Waking up in a warm marshmallow bed in a beautiful hotel room is just heaven. I love that feeling as you’re still half asleep and realise you have nothing to wake up for. The only thing that was going to remove me was my rumbling stomach!
One of the things I really love about Europe is the culture of the bakery. Sure, Britain isn’t short of them, but at the same time they don’t line our streets, and we don’t flock to them to chat over cake. The best we as a nation can usually muster is hiding away in our living room with a Mr Kipling and a cuppa. But as you walk through Amsterdam every window you peer into reveals locals huddled around cups of coffee chattering away. The shops are tiny and intimate, but not exclusive. You can stroll through any one of those doors and, providing you can find a place to sit, will fit in just fine.
The Cupcake Bakery was an adorable little unit on the corner of our street, and after braving mere metres in the blistering wind we dipped in for breakfast and refuge from the cold.
Eateries on the outskirts of the main streets are cheaper, quieter but just as good quality. Perfect for morning coffee.
We seem to be undergoing some form of ice age at the moment and it was no different in Amsterdam. It was absolutely freezing and subsequently we used places to eat as checkpoints to warm up along our journeys! The next stop was a gorgeous wooden clad bakery in the centre. I was a bad blogger and didn’t catch the name, but y’know, it’s the one down the narrow street by the canal… 😉
More coffee. The coffee is great over here.
Makes for an excellent warming device too! We hugged our cups until our lunch arrived.
Local cheese and dry cured lamb sausage with pine nuts. Smarter than your average baguette. We were fuelled for more adventuring!
…Until we lost the feeling in our legs. Time for an afternoon snack!
Waffles seem to be something of a trademark in Amsterdam: plain, iced, chocolate, strawberry… you name it and you’ll find them stuffed into the display windows of every cafe and fast food stand! They’re right to shove them in your face though, these things are incredible. So satisfyingly crunchy on the outside, with super soft stodgy dough on the inside. Perfect with a hot chocolate!
And so our weekend continued! Eating and exploring and eating some more. The food here is humble and fresh, the restaurants are proud and inviting. I guarantee you’ll have some fantastic eating experiences no matter what street you venture down. Of course, being the open-minded city that it is, there’s far more to do in Amsterdam than just eat, but photos are very much frowned upon. You’ll just have to go experience it all yourself!