Today marks the first travel blog of our Europe trip!
I'm going to try to blog each night so we can remember what we did each day. As a recap we are traveling to Amsterdam and then London during Spring break. We are spending 2 days in Amsterdam, then taking the train to London for 3 days and then back to Amsterdam to fly home.
So let's dive into day 1 and 2!
Day 1 was a travel day....
We started bright and early at 6:45am and drove from Dayton to Chicago. We brought our plane tickets from Chicago because it's a cheaper for international flights and only a 5 hour drive. When we arrived at the airport we had plenty of time to get to go through security and to the gate. We got a bite to eat, and walked around a little bit. If you've never been to O'Hare, just know that it is huge!! There are plenty of places to walk around and explore.
Our first flight was Chicago to Toronto. We were very excited to get the journey started, but our flight kept getting delayed because of mechanical issues. Once we got on the plane it was a quick flight to Toronto.
Hello Toronto! The Toronto airport was very modern! Instead of terminals with bench seats, they had tables with an iPad at each of them. Plus, they had so many upscale shops. I thought Vegas was a pretty good airport, but Toronto beats it!
We weren't in the Toronto airport long before we headed off for Amsterdam. We boarded the largest plane that I have ever been on and set out for our first of two European cities. The flight was long. We tried to listen to everyone that told us to sleep on the flight, but we couldn't. It was uncomfortable. It was cold. It was hot. There were lights. Etc...etc...etc.. So long story short we probably got maybe 2 hours of sleep on the plane. However, this was my first time on an international flight so I was experiencing the movies and meals for the first time.
The meal was interesting. Not the worst, but not the best.
However I was able to watch A Star is Born for the first time on the flight and I loved it! I think I'll watch it again coming home.
Then finally touchdown! We landed in Amsterdam after 7 hours and were exhausted, but determined to stay awake and enjoy the city for day 2!
Natalie and I were super excited to receive our first stamp in our passport. I've been out of the country once before, but they didn't stamp so this was really neat!
We quickly went through customs, grabbed our bags then freshened up a bit. We then made out way from the airport to the city center were our hotel is by train.
After lugging our luggage through the city to our hotel and dropping it off, we made it to a boat tour and brought tickets.
The boat tour was nice because it stopped at many different places around the city and you were able to hop off at ones you wanted to see and then hop back on at your own pace. It made getting around and seeing a lot manageable.
The first stop we got off at was the Anne Frank House because duh!
From the outside you would no clue that this was the house were the diary was written. If the name plate wasn't there we would have missed it. We didn't go inside because you have to purchase tickets months in advance and we were too late.
After the Anne Frank House we went right next door and grabbed a warm espresso and chocolate croissant. Super yummy and woke us up a little because we were exhausted.
We then got back onto the boat and our next stop was museum row. This area was really nice. It has the Van Gough museum, Amsterdam history museum and many more. While there we stumbled upon a street dance show and the performers were hilarious. Before the finale the went around asking for tips because "once we bow you all will leave". While asking for tips they would stop and ask where you were from if you gave over 5 euros. Then they did a little dance for the country you said. For the USA, they kept chanting "USA, USA, USA". It was very funny!
After that we walked around a little bit and then had to pay 1 Euro to use the bathroom. I mean I would rather stand in line than pay money to use a public bathroom. Go USA!
After the museum row, we walked around a bit more and then got back onto the boat. We rode the boat back to the first stop and then hopped to a different one to see other stops. That's what was nice about this tour. They had two different boats and then a bus you could hop on at any time. I highly recommend it!
The canals are beautiful in Amsterdam!
Gotta take a selfie with the canals!
This is what our boat looked liked. Open/see through tops with bucket seats! Very easy to hop in and sightsee the city fast!
Plus we got some amazing views and pictures while on the boats.
The last stop we went to was the flower market. Amsterdam is known for their tulips and you can surely tell at these markets! There are flowers and souvenirs and far as the eye can see! I even grabbed a bag to bring home as a gift!
After that we grabbed a quick dinner of burgers and Netherlands fries and booked it back to the hotel. At this point we are all exhausted, dirty and ready to crash.
So there's day 1-2!
I'll be back tomorrow will day 3, which is a full and our last day of sightseeing in Amsterdam before London.
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