Amsterdam

We spent the 12th-16th in Amsterdam with Jesse and Michelle and it was non-stop fun! From our arrival until we zipped away on the train, they showed us an amazing time. Michelle was the hostess with the mostest, feeding us and keeping us happy as clams. We actually better resembled bears gobbling food and storing fat in preparation for a long hibernation during winter, but any way you spin it, we had a fantastic time. When we first arrived, Michelle had a gorgeous dinner spread out and ready for us with salad and spicy chicken. The next morning, she put out bread, cheese, turkey, ham, avocados, tomatoes, fruit salad, and other various yummies to spread on our bread. She got the memo that we like to eat! We also enjoyed some crazy good restaurants when we were there and here is a montage of food pics!

We didn't eat too much traditional Dutch food besides the bitterballen (pictured directly above) which were sort of like a hush puppyish appetizer filled with meat and gravy. On Thursday night we went to a pizza place close to their apartment and enjoyed some ravioli and individual pizzas. On Friday night, after we went to the Van Gogh Museum, we met up with some of Jesse and Michelle's friends at a restaurant called Bazar for some Morrocan food. We ordered and ate family style, so we got to enjoy several different options. We met Jesse and Michelle's friends Julia and Todd and friends of theirs who were visiting from Colorado, China & Sam. Rita and Fred also came. They are friends of Jesse and Michelle's that we met back in December when they all came to Germany for the Christmas market.

On Saturday night, we went to an amazing restaurant called Marquis where we enjoyed some surf and turf, lobster bitterballen, cake, and lots of wine. It was a meal to die for and we had so much fun!
We also had some excellent falafel at Michelle's favorite place called Mau's. We got pita pockets with falafel and got to choose from a variety of sauces and topping to stuff inside and on top. We ate there twice and I would definitely go back!! And we had a very fun picnic at a local park complete with bread, cheese, and champagne!

Okay, so far, this post has been entirely about the food...a very important aspect of travel, but we did actually do other things besides eat! We rode bikes everywhere, which was a bit tricky for me at first since it has been a long time since I have ridden. Not to mention that bikers rule the roads/paths/sidewalks in Amsterdam and are on the MOVE! Michelle was pretty speedy as well, but by the end of the weekend I was passing and bobbing and weaving just like a local!

We got a chance to walk around the city and visit some shops. Michelle and I went to the local markets while Jesse and John did the Heineken tour. John said it was better than the Guinness tour in Ireland. On Saturday Michelle and I started the day early with a run along the Amstel river, followed by a yoga class at Julia and Todd's led by China. Later that day, we went on a boat ride through the canal on Julia and Todd's boat with the same group from Friday's dinner. We cruised through the Red Light District, which I found both interesting and disturbing at the same time. Our amazing dinner at Marquis was the perfect end to the day, which was followed up by a game of Farkel and some White Russians back at Jesse and Michelle's place.

We had such a good time, we didn't want the weekend to end! I posted some pictures on facebook because I can't post all of them here, but I will post a few favorites!

PS. There was a garbage strike occurring when we were there, so there were massive piles of trash all around the city. Luckily, it got settled on Sunday right before we left, so we were able to see a trash-less Amsterdam before we returned home!