Amsterdam!!!!

So I have been M.I.A. for the past few days.  My reason being??? I have been having a fantastic time in AMSTERDAM!!! with Mr B.P. and friends.  This was our first time in Amsterdam and I have to say I loved it (except for the bicycles).  Sorry the pics are so grainy but I didn't take my fancy-shmancy camera with me so the few photos I did snap come courtesy of my blackberry.

We stayed near the Jordaan area of the city so we were right in the thick of it, which meant we were able to walk everywhere.  If you haven't been, and I didn't know before we went, but Amsterdam isn't really a car friendly kind of place. Over 50 percent of transport is undertaken by bike and boy are they mental on those two wheels!!  I could be wrong but there doesn't appear to be any kind of right of way at the junctions and they will ring their bell before quite happily ploughing you down!! I got used to it but Mr B.P. had a few near misses!

So I have to say the 'bike issue' is the only thing I can think of which I didn't like about the city.

The Amsterdamers are generally a very attractive and very tall race, at only 5'3" I felt very small!!  They are also very sharp dressers in an understated "oh this old thing I just threw on, when actually I planned my entire outfit for a very long time beforehand" kind of way.  With lots of very muted colours.  I don't remember seeing much bright and/or patterned clothing at all.  I love to see how different countries dress and their trends don't you?

We did all the usual touristy things (minus the drugs) and basically had a fab old time.  I can highly recommend a walking tour of the city.  The one we went on was free, just donations at the end.  We had a lovely guy called Julian who was actually Australian but who had fallen in love with a dutch girl back in Sydney and had followed her back to her homeland - not in a stalky kind of way!! and now 3 years later they are happily ensconced together in Holland.  He gave us a real insight into true Amsterdam.

I didn't manage to get many pics of the inside of the apartment we rented (too busy out having fun!) but it was very cool.

There is great food, shopping, nightlife, culture and fun to be had in Amsterdam (ooh hark at me I sound like the tourist board!).  So if you haven't been I would highly recommend it, it's only 1 hour flight away and most of the dutch appear to speak english which is a bonus!

So have you been to Amsterdam? If so what did you think? And where do you recommend we head to next?