Amsterdam for NEW YEARS….

For a person who found London at New Years in 2023 extremely over stimulating with how over crowded and busy and just CRAZY it was to take on Amsterdam for new years? MEH but me and my good old pal Hope booked a get away to the dam for new years.

Some would say this was impulsive however it was a GREAT trip minus the weather thats another story, i think ive came to the conclusion that anywhere in Europe around new years is going to be absolutely baltic…. and you just got to suck that up and make the most of the trip despite a small barrier such as the cold getting in the way (if you know me you know I HATE the cold, I literally use my heated blanket in the SUMMER?? yeah insane I know right).

Before I yap about the trip let me give you some back story, the Amsterdam trip was a “FCK IT” trip, it all went down in duty free when we spent a shit ton of money on cute minis, when we touched down in the dam it was late at night so we decided to get a taxi to the hotel… this is where it started to get SPICY in terms of how much we had already spent… We looked at uber and it was 44 euros for an uber, if you know me you know I hate waiting around, if theres a taxi stand I will take that taxi, we went and got the taxi not knowing that we were just about to blow 100 EUROS… thats right 100 EUROS on a taxi…. lets not forget the council tax OH also forgot to mention hope got charged for her suitcase not fitting in the stupid measurement thing at the airport, TWAS A SCAM. ANYWAYS touched down to our gaff for the next few nights.

Can we take a moment to appreciate how BEAUTIFUL, Zaandam is??? this is where we stayed and we were just so mesmerised by the beauty of it, it was such a surreal wholesome night touching down, we had a little stroll through the town and the moon was BEAMING.

THE FIRST DAY

The first night I did not sleep at all, I had real bad acid reflux (LOVE you gaviscon for being a life saver) I began to journal some thoughts that were just lingering around my pesky brain which made settling down much more easier, the beauty of journaling y’all should really give it a try!!!! As soon as I woke up I couldnt think of anything better than cracking open a can of WHITE PEACH REDBULL now hear me out one of the best flavours out there may I just ADD.

The white peach redbull in Amsterdam did not hit, I started reminiscing on how much love I had for bloody Tescos… ALAS we got ready we did look HOT our outfits ate, we started of at this coffee shop called lourens I would def recommend if you ever go Amsterdam, despite the long que it was def worth it.

We then had a lovely walk through the dam; I must say the cold was low-key refreshing, however, the crumbs of my pastry all over my black scarf were most certainly NOT a look… after a morning of being fueled up we then walked around a few shops, ALOT of soulverneer shops just all the touristy things! alot of browsing.. Hope however did get a tattoo… now we did agree that we were going to get matching tattoos however…. I was lowkey out of it deprived from sleep, at that point I just crashed out also couldnt justify 100 euros on a tattoo that DOESNT LOOK LIKE A BIRD (hope I still think you got It just to wind me up).

here are a few glimpses of our first day 🙂

We decided to head back to the hotel as it started to get very busy also the weather was grim, our plans were to head back chill get dressed hit dam town for new years night however…. me and hope had other plans now this is where you would think these gals have been on a 3 day bloody bender we just couldnt be arsed to go out, instead decided to just get in our Jim jams, order room service, watch a podcast, journal (MY IDEAL PERFECT NIGHT IN, I SWEAR WE ARE BOTH INTERLINKED), I must say we did have a cute wholesome night, before the clocks strikes midnight we go on a little stroll and get back to the hotel were they were also setting of fireworks it was GAWJOUSSS no for real tho I swear we just stud there for a good 5 mins disocciating at the fireworks it felt like I was in a stimulation was a very wholesome night

Day 2

I remember waking up and looking outside the window… with dread, I was awoken by heavy rainfall & wind that sounded like a tornado…. we procrastinated alot that morning but we managed to get ourself out and rolling in no time. I think the universe was trying to tell us to just stay and slob…. we decided to get pancakes for breakfast, we walked to a place and the que was out the door, whilst strolling around a guy is like come on in… it was a pancake brunch place where we decided to just go in maybe it was a sign from the universe itself??? I ordered pancakes with syrup and starwberries and Hope got something (I dont even know what it was), the pancakes were BLACK, they were THICK and looked like potato cakes.. now I have never tried a dutch pancake before however can I just add I swear they arent supposed to be black and practically taste potatoeyyy????? hope thought she got something different to what she ordered as it had meat on it…. any hooo fair to say we did indeed try it but it wasn’t for us.

