Amsterdam: Let’s wear wooden clogs

I’ll start off by saying, no, I did not smoke pot in Amsterdam. I don’t smoke marijuana and going to Amsterdam (where it is legal and socially acceptable in public) didn’t change that. Proud of me, mom and dad?

Anyway, on to my trip to Holland. I left on Friday the 22nd from Stansted airport which is a weird set-up for an airport. It’s basically like a giant warehouse with different wings…I flew EasyJet which is actually a neat airline because there are no assigned seats, so if you get there super early (like me) and make it to the front of the line (which I did) you get first pick of seats. The flight to Amsterdam was only 45 minutes which was weird. So before I knew it I was in the Netherlands.

Etana (one of my oldest, dearest friends who visited me back in February for my birthday) met me at the airport and we took the train into the city to her flat. Because I took a night flight it was too late to do anything so we just chatted until the wee hours of the morning and I slept in. And I slept so well. Something about being in Holland or maybe just a cumulation of a busy semester? Who knows. I slept over 8 hours every night I was in Amsterdam so I can’t complain. I couldn’t tell you the last time I slept that much or that soundly. But enough about my sleeping habits.

On Saturday we went to a street market where I had some Dutch chips (or french fries… I’m so used to saying chips, how British of me) which were fantastic. After that I had to have a fresh stroopwafel. A stroopwafel (stROWp waffle) is actually two very very thin waffles with a carmel syrup in the middle. I had only had the packaged ones so having it fresh was exciting. It was warm, buttery, and the carmel was messy and delicious. A perfect street food snack. We wandered the stalls of the market and enjoyed the sunshine before heading to a park. We spent the rest of the day continuing our gab fest and soaking up some rays. At night we went to a barbeque at Etana’s flat where I met some of the other students at the university.

On Sunday we went to the beach, a town called Zandfort. It was weird to go to a beach in Holland. I never really gave much thought to the fact that it is, in fact, on the edge of the continent and therefore has many beaches. It was chilly at the beach but I read a lot and got to know some of Etana’s university friends better.

Monday was the touristy day. Etana and I went to the “I Amsterdam” sign to take some pictures and she dropped me off at Museum Plein (Museum Square) so that I could go to the Reijks Museum (state museum) and the Van Gogh Museum.

While the Reijks Museum would have been a great source of new boyfriends, I wasn’t allowed to take photographs. All in all I didn’t really enjoy it, which coming from a museum nerd like me is unexpected. I don’t particularly care for Dutch art and since I was in a Dutch museum that was what I was looking at. I also found it incredibly small. Compared to London museums this place was more like an art gallery.

After the slightly disappointing start to my museums day I went to the Van Gogh Museum. I love impressionism. It’s my favorite art movement and so this museum did not disappoint. It is home to over 200 Van Gogh paintings and hundreds of drawings and letters. In addition to the vast collection of Van Gogh the museum also had several Monet paintings. Since Monet is my favorite artist I spent a lot of time in front of his paintings.

On Tuesday I went to the Anne Frank House. I was excited to go here because when I was younger I loved reading about Anne Frank and her life in the secret annex. Getting to walk in her footsteps was surreal, especially since I have read her diary and read her thoughts on the rooms. It was very emotional there. I got to see her red plaid diary, the notebooks she used after the diary pages were filled and even the loose sheets of paper that she edited her diary on. She wanted to be a journalist and it was her dream to publish a book about her experience in hiding. I saw Anne as a kindred spirit and it made me sad to think that even though her dream came true and her words have been read by millions she didn’t survive to see the impact she has had on so many people, whether they read her diary or not.

We walked around a lot and talked a lot, two of my favorite things. It was nice to have a sort of vacation after my internship ended and I’m glad I got to spend time with one of my best friends, in the city she loves (almost) as much as I love London.

Waterloo station

Geese outside the flat

Kids dancing on a boat

Didgeridoo player

My gorgeous hostess. Love her so much

Heineken Experience

Central Station

Tulips!

The crown is for a Dutch holiday called Queen’s day

Queen of the E

Heineken factory

Love it

World War II monument… Also known as a Phallic symbol.

Anne Frank House

Houseboats

The canals are gorgeous

Clog sign

So Dutch.

