Day Three: Amsterdam

Since I had technically booked my hotel for 2 nights; I knew I had made a wrong choice.  I bought my flight to Florence on the last minute and figured I would break night on the 3rd day in Amsterdam.  It was Saturday after all and I've done it before in the past.  But now as I've gotten older, I knew I was kidding myself.  My flight was leaving at 9:55am and even if I got to the airport at 8am, what was I going to do with myself this whole time without a room?  I needed to rest at some point.  I booked another night but because my room was given to someone else, they assigned another room for me.  I still had to get up and checkout in the morning.  I woke up early and packed my things.  Luckily my new room was ready, but since I was up already, I got hungry.  I decided to grab breakfast and search for some Dutch pancakes!

I walked my way over to the same area where I had brunch the day before.  But with some many restaurants nearby, I could find a place that served the pancakes.  I DID see however, a crowd of locals standing around a deli.  That's when I realized they were serving the hering sandwich.  A decided to try this favorite Dutch treat.  I was nervous the fish would have bones, but a customer informed me it didn't.  They added the pickles and onions and I took my bite.  It was definitely different but I managed.  I was proud I tried this healthy treat.  Not bad, but I'm not sure if this is something I would crave.  But who knows?

I suddenly got a wave of tiredness that came over me.  Since I had been out the night before, and checked out in the morning, I got super tired.  I had a cup of espresso but it still didn't help.  I decided to go back to the hotel for a nap. 

What a nap it turned out to be!  I slept until 3pm!!  I was losing my day again.  Ugh!  My new friend was messaging me to see what I was doing but I told him what happened.  Both he and my friend in Italy had suggested that I should book a boat tour in the canals.  I went down to the hotel and arranged one with the front desk man.  

I made my way over to the coffee company to have my 2nd cup so I could wake up.  I was so groggy.  The deskman gave me directions to take the tram down to dam square where my tour would start.  It seemed simple enough.  

I found my stop and hopped on.  I got a chance to see just how many people visit Amsterdam.  There were so many people.  Once I entered Dam Square it reminded me of time square.  There were so many people.  I got off my stop and continued my walk over to the boats.  That's when I noticed two guys eating the famous Belgium fries with mayo.  I asked them where it was and they showed me to Minnekan Piss.  Here were the infamous fries.  There was a line but luckily it went quickly.  Hence; that was my lunch.  

I found the spot where my tour was meeting.  Boats run every 15 minutes and I just made one starting now.  I hopped on and found my seat.  What an amazing tour!!  I enjoyed the whole thing.  It was truly breath taking seeing the city this way. 

Me and my new friend had made plans to meet up around 8pm for drinks at my hotel.  By the time I got off my tour I still had time to walk around dam square.  I saw some many interesting stores.  

I took the tram back and made my way to the hotel to get ready.  I was getting nervous because I didn't know where we were going.  He came right on time and he drove us back to museum square.  We took a walk and made our way to Weber Bar.  

There we got a chance to get to know one another.  He was very sweet.  We were having a good time.  He wanted to take me to Red Light District.  I was going to pass up on this if I was by myself, but now that my friend was with me, I figured why not.  

What a change of scenery!!  First of all, there were so many people.  This area is very busy at night.  It was overwhelming but my friend was with me so I felt safe.  I was mostly concerned with walking through a crowd like packed sardines but we were fine.  

He took me to a peep show and that was something I'll never forget.  But there were so many people trying to get in, all curious to see what was going on.  People from all over the world. 

He got hungry and went to a vending machine to grab a burger and drove me back to my hotel.  My flight was at 9:55 to Florence.  So far, Amsterdam was amazing!

Day Two: Amsterdam

This was definitely one of the most tiring days of my trip.  Looking back I'm surprised I crammed so much in.  Since I messed up losing an evening of exploring I wanted to catch up as much as I can.

I bought my ticket for the Van Gogh museum at my hotel's front desk.  He assigned my time slot for 12pm since I was heading out for breakfast.  I woke up early to find a good restaurant to eat.  I looked up yelp reviews in my room earlier and found De Wasserette.  Luckily it was within walking distance.  Of course it's easier said than done but after a while of searching I found it on my own.   I enjoyed my eggs Benedict while I people watched.  Since it was after 9am the city was coming alive.  I finally left an hour later to look for museum square.

