*Yelling in Dutch*

Melanie and I froze in our seats on the train while a train employee continued yelling at us.

I looked at Mel and looked back at the train man. We had our tickets, we weren’t being obnoxious. What in the world could we have possibly done to deserve this?

“Oh you don’t speak Dutch do you?” The train man said.

We nervously shook our heads and he continued, “Oh, well you cannot ever have your feet on the seats. I could fine you 20 euros, so take your feet off the seats please and I won’t fine you this once”.

We immediately returned our feet to the floor and after he left I said, “Well goodness, if they didn’t want us to put our feet on the seats then they shouldn’t have made the seats the perfect length away to put your feet on” I finished with a wink and Mel and I both giggled.

If you know me at all you know I fly to Amsterdam a LOT… like a LOT! And to be perfectly honest it can be kind of boring sometimes. It feels bougie to tell friends, “Ugh I’m going to Amsterdam AGAIN” so usually I try to keep those thoughts to myself haha.

This trip I was determined to mix it up a little bit and get out of the city. Mel was working the Amsterdam flight with me and was game for an adventure.

Once we landed in Amsterdam my friend that I knew from studying abroad in Wales messaged me that she was in a town called Leiden and was wondering if we wanted to meet up. But OF COURSE!!! So off we went.

Leiden was such a breathe of fresh air. It’s similar to Amsterdam, but much smaller and has none of the same touristy vibes that the city does. There were streets that were completely empty and you could hear the church bells ringing in the silence as birds waddled across our path.

It truly was magical.

Side note… I got yelled at by another Dutch man while taking this flower picture! Apparently the little walking stones through the garden aren’t actually meant for walking. If I learned anything on this trip it’s that the Dutch are very particular. *wink*

We stopped in a local tea shop and had a long conversation with the owners while choosing between “Deluxe Lady Grey” and “Amour Sensations”. Most of the conversation was in Dutch, but the warmth that emanated from the owners was so genuine… I would have stayed there all day if I could have!

Next stop was an old fortress in the heart of the city.

Trips like this are the bread and butter of my job. It’s days like this where I wonder how I ever got so lucky to get to be paid to travel the world and spend days adventuring in The Netherlands with friends.

I’ve been thinking about doing a post about what I like to pack and wear when I travel! Would anyone be interested? Let me know in the comment section if that’s something you would read! For this day I wore a super easy outfit. Trench and jeans from Banana Republic (this season), purse is Coach, scarf is Talbots (this season) and sunnies from Ray Ban. You would not believe the deals I find on my clothes! It’s essentially my hobby!

To be completely transparent before you start thinking my life is always a dream… Lately I’ve been in a bit of a rut in my personal life, but things are getting better! I am human and while my world wide travels may make it seem like my life is always roses and butterflies… there’s tears and pain too. Maybe one day I’ll write more about what exactly has been going on but for right now I am just thankful for my friends and family for sticking by my side and encouraging me through the rough times!

I apologize that this post has been a little all over the place! It’s been two months since I’ve written so I’m a little rusty, but it feels good to be back in the saddle. Get excited because I’m heading to Ireland in two days with my girlfriends so expect a lot of fresh new blog posts!

Now I’m off to catch another flight!

XOXO,

Christena