Amsterdam

Ah Amsterdam, I know a lot of people who rave about how much they love this city and after my brief visit I count myself among them! Amsterdam is notorious for it's red light district and coffee shops but really it has so much more going for it than sex and drugs. It surprised me how contained that part of the city was just a few condensed blocks of mayhem then you find yourself walking along stunningly beautiful and peaceful streets. Of corse, whilst I was in town I went on a bicycle tour and as it was a Sunday morning our tour guide joking said that everyone was either at church or hungover. All puns aside he was right nobody was around! We practically had the streets to ourselves which was an incredible experience and quite a relief considering the amount of bikes usually zooming around the city. We road past the Iamsterdam sign, Anne Frank house, A beautiful old windmill and of corse we cruised around the canals. On route back to the bike shop a few of us spied a cafe around the corner serving huge coffee and avocado and we made a b line straight for it after the tour ended. I'm not sure if this is a commonly know fact but Australians love to brunch! When travelling the thing I miss home the most is breakfast. Ah, I'd kill for a skinny latte, bacon served pouched eggs and smashed avocado. I may be biased but nobody dose breakfast like we do! After our slice of home, I decide to split from the group as they had a tour booked and I just wanted to explore. I was so glad I went off and had my own adventure as I found a wonderful flower market winding along a canal and indulged a little retail therapy. Later on that day when I caught back up with everyone and was telling them about my day one of the other girls was a bit disappointed as like me she didn't want to do the tour the others were doing but went along for the company. I think that is my biggest hot tip for travelling, don't be afraid to go off and have your own adventure! It is your holiday and you should spend your time seeing and doing what you like and hey the downtime is refreshing especially when your with a big group.