MY LAST TRIP ABROAD TO AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS

My favorite place in the world where I ate way too many fries...

I can’t believe my last trip abroad has already come and gone, but I am happy to say I ended my

travel on such a high. Amsterdam quickly stole my heart with its sheer beauty and amazing

architectural aspects. The canals that run through the city made walking anywhere seem more

like a dream than a chore. The people (especially the men like OMG) and the food were all

superb. I truly have no complaints other than how sad I was to leave.

We went to Amsterdam to celebrate its national holiday: King’s Day. It’s basically St. Patrick’s

day but in Amsterdam, with no bands playing Galway Girl in sight. The city was painted orange

while the canals and streets were filled with partying people and good food. Did I mention the

FRIES? Before I get into the lovely events of King’s Day, I should mention the touristy things we

did that made me love Amsterdam even more.

We spent the first day walking around the entire city and stopping wherever we saw fit. We

made a point to go to the MOCO museum which housed a large collection of Banksy artwork. If

you haven’t checked out his work, you MUST. There was also artwork from Andy Warhol and

other modern/post-modern artists. It was a perfect stop and not expensive either. Two things I

am absolutely gutted about are that we didn’t get into the Van Gogh museum or the Anne

Frank house (although I did go outside of it and that was enough to send chills down my spine).

Note to self, if you are planning to go to either of those and especially if you are there on a busy

holiday weekend, buy tickets way in advance. You live and you learn, I guess.

Our meals that day consisted of a brunch and street food (fries are a common theme, sorry not

sorry). We used our trusty TripAdvisor app to find the best places in town and it did not lead us

astray. We did brunch at Bakers and Roasters, which I could not recommend more. I forgot to

mention our Thursday night dinner (which was to DIE for) was at a place called The Good

Companion. We consumed fabulous fish and chips accompanied by Moscow Mules, of course. I

might as discuss food all at once! Our main meal on Saturday night was also a TripAdvisor

recommendation and, again, has my mouth watering just thinking about it. We went to

Cannibal Royale where, I’m assuming you can guess from the name, we ordered amazing meat

dishes. I ate the most delicious ribs and the nachos were phenom! The food in Amsterdam,

overall, did not disappoint.

Now back to King’s Day. One thing I quickly learned was that Dutch people are some of the

friendliest people I have encountered during my time abroad. The fact that they speak English

definitely helped too. We spent the entire day walking through the streets and finding mini

concerts as we went along. A great aspect of King’s Day is the incorporation of stands selling

homemade/vintage items on the streets. It was a glorified garage sale and I was HERE for it. The

party never seemed to end, which was amazing and also tiring, as you could imagine.

Abroad has been one big, never ending, outrageous and incredible experience that has left me

simultaneously exhausted and rejuvenated. I have a new appreciation for the world and the life

I get to live. I have seen so many beautiful places, met the best people and have realized

that life MUST be lived to the fullest. Now go out and live it!! Don’t forget to be kind, of course.

XOXO,

Simply Complicated