In the grand Paul-Plazo tradition of the birthday whisk, Marlon whisked me away to a top-secret location for my birthday weekend. Like all our previous birthday whisks, it was all a big secret until we pulled up in a taxi (he knows how to push my buttons, this husband) to the front door of the Hotel Vondel, right in the center of Amsterdam.
Like I said, Marlon knows how to push all my buttons. He knew very well that sleeping late in a cloud of white sheets, padding around in fluffy bathrobes and ordering in room service for our Top Chef Masters marathon would make me the happiest little birthday girl in Amsterdam. And he was right!
I loved our room on the top floor with its slanted roof and black shutters. It had a nice mix of coziness and luxury that was great for a weekend staycation.
The rest of the hotel was not bad either!
Dutch tulips and coffee at breakfast…
Old books and quirky little touches in the sitting room…
A mix of textures in the lobby…
And beautiful old buildings on Vondelstraat, a surprisingly lovely and quiet street just off hectic Leidseplein.
Related reading: check out our previous birthday whisks in Singapore, Texel and Prague. Not strictly a whisk (because it wasn’t a secret) was last year’s trip to Turkey for my 30th birthday.
The whole tradition of “whisking away” is something Marlon and I made up when we were first married. Do you follow any birthday traditions? I’d love to hear about them!
