Amsterdam 2019

Hey!

I love our yearly trip to Amsterdam, it was the third year me and my boyfriend had visited the city and I love it every time we go. Although this year the weather was so gloomy and very windy!

The trip didn't start off the best as we were delayed a couple of hours due to not being able to land in Amsterdam because of the windy conditions. So we didn't manage to get a full first day there and instead didn't get to the apartment until late afternoon. 

This year we stayed in another Yays apartment, this time we stayed in Zoutkeetsgracht which is a side of the city neither have us had stayed in before. The apartment we stayed in was so awesome, we had a canal view, a full working kitchen, bathroom, living space and bedroom. My only complaint would be that the bed was really not comfortable at all. The location of our apartment was about a 20 minute walk into the centre, the walk wasn't fun in the rain but usually it doesn't bother me walking that far. 

We stayed in Amsterdam for 3 nights, it cost us around £400 for the apartment. You can get cheaper accommodation, its just up to you what you want to spend. I like the fact that all the Yays apartments are always in local areas so you get to see how all the locals live.

If you'd like to see more of the apartments and book there yourself click HERE

If you don't go to Amsterdam and have a stone baked pizza then you are really missing out!

There are plenty of places to go for one, we tried out somewhere new to last year but to be honest it wasn't half as good. 

We went to La Perla in Jordaan. This place confused me because we went in there wasn't many places to sit, so we made our order and sat down on the window seats. Then we saw the staff taking pizza from the kitchen to the restaurant over the road and realised we would of rather gone to the restaurant, but never mind! These pizza's were OK, I'd rate them about 6/10. Well for one I ordered the wrong thing, I didn't expect a whole pig to come on top of my pizza. I was meant to order the prosciutto one but got confused with the menu and was shook when they bought it over ha ha! The pizza didn't come sliced so it was hard to cut it and yeah it just didn't have that much flavour, it looked nicer on trip advisor! It seemed to be popping there though, so many people were coming and going.  

We also went back to the Dirty Chicken Club for a beer can chicken! This place is good food and a cool atmosphere, I'd definitely recommend. 

BEST breakfast in Amsterdam @ Bakers and Roasters! We walked 40 mins in the wind and rain for this breakfast and it was so worth it! 

Outfit details are: 

- Hoodie is Pretty Little Thing

- Coat is old H&M

- PU leggings are Topshop

- Bag is Louis Vuitton

- Trainers are Adidas Stan Smiths

We finished the trip at another of our favourite restaurants called Humphrey's

The food is so good here and it is a set menu, 3 courses for 29 euros each. I had the onion soup to start, steak for main and a chocolate fondant cake for desert. I like it because its somewhere nice for a sit down meal, you can wear trainers without being judged, its affordable and the food is always perfect. 

Not too much to report this year unfortunately! The weather was rubbish and we got wet through a few times which made us a bit fed up. We did a lot of chilling and eating basically. I much prefer the city when the weather is nice as the rain makes me feel lazy and unmotivated to do anything or walk anywhere. 

Where are your favourite spots in Amsterdam?

Lauren x

A day trip to the big city

Hey!

So the last time I wrote a blog post was probably around March last year! It's been a while which I feel is something I always say when I do a blog post, life just seems to get in the way of me continually writing on here. But one of my new year goals was to start blogging again, get my Instagram (@laurensandrah) up and running properly and give this all a proper go.

So I am starting the year off with a blog post about a recent day trip to London!

Me and my boyfriend Chris went on a little train journey to London at the end of last year, it was really fun as we had never been together. We started the day off by heading to Camden Market to enjoy some street food. Chris had a katsu chicken burger and then I had calamari with chips. We finished with some delicious cookie dough and then headed to Carnaby Street to some of the streetwear shops. I love Carnaby Street as it has a really young and trendy vibe, there is lots of shops that are my style.

We went into Palace, Patta, Lazy Oaf and then took a wonder to Dover Street Market!

If you haven't been to Dover Street Market in Mayfair then you need to go! It is such an interesting and unique building with lots of levels of different designers and even some brands like Palace, it reminds me of somewhere like Selfridges but is very different aesthetically.

We finished the day with some of the best lobster I have ever eaten at Burger and Lobster, there are a few locations in London but we ate at the one on Deans St. It is around £20-£25 for a whole lobster, chips and salad. Even the salad was some of the best salad I have ever had!! I wish we had places like this in Birmingham because I would 100% eat there once a month. 

Where are the best places to get Lobster in the Midlands?

We had a lovely mooch around London and even took a walk to Buckingham Palace, it was a great day out and I can't wait to go back in the summer to explore more of the city. Notting Hill is definitely on the list! 

