We left London (at 5am) and boarded the Eurostar to Amsterdam. It was a longer day of travel but the train was comfortable, breakfast was good, and we had lots of time to relax.
Once we reached Central Station in Amsterdam we had to figure out another metro system and had some card trouble. After speaking with an agent we got it all sorted though and were soon on the underground to our boutique hotel. We stayed at the Guesthouse Keirzersgracht and are so happy we did. Our view was beautiful and everything was walkable although we used the tram a lot mostly for the fun of it but also because we have spent 90% of our trip walking everywhere. The three flights of tiny Dutch house stairs to climb to our room made it even more of an adventure we laughed every time we came and went.
During our two full days in Amsterdam we did a food tour, a canal tour, and the Van Gogh Museum.
Our food tour this time was focused on all local Dutch favorites. We tried local Gouda cheese and port wine at Gastrovino and learned how different 2 month vs 2 year cheese can be. We tried raw herring with onions and pickles, which was actually quite good at Haringhandel. Our next stop was Pannenkoeken or Dutch pancakes and coffee at Pancakes Amsterdam. So yummy! Then we made our way to a small local alcohol shop Quinta Absinthe where we tried the local specialty Jenever as well as traditional Gin. Both were good although B sniffed them and decided not to partake. We enjoyed stroopwafels at Hans Egstorf. Our last stop was for fries with mayonnaise and bitter-balls at Heertje Friet. These were the best fries I have had so far. Warm and crispy and the mayonnaise reminded me of the delicious homemade version we make not the store bought American kind.
After our walk through Amsterdam and all the wonderful food we made our way to our room to rest a bit before heading to our canal cruise. We booked with Sebi Boat Tours and are so happy we did. Not only was he friendly, knowledgeable, and fun the snacks were good and the drinks were plentiful. we cruised on all of the major canals and into the port areas. Although there was a small sprinkle of rain we were dry under the canopy and did not have to put up umbrellas like other tour groups we saw.
Our 6S Full Life 