Yep, you read that title right. CAT. CAFÉ. Warning: This is a loooong post.
I'm really late writing this blog because, as I mentioned in my previous blog post, my laptop decided to break. Thanks to my stellar dad who is like a one-man maintenance whiz, it's now fixed. Hurrah! No more hiding from college assignments..
I turned 21 on the 19th of September, and because it was my 21st I wanted to do something memorable and special. I'm not a massive party girl so I decided what I wanted was to go to Amsterdam. I've been to Eindhoven in the Netherlands before and loved it, and I'd heard amazing things about Amsterdam (unrelated to drugs before anyone says that!)
We booked our flights - which worked out really cheap thanks to Ryanair - and our accommodation months in advance to save hassle and money. I thought it would be nice to have a proper experience and heard about a website called VRBO which is like Air B&B, where homeowners rent out their apartments to you at a fraction of the price of a hotel. We picked a lovely flat in the centre of Amsterdam in the heart of the Jordaan - a gorgeous area with beautiful canal walks, shops and restaurants. We only booked 3 nights away as I knew I'd be in college then so I didn't want to miss too much time. In hindsight, we should have gone for longer. 4 days just wasn't long enough to see everything we wanted to see!
The night before we flew out we decided to book a hotel in Dublin to save us waking up super early (which we had to do anyway) as our flight was at 7:20 a.m. I picked the Metro Hotel Dublin after my mum gave it such a glowing review, and it did not disappoint. The manager of the hotel very kindly upgraded us to a suite when I told her it was my birthday, and we were given a lovely bag with slippers, water and Lily O'Brien chocolates in it - a nice touch. The suite was gorgeous, I only wish my pictures did it justice as it was so dark outside it was hard to get good pics. We slept peacefully until our alarms went off at 3:30 a.m. and wished we could have stayed in the comfortable room for longer.
What's amazing about the Metro Hotel is it's literally a 10 minute shuttle bus ride from Dublin Airport. It was so unbelievably handy to hop straight on the hotel operated shuttle bus and arrive straight at the airport with plenty of time before our flight. We also parked at the hotel which was so much cheaper than parking at the airport, and this meant our shuttle bus only cost €2 each. Bargain!
After arriving at the airport hours early for our flight we had a mooch around (and Laurence had to drag me out of Victoria's Secret) before boarding our flight for our first ever holiday together.
After a short flight - around an hour and a half - we arrived fairly early in the afternoon so as soon as we hopped off the metro we strolled around the streets. I knew as soon as I stepped out of the airport I'd love Amsterdam, it's so beautiful. I love the buildings, the people, the food and how laidback the whole culture is. Nobody really bats an eyelid at anything, and if you ask someone a question they're more than happy to help you.
We booked our accommodation through a website similar to Air B&B called VRBO. I loved the idea of a self catering apartment rather than a hotel so Laurence could make me breakfast in bed on my birthday and we could look out over the balcony together. I'm such a romantic deep down, me. In the end we chose a small but stylish apartment in the Jordaan which is a gorgeous area filled with pretty little streets and canals.
After spending about 10 minutes trying to figure out which buzzer to press and walking up really steep stairs which almost killed me, we were greeted by Mary who owns a few apartments she and her husband rent out on VRBO. We were both admittedly a bit sceptical as I've heard some horror stories about Air B&B but all my doubts disappeared as soon as I met Mary. She was so friendly and left us to our own devices after giving us a bit of a tour around the apartment.
We left the apartment to go explore and have a bite to eat. I really wanted to check out a vegan café/shop called Vegabond which was renowned for having a great shop full of yummy vegetarian and vegan things, as well as tasty food. It turns out the café was just down the road from us which was a spot of luck! Inside was a shop with a huge selection and a little seating area to eat. We took a look at the menu which was quite small but had some nice options. I chose the spring rolls and Laurence went for a vegetarian pepperoni and salad open sandwich. We also shared a vegan cheese and onion pasty because they looked delish and sure, we were on our holidays. Yes, that's also my excuse for sitting there shovelling doughnuts into my mouth.
