Alice Adores Amsterdam Part 3: I amsterdam

Oh heeeeeey and welcome back to Alice Adores Apparel! Long time no speak. Sorry for the lack of consistent posts. Working and training at Cisco takes up so much of my day that by the time I get home, sitting in front of my Mac to make a blog post is a huge struggle!

Today's post is all about my second weekend in Amsterdam, feeling out the area and being general tourists. With the first week of work over, Friday night was spent 'bonding' with my colleagues over copious amounts of gin and cocktails. Initially we met at a proper down and dirty rock bar called Sound Garden located in the Jordaan area of the city. This place definitely lived up to its rock bar label, with beer (well good old fashioned British G&T for me) and music flowing. As the night progressed we took it up a notch and headed to a gorgeous bar called Bo Cinq. It has a great atmosphere and they have an extensive cocktail menu. I would particularly recommend asking the hot Brazilian bartender to make you a caipirinha. Mine was delicious!

bocinq.nl

On Saturday there was an artisan food market not far from our apartment so we had to check it out. All of the food looked incredible and it was tough not to spend a tonne of cash on very expensive groceries! I did, however, cave in and grab a burger topped with wild truffle sauce from one of the stalls!

My delicious burger

Everyone knows that if you come to Amsterdam you have to get a photo at the I amsterdam sign outside the Rijksmuseum. It's one of the most iconic places in the city and walking into Central Amsterdam from our apartment often involves wading through the swarms of tourists around the Museumplein area. Seen as this was only our second weekend in Amsterdam we figured if you can't beat them, join them!

Yep Bilal genuinely ripped off his shirt on top of the 'a'!

The streets of Amsterdam are some of the most fascinating places I have walked through. I could wander through this city until my feet fall off.

For some reason this street name cracked us up...

For dinner we checked out a great Lebanese restaurant called Dabka in the centre of Amsterdam. The food here was generous and reasonably priced. The staff there were lovely and very attentive. I would definitely recommend you check it out if you are in the area.

After another day of wandering, Sunday night was movie night. We went to a really cool independent cinema near Leidseplein called Cinecenter. I really liked the retro feel of the cinema and theres a great relaxed atmosphere. We went to see Birdman, a film I can't say was on my list of must-see movies for 2015. However, I cannot recommend this film enough. It was fascinating and hilarious, strange and arty. There's a reason it won Best Picture at this year's Oscars ceremony. If you get a chance, check it out.