City Break - Amsterdam

This week has verged on the crazy, as I've jumped from dissertation hand-in to a cocktail night, to an Easter trail ride, followed by a night out and, oh yeah, flying to Amsterdam. But boy has it it been worth it!

I'm finally home for Easter, and it's never felt more like a country retreat than it does now! After my mad running around, I was shattered. It was definitely one of those good exhaustions, but having survived on little sleep for the past five days and been constantly on-the-go, coming home has provided me the wind-down I needed!

It seems totally surreal that only three days ago I was with my two best friends on our final day in Amsterdam. It was such a total whirlwind but we managed to pack everything in, and actually I think three days was the perfect amount of time. The whole trip was honestly so brilliant, and I couldn't have spent it in better company. We had such a great time together, treating ourselves to a well-deserved break after an incredibly stressful few weeks of intense dissertation work.

The gorgeous flower markets are well worth a visit.

I have to say, I didn't really know what to expect from Amsterdam. With the infamous Red Light District and the drugs, it took some research to identify the interesting historical side of the city and other things we could do. Before we went, we booked the Heineken Experience which was absolutely worth the time and was incredible value! I don't like beer and unfortunately even Mr Heineken couldn't sway me, but the Heineken Experience was such a surprisingly fun afternoon! We turned up expecting to queue for a long time to get in, only to walk straight through which was such a relief given our numb fingers and toes. The tour took about one and a half hours, excluding the boat ride which was about another half hour. Included in the ticket price were two tokens that got you either two smaller beers, or one larger, colder one (or a pepsi, thank goodness!). Plus, another token could be exchanged for a free gift. We also got a small Heineken sample on the way round. Needless to say, my friend ended up drinking quite a bit what with me passing my beers straight to her! It was all really interactive too, and genuinely really interesting. I'd really recommend doing it if you're going to the city!

Photo credit: Sophie (thanks, girl!)

We also booked the Ice Bar. I've never been to the one in London, and I think it's probably quite different but with three drinks tokens, this also turned out to be great value and so much fun! Sounds ridiculous and I'm sorry to point on the obvious, but it was cold. It said -9 degrees and I just didn't realise that could feel so cold! The ice glasses were an awesome touch but I just felt that I needed thicker gloves that the ones supplied! We had one cocktail before entering, and then in the 20 minutes inside the ice bar, you can have another two drinks. Believe me when I say you'll need them!!

The Anne Frank museum was also brilliant. Having queued in the pouring rain for over 45 minutes with frozen fingers and soaked feet and with all of us having gone slightly hysterical, it definitely made for a memorable afternoon! When we finally got in (we couldn't book online, and no one else seemed to have booked in advance either) the museum was so well set-out and very informative. I've read the majority of Anne Frank's Diary, and intend to finish it after I graduate (one of a long list of books), and have always felt that her story is incredibly moving. Walking around the house I had read about was absolutely one of the greatest highlights of the trip and was well worth the money. I would particularly recommend staying to watch the video at the very end as well because it helps to express just what a poignant piece of history the diary is.

The city itself was beautiful, although it subverted my expectations of a city. Say capital city and I think noise, busy-ness, probably thousands of tourists, crime. Amsterdam had none of this. I don't want to betray Paris here (don't worry, I'll always love you), but I actually felt safer in Amsterdam than in Paris. Not once did I feel threatened or that I had to keep a constant eye out for pickpockets. Maybe I've trained myself to be automatically wary but there was never a sense of it being a tourist trap like Venice where there could always be a pickpocket waiting to take something. It was also so calm! We got out fairly early on Saturday morning but even by lunchtime, it had only just started to get busy! To be able to walk down streets and in and out of shops without negotiating hundreds of other people was such a serene feeling and made the trip so enjoyable.



