Gezellig

Posted on by ghotiindustries

Those of you following along from my last post will remember how I said that I wanted to complete a full circuit of the market before indulging in the gluhwein that was on offer. I’m sure all my highly intelligent readers can see the foreshadowing in this scenario.

Yes. By the time we got back to the wine truck, they were out of gluhwein, and would not have any more available for another half an hour! I think if I’d suggested that we wait for another half hour before imbibing something hot, Himself would have become violent (if he wasn’t too frozen to move).

Being that this is Amsterdam, we decided the best course of action was to find ourselves a traditional Dutch café in which to place ourselves for a while to defrost. We ended up at the Café Lusthof.

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Dutch Brown Cafés are all over, and you can almost walk down any street and find one. Would you like to know more?

Museumplein Markt

Posted on by ghotiindustries

Once Sinterklaas has visited the Nederlands the Christmas trees and decorations come out with a vengeance!

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So do the Christmas markets. We put ourselves out there this weekend and headed off to the market in Amsterdam’s Museum Square. Would you like to know more?

Sometimes

Posted on by ghotiindustries

Sometimes the stars align, and you get everything that makes you happiest all at once. I had a week like that last week. As the stars aligned, I was able to meet up with a friend I’ve spoken with almost every day in the last 5 years. We planned our weddings together, saw each other through good times and bad, and bought each other random gifts while traveling! (Doing our bit to keep the postal service alive!) Initially we lived on different continents, and in different time zones. We’re a lot closer now, but for one reason or another only actually met face to face last week! And we gossiped just like friends should. (Poor Himself.)

After picking her up from Schipol it was off to Leidseplein for dinner as I hadn’t had time to grocery shop! We may have then headed off for an after dinner whiskey.

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The tasting menus at L&B are still amazing! Would you like to know more?

Turn on the Lights 2013

Posted on by ghotiindustries

On Thursday last week one of the big events of the Festive Season kicked off. Yes, it was Turn on the Lights, which those of you with long memories will remember, we first went to last year. I headed into town early and dragged Himself away from his desk in order to get a good spot to see everything!

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We got there with plenty of time and then debated with friends where would be the best spot to stand. You know you’ve been here a while when you randomly run into people you know when the city at large is converging on Dam Square! Which, we did! Would you like to know more?