Day 1: From the Corn to the Canals

Let me first off say that this trip was a gift for my 40th birthday back in October...spring break worked out much better for us than the autumn. We left our house around 10am and headed to the airport. One great thing about our airport is that it takes 15 minutes from the time you get into the security line to the time you are at your gate. So nice! We flew Delta to Detroit and had a 4 hour layover until the Airbus A330 scooped us up to take us across the pond to Amsterdam.

Some people are NOT good airplane sleepers, but I can sleep anywhere. I was able to get some decent sleep until they came over the loud speaker and said "IS ANYONE A DOCTOR ON THE PLANE?" ...it was just like in the movies. Luckily, many doctors and nurses were on board so they were able to help the gentleman who had a head wound. It was hard to get back to sleep after that, so when we landed at 8:15am that "next" day it truly felt like 2:15am in Iowa.

We bought some coffee at the airport cafe while we waited for my best friend to pick us up in her cute little easter egg of a Euro car. She had an adorable gift welcome basket for us and drove us all the way down to her city to meet her girlfriend and see their apartment. We truly felt special because her girlfriend had a pastry for us upon arrival...plus we were the first Americans she'd ever met! :)

Cute lil welcome basket <3

We then went to Cafe De Buren in their city for lunch. I just love the open outdoor areas where you can watch people and have a car-free experience. I wish America was more like this because who wants to sit outside and look at the back of a Ford F150 the whole time?

Krissy dropped us off at our Airbnb in Maastricht where we unloaded our stuff and then went on a cute little walk throughout the city. I can't believe how gorgeous this area is and how much less crowded it is than Amsterdam. It's truly a gem of a place that not many Americans know about (and they probably prefer it that way haha)!

Krissy and her girlfriend came back to meet up later for dinner and we went to the Pieke Potloed. It was a cute and charming place to go for dinner and it cost about the same here as it does at home for four for dinner + drinks + dessert.

Overall it was an amazing day and I am so happy I got to see my friend and meet her girlfriend!