Sexy Amsterdam

Chinatown

Carnaby Street

One of the most lively neighborhoods in London is Soho, which is home to Carnaby Street, the birth of the Mod fashion movement of the 1960s. Think Twiggy, Edie Sedgwick, Andy Warhol… Glamourous.

Carnaby Street

Carnaby Street was the place to be in 1960s London

Soho is home to places like this…

And this.

Hampton Court Palace

On the 17th it was mid-sixties and sunny, the perfect day to head a half hour outside of London to visit Hampton Court Palace, home to Cardinal Wolsey, Henry VIII, and later, William and Mary. Cardinal Wolsey took a lavish house and turned it into a palace fit for the then-archbishop of York. After Wolsey failed to help Henry get a divorce from Katherine of Aragon (to marry the much prettier and younger Anne Boleyn) Henry took Hampton Court Palace for his own and proceeded to live there with all of his wives (at different times, of course). Henry even rebuilt rooms for his brides. Later, Hampton Court was a retreat for his children and succeeding monarchs James I and Charles I. When Oliver Cromwell took over as Lord Protector during those crazy days where the monarchy fell, he used the palace for his own enjoyment (quite interesting considering he was “puritan” and believed monarchs to be greedy…). After the monarchy was restored with Charles II the Palace underwent changes. Charles II preferred Windsor Castle and before you knew it, William and Mary took over. Queen Anne liked Hampton Court for its hunting grounds. George I preferred to stay in his native Germany and his son, George II, was the last royal family to stay at Hampton Court. Queen Victoria made the decision to open the palace to visitors.

Now that the background information is over, let’s talk about Hampton Court today. It is separated into the William and Mary apartments, Young Henry’s story, the Tudor kitchens, and Henry’s apartments. There’s also vast gardens and a hedge maze.

Palace Gates

An ornate door by the gates

Hampton Court Palace

Entryway

Intricate ceiling in the entryway

Henry VIII’s family tree

Always look up

This door lists the children Katherine of Aragon gave birth to. Only one survived infancy, she later became Mary Queen of Scots.

Henry VIII Timeline

A floor to ceiling mural in William’s apartments

This clock is from the Tudor reign

A grand hall with tapestries and the antlers from game

King Henry VIII — New boyfriend?

My other new boyfriend, I believe this is Henry VII

No idea who this is but his facial hair, fancy hat and awkward pose tell me he would make a perfect new boyfriend.

Again, names aren’t an issue here. How dreamy is he?

A chandelier in the grand stairway of Queen Mary’s apartments

King William was Dutch (more on that in my next post, about Amsterdam and Holland) and his luscious locks and stately manor make me swoon. Hello there, my new boyfriend.

A grand room in Queen Mary’s apartment

A floor to ceiling mural depicting King William and Queen Mary as rulers of the oceans

The courtyard at Hampton Court Palace

The grounds

The lake

View of the Palace from the grounds

Tulips in the gardens

The flower beds were beautiful

Inside one of the domed trees

Me in an arch in the hedge maze

The kitchens, aka every foodie-nerd’s dream

Where fresh herbs, onions, and garlic were stored and prepared for dinner

Rosemary, English Thyme, onion, garlic… Would make a nice base for any meal

One of the many fireplaces

Onions, cabbage, leeks…

Another fireplace

I thought this was really cool. It’s a line of clay ovens which heat pots of stew or soup and other dishes.

Firebolts ready for the next Quidditch match. As always, I have a Harry Potter reference.

The roasting fire, where whole beasts were stuck on skewers and slow roasted in front of a large flame.

Storage for serving dishes

Peacock was a royal delicacy.

Having fun in the wine cellar.

National Gallery

On the 9th it was beautiful out so I hopped a number 9 bus to Trafalgar Square to visit the National Gallery, one of London’s largest art galleries. I had already been to the National Portrait Gallery a few weeks ago so this time I just went to the main building.

The National Gallery

It was a busy day in Trafalgar Square… Then again, that part of London is always busy on the weekends. It’s right by Picadilly Circus and Covent Garden which are both huge tourist destinations.

Countdown to the Olympics clock in Trafalgar Square

View of Big Ben from Trafalgar Square

In terms of art, I tend to prefer sculpture to paintings but the National Gallery has a few Monet paintings and a few Van Gogh, two painters I enjoy. For Van Gogh I saw the Sunflowers and for Monet I saw two japanese bridge paintings and a painting of London:

The Thames with the Houses of Parliament in the background. My new favorite Monet painting.

