9 Streets - Part 7

Well, this is it, the final Amsterdam post of the week.  Devoting a whole week to somewhere other than Kent / Canterbury has been tougher than I thought it would be - I kept wanting to go back and talk about stuff that is happening here!  It's all part of the blogging learning curve though and the reason I wanted to devote a whole week of posts to one weekend in Amsterdam was because there was just so much to do and see over there and a lot of it I had no idea about before we left.  Amsterdam wasn't really top of my radar for cities to visit with lots of stuff to do!

Steve had downloaded a rather useful little app on his phone before we left that provided us with walking tours through specific areas of the city.  My favourite took us through the 9 Streets District; described as Amsterdam's Greenwich Village, it's a charming area of Amsterdam filled with vintage boutiques, Italian leather shoes, cheese, pastries, chocolates and cosmetics.  My idea of heaven.

I loved the dresses in Laura Bols - the basement is devoted to party wear from the 1920's 1990's.  An entire row filled with feather bowers and a table of sequins!

It was all a little pricey, although Steve did find a vintage RAF jacket that was simply amazing - if it was in his size I would have snapped it up!

Skin Cosmetics is a chain that I think is unique to the Netherlands (please do correct me if I am wrong!).  Imagine all your high brand skin care  (Philosophy, Nuxe, Patyka, Dr. Brandt, Laura Mercia) as well as luxury perfume brands (Diptyque, Clean, O'driu, By Kilian) and high end makeup (Nars, FNUG, Ellis Faas) all under one extremely overpriced roof.  Wonderful to walk around and sniff (as well as try a few cheeky samples) but I wouldn't be leaving with anything.  Some of the price tags made me physically wince! 

Moped's are all over the city.  I wasn't expecting them to be used as decor in stores.  However this Italian leather shoe shop had the most amazing shoes, why should their decorative items be any different! 

Independent beauty shops were scattered along the 9 Streets District.  Rain combined art and bubble bath - you grabbed a bottle and chose your own bubble bath from one of the tube taps.  I was tempted, but at close to £40 for a 250ml bottle, I wasn't going to bite!

If I had a lot more disposable income I could quite happily shop til I drop in the 9 Streets District!

Tiptoe Through The Tulips - Part 5

Amsterdam was a riot of colour over the weekend.  Flowers packed the markets, hung from window boxes and filled pots outside shops. 

 The famous tulips were everywhere.  Real and wooden. 

Displays of every colour under the sun scattered around the city, in parks and flowerbeds, attached to bikes and on barges.  Tulips are Holland's national flower and every year more than 10,000 people descend to Dam Square for National Tulip Day where giant beds or picking gardens with over 200,000 tulips are created for people to pick their own free flower.

There is even a Tulip Museum in Prinsengracht in the heart of the Old Town. 

It's not just tulips though.

The Dutch love their flowers

The Bloemenmarkt is the world's only floating flower market.  Near Koningsplein and founded in 1862, hut after hut is filled to overflowing with flowers, trees, shrubs, bulbs and seeds, all running along the canal.  The scent is delicate and wraps around you as you move through the stands.

 Blossom in the Museumplein was in full bloom, showering the tourists in pink and white confetti.

 Even the bikes have floral accessories!

The Venice of the North - Part 4

Criss-crossed by a network of picturesque canals overhung with leafy trees and bordered by the iconic Amsterdam bollards in rust red emblazoned with the three St Andrew's crosses from the Amsterdam coat of arms, Amsterdam is truly a city of water.

Boats and barges, both industrial and recreational are moored along the waters edge while pedalos and canoes slip up and down.

The water plays home to both business and celebration. Parties and celebrations with music and chanting echo next to business men in suits sipping champagne while young families luncheon on the water.

Historic buildings line the waters edge, soaring into the sky and framing the boulevards.

The canals run for miles, providing beautiful scenic walks.  As the sun sets, the city lights up with reflections shimmering back from the water.

It's been said of Amsterdam that the water is the mistress and the land the vessel. Water does seem to dominate life in the Venice of the North.