Overseas again

September 30, 2024September 30, 2024 / Greg / Leave a comment

When I hopped on a plane to Amsterdam last fall, it had been four years since my last major trip across an ocean. While my main motivation for the trip was a revisiting of Belgium to dig deeper into its beer culture, I arranged my travel into Amsterdam for a four day start to this trip in what is really a favourite city. When my wife and I had visited on our first trip to Europe together, we both quickly fell in love with the canals and the parks and the laid back approach to life. The return visit, this time as a solo traveler, had me head over heels back in love as soon as my feet touched the ground. Jet lag never felt so good.

Continue reading →

Memories from Amsterdam

July 20, 2021July 20, 2021 / Greg / Leave a comment

When we were planning our first trip to Europe back in 2006, my wife had her mind set on Belgium. I thought that was an odd choice at the time, though looking back in hindsight, it was a stroke of brilliance and made for a wonderful first European adventure. I lobbied for Amsterdam to be a side trip of a few days from our base in Brussels and it too ended up being a memorable part of our first time overseas. The trip was a tale of two distinct approaches… in Brussels, thanks to points, we stayed at an ultra luxurious five star hotel… in Amsterdam, we stayed at a place that had a roof and indoor plumbing. What that place lacked in charm, it made up for with a location that led us to a number of memories we still hold dear.

For me, when I think back on Amsterdam, it is of a spectacularly beautiful city, where every bridge over every canal was a stunning scene the likes I hadn’t ever seen to that point in my life.