Speaking of doughnuts, the café had some vegan doughnuts and cakes on display so of course I had to try some for RESEARCH PURPOSES. I bought 4 doughnuts and immediately regretted it when I went into a sugar coma. Oh well. I also ended up doing a bit of a shopping spree in the Vegabond shop and got loads of bits such as vegan cheese, vegetarian meat substitutes, ravioli, chocolate, marshmallows and all sorts of other things to bring home. Everything was so much cheaper and there was loads of selection in comparison to Ireland, we really are hard done by over here for veggie stuff.
We had a romantic stroll down the canal and popped into a few of the little shops dotted around the place. We then decided it was time to find a supermarket which was easier said than done. Albert Heijn is the main supermarket in the Netherlands and it took us so long to find one because we didn't realise there was one just down the street from us. Classic. Yet again, we were spoilt for choice in the supermarket with all sorts of other tasty bits. We filled up our shopping bag and headed back to the apartment to make some dinner out of what we got, and it was such a feast!
We were so tired from the 3.30 a.m. start that the next day we ended up sleeping in really late, which was annoying as there was a lot we wanted to do. One of the top things on my list was to visit the Amsterdam cat café (Kattencafé Kopjes). We discovered while Google Mapping there was a vegan café near the cat café so that was the plan for the day. After a short Metro ride we arrived at the cat café only to discover there was an hour and a half wait as we hadn't booked! Silly us. While we waited we went to check out the vegan café only to find it was booked out for a party. Not our most successful day as you can tell! After wandering around a bit it was finally time to go back to the cat café. The cat café operates by assigning 2 hour slots to anyone who's booked in - plenty of time to have a bite to eat and play with the cats.
The girls in the café were very nice and told us about the cats. All the cats are rescued; one is diabetic and one is missing an eye. The cats are so cheeky if you have food on your lap they'll try anything to get some, as we soon discovered when we got a sandwich! We spent our time in the café relaxing, chatting and playing with the cats. The café has various toys hanging up so you can interact with the kitties, and if you're lucky they'll sit up on your lap for a cuddle. SO. CUTE. I decided to buy a t-shirt from the café as a souvenir and I love it. All the cats drawn on it are the actual cats in the café which is really cool.
By the time we finished at the café it was evening so we got the metro back and got an Indian for dinner. I wanted to try an Ethiopian place I'd heard amazing things about but we couldn't figure out how to get to it and it was dark at this point. Definitely something to try the next time!
The next day was the big day: My 21st birthday. I decided I wanted a nice breakfast in bed and to go shopping and then for a nice dinner out in the evening. I was woken up in the morning by Laurence bringing in some gorgeous pancakes with chocolate in the middle, dotted with raspberries and accompanied by a glass of juice. We cuddled in bed as I ate my pancakes and then Laurence went into the hallway to 'get dressed' which I thought was a bit odd but I was so busy doing my makeup I didn't click. When I walked out into the hallway he'd adorned the living room with balloons and a birthday banner, and on the table was a plate of vegan doughnuts and cupcakes with birthday candles - just how I wanted my birthday morning to go. #luckygirl
After taking some couple-y pictures it was time to head to one of the main shopping streets, Kalverstraat, and shop 'til we dropped. Well, I shopped and Laurence dropped because being dragged around my girly shops isn't his kinda thing. I ended up not buying as much as I thought I would which my bank account thanked me for!
For my birthday evening meal I chose a place nearby called De Bolhoed, a gorgeous intimate restaurant by the canal. We enjoyed a lovely meal and the nicest peanut butter chocolate pudding I have ever tasted, before having a romantic walk along the canal. It was so beautiful watching the boats on the water and the glistening lights, like something out of a movie. When we got home it was time to eat some birthday cupcakes and have a few drinks. A perfect ending to a perfect birthday.
Sadly the next day we were to head home. Not wanting the trip to end, we booked a canal cruise to see some more of the city. The guy running the cruise was so funny and kept us entertained as he told us some really interesting facts about the city. We saw the Anne Frank house, the smallest house in Amsterdam (which is only a window wide), found out why the buildings are slightly slanted and saw the Stopera which is Amsterdam's city hall and Opera house.
At the beginning of the trip I had a notebook full of things I'd planned to do because I'm anal (leave it) like that but soon realised 3 days was not enough to do everything! I'd go back in a heartbeat but I'd make sure to go for a week to do everything I wanted to do.
I had an amazing birthday and am so lucky and thankful to be so spoiled by my loved ones. Thanks for reading and see you in the next post!
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