Netherlands – Mama Ayla's Adventures

I don’t tend to stay in “normal” hotels when we travel. You know the kind I mean. The standard chain hotels that offer a basic room with a comfy bed and a clean bathroom. Nice, but no pezaz. I usually go for something that’s a little more out of the ordinary. Somewhere that is fun and quirky, with unique rooms and beautiful designs. An independent hotel that has personality; somewhere that will make our trip a whole lot more enjoyable and that we’ll remember for a long time after our visit. And of course it has to be child friendly.

This is exactly what we found when we stayed at the Lloyd Hotel. Fun and quirkiness in abundance, this place bursts with character. Our room was like nowhere I have ever stayed before and most definitely somewhere that both Evie and I will remember and would stay at again on any future trip to Amsterdam.

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A breezy one hour flight and we were in Amsterdam, somewhere that had seemed to evade our travel radar so far. With such cheap and easy flights from the UK, it was the perfect destination for a short weekend break over the May bank holiday and I always welcome the chance for us to explore a new part of Europe.

There isn’t actually a huge amount of sightseeing to do in Amsterdam which made for a wonderfully chilled weekend break. We spent most of it simply wandering around, taking in the enchanting canals bursting with colourful flowers, and satisfying our bellies with as much food as possible. We decided to stay on our feet to explore rather than hop on a bike as the city is so full of cyclists – there are more bikes than there are people in Amsterdam (true story) – and the speed they flew past over the narrow cobblestone roads had me fearing for my life when I was on the pavement let alone actually being on one of the bikes myself! Instead, we picked up our I amsterdam card which includes tram, bus and metro rides, as well as a host of free and discounted sights and tours, and worked our way around the city with a combination of public transport and the simple wearing out of our feet.

If you’re planning a weekend in Amsterdam and want to know exactly what you should see and do then look no further as I’ve highlighted all the best bits here including the tastiest foods and the quirkiest activities!

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