Amsterdam

How is it June already???

I am way behind on my posts!

We spent a long weekend in Amsterdam back in early April with the Giesecke's!! We met them there and then they came back to Copenhagen with us. We had a total blast! They are great travel companions...we vacationed the hell out of them!!

We stayed at the College Hotel, which is located near the museum district. The hotel is a training ground for students interested in the hotel industry. It was a nice place and for us, a good location. It was away from the craziness of the canals, but close enough that it didn't take us long to get anywhere.

 

The first night we went to a place near our hotels called Loetje. It was a casual steak restaurant recommended by the hotel. It was good...not a bad start to the trip. 

The second day we rented bicycles for our entire stay. It was the best way to get around. The cycling there is very different from Copenhagen. The Danes follow traffic rules and are very orderly. For the Dutch, it is total chaos...people go where they want, when they want, no matter what traffic is doing. We did fine since we are pros now, but it was a little more intimidating at first.

We spent the day cycling around, exploring the canals, and searching for the perfect outdoor cafe! I loved the crooked houses that looked like they could tumble into the water at any moment.

After finding this gem above we grabbed take away sandwiches from Amsterdam Cheese Deli, which was close to the Red Light District. Inexpensive and delicious!

I made reservations for dinner at Vlaming Eten & Drinken, a restaurant recommended to us by Liz and Jeff. Prior to dinner we found a great cocktail bar called Vesper that was a 5 min walk from the restaurant. Great cocktails and cool atmosphere. Dinner was excellent. It is an intimate restaurant with about 10 tables. The staff was attentive and the food good. They are well known for their monster burger, the sticky toffee pudding, and I am not kidding, the BEST limoncello I have ever had. They offered to send us the recipe for the pudding and the limoncello, and um, yes please! I look forward to testing them both!

On our second full day, we did more of the same, cycling around the canals, popping into shops, searching for the perfect outdoor cafe...we attempted to go to the Van Gogh Museum for some "culture". We even purchased advanced tickets that were supposed to put us in the 'quick line'. When we arrived, the 'quick line' had a 2-hour wait. It was a unanimous decision to blow that off, and the search for another perfect outdoor cafe began!

We also went to a street market we had read about, but it was the typical street market and seemed like mostly junk. Seth and Greg were incredibly brave and tried raw herring, a Dutch delicacy! Seth nearly hurled, but Greg seemed to enjoy it! Lindsey and I took a pass on that one.

For our last dinner I made reservations at Lion Noir, a place I found doing some research online. I don't have any pictures from the restaurant, but it was a cool spot with a funky interior...think industrial, rustic touches with taxidermy mixed in. The food was good and we had a great time! In search of one more good cocktail, we made our way to Door 74, a hidden speakeasy. We knocked on the black door with no signage and out came a woman with a clipboard. We had no reservation, but she could fit us in at 1 am, which gave us over an hour wait. We went back early and we were in luck! We got prime seats at the bar and sampled a few different cocktails. Seth had the most flamboyant drink of the evening! :) I love finding hidden spots like this. 

We realized on the last day that we had not taken one photo of the 4 of us! This picture is in front of the hotel. We all loved Amsterdam!! 

And here are some Copenhagen highlights!

We were so thrilled Lindsey and Greg came over to visit us!! Thanks for coming!!

Paris Part Deux

Here are the rest of the highlights from our trip to Paris!

We had brunch on Sunday at Buvette. It is brought to you by the owner of I Sodi, another favorite of mine in NYC. There is also a Buvette location in NYC, and I highly recommend going...unless you can get to Paris! I had one of the best croque madames of my life and it was a very charming space.

We then walked by the Opera House, went to Musee D'Orsay, and made our way to the Tour D'Eiffel before Liz and Jeff had to catch their train.

       

On Monday Seth and I went to the Louvre and walked around the city some more before we had to head to the airport. Again, it was an amazing trip, and we look forward to going back sometime this summer!

Where is Seth?

Joyeux Anniversaire à Moi

Seth whisked me away to Paris for my birthday weekend!! Yes, I am little behind on posting...

Our friends Liz and Jeff took the train from London and met us there. I have not been to Paris since senior year of college, but I have pined for it ever since. I was not disappointed! I love this city. This was Seth's first trip and he really liked it as well. We want to go back another time before we leave.

We stayed at Hotel Pont Royal, which is in the 6th arrondissement. The hotel was nice with a friendly staff, and a great location. We were walking distance to Musee D'Orsay, the Louvre, Tour D'Eiffel, and many other attractions. We were also across the street from a really cool taxidermy shop. 

The first night we went to dinner at Bistro Paul Bert. This restaurant had been recommended by several people and it was very good! They bring the evening's menu out on a chalkboard, so it was charming with traditional, delicious food. We went to a quaint bar around the corner from the restaurant for one more glass of wine before calling it a night. 

We woke up and wait straight to the Catacombs to get in line before they opened. The men held down the line while Liz and I went to pick up pastries and coffee. We found a little patisserie a block away that had THE BEST almond croissant I have ever had. It had a light crispy outside with a dense marzipan center with almonds and powdered sugar on top. Oh my god! They also had these good ham and cheese breadsticks that were also a treat. We pounded those before heading inside. On a logistically note, I would definitely go early to get in line. By the time we got back with the pastries, the line was down around the back. It is always nice to be the first group inside! I think the pictures speak for themselves.

After the Catacombs, we walked toward Notre Dame and then stumbled on a cute bistro for lunch.

We went to the 'locks of love' bridge and then worked our way toward the Champs Elysees.

                         

We had to go to Laduree for macaroons and of course, the taxidermy shop.

We took a little rest before heading out for my birthday dinner! We went to drinks at Experimental Cocktail Club before. I wish we had more time here. It was a cool spot. We had dinner at Pirouette, which I stumbled on doing some online research. The decor was industrial and simple with large windows. The service was great and the food decent.

                     

We had a really fun night!! Glad we could celebrate in Paris with the Benesh's!! We fit a lot in on the first day, but there is more to come! I have too many great pictures to fit them all into one post!