Amsterdam

Hello,

Well first day back at work. Lots to do… off to Braintree for interviews tomorrow then CC will be here on Fri, on Sat is mothers day so going to Helens parents for the night then on Sunday there is a small festival we are going to.

Amsterdam was AMAZING. I think we really did all we could in the 3 days. We got up Saturday morn at 4am and went to the train station to find there were no trains running so had to dash to another station.. The trip is quicker than flying GC to Sydney. We arrived and they had a good train system to get to Amsterdam. We stayed at a place called the True Love Guesthouse. It was right on a canal and was split level. Very nice and central – you will see once I load the photos.

Of course we needed to eat so we went to a long walk around the city to a market where there was a huge Turkish restaurant in an old mosque. I ordered a chicken kebab pita and when it arrived it was the biggest thing I had seen. I thought I would only eat half but finished it so quickly Helen was only ˝ way through her lunch. I picked up some cherries at the market too. After the lunch we walked a bit more and came across a very camp cake shop where we had dessert. It was really nice but very pink. On the walk we went passed the Heineken brewery and Anne Frank’s House but it was too long a line so didn’t go in. Maybe next time…



Later that after day we went to visit one of Helen’s friends who lived a bit out of town in Utrecht. Caught the train out and went for a drink in the small town centre then went to an underground cavern for dinner. Great little town and – I can say this about everyone I met in Holland – so friendly. Finished up there at about 11 and came back to the city.

The next morning we were up early and off to find the best pancake place in Amsterdam. It was really good. Crepes just how mum likes them – with lemon and sugar. It was so good we went back the next day for another one.

After a bite we decided to do as the locals and go and hire bikes to travel on. What a great idea – so easy to get around and cover long distances which would have killed the legs. We had to go to a restaurant which was all paid for so we could review it for Helen’s magazine – which will be out in Aus in March (Food & Travel Magazine http://www.foodandtravel.com/) we got lost but a lovely man and lady did their best to point out the right direction. When we found it was a new restaurant balancing on an old railway bridge that swivels over the river – you will get it when you see the pictures.

Once again I was hungry so we tracked down the best croquets in the city. It was in an old bar which gave memories of Spain’s small bars where the make everything in front of you while in butcher jackets. This was a much better option than the fast food which is famous here. There are vending machines which you get hotdogs/hamburgers etc from when you pump in a few Euros. The authentic place had the most simple buns and toppings but I didn’t go as far as having the tartar bun with onion – raw mince with onion sprinkled on top. I kept ordering one by one and would have kept going had we not had a free dinner coming up which was organised by the tourism department I tried to get a photo but they were not having it. Reminded me a bit of Royston Vesey in the Gentlemen series.

After lunch we checked out a few more sights and visited a ‘coffeehouse’ which is something I had not encountered before. Amazing how liberal they were. We hit a few bars and then and got ready for dinner. Can’t say that I have ever travelled to a fancy restaurant on a bike before let alone Helen all in a dinner dress and on bicycle.



Unfortunately the place was very new and the staff didn’t have much of a clue so there were more problems than praise. And then at the end we walked out and they asked us to pay some of the bill as they got a different email from the tourist office – but we got out of paying as we had out email on us. How rude… after dinner we headed into the red light district – that was something different. I can tell you there were some wrong-uns there. And not able to take any photos either.

On the last day we visited the tulip museum and went to a few other markets around the town before heading for pancakes and visiting another place that cooks all their sandwiches and meat on site – very rare in these parts. After biking and drinking the town we took the bikes back and had a big meal before heading back to the airport.