This post is overdue, but I finally got round to writing it up!
Amsterdam, its a wonderful place that I would recommend to anyone and everyone. For my 21st my wonderful friends and fellow travel buddies planned a trip to see The Anne Frank House. I mean quick roundtrip, starting in Essex at 5am and getting back the following day at about 2am, driving and ferrying. Crazy, crazy, crazy!


LIVING - After a crazy hunt for passports and mad rush, we made the first ferry leaving Dover. Thanks to feeling a bit icky on the way over, I didn't need to splash out on a full English for £10! A tenner for a breakfast?! Will remember to travel with food in the future for sure! The drive through Europe was so strange, we went through boarders without even realising. Hell, we're in Brussels man! Getting stuck in traffic when you're busting for a wee with services few and far between, was bladder testing I must admit. I think the services in the UK are taken for granted. We treasure you now Welcome Break and Moto!!

Accommodation in Amsterdam is really expensive good job we're hostel enthusiasts! Looking forward to the opening of the Amsterdam Generator though. We stayed at the Season Star Hotel which is actually a hostel but it was better than I'd expected. Having already been told that this place was the cheapest they could find. Normally hostels have bunk-beds when its a room for 4 right? Nope! This had 4 single beds in a row ha! It was only for a night though and the location was spot on! Across the road from Amsterdam Central Station, ideal!

Being my brothers first visit, we squeezed in lots of touristy bits; coffee shops, Red Light District, Dam Square and the tulip market. If you're planning to visit coffee shops, be careful, even experienced pot users have said its a lot stronger in Amsterdam. Maybe stick to a space cake... Getting to the reason for the trip, The Anne Frank House. Absolute must-see, its hard to express how emotional it is if you haven't been. They've keep the posters up that she glued to the walls in glass cabinets and even though its 70 years on, its still raw and heartbreaking. Its nice how everyone is quiet walking around completely submerged in her story.


WEARING - Not the most fashion forward trip I must say. Wearing flip flops on a ferry, in heavy weather conditions was not the wisest decision ha! What can I say, I like to have cool feet when I travel... The weather was terrible in comparison to our previous trip no legs out or summer dresses but instead another hat, coat and scarf trip. I did end up buying some tourist socks for the journey home and some cool coloured mirror sunglasses which I'm sure I'll make good use of in festival season :)


EATING - The food in Amsterdam is heavenly, I honestly mean that. Down every street near enough you will find fresh food shops selling; bread, cheese or waffles! The biggest jars of Nutella you will ever see just sitting in windows. Amsterdam was made for Leslie Knope! The supermarkets have such a better range of fresh foods too. We tried some cheese samples and ended up having to buy some (I'm getting saliva just remembering). Try the freshly squeezed orange juice. I'm sure a lot of other places in Europe have freshly squeezed orange juice too, but Britain is severely lacking. The restaurants are real yummy too, burgers the size of your face!
*NEED TO TAKE PHOTOS OF FOOD BEFORE EATING*

Travel Tip: book tickets online in advance to avoid massive queues or disappointment for The Anne Frank House. We witnessed a huge queue even in the wind and rain, it did feel good walking right on in.

What a great trip! We laughed and laughed and laughed! Finding out European radio stations love a bit of classic pop, made the journey extra hilarious, diamond songs were found between Lille and Rotterdam especially. I love Amsterdam and looking forward to going back when we start travelling :)