Two years ago on May 3rd I married Mr H-L, on the tenth anniversary of our first date.
After twelve years, I still get butterflies in my tummy when I see him:)
We decided there and then that we would celebrate every wedding anniversary in style and go away on our own – life after The Big C is very precious and each anniversary is a bonus.
Life before The Boys included the odd city break to Barcelona, Venice, Bruges and the like so, for our first anniversary we went to Geneva – this year we chose Amsterdam.
Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands, often mistakenly referred to as Holland. Watch this brilliantly amusing clip to find out why https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eE_IUPInEuc
We swear by the DK ‘Eyewitness’ Travel Guides – they’re perfect for us as we want to pack in as much culture as is humanly possible in three days!
Getting there couldn’t be simpler – trains leave from Schiphol airport and go direct to the centre of Amsterdam from where our hotel was just a short walk.
Amsterdam Centraal Station is a pretty fine piece of architecture itself and looks especially lovely lit up at night.
After checking in at 10pm, we went exploring…..
….and sat outside a bar overlooking a canal with a pint of the local beer.
Saturday was spent doing the sights.
Another beer and a spot of lunch in between sightseeing.
No prizes for guessing where we are in this photo – the completely wonderful Van Gogh museum in which we immersed ourselves for the entire afternoon.
We discovered an amazing Tapas Bar down a side street, met a lovely Dutch couple and ended up staying until nearly midnight eating, drinking and chatting.
Sunday saw a turn in the weather, but it didn’t stop us walking the suggested canal route in the DK book, the pages of which were soaked through by the end.
The walk took us past many notable buildings and we also took a slight detour to a museum that the guide recommended.
The house in the centre of the photo below was left to the city in the will of it’s last owner in about 1890, on condition that it was opened to the public as a museum – the Willet-Holthuysen museum.
Two of the floors are left exactly as they were, the lower ground floor was reconstructed to the same period and the top floor displays all her art.
It’s well worth a visit as it shows how the Merchants typically lived at that time. It also gives you an idea of what all the other houses would have looked before over a hundred years of constant modernising took it’s toll and saw them chopped up into offices and flats.
More beer in a bid to shelter from the rain…..
….which led to emergency use of the (very) public facilities!
The same night was our actual anniversary and my lovely husband booked an evening canal cruise inclusive of five courses and as much prosecco and wine that you could drink!
Unfortunately, even a newly purchased dutch umbrella couldn’t stop the damp air making frizz out of my hair:(
The food was spectacular – have you ever heard of Broccoli Panna Cotta with Piccallilli?!
Amsterdam must be a romantic hot-spot because, aside from the usual Hen parties and Stag groups, we witnessed a proposal on our dinner cruise…..
….and a newly married couple being whisked away by tuk-tuk, complete with tins trailing along noisily behind.
Monday saw us taking the obligatory trip out to the bulb fields to see the tulips. Altogether now – “When it’s Spring again, I’ll bring again, Tulips from Amsterdam”.
Keukenhof was the destination though, a 70 acre wooded park about half an hour from the city, which only opens for eight weeks of the year whilst the tulips are in bloom. How lucky were we that it coincided with our trip!
These flower ‘beds’ made me smile.
2015 marks 125 years since the death of Van Gogh and Keukenhof planted an incredible floral tribute.
The blossom on the cherry trees was magnificent and reminded me of his painting “Almond Blossom”.
On the walk back from the tour bus to collect our suitcases we spotted those fatal words “Seafood Bar”, an unassuming place hiding behind row upon row of bicycles.
(Did I mention the 22,000,000,000 bikes for the Dutch population of 17,000,000,000?!)
There was no way we were ever going to walk by and not go in!
Just look at his face and the anticipation of dripping all that lobster sauce down the paper bibs they give you.
Champagne and Mixed Grill – the perfect end to a perfect wedding anniversary.
Now, where shall we go next year?
May 6, 2015 at 2:45 pm
What a wonderful post! Happy, happy Anniversary! I’m thrilled to read (and see!) you’ve had a wonderful time in “my” city and “my” country, Sheila! Marianne xx
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May 6, 2015 at 2:46 pm
And you looked totally gorgeous in that so beautiful wedding gown …..