After the museum I took a walk through Covent Garden which is a fun area.

The Ice Creamists -- I thought their flag was cool

Voltaire's London plaque

Sunshine makes me happy

We’ve had amazing weather the last few days. Between 60 and 70 degrees, clear skies, and sunshine. I’ve been a happy girl. Today my friend Matt and I spent the day in Kensington Gardens people watching, reading, and writing. Couldn’t have asked for a better day in London.

Cliffs of Dover

The Cliffs of Dover is really just a photo stop. There’s not a lot to do on that part of the English coast but it sure is nice to look at.

Just one small view of the Cliffs of Dover

Dover Castle

The rocky beach at Dover

Dover Castle is actually one of the largest castles in England, mainly because it is built into the cliff, with defenses all along the cliffs.

The White Cliffs of Dover

Our tour guide played us some Vera Lynn on the drive to Dover, this song is about soldiers coming back to Britain after WWII.

Canterbury

After Leeds we headed to Canterbury, the site of an amazing cathedral and the center point of Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales stories. The Canterbury Cathedral is famous for being the site of Thomas Beckett’s assassination.

I will never get tired of medieval churches. Trying something different with this post, all the photos are in a gallery below.

Edward Plantaginet, the “black prince”

The site of Thomas Beckett’s murder

Leeds Castle

On Sunday Jack and I took a bus tour to Leeds Castle, Caterbury, and Dover. We were blessed with gorgeous weather, especially at Leeds.

Leeds Castle is in the county of Kent, about an hour outside London. Leeds is a relatively small castle when compared to Windsor Castle or Dover Castle (more on that later).

Some background information:

– Henry VIII escaped to Leeds during the plague

-He also gifted it to first wife Catherine of Aragon.

-Henry V gave the castle to his with Katherine

-You can get married there and stay in the castle (at a cost)

-Leeds is home to hundreds of birds and boasts its own aviary

The front of the castle

Some flowers growing along the castle walls

The castle is built on an island on a lake which helps with two things: defense and breathtaking views

We entered through the wine cellar, which is always exciting.

Wherever you go, always look up

A recreation of Henry V's wife Katharine's bathroom

Shoes, shoes, shoes...

The hall

A dining room, painted one of my favorite colors. (favourite colours)

Such a beautiful place and a beautiful day to spend there

Kent is full of sheep so there is a constant background of baaaaaas

The white swan

One of the many gardens at Leeds

Lost in the maze, which way do we go?

This was just one of the corners of the maze. jack and I felt like we were in the Triwizard Tournament final task. Yes I reference Harry Potter again. It's hard not to.

And perhaps the most exciting part about Leeds Castle…

The real Black Swan. Seeing Black Swans prompted a lot of "I'm the swan queen!"

Watch Black Swan.

A roof with a view

On Saturday Charles came to London for the day along with his amazing mom, Mrs. L-J. I hadn’t seen Charles since I went to St. Andrew’s and I hadn’t seen Mrs. L-J since last summer so it was great to see them again. Jack and I met them at Gordon’s Wine Bar near Embankment tube station. Gordon’s is one of those blink and you miss it places with loads of history. The restaurant is actually a wine cellar so the ceilings are incredibly low and it is lit by candles on the tables. Very nice atmosphere but a bit cramped. And the wine was amazing.

Very moody and romantic place

After lunch we went in search of dessert and coffee before settling on a fabulous hotel terrace bar in Trafalgar Square.

The view from the terrace; the National Gallery is visible in the center of the photo

We could also see the London Eye from the terrace

It was the worldwide pillow fight and Londoners participated in Trafalgar Square, cheering the entire time.

We spent a few hours on the terrace, chatting about everything from London to home to the future. There’s nothing like good company and Saturday was definitely one of the best days for it.

The Tate Modern

I love museums and right next to the Globe is the Tate Modern. I’ve never really seen a lot of modern art so going to one of the largest modern art museums was something I looked forward to. But alas, modern art isn’t really my thing. I enjoy a few aspects of “modern” art (cubism, futurism, impressionism) but some of it just baffles me. So this post is really light, sorry to disappoint if you like modern art!

Enjoy Great Art For Free

The Tate Modern used to be a factory.

Monet Waterlillies

Jackson Pollock

I just can’t understand things like this:

It’s not symbolism. It’s a five-year-old’s scribble.