So I get into Schiphol Airport at around 8:49 a.m., Amsterdam time. That's roughly about 2:49 a.m. in the states. So anywhoo, I'm waiting for Jay, he is my dearest friend that has been visiting Italy now for about 2 1/2 weeks. So when I see him, he gets the biggest hug that I can give, and we just relish in the fact that it's nice to see each other since forever. Anyway, are trip begins with checking in at the hotel...it's amazing really. I love it, and so does Po, since he's staying with me for a little.
I'm being incredibly lazy tonight so most of the pictures will be on Facebook, however the ones are here will be explained and what is what. Now, the next step for us today was the fact that we had chosen to go to the Heineken Brewery. We decided that instead of taking the entire rail ride all the way to the brewery we would walk the entire length of central Amsterdam down to the brewery. It was awesome, I'm so glad we decided to walk it. The architecture in Amsterdam is nothing I have every seen before in any other city. It seems like Philly and NYC borrows a lot of different influences from everyone, including Amsterdam. New York wasn't called New Amsterdam for no reason right?
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| The first canal we saw with a nice touch of the architecture behind it |
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| Sighting of canal boat, will be riding one of these on Saturday...epic So as we arrive to the Heineken brewery, the excitement had built up for me and Jay. We were literally getting ready to just kick back and drink. However what we didn't know and was expecting was a pretty epic tour, and a little fun to the whole situation. There was a little ride, and of course all the pics of the brewery will always be amazing.  |
As you all can see, I'm really trying to condense everything together. I can say this though, the brewery was awesome. It may be cliche now, however it's still a little fun thing to do in Amsterdam. After our little tour of the brewery, we decided to have a quick bite to eat. It was a little dutch pancake house. Honestly can a little dutch pancake house be that good...why yes it can. It was more than good, something about the whole lunch setting was awesome. There were two type of pancakes, savory and sweet. I decided to go with savory, due to the simple fact that adding syrup to the pancakes will make them very sweet, so with that in mind, I went forward and learned that my notion of the two going together was correct. I chosen the egg and bacon pancake. It was exquisite. Because of the eggs being mixed into the pancake...the pancake had this creamy, custardy, taste to it that made it so delicious, and then with one bite of the bacon, you realized that sweet sensation you were having has been completely cut off. It's soooo good. The contrast of sweet and salty, it's a huge play on your palate, if you haven't tried a concoction like this...go out and try it now. Very simple, get brown sugar and soy sauce, mixed with other herbs and spices, then marinade some beef with it, and you basically have yourself a very simple bulgogi recipe. Remember, savory sweet is different, don't be afraid to experiment. It's the contrast of salty sweet that will keep making you come back for more.
So after all that walking and after that entirely delicious meal...we began walking again. Loved it, had my second wind, and was getting to rock and roll. However I was not expecting to walk for another 2 1/2 hours. That completely wiped me out, and we decided to go back home and grab a dinner close to the Hotel. We had wandered to many different places, however in the end, we ended up at, "Wonder's eten & drinken." Food was incredible. I had the french onion, and the steak tartar. Now I've had my fare share of French onion soup, however this soup was beyond anything I've ever had. The balance of spice in the broth, to the balance in the amount of cheese to use was incredible. The thing that made me realized how delicious this soup was, was the fact that the croutons used were not actually soggy, however it was quite the opposite. Every bite that I had taken in with the crouton, the crouton still came out wonderfully. It had an amazing crunch. I still can't believe how good that soup was. O.M.G. Lastly the tartar came out, it was quite good actually. If you have never had tartar before, I'll give you a quick synopsis. It's raw meet. Preferably made from beef, this beef was exceptionally good. It's delicious in every way, however it is an acquired taste. However definitely a 4 out of 5 star place. I'm sorry guys, I gotta cut this short...I'm literally almost passed out on top of my laptop. Need sleep. More to come tomorrow. Till then, everyone be safe, and be merry, and until the next episode.
A quote for this evening:
"Sometimes when you least expect it, you realized that someone loved you, and that means someone can love you again; and that will make you smile." - Homer J. Simpson
Not something I expect out of a cartoon father, who is a buffoon, but it's deep, and that's all that I know. Night world.
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