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| Bruce breaks in the hotel bed. |
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| Bruce breaks in the hotel couch. |
The tail winds over the Atlantic were mighty, though, unlike two nights before, we didn't break any speed records.
We were, however, almost a full hour ahead of schedule, which meant we spent almost 60 minutes less than we might have otherwise packed like sleepless sardines in the belly of the giant plane.
I don't think I've ever flown before on a 747. If I have I've forgotten. I could not get over how huge it was. Especially since we got such a tiny share of its massive footprint.
Anyway. We arrived sleep deprived, but our karma paid out in other ways. Our room at the Yays Bickersgracht Concierge hotel was ready for us to settle in when we arrived at 8:30 a.m. So settle we did, until about 2 this afternoon.
Then we headed out to find some groceries (we have a full kitchen in our 2-bedroom suite) and experience the local colour.
So of course we ended up in a charming, ancient (established 1733), hole-in-the-wall "brown bar" called De Blauwe Druif (the blue grapes), not the oldest bar in Amsterdam, but certainly the oldest in the 'hood.
We were thirsty. To fix that was easy: "Heineken please." We were also hungry. We asked the server for his recommendation. He said: "Try the bitterballen and the cheese fingers."
So we did. Because, Rome.
The "bitterballen" are billed as beef croquettes. The cheese fingers are billed as, well, cheese fingers.
If it were my job to come up with more descriptive names for these snacks, I would call the cheese fingers "kraft process cheese spring rolls" (doesn't that sound delicious), and the beef croquettes would be "mucous balls in crispy breadcrumbs."
We of course ate every bite of these authentic local dishes, just like we ate every bite of the haggis we tried on our first day in Edinburgh. But that's it for the colourful local cuisine for me.
Ick. Ugh. Gag.
But the beer was good.
Thanks for reading!
Karen
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| Upside down poker game on the ceiling of De Blauwe Druif |
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