A rush of adrenaline

If you ask Dan and I about a stand-out moment in Vancouver, I'm pretty sure we will both think of this day first.

We started the day off pretty easy. We didn't set any alarms and left our hostel at 10am. We decided to pay a visit to Finch's, a cute cafe we had passed by the other day.

Amsterdam-Noord

I'll just preface this with the cold, hard facts: I didn't go to Red Light District nor did I indulge in any herbal plants. So let's see what else Amsterdam has to offer...

Day 1

The first stop of my trip was in Amsterdam, and I stayed with my sister in Amsterdam-Noord, which turned out to be a blessing.



My first day consisted of my groggily getting off the airplane and navigating our way through the station to pick up a transit card, and then weaving through the hordes of tourists with my luggage in order to get some frites. Upon my sister's recommendation, I tried the patatje oorlog, while she got the Mannekin Pis sauce.



We took the ferry to Amsterdam Noord, and settled in for a cup of tea and stroopwafels. The interior of her apartment was gorgeous, with plenty of natural light and endless greenery, evidently a new hobby of hers.

We caught up for a bit and then once her boyfriend was home, we all took a ride around the Noord.




We headed to De Ceuvel, a former shipyard that has been turned into a creative workspace, with the aim of giving a second life to the brownfield using sustainable technology.