Apparently while we'd been there the whole city had experienced a powercut, but considering we'd been out and about during this time and we were due to fly back the next day, we heard absolutely nothing. Good job everything was up and running the next day really, otherwise we wouldn't have known whether our flight was on time! It just showed how much we ended up being in our own little world while discovering the city.

They definitely know how to serve tea!

Food-wise, I found the prices and choice pretty great. I loved the variety of independent restaurants and some of them were really amazing value! The Pancake Bakery near the Anne Frank museum was a definite favourite and is worth a mention. They let us take our order back to our hotel, instead of eating in, and wrapped them all up with cutlery and plates - so lovely! My goats' cheese, sun-dried tomato, pine nuts and honey wasn't that cheap but was diviiine!

The Pancake Bakery, Amsterdam. Particularly recommend the goats' cheese pancake. Yum.

One final thing that I have to comment on is the people. I was so impressed by the generally high level of English spoken. To be honest, the whole city was fairly anglicised with a lot of shops with English names, even outside the main tourist hubs. But not once did I feel bad about not speaking the language, something that I've felt in France on numerous occasions despite the fact I can actually speak okay French. It was the total opposite! I've always been conscious of being the English person who can't be bothered to learn another language, but most people seemed to actually enjoy having the opportunity to talk to a native English speaker. Which brings me to my next point - the Dutch are so friendly!! Nothing was ever too much, and we were always greeted with smiles. What a lovely bunch.

Before we booked Amsterdam, we knew we wanted a city with culture, history, and somewhere where we could just have a bit of down time after the stress of dissertation. Amsterdam really did offer all of this and more. The architecture is so unusual but gorgeous (look up and you'll notice that most of the buildings are wonky!), the parks offered a snippet view of the daily Amsterdam life, the museums ticked our culture/history boxes and the cute cafés and people made our stay an extremely happy and relaxing one. So if you haven't been, or are thinking about going - don't hesitate! Get booking!

I had to include this photo but I feel like it's sort of been photobombed by the lady on the right... Authentic tourist right there.

10 things that have made me happy this week...

This week has been stressful. Actually, let's stress stressful. It's been stresssssfullll. I'm fairly certain my body is now falling apart because of the pressure I've put myself under over the last week. But it's done, over, fini. So I thought that there would be no better way to end this pretty hard week with a positive post on why it's actually been pretty great after all:

1. I submitted my dissertation. I cannot explain the huge weight that has been lifted from my shoulders. This project probably totalled around a year's worth of work. To have finally finished it is both magical and strange. If I'm completely honest, I'm now feeling a bit lost... What did I do before dissertation took over my life? On the plus side, I now have more time to blog which I've missed a lot.

© Rachel Thomason. Yeeeeaahh, that feels good.

2. This smoothie from Harris + Hoole that I treated myself to post-workout during the week. Berries, apples, froth... Need I say more?

3. My breakfast on Saturday morning after a hardcore treadmill workout. It was exactly what I needed to start my morning before having a final read of my dissertation and submitting it. Apple and cinnamon overnight oats, topped with sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and peanut butter plus an extra sprinkle of cinnamon.

4. This post by Hannah Gale. If you're not familiar with her blog, go and take a look. An incredibly honest young woman whose posts never fail to strike a chord with me, or simply just make me howl with laughter.

5. The count-down to Amsterdam. It's a post-dissertation-submission treat and I am so so excited.

6. The Game of Thrones Season 5 trailer. O.M.G. Excitement does not cover it. Find it here. Go. 

7. This poem by Swinburne. Find full version here. Literature geek alert: we studied this in our seminar this week, and I actually quite enjoyed it. He's definitely got a different style to his Victorian contemporaries, and the themes are sometimes particularly disturbing/intriguing but I weirdly quite enjoyed studying it.

8. Running. Less enjoyable than normal this week which kind of contradicts the title of this post BUT the fact that I can and do run is a source of constant happiness. This week I needed the endorphins more than ever, and dragging myself out was hard but so worth it. Plus, I got to see this sunrise. Nothing beats this for me. Motivation for an early workout comes so naturally when it's this beautiful outside. It was the perfect start to my day.



