Amsterdam and Paris... Again!

The Heineken Experience, Amsterdam 

Canals, Amsterdam

Arc de Triumph, Paris

Eiffel Tower, Paris

Two years ago today, I left for my semester abroad in England. On that trip I went to Amsterdam and Paris (among other places) and loved them both. Danny on the other hand had never been, so of course we had to make stops in both cities. First stop- Amsterdam.

Last time I went to Amsterdam, one of my favorite places was Vondel Park, so we booked a hostel right by the park. We spent our first evening there, relaxing out by the pond and enjoying some entertaining people watching. The first full day we packed with sight seeing. We started the day off with one of the "free" walking tours, which was very informational. For someone who thinks that all there is in Amsterdam is weed, here are some facts I picked up on the tour. Marijuana is not 100% legal in Amsterdam. However, individuals can have up to 5 grams on them. Also, the percentage of locals that smoke weed regularly is one of the lowest in the entire world (with New Zeland as the highest). The tour took us all through Dam Square, down the river Amstel, through what used to be the Jewish Ghetto, part of the Red Light District, and much more. It was one of the best tours I've been on.

After the tour, Danny and I had lunch at a Dutch restaurant and had split pea soup and La Chouffe beer, a traditional dish. The rest of the day was spent wandering the city and relaxing in the park. That night we met up with our friend who I stayed with last time, Harold. He lives right off of Dam Square (the city center), so we hung out with him in his awesome apartment and swapped travel stories. Danny and I ended the night sitting off of one of Amesterdam's 1,200 canals.

Since we stayed in Amsterdam for five days, I'll cut the rest down to highlights. We did a tour of the original Heineken factory, which was a ton of fun. We learned a lot and got to enjoy two beers at the end. The Heineken was way better than the Heineken at home, but it still wasn't as good as a lot of the other Dutch and Belgium beers. Another major highlight was riding bikes with Harold, his friend Sarah from Columbia, and Danny all over the city. We rode to the iconic I AMsterdam sign and back to Vondel park for a picnic. We ended the night with a typical touristy pub crawl, which was a wild night out as usual. We spent an amazing five days in Amsterdam, but Paris was waiting!

We arrived in Paris at night time, and the first thing we had to do was go to the Eiffel Tower. It is amazing during the day time, but turning a dark corner and seeing the Eiffel Tower glowing over the city can literally take your breath away. We sat under it and waited for it to sparkle, which happens every hour. It was a perfect way to start our time there.

Our first full day was the 1st, which was also the first Sunday of the month, AKA- free Louvre day! We spent about three hours in there, hitting all of the highlights such as the Mona Lisa, Napoleon's Apartment (which was more like a mansion), and so so so much more. We wandered all the way down Champs Elysees to the Arc de Triomphe and had some delicious crepes. That night our hostel had an open mic night where we enjoyed some good music and got to know some of our fellow backpackers.

We were supposed to visit the Palace of Versailles, but it was closed! I was so disappointed. We ended up still having a great day exploring the Latin Quarter, the Notre Dame Cathedral, the "lovers" or "love lock" bridge, and Luxembourg garden with some of the people we met at the hostel. We ended the night going to the top of the Eiffel Tower with our friend Natalie we met in Florence. It was an amazing view of the city and a great way to end our time in Paris! Now I am back in the UK and loving it. I will try to blog again soon, but it is going to be hard considering my BFFFFF Kri$ten is going to be here in a few days! Signing off for now :)