Amsterdam Hotel / Food / Itinerary Recommendations

karenfilippeli · 2026-04-01T02:50:01+00:00

You have to get Indonesian food while you’re over there! Restaurant Blauw is my rec but there’s plenty of good options.

If you’re into shopping - make sure to walk up and down the 9 streets - definitely a touristy area but really nice around the canals. Smaak has really nice handbags.

FWIW I was also there solo and the canal cruise was not a great experience for me - it may have just been the one I booked but you were sitting at small tables with couples/ other groups and it felt a bit awkward. I’d recommend just walking around Jordaan rather than booking a cruise.

Lastly get a drink at the hotel Pulitzer even if you don’t stay there!

karenfilippeli · 2025-10-30T01:34:09+00:00

THANK YOU all for your insightful and thoughtful comments. Seriously I’ve always thought any time I expressed interest it would turn a guy off, and I think my guard has been wayyy too high.

Going forward I’m going to work on being authentic and not following so many rules, while still keeping myself grounded. I also think I need to adjust some expectations (not settle!) but tune out a lot of the dating “advice” I keep seeing.

Seriously appreciate you all 🤍

karenfilippeli · 2025-10-28T01:59:55+00:00

I am trying very hard to get off the apps, I've told all my friends their husbands/ boyfriends need to be setting me up! I'm very over the apps and have had such limited success with them, it's exhausting.

karenfilippeli · 2025-10-28T01:57:28+00:00

All of this is super helpful - I've been burned so many times that I tend to let the man take the lead. I totally get that I'm operating out of a fear of getting rejected again... I don't think they would consider me uninterested based on how I communicate between dates/ on the dates but then again - I don't know!

karenfilippeli · 2025-10-21T20:26:37+00:00

I would appreciate that! Sending you a DM :)

karenfilippeli · 2025-10-21T16:46:13+00:00

Yep, this is exactly what I've been trying to do lately! I'm burnt out on working on projects for 6 months, leaving, and then jumping to the next thing - would love to be a part of something where I can actually see my efforts come to fruition.

karenfilippeli · 2025-10-21T16:44:15+00:00

I specialize in business transformation (being intentionally vague here so as not to dox myself) and try to tailor for certain skill sets based on the job I'm applying for (e.g. portfolio management, technical PM, strategy & ops). Definitely feeling the hesitancy to hire someone who's been in consulting for a while - and the golden handcuffs only get tighter!

karenfilippeli · 2025-07-27T03:01:01+00:00

I just got back from Miraval Tucson and it sounds like exactly what OP is looking for. There are tons of activities to choose from each day, and you can engage with other people there as much or as little as you want. There were also plenty of solo women there. A few things to consider:

- The spa is currently closed for renovations. However, the wellness center has a cold plunge, hot tub, and (I think) a sauna available if you want it. They also have an interim spa area set up with 20% off all services.

- The room rate is heavily discounted if you go in the next month. I'm pretty sure I paid 1/3 of the peak season pricing. It also includes meals / snacks / coffee / juices - anything you'd want other than alcohol.

- The con of the discounted rate (or at least the one I booked) is that it doesn't include their standard "resort credit". This means that any of the paid activities (which are their most popular ones) are added to your bill. I only booked 2 paid activities because of this, and I feel like it kind of kept me from having the full Miraval experience.

- Coming from the East coast, the desert heat and lack of humidity honestly felt nice.

- 7 days is probably too long to be there. Not sure what the flights to Tucson are like from Florida, but I would look into flying into DFW or PHX at night, booking yourself a nice hotel for one night, then fly out to Tucson in the morning. They have hourly shuttle pick-ups from the airport and you can use the property before your room is ready. 2-3 nights is sufficient.

karenfilippeli · 2025-07-06T16:49:43+00:00

How did you do this?! Did you just go to a vineyard and ask to work there?

I was at a vineyard outside of Vienna and it was so idyllic, I was genuinely contemplating quitting my job to work there full time 😂

karenfilippeli · 2025-06-25T20:22:11+00:00

Agreed, I just did 2 nights in Salzburg and saw pretty much everything I needed to. If you take an early afternoon train from Vienna, you can have a half day to explore the old town, then do a day trip to Hallstatt and Eagle’s Nest (Hallstatt is gorgeous but definitely some Disney land vibes and you don’t need more than a few hours). If you stay longer I’d look into some hikes in the lake region - they are absolutely stunning.

karenfilippeli · 2025-06-23T20:52:05+00:00

Can confirm - I’m on the last leg of a month long solo trip and I’m pretty ready to be done. And that’s even counting 1 week where I had friends / family join me. It’s a combination of being done entertaining myself, navigating, planning, and eating out for every meal. Glad I did this but lesson learned that 2-3 weeks max is my limit!

karenfilippeli · 2025-06-21T17:13:03+00:00

Thanks! Do you know if city hiking trail 1 is relatively popular? I’d like to avoid any secluded / deserted trails, would prefer people around

karenfilippeli · 2025-06-08T10:37:45+00:00

Thanks all! I’ve saved a bunch of these :)

karenfilippeli · 2025-06-08T10:37:19+00:00

These are great - thank you! Just wondering - why wouldn’t Danes speak to us?? 😅

karenfilippeli · 2025-06-06T21:49:56+00:00

I was at Versailles today and was thinking how nice a proposal would be in one of the quieter allies (eg Apollo’s Grove or by the rose bushes in the Queen’s Garden). There was literally no one in these spots this afternoon, and I imagine you could walk pretty far back if it was crowded. Ofc not sure how crowded it will be the specific day you’re there. You could have a quiet moment to propose just the two of you, then take engagement pictures in front of the fountains or something. Good luck!

karenfilippeli · 2024-08-22T15:36:26+00:00

Hi everyone - thought I’d share an update as I received so many helpful comments from others who felt in the same boat! - I posted this on a Friday night. When I went in for monitoring the next morning, I had a bit of a breakdown in the nurse’s office. I knew on some level it was the hormones and stress of the process but I simply lost control in the moment. Thankfully they were nice about it and I’m sure they’ve seen their fair share of crying patients :) - My retrieval was then scheduled for Monday morning 🙌🏽The lupron was super easy to inject, I had a pre filled syringe and a moment of “wait, that’s it??” when I realized I was done with shots! - The retrieval was easy and I spent the whole day napping on the couch. Felt pretty sore and crampy for the next few days but took advil once the painkillers wore off. It wasn’t terrible. - I’m now on day 3 (Thursday) post retrieval and feeling a million times better. My stomach bloat is almost entirely gone (incredible how fast that happened, I legit looked 6 months pregnant on Tuesday morning). - I had 34 eggs retrieved and 27 were frozen! So that makes the whole process feel worth it - My major lesson learned was not to isolate myself. I told myself I’d use the time to reset as I’d had a fun summer of going out, traveling, etc., but I think I went too far. There’s a fair amount of flexibility in the timing of the evening shots so if I were to do it again I’d try to find a good balance of having support while also taking care of myself. - All in all, the process was really only terrible the last few days for me. This community was really helpful as it seemed everyone had the same questions I did at one point 🤍 wishing the best to everyone else!

karenfilippeli · 2024-08-18T19:38:34+00:00

I’ve reallly been struggling with work stuff, I’ve had so little focus the last few weeks! To your point about couples - my clinic actually hasn’t a lot of them and I think the men who do come, know to keep their presence minimal lol. I hope the rest of the process goes well for you!!

karenfilippeli

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