Lauren x

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A mini break to Amsterdam

Hey!

Bringing you another travel post about my recent trip to (so far) my favourite city, Amsterdam.

I love this place so much, from a creative perspective it is really inspirational with the beautiful buildings, shops, interiors, style etc. I always come home feeling super motivated and inspired. 

If you are yet to visit this wonderful city then you are missing out! I want to share with you my trip along with some of my (our) favourite spots.

This year we flew with KLM, my boyfriend Chris isn't the best at flying and hates the propeller planes so we avoided Flybe. But to be honest the KLM flights were actually cheaper, they are a Dutch airline and fly to many airports around the world including Asia. We had a smooth flight and even got a free drink along with a traditional Dutch pear cake which was a delicious surprise!

Once you arrive in Amsterdam you will need to take a short train ride to Amsterdam Central train station, purchase your tickets from the airport and off you pop. We went Tuesday to Friday, the city is a lot busier at weekends so keep that in mind.

We stayed at the Yays Oostenburgergracht - Concierged Boutique Apartments.

The apartment was about a 20-25 minute walk from Amsterdam Central, you can take public transport but we just walked the whole trip. We walked about 10 miles a day!

The main form of transport is by bike, you can hire bikes while you are there but we just preffered to walk. Although I think part of me was just too scared to get on a bike, learning the road markings and traffic lights for cyclists would be like learning to drive again.

Anyway the staff were all very friendly and helpful and our apartment was great, it had a real industrial theme about it and I loved the wooden beams in our room. Because it was an apartment we got a little mini kitchen if we wanted to make food, but we didn't really use it as we ate out the majority of the trip.

You have to make sure you try Looza and Chocomel - the best Dutch drinks!

The first night we ate at one of the top rated Italian restaurant's called da portare VIA.

The pizza's here are unreal. They are baked in a stone oven and are handmade to order.

I went for the Crudo which was prosciutto crudo, ricotta, parmesan and rocket. 

One thing I love about Amsterdam is the food is always so fresh and there are so many great options of places to eat. 

Moving on to our favourite breakfast spot, Bakers and Roasters.

They have two locations, one in Kadijksplein and the other in Eerste Jacob van Campenstraat.

We went to the Kadijksplein restaurant as it was about a 12 minute walk from our apartment and we went 3 days in a row so we could try something new from the menu each day. It is a New Zealand style cafe with Brazilian influences.

Everyday the staff made us feel so welcome and had a lovely chat with us, it started to feel like home! It is a very instagrammable spot. 

The first day I had eggs royale with added avocado, the eggs were cooked to perfection, the bread was crispy and soft, the avocado was perfectly ripe. (Can you tell I enjoyed it?)

Second day was blueberry pancakes with organice canadian syrup and banana - also delicious. Those pancakes were the fluffiest things I've ever eaten. 

And the final day was the Kiwi Breakfast with again, added avo. 

Ps. The fresh orange juice is also amazing.

Check out the menu HERE

 A few of our favourite Coffee Shops are Hill Street Blues, Hunters and Barney's Lounge.

Another great restaurant to try out is Burger Bar.

One of the best burgers I have ever had, we went here last year too and had to go back. 

Again, the burgers are made fresh to order, right down to the patty.

We love this place and its a perfect pit stop for lunchtime and even dinner, it is also reasonably priced as a lot of places in the centre are expensive. Amsterdam is generally quite an expensive place to be honest, as is any city.

I think a canal ride is a must, it is a very touristy thing to do but you get to see parts of the city that you might not pass when walking. Plus it's nice and relaxing along the canal. 

Prices are around 11 euros for adults and I think about 5 euros for children.

A final food recommendation - The Dirty Chicken Club.

This was the best half a chicken I have ever had! It is a mix of Mexican, American, Dutch, European and Asian. There are some great things on the menu including Korean Bao Buns, Chicken Burger and a Whole Chicken served on a beer can. 

We managed to get a table about 7pm without a reservation but it did start to get busier so the later you are planning to go, I would book. I had the half a chicken which had this really amazing sticky marinade on it and Chris had the chicken burger which beer battered. It looked like a piece of battered fish but was actually chicken, he ate it all so I am guessing it was a yes from him!

Check out the menu HERE

The weather was pretty good, we had rain the day we got there but then the last couple of days we had lovely sunshine. Amsterdam looks prettier when the sun is shining on the canals. 

Overall we enjoyed some amazing food, had lots of chill time, mooched around some of the streetwear shops and had lots of fun. Also be sure to take a walk around the Red Light District at night, it is something everyone needs to see because its just so fascinating - well it fascinates me anyway! 

Where are your favourite spots in Amsterdam?

Lauren x