After that grim breakfast (big ups on us for trying it!) we went on another stroll and decided to stop of at this place that was lit up selling waffles crepe and starwberries we were def scammed WDYM 13 euros for some starawberries and chocolate?? it is fair to say the dam is spenny….

We were really cold so decided to head back, we stopped of at a supermarket got a few bits in WE ALSO FOUND BACKLAVA??? as soon as we got back at the hotel it hit that we had to actually pack… now this was painful I was on full packing mode and hope was just standing around FAIR ENOUGH.

We watched Mormon Wives on Disney+ and honestly… it was exhilarating. The drama alone made me feel better about the general direction of my life (DISCLAIMER: ITS VERY DRAMATIC AND REMINDS ME OF A HQ VERSION OF GEORDIE SHORE). While Hope napped, I started working on my vision board for 2026. And hear me out I hate the pressure I put on myself every single year to create this huge, perfect vision board packed with big dreams and goals. They’re not impossible goals, but when life inevitably gets messy (as it always does), they start to feel more like barriers than motivation. Every year, I overwhelm myself. Too many expectations. Too much pressure. Too much “I should be further by now.” So this year, I decided to do it differently. My 2026 vision board is realistic. It’s made up of things I actually want to do some big, some small but all of them achievable. Making this blog was one of them. Six days in and I’ve already started building it. Another goal? Finally getting bloody contact lenses. Yes, really. And tomorrow I have my appointment to get them… six days into the year. Progress is progress. Vision boards don’t have to be these massive, aesthetic, influencer-level life plans that make you feel like you’re already behind. They can be whatever you want them to be. They can meet you where you are. I’ll do a separate blog about the ridiculous pressure we put on ourselves when New Year’s rolls around — because that’s a whole other ramble — but for now, this is your reminder that small, realistic goals still count. Probably more than the big shiny ones.

ANYWAYS BACK TO WHAT I WAS SAYING, In all fairness we just crashed out most the evening, like I said previously you really would have thought we were going hard in dam, nope we slobbed most the time but I wouldn’t have that any other way of course with the best company I could have asked for

HEADING BACK (AIRPORT HORRORS)

Where do I even start… (No I actually dont know where to start), we got up at around 5am to get ready to hit the airport (VERY EARLY, again, if you know me you know HOW MUCH I hate early mornings), the weather was HORRIFIC, it felt like -8 it was snowy, windy (my idea of hell), whilst waiting at the train station I receive the dreaded notification that we all dread which was the flight has been delayed until 12pm, (we were set to departure at 9:40am) at that point it was 6am… airport dad mode activated constantly refreshing hoping it was some mistake as the airport didnt update there screens, we were still advised to check in at the same time and go through security, that all sailed smoothly! We then headed to Starbucks to get that coffee in me fair to say Amsterdam your mochas did not hit. We then went on a hunt for some Redbull and monster, BUT specific flavours (schipsol airport you really need to branch out on the flavours that you offer) tell me why they didn’t have the the flavours we so desperately NEEDED. As the morning went on we used the massage chairs at the airport which was well needed, had a pit stop at Joe & Juice where I think I waited over 30 mins in the queue… whilst waiting in the queue I got another dreaded message from EasyJet this time saying our flight was CANCELLED, at this point I was just drained tired and just couldn’t be arsed anymore plot twist I got another dreaded message however this time saying the flight wasn’t actually cancelled… it was a FAULT IN THE SYSTEM??? I was ready to just implode, I was deprived of my sleep, gagging for a redbull. Alas! We finally set off around 2pm (The journey was horrific may I just add the turbulence was AWFUL ) however we managed to land safely where I was then greeted at pick ups by my lift with a white peach redbull.

Here I have added in some cute pictures of the trip!

Things Im Grateful For

The fact that it was a glitch in the system and our flight wasnt cancelled
This beautiful trip to amsterdam that was incredibly wholesome
REDBULL WHITE PEACH X
MY BED / HEATED BLANKET