Amsterdam!

Yes, we decided to take a break from Paris and being inclined toward foreign friendly, urban environments, we ended up in Amsterdam for two nights.  We had visited the city together about 10 years ago and Ned used to roam its streets even longer back than he cares to admit, it still felt like a new and unique experience.  For one, we spend most our time in tourist-free locales.  Something highly recommended in this city, where areas heavily trafficked by foreigners retain a seedy vibe.

Amsterdam is a tight, crowded, and somewhat chaotic place for the most part, but we found a calm and spacious place to lay our heads; the Prince Henry B&B on the south side of the Vondelpark.

This neighborhood is called the Oud Zuid (Old South) and it has the nicest homes and streets, in close vicinity to the park and peppered with vine, cheese and bread shops.

As seen on the top map marked with an (A) we were so close to the park which was a nice oasis.

The Prince Henry's owners Joop and Petra made a delicious breakfast (she's a caterer) each morning according to our tastes.  They also provided a pantry filled with (supermarket priced) drinks and snacks.

As previously mentioned, much of our trip differed from past visits beginning with the fully updated tram system.  No more archaic paper (strippen)cards and charming, yet ultimately perplexing ink stamping machines.  Now you buy an electronically scanned card for the amount of time you need and use it as much as you want.  This is crucial when you mistakenly board the wrong tram (which happened immediately) or one headed in the wrong direction.  You can take the bus too, but the tram covers most of the city.

Here's a quick rundown on our activities for the following 48 hours.  First stop, the Leidesplein for Vlaamse Frites from the Chipsy King and a leisurely walk around the Prinzengracht canal and through the Jordaan for window shopping.  

Mmmmmmmm, smaakt goed!

A hobbit home in the Jordaan.

Next, a drink at a tourist free bar on the canal and plans for dinner.  We decided on a place near the B&B called Affourtit, where our waiter was young and friendly but not used to translating the menu.  There was some guesswork involved but our meal was delicious, if somewhat eclectic.

The next day it was off to the Pijp to visit the food market stalls on Albert Cuypstraat. This daily market stretches three extremely long blocks and has tons food, clothes and other things.  We bought some fantastic farm cheese which had all kinds of spice and one with nettles.  Unfortunately, the nettle cheese did not survive a midnight raid by hungry mice, but that's another story.

Tons of stuff, some good, some not so good.

Back to the Jordaan for a stroll and look back at what wasn't open yesterday, which was quite a lot for a Monday.  Ah, Europe... you and all your bank holidays.  What a way to live.

Cool houseboats which will never cast off.  We were considering staying at one but had the feeling it's more charming at a distance.  Would we have to pump the toilet and periodically bail out the kitchen?  No thanks.

 People in the Netherlands love to display various collections in their windows.  Here are some French spool knitters that look like they span decades.  Another favorite are KLM miniature dutch row house liquor bottles.

Just boats, lots and lots of boats.  We noticed that if you're a single guy and you can, you must get a boat, any boat. They're major chick magnets ;)

Dinner at the Witte Uyl.  The restaurant was really interesting with organic local fare and super nice wines.  It had a white theme with inventive dishes and tons of white asparagus.  Ned had the chocolate board for dessert, off the menu because it is really difficult to carve hard chunks apart with a dull cheese knife.  Fun though it took over two hours to make our way through dinner.

Last day we did our last minute shopping, walked around Vondelpark and headed back to Paris. Boo hoo, bye Amsterdam!