Back from Amsterdam

The Magere Brug

I got back from holidays in Amsterdam on Monday night. Attempting to blog from there using my phone really wasn't enticing enough compared to the sights, sounds and tastes of that lovely city, so I didn't bother.

Myself and Gaia had a really nice time, very relaxing and full of excellent food. We meandered around the city, where practically everything is in walking distance, and we soaked up the sights and tried to avoid being run down by bicycles (you have to keep your eyes open).

Pretty much every day we managed to go to a few different things, including the science museum, Artis (large open zoo with a planetarium), Anne Frank's house, the Torture museum, a relaxing canal boat tour, and many many delicious restaurants. We also watched the Coen brothers' new film "No Country for Old Men", in the glorious surrounds of the Pathé Tuschinski cinema. We splashed out and got VIP tickets for the balcony, which included a glass of champagne (I donated mine to Gaia and her friend Richie).

We stayed in the Seven Bridges hotel, which is in a lovely quiet area of Amsterdam. The hotel was lovely, extremely accommodating staff, and a comfortable clean room. I've put a few photos up on my web albums account, which you can see at the end of this post. However I can't go on without mentioning the delightful restaurants we visited.

Wonderful Amsterdam Eateries

The Garlic Queen
Garlic Soup was amazing - a revelation of taste! Garlic Ice Cream was a novelty that actually tasted remarkably good, although it was the only garlic based offering on the dessert end of things.

http://www.garlicqueen.nl

Puri Mas
Fantastic place to go eat the excellent Indonesian Rijstaffel. I'd never heard of it before going to Amsterdam, and it basically entails a load of small dishes of sumptuous taste. Excellent and highly recommended.

http://www.purimas.nl/

Eat Mode
Very nice "Asian fusion" restaurant in Amsterdam's small china-town district. Lots of choice, extremely cheap sushi - possibly a little bright and crowded, but delicious all the same.

http://www.eatmode.nl

Some Photos