As you may know, Kip and I are heading to Lake Como next month with his family for a wedding!
We will have about 3 days of wedding festivities and we don’t really know anything about where we will be or what we will be doing yet, but that has made it kind of exciting. The groom was their foreign exchange student and he is so sweetly arranging everything for us for the time during the wedding. I can’t wait to experience an authentic Italian wedding (and I made sure there is no button, clasp, elastic or anything around my midsection on my dress because I am assuming there will be LOTS of delicious food!) After the wedding, we are staying for about 5 days in a house in Tremezzo on Lake Como, and then 2 days in Milan before flying back home. I’m so excited and know it will be an amazing trip.
We have had the Italy plans set for months, and Kip and I had hoped to be able to tack on a few days before or after doing something solo to take advantage of our time abroad. Just this past week, everything fell into place and we were able to get 5 days before the trip to go to a different city!
The two destinations that we had talked about were Amsterdam or Barcelona. They are both places Kip has always wanted to go and always talked about, and I wanted to make sure he had the deciding vote. When we went to Italy 2 years ago, I took on the role of planning everything, and I am such a creature of habit that I would be like “let’s go back to Venice and Positano and stay in the same hotel and do the exact same things ALL OVER AGAIN!” Kidding. Kind of. Not really.
see posts about our time in Italy here
But we wanted to do something totally different and I wanted it to be something that would be totally his choosing. He is not a planner so I feel like he never would make a decision if it wasn’t down to the wire – and with 3 weeks to go, it was down to the wire!
We knew we could leave Friday July 7th and so we spent a day or two researching. He saw that the Running Of The Bulls was happening in Spain when we would be there and seriously that was what made him want to go to Barcelona. We are just SO similar. I naturally responded with “Okay, I will be at a Bar/Restaurant/Anywhere far away from that sending you my prayers but sure, I know that you are a lunatic and of course that would be a great trip for you!” I really thought he was going to pick Barcelona based on that alone! Surprisingly, he chose Amsterdam. I am very relieved because I know for a fact if we were in Spain his ass would be running from those bulls and I would be having a conniption fit somewhere while I chugged some Sangria to calm the nerves 🙂
images from History in High Heels
SO! Amsterdam it is! And up until two nights ago I pretty much knew nothing about Amsterdam except that it is gorgeous and what Ms. Yolanda Foster and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills taught me on their trip!
Yolanda can sell me on anything, especially flowers, cheese, biking, canals, etc.
So I am hoping to have as wonderful of a time as they did,
without the wine in the face and shattered glass of course. But the rest of it, I’ll take!
All of you were SO helpful when I was planning our trip to Italy,
so I am hoping you can be helpful with this as well!
I am a major planner – and loved planning Italy – but for this we have 3 weeks and really just want to relax, so I am trying to be very laid back about it.
If any of you have been, please let me know where you stayed/what neighborhood you stayed in, your favorite activities, where you ate/shopped/drank/sat around and people watched! Anything! We found an adorable AirB&B to book but I was hoping to get more feedback about neighborhoods before we booked (the one we found and loved is in the Nine Canals/Grachtengordel I’m pretty sure? )
A lot of our time in Lake Como and Milan is out of my hands – but I know that nothing is really planned at all at the moment and that his parents are asking us to do some of the planning. If any of you have recommendations for Lake Como (our house is in Tremezzo) or Milan please email or comment I would love any helpful tips!
Now, for some health and fitness
related things to share!
:: RECIPE OF THE WEEK ::
I made a new recipe on Sunday night that makes a great meal prep/work lunch recipe.
Skinnytaste’s Skillet Cheesy Chicken and Veggie “Rice”
It was a very fast recipe to make because I buy the pre-riced Trader Joe’s Riced Broccoli.
I am a much bigger fan of riced cauliflower, so next time I’ll be making it with that instead, but I did like it as a healthy lunch to take with me to work. I added extra garlic and onion to up the flavor, and topped with some Siracha to give it a little kick. (I feel like healthy chicken and veggie recipes can always benefit from a little Siracha!)
:: FITNESS FASHION FINDS ::
I profess my love for Old Navy regularly on here, and their Old Navy Active gear is no exception. While I definitely believe in getting some Lulu basics because they last forever and ever, Old Navy has never let me down and I constantly get their pieces for 30-50% off and love them. I ordered a few things when they had a sale recently and wanted to share my favorites.
As a general rule of thumb with Old Navy Active, most things run large. Tops especially. Leggings can run more True To Size, but most of the time I size down to an XS in the tops and do a S or XS in the leggings.
I love the split back of this ($10 dollar!) workout tank and the mesh panel for breathability. I ended up getting two in different colors.
These leggings are comfy and a great way for me to break out of my basic black
(although they have black and a few other colors!)
SPLIT BACK TANK // MESH INSERT LEGGINGS
the leggings come in 4 colors!
I love graphic tanks for working out, and Old Navy always has tons. This tank has a great criss-cross back and is a little bit longer so it gives good coverage on the tush. Although running late is definitely not my thing…. I hate hate hate running late and am that person that is annoyingly on time or early.
The leggings are such a steal and are high waisted which I love to really keep everything tight and snug during workouts. I love the color-blocked styles and these are so much cheaper
RUNNING LATE IS MY CARDIO TANK // HIGH RISE COLOR BLOCKED LEGGINGS
tank runs large, size down. leggings run true to size.
Another favorite top of theirs that I keep stocking up on is their high neck swing tank.
It is super thin and breathable, and you can’t beat the $10 price tag.
It comes in 6 different colors and I love them all.
