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Espresso and Ambition

A not-so-serious gal with some serious dreams.

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48 Hours in Amsterdam

March 28, 2017 by Taylor 2 Comments

What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition

The fact that I got behind on writing all of my travel posts is actually kind of nice, because it’s allowing me to relive some of my favorite adventures even though I’m back on my least favorite side of the pond. One place that I really wanted to visit while I was in Europe was Amsterdam, so I made a point of making sure that this trip happened. I’m so glad I did, because it’s such a beautiful city. Without further ado, here’s how I spent 48 hours in Amsterdam!

Day 1

Albert Cuypmarkt

 What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition

My bus got to Amsterdam around 11 am, so I immediately made a beeline for this outdoor market filled with street food in order to check off the first item of my Amsterdam to-do list: eat a stroopwafel. If you’ve never heard of these, they’re basically a thin, slightly crispy waffle filled with caramel. SO GOOD, especially if you get one that’s hot and fresh.

Van Gogh Museum

 What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition

Heads up, you need to order tickets for this museum in advance, and your reservation is for a specific timeslot. There were people who didn’t know this and got to the museum only to be told it was completely booked for the day. Make your reservation online and it’ll save so much time and trouble. Same for the Rijksmuseum, although that one doesn’t have a timeslot requirement. The Van Gogh Museum is beautiful and arranged so that you get a really clear picture of Van Gogh’s progression as an artist. I’m not a huge museum person but I loved this one.

Street food

 What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition

Amsterdam has a bit of a reputation as far as certain drugs go, and people there sure know how to profit off of that reputation. As such, there’s an endless supply of crazy places offering the most absurdly unhealthy but completely delicious foods. One of the better-known places is Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx (that’s a mouthful amirite) which sells Belgian fries topped with heaping spoonfuls of sauce. I got an order topped with Belgian mayo, ketchup, and onions – one of their specials. This was basically my dinner, it was so filling and amazing. Fries are eternally one of my greatest weaknesses, so you better believe when I found out there was a notorious fries vendor I was all over that.

Other than fries, you can find some of the most sugary concoctions ever, and almost everything can be topped with a heaping spoonful of Nutella. This place would be super-dangerous for my fitness levels if I stayed here long-term, I’m telling you.

Bloemenmarkt

 What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition

For once, a Dutch word that I was actually able to immediately understand. (Luckily for me, pretty much everyone in Amsterdam speaks English. I always feel bad for not being able to speak a word of the local language but English was so common here that I didn’t feel as guilty about it as normal.) Anyways, this is a huge outdoor flower market with Dutch tulips galore. I was a bit too nervous about all the traveling I still had to come to buy any tulips (taking them through UK customs, back through EU customs, and finally through US customs was a bit too much stress for me), but I had so much fun strolling down the street and looking at the pretty blooms.

Day 2

iAmsterdam sign

 What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition

This is the ultimate tourist photo op, so naturally I had to take advantage of that. As usual, my determination for that perfect Instagram picture drives way too much of my behavior, so I woke up super early so that I could beat the crowds and get a picture with the sign that didn’t have anyone else in it. Luckily, my efforts were successful and resulted in a pretty solid shot with the sign.

Rijksmuseum

 What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition

I don’t know why I thought a huge museum building somehow didn’t correlate to a huge museum collection, but the volume of art and history in the Rijksmuseum was staggering. I didn’t quite give myself enough time to appreciate everything that the museum had to offer, but I was still stunned by the variety of pieces displayed.

Bike tour

What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition 

Amsterdam is a city of bikers – which is clearly evidenced by the bike lanes all over the city and the fact that local bikers will not hesitate to ring their bell/go off on you if you manage to walk in the bike lane. So what better way to experience the city than on a bike yourself? I went on a tour with a company called Mike’s Bike Tours and got to see so much of the city in such a short time period – something I definitely wouldn’t have accomplished if I had stayed on foot the entire time. We briefly rode through the Red Light District as well, which was good because it was a place I wanted to see briefly but not linger at – although for whatever bad reputation it may have, the area is remarkably safe and the practice is at least somewhat better for the women involved than its illegal counterpart in most other countries. (Not trying to start a debate on this one, so please don’t interpret that comment as an invitation, k thx.)

However, a word to the wise on this one: don’t do a bike tour if you’re not comfortable riding a bike in a city environment. Luckily, I’d ridden a bike for much of my time in Oxford so I didn’t have too much trouble (with the exception of the fact that I wasn’t quite accustomed to riding on the right side of the road, haha).

Ivy & Bros

This is the only restaurant I’m recognizing by name, solely because this place had the single best veggie sandwich I’ve had in my life. That is all.

I used overnight buses to get to and from Amsterdam, so I ended up leaving relatively early on the second day (hence the abbreviated schedule). If I’d had more time, I would’ve loved to take a canal tour – there’s something different in the perspective you get of a city in its waterways than in its streets.

Anyways, that’s the gist of my trip to Amsterdam – if you’re looking at taking a short trip there any time soon, I hope this helps you plan your time wisely!

What to Do in 2 Days in Amsterdam - Espresso and Ambition
Amsterdam canals are prime selfie-stick territory, obviously.

xo, Taylor

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Filed Under: Etc., Travel

Comments

  1. Shannon says

    March 28, 2017 at 10:54 am

    The food there looks so yummy!! I’d love to travel there someday!

