better when they were making it!

I was pretty good at just viewing everything and holding out till the end to decide what I wanted and it paid off. First, I had seen a shirt on Thursday that had the London sky line and the underground and I was kind of bummed I didn't buy it on the spot, but I figured there'd be tons of them at the market on Saturday. Well, printed souvenir tank tops were definitely a big thing because almost every stand had TONS. But none of the ones I had seen/wanted!! Luckily Paige spotted one almost at the very end of the market. They only had one cream colored one in my size, but it had a stain on it so I got it for a little off. Next I had no hesitation at the tea stand, I actually regret not getting another one. I made sure to choose London themed teas like an Herbal Notting Hill (which is where this Market is located) and Earl Grey Blue Star. Finally on the way out the statement necklaces caught my eye. I know these aren't super London-y (especially the bubble necklace, which I like started in the USA), but it was much cheaper (andI negotiated the price down a little more) than my pink one and will make me look a little more fashionable.

After a long day at the market we went to a local pub for a pitcher of pimms. Ladbroke Arms was located in a Notting Hill neighborhood and had a really laid back feel with only locals and their dogs hanging out on the terrace. 

Everyone was so nice and the bartender was very excited to make our first pitcher of Pimms. Paige watched as he freshly sliced all the oranges, strawberries and cucumbers. It looked absolutely beautiful!

(Notice the new necklace!) While in still convinced this drink contains no alcohol, it tasted like the yummiest summer juice. We decided to move on from the Ladbroke arms to something a little less expensive for dinner. We try to avoid chains (like the Starbucks that may be even more common here than in the states), but why not try a fun London chain called Giraffe? I ordered off the feel good menu and got a hummus appetizer and a pork curry noodles entree. It's amazing how the portions here are so much more realistic. I have been in the clean plate club since I've arrived and I have never felt overly full. We were full and happy and went back to our hostel to pack up and get ready for today's travels... Which ill talk about in my next post (might as well keep them separate and organized)!

London - Day 3

After a long day I fell asleep before I was able to blog. Hopefully I won't forget everything we did yesterday!

Well at 1:30am the "fire alarm" went off in our hostel... It was literally (or as the British say lit-t-ra-lly) the loudest thing I've heard. I was standing up and gathering my things before I knew what was going on. Luckily it was a false alarm. Our real day started a little later with our usual free breakfast and leisurely getting ready. We took the tube, which we are now masters at, to St. Paul's Cathedral.

So beautiful. Being on a budget we all cringed a little at the 16 pounds price tag, but as a student we got it down 2 pounds to 14 and regardless I would have been worth 100 pounds! Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take pictures inside, but I'm sure the pictures wouldn't have done it justice. I was in mosaic heaven! It was so gorgeous and grand! We had an audio tour that was very thorough and interesting and took about 2 hours (and we didn't even listen to all the crypt tracks or bonus tracks). We also sat in for the 30min Eucharist service (really brought me back to high school). One of the coolest things was being about to climb up to the whispering gallery (inside), stone gallery (outside- in the picture below you can see the Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern and Shakespeare's Globe)

and golden gallery (outside- you can see the London eye and parliament to the right of us).

We definitely got a work out climbing the 528 steps up! It was crazy high up and the best view of the city!

Paige pointed out with all the narrow staircases and secret doors it would make for an epic game of manhunt (pretty much moving tag). We then went across the Millennium Bridge (that was featured in Harry Potter!) that lead straight from St. Paul's to the Tate Modern. (And the sun even came out!)

The Tate Modern was also awesome (and free) and had big artists like Van Gogh, Monet and Miro. Here were some of my favorites.

This is Van Gogh and what I loved was I looked at it and just thought it was a woman who had a two colored face but Arin read the distribution and it's actually two lovers embracing.

I forgot to look at the artist for this one but it reminded me of the exhibit I saw in Provence that I loved!

I piece of art I actually recognized! Water Lilly by Monet!

This was in the movement section and unfortunately it's lost some of its affect in the picture but the artist really conveyed a cool flow using the nails.