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May 6, 2015 at 2:53 pm
Aw, thanks! Probably not the best choice for a 45 year old bride, but it wasn’t about the dress – I saw an advert for an ‘as new’ designer dress and said that if it fits, I’ll buy it. So I did!
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May 6, 2015 at 2:49 pm
It was brilliant, we had a fantastic time! Thanks for the YouTube clip – I’ve edited the blog post to include a link:)
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May 6, 2015 at 3:11 pm
Happy Anniversary. Lovely pictures – as always. Glad you had a wonderful time despite the rain. My daughter works in Utrecht, so thanks fro the YouTube Geography lesson to share with her. I’m sure she’ll be amused.
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May 6, 2015 at 3:16 pm
Thanks Bekki – it was one day of fine, misty rain really so it didn’t stop us doing anything.
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May 7, 2015 at 6:22 am
Glad to hear it. Although I suspect a downpour wouldn’t have either 🙂
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May 6, 2015 at 3:19 pm
Happy Anniversary! What beautiful photographs to capture beautiful memories 🙂 Your wedding dress is amazing by the way!
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May 6, 2015 at 3:54 pm
Thank you Nat! The dress was the only one I looked at and ended up being cheaper than making one myself as it was a sample.
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May 6, 2015 at 3:31 pm
Happy Anniversary!!!! Thank you for sharing this beautiful story along with the beautiful pictures. I love the wedding gown and my favorite part was that you still get butterflies, that is soooo sweet!!!
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May 6, 2015 at 3:55 pm
It’s true, I do still go all gooey inside when he comes home from work each night!
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May 6, 2015 at 3:44 pm
Best wishes and happy Anniversary 😊 wow,you looked so gorgeous in that wedding dress!!! 😍😍😍 Stunning and beautiful 🌹🌹🌹
the travel guide…. I have two similar at mine but on about London and the other about Croatia,some very old editions, I think the early 2000, but dear to me because they are a gift from an old friend… Still have to come to London….
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May 6, 2015 at 3:57 pm
Thank you! We have a shelf full of DK travel guides (a wish list) and Hubby just picked one of them that we hadn’t been to yet. It was a surprise for me until a week or so ago:)
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May 6, 2015 at 3:46 pm
I forgot to say that the photos are beautiful,as usual! Such an explosion of colour and love for life! Fantastic!!!!
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May 6, 2015 at 4:04 pm
Beautiful photos in this post. Happy anniversary! It’s always lovely to spend some time time child free, always makes me appreciate them more when I get back 🙂 Lovely to see the merchant’s house. I’m currently reading The Miniaturist, which is about just such a merchant.
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May 6, 2015 at 4:11 pm
Thank you very much! I took lots of photos in the Merchant’s house – it was absolutely fascinating and we spent ages there.
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May 6, 2015 at 8:17 pm
I’ve just read that book, very good!
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May 6, 2015 at 9:20 pm
I’ve heard so many good things about it 🙂 Only a couple of chapters in so far though, so don’t say anymore…
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May 6, 2015 at 4:52 pm
Happy Anniversary!!! 🙂 Oh what a fabulous time you both had judging by the wonderful pictures and so many new amazing memories now to go with them. You looked beautiful and your Wedding Dress was stunning – I can’t wait to see next year’s trip!!! 😀
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May 7, 2015 at 9:55 am
Thank you, it was brilliant – lots of photos to remind us when we’re old and senile:)
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May 6, 2015 at 7:57 pm
I’m just going to echo all the other comments – wildly romantic wedding dress – and why not, especially as you still experience the rush whenever you see him. He must be a good one! Amsterdam looks stunning in your photos despite the rain!
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May 7, 2015 at 9:59 am
Yes, the dress was a bit OTT but I just picked the first one I saw because I couldn’t be doing with all that nonsense associated with hunting for ‘the perfect gown’. It’s a great city and quite quiet due to bikes and trams but not many cars, so very pleasant to just wander around and enjoy the sights.
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May 6, 2015 at 8:18 pm
What lovely photos. Makes me want to go there! Happy anniversary!
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May 7, 2015 at 10:00 am
Thanks! It was even nicer than I thought it was going to be, actually, so well worth a trip:)
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May 6, 2015 at 9:26 pm
What a wonderful trip! Love your tulip photos .