 I was getting lost again but eventually saw sign posts knowing I was nearby.  Sure enough I saw the infamous I AMSTERDAM sign from the horizon and knew I finally made it to my destination.   A large group of kids ran up to the sign and started climbing all over it.  People were going crazy taking pictures.  Two young high school students came up to me and asked if I could give them an interview on camera on why I came to Amsterdam.  I asked in return if they could take a picture of me at the sign and they agreed. 

I spent some time in the Museum shop and bought some souvenirs.  Of course once I walked out I saw another vendor stand and I knew I would find cheaper stuff.  The man who was working there was very friendly.  He was kind enough to give me the wifi code and we connected via messenger.  He advised me to go to the museum sooner if there is no line; so off I went.

I was super excited to be in the Van Gogh museum.  I took my time looking at his work and was enjoying every minute of it.   Since I got there early I had beat the rush.  But once that crowd came in I started to get  a little dizzy.  So far I only had one cup of coffee.  I'm a two cups of coffee person so I knew I had to get my java fix soon.  My new friend  messaged me how it was going and I told him I was going to leave soon for my fix.   He invited me back to his shop and we chatted up on my experience.  

I asked him what was happening at the Moco museum since I saw some people taking pictures outside of the museum.  He told me the Banksy exhibit was taking place.  I couldn't believe it!  What are the odds of me stumbling into this exhibit?  I rushed over to see it.  I am beyond grateful I had the opportunity to see his work.

After Moco I met up with my new friend again since now I was starving.  He was having a chicken sandwich from another vendor nearby and I wanted one too.  Once I finished lunch he was advising I should do a boat tour but I told him I was hoping to go to Ann Frank's house.  He was skeptical but told me that maybe some tickets were released since it was late in the day.  It closes at 7pm.

My new friend had to make a run on his scooter to another vendor shop and said he could drop me off over there.  As crazy as it was, I took my chance and got on board.  I couldn't pass this up since he did know his way around after all.  I definitely enjoyed my ride over there! 

Sure enough the line was super long.  I told my new friend I was going to wait it out.  He had invited me to go to the spa/gym with him but I told him I really wanted to see her house.  We made plans to have drinks the next day.  Luckily I found other Americans waiting in line, too.  One was a young woman studying in Paris.  She was from Wisconsin and her name was Claire.  There was an older couple celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary.  Their names were Suzy and I forgot her husband's name.  He was more quieter than his wife.  She was a teacher in Texas.  We waited 2 hours to get in.  The weather changed drastically and it got very cold and windy but we were determined to stick it through.  We got a chance to get to know one another since we were from all parts of the States.

Eventually we got in and it was very emotional for Claire.  She was very home sick being away from her family.  I'm glad I spent this time with them.

We closed the place down at 7pm and we all said our goodbyes.  My phone was dying.  I wanted to catch a cab back to my hotel.  I accidentally walked inside a weed cafe to look for wifi.  I left right away and luckily found a cab.  It's definitely not my cup of tea but at least I can't say I didn't visit  one!  

Once I got back to my hotel I started to get ready slowly.  I was tired but I wanted to go out and experience some nightlife.  I also had to take care of the hotel stay.  I asked the front desk if I could stay another evening and not check out in the morning.  Originally I had booked for 2 nights.  We arranged another night but trust me, it was pricey.  

I took an uber to sky lounge.  That place was really happening!  I met some guys in the elevator on our way up and they invited me to their table.  

We were having drinks and enjoying each other's company.  I liked the place but they wanted to go somewhere else.  I didn't want to leave just yet because I really liked the place.  I ended up staying behind.  

I hung out at the bar for a bit, asking the bartenders where I should go for some dance music.  I was getting tired but was trying to do my best to stay out longer.  Another group of guys walked in and were asking the same questions at the bar.  They just flew in from Sweden and after a brief introduction, they too, invited me to their table.  We chatted for a bit but then one of them got a message on their phone and they suddenly left.  That was my cue to leave as well.  I had tried my best to stay out as late as I could but having a full day had finally worn me down.