// HIGH NECK SWING TANK //
Most importantly…….. can you believe all of this Bachelor In Paradise stuff!!??
warning: very inappropriate things discussed in article!
I was in so many text chains today and I just can’t believe it – and I seriously can’t believe they would do these things (even for BIP, this is a whole new level!) We have so much to discuss during Coffee Talk on Thursday!
Please send me any and all tips,
big or small or anything,
to taylor.oshay@gmail.com about Amsterdam, Lake Como, and Milan!
images from History in High Heels
Thank you so much!
Literally in the Amsterdam airport (tears!) and am catching up on your blog (priorities!) – I will send a thorough list from our travels! You are going to be delighted with your choice of visiting Amsterdam – it is AMAZING!
In the meantime, book a room at the Hoxton. Don’t think twice! More soon.
Can’t believe you read this at the airport right after I posted! Have a safe flight and can’t wait for tips! xx
OK!
Stay: The Hoxton, great location, great lobby bar, free wifi, and normal amenities (a small complimentary breakfast to your room each day, free bottled water, etc.)
Eat:
De Kas – do not miss this delicious farm to table dinner, cab worthy- absolutely amazing space, food, wine, and atmosphere!
Have a cocktail at the Pulitzer
If you like beer, skip Heineken and opt for the local Brouwerij’t IJ brewery underneath a windmill
Pancakes Amsterdam (there are 3 locations – we went to the one in Jordaan) for dutch crepes and MOOK for more traditional pancakes, which is about a 10 minute walk from Anne Frank House
Balthazars Keuken for dinner (GOOP recommended, lol)
French fries! We tried Friet Street – it was delicious
Foodhallen – a food court with everything
Do:
Van Gogh Museum (with audio tour)
Anne Frank House – buy tickets now or try after 3:30pm, they’re open quite late
Take the train for 20 minutes to Koog de Zan to the Zaan Schans windmills, have a drink or lunch on the water at d’Swarte walvis – we took the ferry back to Amsterdam since it was a gorgeous day and we wanted more time on the water (but it does take 1.5 hours compared to a quick train ride)
Walk through the red light district
Smoke a join at Amnesia
River cruise via Stromma – Open Boat Tours – loved that it was a small group, we picked it up by the Riksmuseum, highly recommend
I know you’re on a fitness craze – I went to Rocycle, it was a hilarious spin class (think Ben Stiller in Heavyweights), they give you water, towel, and spin shoes
We didn’t ride a bike since there are so many bikers and rules of the road, that we opted out, but you’ll see all ages, sans helmets riding around.
Email me with any q’s! Have a BLAST! Already jeaous!
You are AMAZING! Thank you SO SO much for all of this! So incredibly thoughtful of you! (and that spin class sounds absolutely hilarious)
We were just in Amsterdam last month! We stayed at the Andaz Amsterdam Prinsengracht (a Hyatt property). It was a great location, very easy to walk nearly everywhere we wanted to go. Amsterdam is not as centralized of a city as some others in Europe!
If you haven’t yet, try to get tickets to the Anne Frank House, absolutely one of the best things we did. The Rijksmuseum was great if you’re into art, we also loved the Van Gough Museum.
For tours, we did a Santander’s walking tour of the city, it was fine and cheap and we were able to sign up right before it started, but the group was large and made it difficult.
For a canal tour, I would HIGHLY recommend “Those Dam Boat Guys” the guides were great and were knowledgeable but relaxed. They recognized we were a bunch of late 20’s-early 30 somethings and geared their information to that.
Thank you so much for all of this Whitney! The Anne Frank tour tickets are all sold out unfortunately but we will just have to wait in line! Thanks for the tips this will be so helpful! xx
look at booking da vinci’s the last supper viewing in milan – you may already be too late, but it was amazing to see how it’s survived. the duomo is fantastic and – if you can find a decent price – the park hyatt there is fantastic.
Thank you so much for this Bethanie! xx
That old navy mesh back tank is awesome! I need it! And I cannot believe all the stuff going on about BIP! SO bad!!! And also Sucks for us b/c that show was pure guilty pleasure! Amsterdam looks amazing! We haven’t been there but if you ever decide to go to Barcelona I can help with recommendations lol! Is it bad that I’m mostly looking forward to what you decide to pack / wear / buy new for this trip??
Thanks Christine! So sad about BIP. RIP BIP. I just read even more scandalous stuff on it – yikes. My anxiety for packing kicked in when I realized Amsterdam and Italy will be 2 totally different styles and temps and I need to only pack a carry on. SOS. Posts to come 🙂
I stayed at Tremezzo! You MUST have dinner Locanda dell’Isola Comacina. Make a reservation! It is the most amazing experience.
Thanks so much Betty! You are the first one with Lake Como rec I appreciate it so much!
I usually avoid cooking like it’s the plague, but after checking out the recipe for what you made for healthy lunches this week, I thought it looked worthwhile. It definitely was – delicious and healthy! Now I’m scrolling back through your recipes for easy lunch ideas – thank you!
Thanks Jill!! I’m so glad that you liked it!!
We went to Lake Como a couple of years ago, and did a private boat tour. The guide showed us all of the famous people’s houses (no Clooney sighting unfortunately) and it was so fun to see the towns from that perspective. I can’t remember the name of the company, but it was one of those small wooden boats. Have fun!
Thanks so much Jordan!! The wooden boat looks so gorgeous can’t wait to get there!!
La Briciola was our favorite restaurant in Milan for dinner. The best lunch spot is at the restaurant on the top floor of La Rinascente that looks over the Duomo. Fabulous shopping on Via Montenapoleone. We loved Milan!
Thanks Amanda this is so helpful!!! Adding to my list immediately!