Your wedding dress was to die for! Happy anniversary xx
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May 7, 2015 at 10:03 am
Thank you – there were 7 million tulips in Koekenhof, apparently and I couldn’t turn around without wanting to take ‘just one more’ photo!
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May 7, 2015 at 1:22 pm
I would be exactly the same.
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May 6, 2015 at 9:30 pm
Wow! What a trip! So many parts I am envious of – the tulips look stunning and unlimited prosecco sounds blissful! Happy Anniversary! Next year will be a tough one!
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May 7, 2015 at 10:05 am
I know, but I doubt if anywhere will top Venice – it’s still my favourite place (along with our honeymoon in Bali). Any recommendations?
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May 7, 2015 at 11:41 am
I’ve had city breaks in a few places like Budapest, Vienna, and Barcelona. Seville is lovely if you haven’t been there?
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May 7, 2015 at 11:44 am
Seville is high on my husband’s list – thanks for the recommendation!
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May 6, 2015 at 9:31 pm
Aw, wonderful photos to make wonderful memories! Happy anniversary! ❤️
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May 7, 2015 at 10:06 am
Thank you! We made memories a plenty, that’s for sure!
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May 6, 2015 at 11:55 pm
What an awesome post!! The photos of your anniversary trip are all stunning. You both look like you had a fantastic time. Your wedding pics brought tears to my eyes. Your gown is beyond beautiful and you both look so happy. Happy Anniversary to you both.
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May 7, 2015 at 10:50 am
Thanks Robin, it was wonderful, not least because we’re still like love struck teenagers!
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May 7, 2015 at 6:59 am
Happy Anniversary. Loved your post and all the gorgeous photos.
Thanks for sharing with us all. Hugs. 🙂
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May 7, 2015 at 10:52 am
Thank you! I tried to keep it short and interesting but the post is still quite long and photo heavy!
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May 8, 2015 at 7:24 am
I am glad you shared so many photos, I loved it. 🙂 Its always great to see places where I have not been or able to get to just yet. Thanks a lot.
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May 7, 2015 at 10:57 am
You have a beautiful wedding dress!
Happy Anniversary! It looks like you had a wonderful trip and did so much in such a short time! Amsterdam kooks beautiful. I may need to add it to my list of places to go 🙂
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May 7, 2015 at 10:57 am
Sorry, typo: looks beautiful 🙂
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May 7, 2015 at 11:00 am
Thank you very much! We certainly packed loads in our three days, but we always plan exactly what we’re going to do in advance, hence the DK books which are fab.
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May 7, 2015 at 2:57 pm
Oh wow wow wow wow wow, you are one lucky lady 🙂 The flowers are so beautiful. As is your wedding dress. And your cruise… oh I need to go to Amsterdam! I don’t know where you’ll go that’ll top it next year?!
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May 8, 2015 at 10:47 am
Yes, I am lucky! Each city break we do surprises me in how much nicer they are than I think they’re going to be. Venice actually brought a lump to my throat though, so nowhere has surpassed that yet:)
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May 8, 2015 at 11:35 pm
What a wonderful anniversary! And the is a stunning wedding dress!
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May 11, 2015 at 3:43 pm
Thanks – Amsterdam was even better than we hoped it would be:)
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May 9, 2015 at 2:23 pm
Happy Anniversary. Wow those tulips, just stunning. Envious of Europeans who can just ‘duck across’ to neighbouring countries. A little further afield but I would recommend Peru or India. Food for thought.
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May 9, 2015 at 3:13 pm
Australia has long been on my list too, but Machu Picchu is at the number one spot. By the time we can afford to go there we’ll be too old to trek probably! I must admit, being able to city hop through different cultures and languages is brilliant, I never tire of it:)
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May 9, 2015 at 3:27 pm
We did Machu Pichu by transport and it was still magical. Make sure it stays on the list 😉
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May 20, 2015 at 1:30 am
Happy Anniversary!!! you are a lovely couple, and I totally enjoyed this post, I want to visit Europe again soon… 🙂
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May 20, 2015 at 1:50 pm
Thank you – Europe is great as all the countries are so varied and the cultures so different. The best bit is that it was only 90 minutes to fly there:)
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May 21, 2015 at 3:31 pm
win – win 🙂 FUN!!!
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