This past weekend I went to Amsterdam and I am IN LOVE. Absolutely my favorite city so far that I have visited! The city has so much to offer from museums to shopping to eating- there is something for everyone. The first day we got lunch at Cafe Marcella which was a cute little restaurant along the canal. I got a "toastie" with mozerella, tomato, pesto, and pine nuts! Such a cute spot for a cheap lunch! We then went to the Van Gogh Museum which was incredible. The museum separates each floor by the years that the paintings were made! I highly recommend visiting this museum when in Amsterdam. We explored so many shops and boutiques and eventually settled down at The Bulldog for drinks. It started to rain and so we invited two elderly women to sit with us so that they could escape the weather. It turned out that one woman was from Germany and the other from Mississippi. They told us about all of the best places to visit in Amsterdam, and shared with us their experiences in Europe. Another couple joined us, the husband from Amsterdam and the wife from Canada, who live in Florida. They too gave us tips on where to go! It was so cool and relaxing sitting with them and learning about their lives. We ended up at Wok to Walk for dinner which was AMAZING. It's basically a chipotle but with Asian cuisine... I highly recommend going here and it wasn't expensive! Of course we ended our night with stroop waffles which are a MUST have when in Amsterdam! So delicious!
To Start the day we went to the Albert Cuyp Market which was a street market with food stands, jewelry, flowers, clothes, and more! It was a super cute way to start the day.. until it started down pouring. If you go to Amsterdam (or anywhere in the Netherlands for that matter) make sure you pack an umbrella! Holland is notorious for random rainstorms, but don't let them ruin your plans! We then made our way over to the Bloemenmarkt which is a floating flower market. I think I died and went to flower heaven. The ceilings were covered in flowers and I felt an immediate sense of happiness when I went in. They also sell tons of souvenirs if you're looking for a good place to buy something! We went to the 9 streets which is a district with tons of shops and got lunch at Cafe de Doffer, then headed over to the Rijksmuseum. We unfortunately didn't stay at the museum very long because our tiredness got the best of us. For dinner that night we went to Foodhallen which is essentially a classier foodcourt. There are tons of different food stands and types of foods to choose from! It was a really cool place and a great way to make everyone in your group happy. We went to the Red Light District after. It was really sad to see, and not at all how I imagined it. The area is actually a lot larger than I expected and was booming with restaurants and bars. This is something I think everyone should experience as long as they are respectful. It was truly disheartening to see men window-shopping for women. We ended our night at Bulishi's Bar which was a really fun and up-beat bar. They even had American College football playing on the TV! We felt right at home.
The next morning we went to Pancake Amsterdam and got traditional Dutch pancakes. They were really yummy..but I still have a sweet spot in my heart for American pancakes. We took a canal tour to end our trip before we headed home. If you take a canal tour in Amsterdam, make sure to look up where the canal goes before-hand. I had fun on our tour, but I wish I got to see more of Amsterdam's highlights! Overall I had an amazing weekend and I am for sure coming back!