Jeanie in a bottle: Tulips, cheese & cannabis.. where else? Amsterdam!!

In the spirit of good Jean-type blogging, here are more photos of my trips & trots.. Sorry I don't have any serious, insightful blog entries, but honestly, how many of you actually enjoy them? Aren't pretty photos much better? ;)

Blog Entry - April 2008

I have been sooooo broke lately, it's ridiculous! It's that time of the year again where all your car crap (pardon my language) is due.. Car insurance, road tax, MOT, service etc are all costing me wayyyyy too much! Who said having a car was easy? Sheesh... Plus, I had to buy my air ticket back home to attend dear TS's wedding. Unfortunately for me, that's costing me a whole extra bundle of cash too.. Sighhh..... all for the sake of friendship, eh?

The other thing that drained me, which of course, is entirely my fault, is my recent trip to the Netherlands.. Yes, after all these years of wanting to go to Amsterdam and the famed Keukenhof, I finally got a chance to go at the right time! :) We were only there for 4 days but it was an amazing time anyway, especially since the weather was gorgeous! Sunshine and light breeze, with maximums of 22 degrees Celcius! (I sound like the weather girl now..)

The only drawback was stupid KLM, who left our luggage behind in Manchester for 2 whole days! That completely ruined half of my trip, cos we had to spend time and money hunting around for clean underwear, socks, pyjamas and amenities. Plus, with the added trouble of having contact lenses? Overall, it was not a very pleasant time.. Lucky for us, our hotel people were extremely helpful and we managed to claim most of our Euro $$$ from the airline, so overall, at least, the trip wasn't completely ruined!

I must say that I found Amsterdam to be one of the most beautiful cities I've visited in Europe.. it had the perfect combination of buildings, greenery and of course, the city's landscape was enhanced greatly by its numerous canals.. Overall, there was a tranquility amidst the vibrant citylife and I found that extremely inviting.

The buildings that flanked the canal were all very beautiful and it was obvious that there was much thought and meticulous planning put into the development of this charming city. The city council has also put a halt on canal houses and canal boats in the city so thankfully, the canals were not overcrowded and instead, exuded a peaceful atmosphere. There were people from all walks of life and the variety of food available was simply endless!

WS and I went together, which was really nice cos' it was a romantic holiday for us.. unfortunately, that meant very few pictures of us together cos' let's face it, setting up the tripod can be very tiresome. Coupled by the fact that our first 2 days in Amsterdam were clouded with our missing-luggage problems meant that we really couldn't be arsed to take that many pics in Amsterdam city itself. So sad... Luckily, by the time we ventured out to Keukenhof to see the tulips and to Zaanse-Schans, a historical Holland township, we had our clothes back so that meant lots of pics! Here they are, so do enjoy! (You just absolutely have to look at all the pictures, especially towards the end.. no regrets, I promise!)

View of a canal in Amsterdam city..
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We visited the real house where Anne Frank stayed and it was a chilling experience..

On a canal cruise.. I swear I got a tan from that hour!
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Enjoying a traditional Dutch meal - hotspotch!

Of course, one couldn't miss the oh-so-famous yummy Dutch pancakes!

These are called poffertjes.. yummy!

Can't get enough of pancakes! ;)
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The main reason we went to Netherlands in April was to visit the Tulip Festival at Keukenhof, a quaint little town just outside Amsterdam. My parents have been showing me pictures of them enjoying a romantic spring in Keukenhof some 25 years ago, and I've dreamt of visiting this place ever since I was a little girl.. Of course, I never got the opportunity to come (despite telling everyone else to come visit this beautiful place), as there were never any term breaks during this time whilst I was at medical school. So finally.... here I am!!!