Scenes from Amsterdam – Marks and Spencer
We have a new local supermarket! Some good stuff to be found at reasonable prices too!
More later in the week. It’s been a tough weekend.
Bilder & De Clerq, a new concept of supermarket
There was an article on facebook. Fortuitously it was on one of the rare days I too am on facebook. It told of a bold new kind of store which took all the angst out of what to have for dinner. I was intrigued.
So I rallied the troop, and Himself and I set off on a bold new adventure; to buy dinner.
Oh what Brave New World that has such people in’t! Who could come up with such a marvellous idea and bring it to fruition! Would you like to know more?
Lunch
This is what it looks like when I throw you a birthday lunch.
We had non-traditional bruschetta made with toasted french bread-stick with pesto, sauteed mushrooms, and shaved parmesan cheese (top right). Prosciutto ham and Old Amsterdam cheese sandwiches on heavy Dutch brown bread (top left). Mini bacon and brie frittatas (bottom centre). And double chocolate cupcake/muffins (centre top).
We began with T2 Blue Mountain, before moving on the T2 Very Berry for dessert!
Delicious! Even if I do say so myself! And even if I did set off the smoke detector at one point …
Also, I’ve asked to join an expats blog community to share my experiences with a wider audience. They have a wonderful network of writers and I can’t wait to be able to contribute my own little slice of the world!
I’ll update with a link shortly if I get in!
Weekend Walks
I love walking around Amsterdam. There’s always a street you haven’t been down, and even if you have, there’s always something new to see.
This young lady is obviously taking her Frisian cow for a walk in its clogs. What else would you do with your cow? Perfectly normal!
The houseboats have their own gardens. They are often bigger than mine!
How can you not love going for a walk when you’re surrounded by this?
We had a purpose to our wandering this week, and hence were walking up the northern end of town up on Haarlemmerstraat.
We were heading for the Spanish food specialty shop Hollandaluz so Himself could make one of his world famous paellas for dinner that night!
Of course being such a busy strip there are lots and lots of shops up there, both specialty and kitschy. We found this in a home wares store. No, we didn’t buy it.
But I do want a Nijntje (Miffy) night light!
Of course the scenery never stops being spectacular and photo-worthy.
There’s always good sport in searching for all the different types of wall tablets too. Before adopting street numbers these tablets, along with the differing gable shapes, were how different homes were identified. They often told the profession of the inhabitants.
Of course, having been surrounded by all these specialty stores all afternoon, we weren’t immune to the calls of their contents. We may have succumbed to one store, and brought home a variety of samples for later consumption!
I can tell you now with authority that there is a reason the Dutch are known for their chocolate. These were rich, creamy, heaven!
Handbag Museum and Afternoon Tea
Last Friday Titan and I packed ourselves off to the Handbag Museum. He wouldn’t let me go without him! He made a lot of new friends from the staff of the Museum!
Both Titan and I were disappointed that we couldn’t show you the inside of the Museum, but no photographs are allowed to be taken of it’s amazing exhibits.
So we left the Museum, and went for a wander.
How cool are these gnomes?!?
You see, I’d recently posted the blog’s 200th post, and as it’s been going for nearly 3 years now, I thought that was a reason to celebrate! So I headed over to my favourite macaron shop Poptasi Pastry in order to buy something to celebrate with.
It’s rather difficult to make a selection when the range is this good! But the staff are always willing to help!
My final choices were joined on the table with my favourite marinated cucumber sandwiches, and smoked salmon and improved cream cheese sandwiches.
And it just wouldn’t be Holland without ham and cheese on heavy brown bread!
Final touch was the T2 Blue Mountain tea. Not a bad spread if I do say so myself!
Though of course, I managed to forget to take a final shot with the teapot sitting proudly on it’s warmer! Oh well. I’m sure you can imagine it.
Now anyone for tea?
ghoti industries 