Euro Trip 2013: Amsterdam Part 1

Before I came to Amsterdam, my impression of The Netherlands was only what I saw on "It's a Small World" at Disneyland, including the tulips, wooden shoes and windmills. What I imagined of Amsterdam was "Sin City" of Europe. I imagined a dizzying fog of debauchery and partying. I was admittedly worried that I wasn't going to have a good time. I could not have been more wrong on all fronts. 

After an early morning arrival at the Hook of Holland port, we took a few trains and finally arrived at Amsterdam Central train station. A short 15 minute walk to our hotel shortly turned into a somewhat difficult trek thanks to the cobblestone roads and carry on roller bags. Once we checked into the hotel and dropped off our possessions, we got to breathe in the cool crisp air and absorb all of the wonders of Amsterdam.

To my delight, Amsterdam is a gorgeous, relatively quiet city where the locals are friendly, the atmosphere contains a quiet elegance and the busiest parts are the bike lanes. Amsterdam is a beautiful city of pleasures, literally. The center of the city consist of canals, small homes, house boats, simple restaurants, boutique hotels, and every kind museum you can think of. The major businesses are on the outskirts of the city, leaving the quaint lovely city to embrace the simple beauties of life. 

Huge bike parking lot

Breakfast at Pancakes Amsterdam

Flower market

My new kicks

Anne Frank House

Canal cruise

Moo

The walk to our hotel

Ice cream before dinner

Dinner time

Asparagus, goat cheese and strawberry salad

Boyfriend's beef tongue

Lamb stew

Fish with garlic red wine sauce

Homemade chocolate cake

Mint "thee"

Chocolate raspberry tiramisu

Heart-shaped mint

Moonlit stroll

Whenever we visit a new city, Boyfriend always says, "I could totally live here." This was the first time I actually kind of agreed with him. It's no wonder Amsterdam is grossly overpopulated. Well, that and the ground is soft so buildings can be only so tall. After a few hours, I knew we were going to love it here. At the same time, we only had one more day in Amsterdam before continuing our mini tour of Europe. More Amsterdam, next.

-Akemi-chan

Euro Trip 2013: En Route and London

Boyfriend is a true romantic. I'm a little more practical and my idea of romance is sharing a quart of ice cream instead of holding it hostage on the couch. But it's been 6 years since Boyfriend and I met and I need to step up my game in the romance department.

We met on September 25th, 2007 in my best friend's dorm room at UH. We were instantly attracted to each other and started dating very soon after. I must say I was surprised that he even saw me. I just got back from a late night run, no makeup, sweaty from my workout and was parked on a couch that may have been as old as I was. He, on the other hand, was tall, "exotic" and just got back from Ireland and still had a hint of that intoxicating accent. 

Fast forward six years later and we've been through a lot. So in order to celebrate our love and relationship, I'm splurging on a trip to Europe. We started in Chicago's O'Hare and flew into London Heathrow to spend an afternoon in foggy London town. Here's a recap of our first day in Europe.

We're not in Paris YET

 

Waiting for 6 hours in Chicago

 

Exploring ORD's terminals

My 777 feast

"Mind the gap"

 

Some tea n scones before hitting the sights

Big Ben

Westminster Abbey

My London souvenir

The London Eye

Love this slogan

Mussels and chips

Fish n' chips

Millennium bridge

Ello?

Sittin' on the Princess while waiting for the train

On the train to the ferry

Our ferry accommodations

After a long day of walking around Downtown London, we were relieved to make it back to the train station and head out the Harwich Port and our overnight ferry to Holland. Next stop Amsterdam. 

-Akemi-chan