    Reply
  2. Indya | TheSmallAdventurer says

    March 28, 2017 at 4:53 pm

    Amsterdam is absolutely gorgeous and in my top 5 dream destinations for sure. I’m already so in love with it, I know I’d love it even more if I got to visit. Flights to Europe from Australia are quite expensive though, but I’m sure I’ll get there one day!

    http://www.thesmalladventurer.blogspot.com.au/

    Reply

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Meet Taylor

A real-life combination of Elle Woods and Hermione Granger. Recent graduate of the University of Georgia, currently living and working in DC. New blog posts every Monday, new YouTube videos every Thursday. Subscribe by clicking the link below for post updates and exclusive content!

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tayy_kay

📍 dc
🔥 nasm certified personal trainer
✨ self-love + balance
🎥 2 new workouts per week!

tayy_kay
without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little c without heavy weights, it’s sometimes a little challenging to really feel like i’m working at my full potential on leg days 😶 enter: single-leg movements. since all the weight is in one leg, you’re putting way more emphasis on it than you do during two-leg movements - and you’ll definitely feel that 🔥 you also get some added bonuses in the form of ensuring you’re working each side of your body equally AND a balance challenge!!
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you can add in weights or bands to up the challenge level, or do it all bodyweight like i am here!
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1️⃣ 15 single-leg box squats per leg (use other leg as a kickstand for an easier modification!)
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2️⃣ 15 bulgarian split squats per leg
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3️⃣ 15 single-leg hip thrusts per leg
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4️⃣ 15 single-leg deadlifts per leg
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throw on at the end of a longer leg day workout or do it 3-4 times as a workout all on its own!!
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👚 @girlfriend 🎧 numb - neffex
🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time 🖤 go easy on yourself 🖤 this is a weird time to be alive, and it’s more important now than ever to listen to your body and stop being so hard on yourself. motivation is a fickle thing and working out when you don’t have all the equipment you love is weird. give yourself permission to take a break when you need it. don’t beat yourself up for missing workouts - exercise should be something you do because it makes you happy, not because you feel like you have to punish yourself. if it doesn’t make you happy that day, that’s okay. give yourself a break, come back and try again tomorrow. 💪🏼
circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not circuit-style upper body workout 🖤 honestly not kidding about how much i love this long resistance band, it’s so versatile! definitely worth getting your hands on one for home workouts 😊 (although almost all of these can be completely with dumbbells or heavy objects if that’s what you’ve got in hand)
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also please watch to the very end of the fourth video for quality footage of greg 😂
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1️⃣ 12 long band shoulder presses to standing chest presses
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2️⃣ 12 upright rows to bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 overhead triceps extensions per arm (the one leg stance is some bonus balance work!)
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4️⃣ 12 rear flies, featuring greg trying to fight my shadow
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5️⃣ 12 commandos
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6️⃣ 12 side-to-side pushups
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repeat 4x total!!
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👚 @underarmourwomen
🎧 best of me - neffex
giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, cra giveaway 🔥 we’re all handling this weird, crazy time in the world a little differently, and for me, it’s looked like a lot of establishing to and sticking to routines (seriously, sometimes it feels like my skincare routine and workout split are the only thing still giving meaning to days of the week, lol). my morning smoothies have been another important one - there’s a recipe in my story highlights and surprise surprise it uses this protein powder 😛
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anyways, onto the real reason you’re here! i’m giving away 25 $20 giftcards for @310nutrition with NO STRINGS ATTACHED 🤯 you hear that? you ain’t gotta do a thing to win - the first 25 people to use the code KAYGC20 on their order automatically win. get your hands on some fire plant-based protein powder, courtesy of me and 310 😋 (p.s. if you’re still seeing this caption, there are still giftcards available!!)
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#310gc20 #310shake
sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and sometimes you just gotta get hella dressed up and hold a fake photo shoot just to prove to yourself that you’re still a real human
posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangen posted a new youtube video. this picture is tangentially topical. link in bio.
upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating upper body circuit ‼️ i’ve been gravitating towards circuit-style workouts lately, because they really work up a sweat and home workouts just don’t feel as legit to me unless i’m hardcore sweating 🤷🏼‍♀️ i don’t mind not breaking much of a sweat at the gym, but it feels weird not to when i’m working out at home - anyone else feel this or am i just weird?? 😅
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do all exercises back to back with no rest in between!
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1️⃣ 10 push-ups to renegade rows
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2️⃣ 12 alternating bicep curls
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3️⃣ 12 diamond front raises
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4️⃣ 8 sets of 3 tricep pulses to this lil cross-body weight move that doesn’t have a name {keep your core tight to feel it on your obliques!}
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5️⃣ 15 bent-over rear delt rows
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6️⃣ finisher!! 🥵 10 burpees with 2 shoulder taps and 2 toe taps in the middle of each rep
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repeat 🔁 for a total of 3 rounds!!
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👚 top from @gymsharkwomen, shorts from @nike 🎧 dangerous - neffex
would be nice if both sides of my head could agree would be nice if both sides of my head could agree on whether my hair is wavy or straight, but apparently that’s a little too much to ask of it 😂
got a circuit-style leg workout for you today! 🥳 there are 3 sets of 3 exercises that you’ll complete back-to-back - once you’ve done those three moves, rest for 30 seconds before repeating them all over again 2 more times! rest for 1-2 minutes in between each circuit - keeping your heart rate up is the goal here, i was driiiiiiipping sweat by the end of this one 🥵
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circuit 1️⃣: 10 step-ups to reverse lunges per leg
10 reverse lunges to curtsy lunges per leg
20 lateral lunges
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circuit 2️⃣:
10 squats to surrenders (stop in a squat position before standing up at the end to really feel this one)
10 stagger-stance rdls
20 criss-cross squat jumps
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circuit 3️⃣:
15 leg lifts per side
10 single-leg glute bridges per side
15 frog pumps
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👚 top from @fabletics, joggers from @gymsharkwomen
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