Amsterdam #VanLife Update + 12 Fave Moments from Ireland, Scotland and England

kings day amserdam, what is kings day in amsterdam, adventures in Amsterdam, tongues out friends, #iamsterdam, i amsterdam friends

We’re in Amsterdam!! King’s Day was CRAZY, orange and crazy. Seeing our awesome friend Mero was AMAZING, orange and amazing 🙂 And now it’s nearly 8pm (Thursday) and we have spent the entire day in pursuit of vanlife’s necessities.

1. Water.

We needed to replenish the 16 gallons we carry “on board.”

2. Propane.

We hadn’t had any for cooking or heating since leaving England because they use different canisters in Holland (and every other country). I had been very skillfully cooking three-course meals using our one little camping cooker 🙂

vanlife couple, cooking in van, van recipes, campervan meals

3. Showers.

It was our last day to use our Anytime Fitness Memberships. We set them to cancel because after Holland there are virtually none in the rest of the EU 🙁 Us at Anytime with our Quirky Camper, Hector, in London this past February. #AnytimeFitnesswewillmissyou #Showerswewillfindyou

anytime fitness, travel bloggers favorite things, anytime fitness couple, shower live in van, best gym

4. Wifi Cafe.

I know, I know, is that really a necessity? When you’re a digital nomad, YES. While we love using our tep for our daily wifi needs, when it comes to uploading 100 HD photos + checking email + uploading footage from our camera + writing this post, ALL at the same time, we understandably need something a bit stronger.

Surprisingly Starbuck’s aren’t even that prevalent/convenient, they’re generally in the middle of a city center with very limited seating and rarely have power outlets. In the US high-speed wifi cafes are EVERYWHERE, in the UK it depends, in Ireland they’re even less and in Amsterdam the word “Coffeeshop” has a meaning all its own.

coffeeshop in amsterdam, coffee amsterdam, dampkring, coffeeshop,

While Vanlife chores seem to take up quite a bit of time, we remember and are grateful for the fact that our time is completely our own.

kings day amserdam, what is kings day in amsterdam, adventures in Amsterdam, tongues out friends, #iamsterdam, i amsterdam couple, where are the iamsterdam letters, giant letters

With that being said, before we delve deeper into mainland Europe, we want to take the time to share a few of the favorite ways we have spent our time while exploring Ireland, Scotland and England!

leprechaun, saint patricks day cork, saint patricks day ireland, saint paticks day costume, leprechaun kiss

1. Kissing the famous Blarney Stone!

Be sure to check our video of how it’s done below!:

Holding onto the safety rails, we leaned back until our puckered lips pressed against the cold, magical (and inevitably germy) rock!

kissing the Blarney Stone, girl kissing blarney stone

While kissing the stone was definitely… unique, we thought the rest of the castle grounds were almost even more impressive:

blarney castle, romantic blarney castle, honeymoon ireland, romantic places in ireland, kissing the blarney stone

2. Learning how to pour a perfect pint of the world’s #1 stout at the Guinness Storehouse!:

guinness storehouse dublin, guinness storehouse tour, guiness storehouse gates, tilt shift ireland

The museum was beautiful, filled to the brim with the best (and frothiest) in Guinness’ rich history. Fun fact: Did you know that Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease for the property back in 1759! Now that’s commitment. Or that they used to hand-make the 250,000+ oak casks in the photo above! Tip: Visit at the end of the day to enjoy sunset atop Gravity Bar! The views are unlike any other in the city.

guinness storehouse dublin, guinness storehouse gravity bar view, best view in dublin, best bar with view in dublin, tilt shift ireland

3. Walking from Golden to Cashel in time to enjoy the ancient Benedictine Abbey ruins at sunset:

hore abbey cashel, most beautiful abbey in ireland, amazing abbey ruins ireland, abandoned castle ireland, hore abbey sunset

4. Finding a sense of “home” at Mannix Point Campground along the Wild Atlantic Way.

Started by Mortimer (pictured below) in 1984, this place is an Irish institution and gem:

mannix point campground, best campground in ireland, mannix point kerry camping

At night everyone gathered in the main room potluck style to play their instruments and sing traditional Irish folksongs together! Unfortunately we didn’t get footage of that, but I did manage to capture Drew sewing for the first time… with a pair of pliers and sandpaper?!

5.Searching for Ireland’s best fish and chips (or mushy peas in my case), and discovering them at McDonagh’s!

fish n chips in ireland, fish n chips mcdonaghs, best fish n chips in ireland

6. Visiting the Titanic Museum and seeing the actual shipyard where the Titanic was built on the 104th anniversary of its sinking:

titanic museum belfast, titanic shipyard belfast, amazing titanic museum, must do titanic, see the titanic, titanic experience belfast

7. Discovering Scotland’s crowned jewels and the historic Stone of Destiny at the Edinburgh Castle:

edinburgh castle scotland, scotland crowned jewels, stone of destiny uk

8. Hiking to the view atop Arthur’s Seat + writing with stones 🙂

arthurs seat edinburgh, things to do in edinburgh, calton hill edinburgh

arthurs seat edinburgh, things to do in edinburgh, calton hill edinburgh, writing with stones, B + D, love message

9. Summiting England’s 3rd highest peak aka. THE MOUNTAIN to climb, Helvellyn:

hiking hellvellyn, best hike england, amazing hikes in england, best day hike in england, how high is hellvellyn, helvellyn hike england

We took the more scenic and challenging route via. Swirral and Striding Edge and it was totally worth it:

The views were continuously breathtaking:

10. Relaxing at the Thermae Bath Spa for a”Twilight for Two” experience:

roman baths, thermae bath spa, things to do in england

After learning about the fascinating history behind the Roman Baths (above), we just HAD to get into the water ourselves. The Thermae Bath Spa is the only place in the UK where you can bathe in natural spring water. That paired with the ginger-lemongrass-scented steam room + the rooftop pool + the delicious romantic dinner, made this a completely unforgettable experience. No photos allowed inside, so you’ll just have to use your imagination 🙂

11.Catching sunset atop the Glastonbury Tor, one of our favorite places in England

glastonbury tor at sunset, glastonbury festival, glastonbury tor hike

12.Biking along the London Canals and discovering the floating bookstore, “Word on the Water“

When time is limited it’s important to focus on being efficient, right? While it may feel that way, what’s truly important is focusing on the things that matter most. The reality is, our time is limited each and everyday. Cherish each day thoroughly and spend each moment wisely, happily and lovingly.