Tot de volgende keer, Amsterdam!

My sister, Alana and her friend Lindsay made a stop in Amsterdam on their European adventure to spend a few days with us before we had to leave. Knowing it was my last week in this beautiful city, we made the most of every second.

Alana and Ronan

Aside from having to leave Amsterdam, I was also sad to leave my friend Katharina. Her and I decided to go out for a "Goodbye" dinner. At this dinner, we decided we would meet the next day for a "Goodbye" lunch in Vondelpark. I still didn't feel ready to leave Katharina after our delicious lunch, so I told her that Ronan and I would go to yoga class the next morning, even though we'd been kicked out. After yoga, I still couldn't bear to leave my friend, so we had a "Goodbye" coffee. I think these goodbyes would have continued on forever if I didn't have a plane to catch (and had not packed a thing at this point) a few hours later.

Miss you already, Katharina!

In between walking around with Alana and Lindsay and meeting Katharina for goodbyes, I really tried to take in what I enjoyed most about the city. On one of my later outings, my stroller got caught on a curb (It may or may not have been from multiple shopping bags I hung disproportionately on the back of the stroller). While I was struggling, a cyclist lifted the back of my stroller, threw it back up on the curb without breaking a stride on his bicycle. Dutch strength is something I will really miss, but hope to keep up while back home. It is liberating to have stroller and not see stairs as an obstacle.

As I return home, I hope to work on things that inspired me, like Dutch strength, while I was in Amsterdam. Here is my completed I.F.A.A (Ideas from Amsterdam to Adopt) list:

1. Stroopwaffles: These should always be served with our coffees and teas.

2. Mint Tea: This tea should be regularly served and promoted at every cafe, Tim Hortons and Starbucks.

3. Minimal Makeup: This sure makes getting ready in the morning much easier.

4. Bike Hair: Forget blow dryers and straighteners, just ride your bike!

5. Dutch Strength: It is not uncommon to see someone change a bike tire and then ride that semi-broken bike home with a kid, 5 bags of groceries, the old bike tire and a friend on it. Inspirational.

6. Charcuterie Boards: Meat and cheese for dinner= amazing!

7. More flowers: They are so pretty, let's plant more of them.

8. Bike Lanes: Don't think an explanation is needed here.

9. Jumping castles for the public on random street corners: Now, this may have just been for Queen’s Day, but it made me think, why not everyday?

10. Queen's Day: Let's celebrate Dutch Royalty once a year and take the day off of work to do so.

11. Hair Spas- A salon I went to served coffee, tea and biscuits throughout my appointment, they had a lounge for you to wait in while your hair colour sets, and they sure did take hair washing seriously. You can even pay to get a half hour relaxing head massage/wash!
12. Rollende Keukens (Rolling Kitchens): A festival of kitchens on wheels
13. Free Picnic Tablecloths: Erasmus Park had this board where you could rip off your own plastic picnic blanket or table cloth. They might not be the most environmentally friendly, but talk about convenient! Maybe we could create a biodegradable version.
14. Outdoor Gyms: In both Rembrant and Erasmus Parks, there were outdoor gyms. Bikers used the parks to commute home and stopped at these gyms for a workout. What a great way to get a quick (and free!) workout in.
15: Warm milk for coffee: Warm milk keeps your coffee warmer longer!
16. Restaurant Cats: Restaurants had their own cats that would sit with patrons! (I think the cats are actually there to kill mice and rats, but if you don't think about rodents in your favourite restaurant, the cats are pretty cute).

For my European friends, I will have a Canadian post for you on Canada Day (July 1st!)