Amsterdam: A wander through the City

If you're a regular reader you may have gathered by now OH and I LOVE the Low Countries, aka Holland and Belgium. In the past we have been to Amsterdam, Gent and Bruges. This year we returned to Amsterdam followed by a few days in Antwerp. There is so much I want to share so bare with me as there will be LOADS of photos spread over the next couple of days.

So first up Amsterdam. OH has family who live here hence our return to the same city though having said that there are worst places to have to visit! We had the Sunday to ourselves so had a little wander and here is what we saw!

Hollyhocks and bikes seemed to be a running theme this holiday 

Annoyingly we hadn't cottoned onto the fact that there was a Banksy exhibition on during our visit and so we hadn't factored it into our itinerary. Ah well, maybe next time! 

As you may know I do like my street art but this was a very poor showing in central Amsterdam 

We had a great amble down some of the canals enjoying the bikes 

And the architecture! I took so many pictures of buildings..... 

Did I mention that we saw a lot of Hollyhocks? They were so bright, vibrant and tall! 

Though the whole city seemed to be putting on a show 

Now whilst wandering down the various canals in Amsterdam we kept having to deviate as streets were closed off for filming. 

It was certainly making people stop and watch what was going on

And here was  the star of the scene - part of a high speed chase sequence that was part of a Hollywood Blockbuster featuring Samuel L Jackon, Ryan Reynolds and Selma Hayek. Sadly we didn't see any of these stars but did enjoy watching them film whilst enjoying a slice of cake and a beer at the cafe we had been trying to find. Whilst the canal in front of the cafe was closed for filming the cafe itself was open and we got a prime view!

Once again fueled up on beer and cake we continued our wander through the streets. 

I think this is possibly my favourite house in Amsterdam. I love it's wonkiness. And if you read my post on Amsterdam from a couple of years ago you will see that I've photographed it before! 

Yep sorry more bikes..... 

And just in case you thought I hadn't taken any here is an array of reflection images I snapped. 

Watch out! If driving in Amsterdam avoid falling into canals!! 

And finally a quick shot of the main road near our apartment. There are so many lanes you have to watch out for traffic as there are cycles lanes as well as cars. It was quite dizzying just trying to cross the roads at times. 

Anyway are you still with me? Sorry I know a lot of photos. I had real problems this holiday as there were very few I wanted to delete! Hope you enjoyed. Coming soon a tale of two artists.....