Sheffield

On Saturday November 15, Jamie and I headed to Sheffield on a day out of Liverpool. We met at Lime Street and caught the train across the countryside to Yorkshire. We did not have any plans set in stone but were hoping to explore the city in South Yorkshire. We arrived around lunch time and headed from the train station up to the city centre, where we checked out their Christmas market. The weather was a bit chilly and foggy but not raining so that was a good thing.

Monday Wanderings in Amsterdam

These photos are all taken on Monday 13th of October when I was wandering around Amsterdam. That morning I had gone to the Anne Frank House as soon as it had opened before going to the Pancake Bakery and enjoying a massive pancake labelled as their Canadian pancake. It was delicious and filled with bacon and amazingness.  I wandered to the Noordermarkt, which on Mondays transforms into a large flea market.  There is lots of fabric, clothes, home goods and cosmetics on sale. The market seemed to go on forever but I eventually found my way to the other end. With no real plans I walked over to Haarlemstraat and enjoyed the sunshine as I made my way towards Centraal Station with its large parking for bikes in search of the I amsterdam card at the tourist centre.  After picking up the card I ventured across the city to check out both the Waterloopleinmarkt and the Albert Cuyp Markt. Leaving empty handed at all the markets I was left wishing I had found something to take home but nothing caught my eye. I ended up on Museumplein where I popped into the Rijksmuseum to have a gander at the beautiful art. I really enjoyed the museum with its large collection of Dutch masters. I headed from the museum over to Pathe City and watched the 100 Foot Journey which was very good.

Saturday in Jordaan

I woke early to fly to Amsterdam from Liverpool. My cab from Davy Liver was £11.32 and the nice man came and picked me up at 4:30 am. The airport is not very far from my house but unfortunately the 80A bus does not run that early. I got through security and enjoyed a bit of food. Soon it was time to board and we were up and away. The flight was very quick. A time change of an hour and we landed in Amsterdam at 9:10 local time. I got my passport stamped and was on my way out of the airport with lovely thoughts of just how pretty all the Dutch border security are. I caught the 197 bus from Schiphol to the Rijksmuseum and walked around the block to the Flying Pig Uptown where I was staying. I had booked into a four bedroom for one night as the three bed was not available for the entire duration of my stay. The room was right by reception so was very easy to access. After doing all the checking in business I had plans to head into the Jordaan and check out the Noordermarkt before eventually going to Dam Square for the Sandeman's New Amsterdam Free Walking Tour.

From the Flying Pig to the Noordermarkt was about half an hour. I managed to find the shop that I had wanted to stop in the last time I was in Amsterdam. De Kunstboer, is an accessory, bag and art shop. They sold some really cool bags that I wanted to buy but I held back and just got some really cool postcards.

I stopped at Citea for a delicious spicy chai before heading into the Noordmarkt which on Saturdays sells a lot of organic food. There were lots of bakery treats but I had my eye on Winkel for their apple pie.  There was only a small queue for the pie and it was very worth it. If you're in Amsterdam you have to try it.  It's not very expensive either, I think maybe ~€3.30 or something for a delicious slice of apple pie.

A day at the market.

Sunday the 9th

Today was the last day to spend with Chris. He's headed back to Victoria and then in a few months he'll be moving to Toronto. Our hearts will be closer though the kilometers will still be long between us. It was so nice to have him over the weekend. I have known him since I was eight. He's the same age as my sister and they became best friends and have not parted since. He was part of my sister's wedding party in August. Over the years we have stayed close and I am going to miss him a lot. I hope he is able to find a hot redhead in Toronto.

We slept in a while, still tired from the party the night before finally managing to wake up enough to head to Granville Island Market to explore and have lunch.