Things To Do In Amsterdam

I'm headed to Chicago tonight to visit my brother for the weekend and one of the posts I've loved putting together was my Chicago Long Weekend Favorites. I thought it would be fun to do something similar with our most recent trip to Amsterdam.

One of the first things I do before going on a trip is jump on google to find out what are the must sees or things to do in the area. I like to have a general idea of what I want to accomplish on my travels, but the worst thing for me is feeling like I need a vacation from vacation. What's really the fun in that? I always make sure to have days of relaxing and try to keep an open mind to just go with the flow. This is pretty much our attitude when traveling with the boys too and since it's been working for us so far, I don't see us changing our approach anytime soon.

Here are somethings I would recommend for you to check out if you ever travel to Amsterdam.

LET'S DO THIS
One of the highlights of our trip was swinging over the edge on the A'DAM Lookout. This swing takes you over the edge of a building and provides amazing views of the city all while you're high in the sky and can boast that you were on Europe's highest swing. It's a short ferry ride from the city and definitely worth it for a little thrill. Not into heights or you'd rather keep your feet on the ground? No worries, there's plenty for you too...
Canal Cruise
Bike Around the City
Visit the famous Flower Market. Bloemenmarkt was so pretty and was really cool to know it was a floating market.
Flea Markets
Vondelpark
Brouwertij't IJ Brewery. This brewery was really cool and was right next to an old windmill which gave it that authentic feel.
Ice Bar
Explore Museums, there is so much history here
Hannekes Boom this was a really cool place to grab a drink during happy hour. It was right across the canal from the Nemo Science Center and had a really fun crowd. They even had an outdoor tree swing.
Heineken Experience

ALL THE FOOD
I don't have specifics for the restaurants we checked out but here are the foods everyone should try when visiting...
Cheese, yup cheese. You can find all the cheese here in many difference flavors.
Poffertjes, they are kind of like mini pancakes
Stroopwafles
Bitterballen, they are basically mini krokets
And speaking of krokets, you might as well indulge in them too

There are so many things to see and do here that there is something for everyone. You can read more about some of our adventures {here}. Get your walking shoes ready because it's a city that has too much going on not to walk around and take it all in. 

Rooftop Terrace in Stripes and Lace

On of the things I love about vacationing is also being able to come home and look through all of my pictures and relive it all over again. I mentioned before that this was our first experience booking a place through Airbnb. The place we stayed at was sooo nice that I'm hoping it didn't set the bar too high for the next time we look to book. 

What I loved about the apartment we were in, and what pretty much sold us, was this beautiful rooftop terrace. It ran the whole length of the apartment and even wrapped around on one side which led you to an outdoor shower. We enjoyed breakfast and lunch out here all while listening to the different sounds from the street and the local market below. We also caught a few sunsets which happen so much later in Europe then what I'm used to. It was bright almost every night until around 10pm. 

Because of all of the canals that go through Amsterdam, it gets pretty windy. When we were outside here the wind was definitely present. Sometimes it wasn't bad at all and other times it picked up a lot and even blew a few things over. The owner of the apartment asked us if we wouldn't mind watering all of his pretty flowers and few of his special plants. Of course we didn't mind and actually found it to be quite relaxing. I hope one day we can get our green thumb act together and actually have things stick around and do well. Isn't it interesting how some people just have a gift and whatever they touch blooms. Then there are others who try to make it work and no matter what they do it shrivels up. I'd like to think we're somewhere in the middle with a little glimmer of hope. Although, our poor garden might be an indication of something other.

This top that I am wearing combines two of my favorite things, lace and stripes. I love how the lace comes up on the neckline to give it a very flattering and sophisticated look and then the side ties at the bottom give it a more playful look. I have gotten so many compliments on this shirt every time I wear it. If it wasn't for trying to switch my clothes up in some sort of rotation, I'd probably wear it all the time. I'm wearing a size small and overall I would say this shirt fits true to size. Here's to many more travel experiences and rooftop living. 

Top-c/o (here also love here) | Jeans-(here) | Flats-sold out (similar here)

Romper Ready Exploring Amsterdam

There's something about visiting Europe that has so much charm to it that when I come back home I wish we had more cute towns and places like that around. Maybe it's the brick streets, beautiful architecture, and the atmosphere in general, but whatever it is, I love it, and hope to visit more often.  

I mentioned that Eric's work had a conference out in Amsterdam and since my mom offered to watch the boys I jumped at the opportunity to go. His company is very understanding and it's almost a given when spouses go out there and extend their time to make a trip out of it.

When I got there it was the last day of his conference which happened to only be a half day. With the time difference I flew through the night but when I landed it was only 1am at home but 7am there. Because it was still so early there (and I'd still be sleeping at home) I ended up jumping in bed at the hotel for a few hours until he was done.  After that it was off to explore and to check into our Airbnb.

When I got there everyone was talking about how Amsterdam was experiencing unusually warmer weather for this time of year. I think they might have even broken some kind of records. I was glad I packed my new geometric romper (I'm wearing a small, fits true to size, bottom is loose fitting. Oh, and it's currently on sale!) because it was flowy, light weight, and perfect to walk around in.

The first thing we did was grab some lunch over near Bloemenmarkt. This place was so cool to check out because it's basically a floating flower market. There were some cute little shops along the way and some great places to eat. We loved looking at all of the pretty tulips and flowers and some of the biggest bulbs I have ever seen. Of course the flowers I fell in love with they said wouldn't make it back through US customs so we didn't bother getting any.

In true tourist fashion, we decided to get a lock (because you have to lock your love, right?) and find a bridge to lock it up. We tried to be discreet and strategic about it and actually did not put ours where everyone else did. We know they get cut off pretty often and would love to go back someday to see if by chance it's actually still there. We ended up holding onto it for a few days until we scouted out the perfect spot for it. The bridges there have wide bars so you would need a huge lock for it to fit on most of them. We found the perfect area with smaller bars that only had two other locks by it that were still there from 2013. So who knows, maybe there's a chance it's still locked up on there.

Romper c/o -(here, also love here and here) | Backpack -(similar here and here) | Sandals-(old similar here)