9. The most amazing caramel latte which revived my love for coffee. It's the small things.

10. The daffodils that are coming out on campus. Springgggg. Winter is not coming... Spring is coming!! This fills me with so much happiness and positivity that it's clear I am just a true outdoors girl at heart. It was the perfect backdrop to give my dissertation one last read through before submission.


So yeah, stressful week balanced out by some small pleasures, and some bigger sources of excitement. Putting in all the work I did was tough, but as a bit of a over-conscientious stress-head, I probably didn't help myself. I do, however, know that as a result of said effort I honestly tried my absolute best. Better than best. So at least now, with my degree in someone else's hands, I can 100% say that I gave it my best shot. 

Also, exciting news! I'm now on bloglovin', yay! I'm still trying to get to grips with it all but I'm fairly sure it's going to be my new best friend. Follow me here!

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March wishlist

There are so many pretty things in the shops right now that I'm running out of dribble to drool over them. So I thought I'd do the next best thing and post about what I'm lusting after so that my bank account doesn't have to suffer the effects...

1. Baking Scales from Urban Outfitters, also available in pink and mint. 
These basically sum up what my future kitchen will look like - vintage, cute and oh-so-chic. I'd probably have to justify the spend by actually cooking/baking though...

2. Eiffel Tower drawer pull from Oliver Bonus. 

If you know me well, you know I love Paris to a point where it's probably borderline obsessive. So imagine my joy when I found this beauty. Verrrry convenient since I'll be doing a lot of furniture updated over Easter. Stay tuned for more details...

3. Bronte by Moon Stripe throw from John Lewis, in beige or grey. 

I went slightly crazy on the John Lewis website when I saw that one of their trends for SS15 is Maison. As you can imagine, any home décor that is vaguely French-themed is a winner with me. This gorgeous throw would be perfect with the new neutral colour scheme I'm going for when I redecorate my room.

4. White Shop Puritan Stitch Towel from John Lewis, in oyster/putty. 

So I'm an old lady now and one of my greatest pleasures is looking at homewares for the house I plan to own someday.  These are so perfect; if someone were to embody my tastes in towel-form, this would be it. Très chic.

5. Modalu Pippa Grab Bag, in blush. 

I purchase a black Pippa bag last summer and never looked back. This price made me seriously hesitate but out of all the handbags out there, this is the only one that's made me go, 'oh my god, that bag is so me and I kind of want it... Really, really badly'. I'm not overly a bag person but it's one of the best investment pieces I own. So it kind of goes without saying that I'd loove one in this blush colour for the summer season. It's going to have to happen at some point. Maybe I'll reward myself with my first paycheck.

6. Cooperative ribbed knit tank top from Urban Outfitters, also available in dark yellow.

This is so super sweet for Spring, and I love the denim skirt it's paired with here. In colder weather I'd wear it with light blue jeans and ankle boots. 

7. Murano skirt from Reiss, in blue. 

Being a working woman in a few months time (eeeeek!!) I'm starting to think about my work wardrobe. I absolutely adore the colour of this skirt, but it would have to be an investment piece. There's also a matching jacket. Swoon.

8. Cece Stone stacking rings from Z for Accessorize. 

I love this range at Accessorize, but I still haven't purchase anything because I'm scared the 'gold plated' will still make my fingers go green. If anyone has purchased anything, let me know below whether it does! I love dainty jewellery like this to incorporate into my daily jewellery accessories. 

9. Nail polish from Topshop, in Mannequin. 

Wanting a sort of nudey colour for summer, and something a bit more understated. Topshop polish is always a winner.

10. Shorts pyjama set from Next. 

Such a pretty nightwear set, and they have loads of other lovely sets at the moment, including these shorts. Very reasonably priced too.