I'll be honest, the real reason I like this is purely because of the pretty lights. But it says silence backwards, violence and violins.

After the Tate we were absolutely starving so we went to Borough's Market and tired EVERYTHING.

Cheese, meat, sweets, speciality items, this street market had it all! I decided to accompany my snacking with a English favorite, a pie!

I couldn't even wait to take a picture before I dug in! It was called a Hiedi pie and had goat cheese, sweet potato, spinach and garlic. One of the best things I've eaten ever! We sat in a church park to eat our goods.

Not too shabby if you ask me! Paige also had a pie but hers was chicken and mushrooms.

Arin branched out and got a quinoa veggie burger on a tri salad with hummus and salsa. Any other day I probably would have chosen this, but when in London....

Next it was time for more taste testing and sweets! I went with the crumble fudge from Your Whirld! It was so nice because I could fill my bag with little pieces of every type! My favorites were ginger, nougat and salted Carmel... But honestly I loved them all!

The market was huge and so beautiful! It made things that I don't even like look appealing! Example A:

(But I'm starting to eat mushrooms more!)

Example B: (this ones for you mom)

(Licorice...)

One of the biggest differences about London is that there is no open container law. So lots of people were walking around with drinks or over flowing out of restaurants and pubs with big glasses.

Everything was so cute! Arin and I are trying to use the word cute less, but it was!

We finally pried ourselves alway from the market and walked down the wharf to the Tower Bridge (which I always figured was the London Bridge but the London Bridge is actually a SUPER boring bridge located before the beautiful Disney-ish Tower Bridge).

Right across from the Tower Bridge is the London Tower which you can see behind me across the water in this next photo.

And the tower bridge really is a drawbridge!

On our way from the London Tower to the underground we passed through another beautiful park/garden/square full of people with fancy beers in fancy glasses! The restaurants they must have gotten their drinks from we're all the way across the street! It's no fair.

Even with a later start we always are pretty tired by the end of the day....

 We always think our day is going to be a lot shorter than it ends up being. By the time we got back it was close to 8pm and we knew we wanted to explore the pub scene but pubs close at 11pm. We finally decided to go to the west side which is known for being a little bit of a tourist trap but also the only place you can find things open after 11pm. Coming up from the under ground it almost looked like we were in time square (with shorter buildings)! The streets were packed and there were big screens and broadway shows everywhere.

  (This picture really doesn't give the desired affect I would have needed a panorama). We went looking for a pub recommend in my book near Chinatown.

But we weren't able to find it. So we remembered another club/bar mentioned called the Village. We found it and then we remembered it was a gay bar... So we went it! As we approached the bouncer Arin gave him her ID then he looked at Paige, said he didn't need to see her ID and looked straight at me and said he'd need to see mine. The drinking age is 18 in London... 18! Do I really look younger than 18?! I guess I should have worn make up, but It was super fun! We all got a big Stella and did a little dancing. We asked the bar tender for another good bar that doesn't have a cover (most of the clubs an late night bars have a pretty large cover charge). He suggested The Yard which was just around the corner and open air and since it was such a lovely night we thought that sounded perfect. As we walked in the bouncer said "you know this is a gay bar right?" Haha oops well it looked lovely so we went in to explore anyways. It we much mellower, but super packed so after looking around we decided to leave and just walk down the street that was loaded with bars and clubs. The roads were absolutely packed but a bouncer waved Arin over and said he'd give us a discounted price if we came in. When we finally understood what he was saying we said nah and started to turn away, but then he said the magic word... Free! So we got "The O Bar" stamped on our wrists and head in. It was pretty empty, but the music was good so we did some dancing. I felt a little like Cinderella because we had to leave before 12am to catch the tube home before it stopped running. The tube was pretty funny full of young adults mostly dressed up and intoxicated. We got off at out stop and remarked about how safe we've felt in the area we were staying. That being said we've been taking all safety precautions, but still it's nice to feel safe. All in all our night was more for getting a feel of London nightlife but not fully jumping in.

Now I'm too tired to write about today. We are off to Amsterdam tomorrow so I am sure I will have plenty of time to write and get caught up on the train!