Amsterdam, Brussels and Brugge 2010

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Richard and Ann in Europe 2010 Part 2

In Amsterdam, we tried pankoken for breakfast before walking the canals to see the Bloominmarket (flower market), Rijksmuseum, strolled the Damm (shopping street), and through the Red Light District.

The next day we took the canal boat tour, stopped by Anne Frank’s house, snacked on bitterballen, joined a free walking tour (great stories of the city), and were invited by the guide (Shannon) for a dinner of Stampot (sausage and cabbage potato). We headed out for a fun pub crawl that evening with new friends: Joe, Tim, Becky, Hannah and David. We nicknamed Joe ‘ Daddy Mac’ and helped him get photos with all the girls.

The next morning we caught the train to Brussels even though it wasn’t the one we had paid for. A gent named Masa offered to be our tour guide for the next couple days and took us to the Grand Place, Mannekin Pis, EU building and out drinking raspberry beer.

We travelled to Ghent the next day and explored the town. It will probably be a good tourist destination in 10 years or so when they have finished all the restorations. The next day was a gastronomical delight as we attended the Michelin Chef food fair and Ann tried some of the most highly regarded chefs of Europe. I got to drink free beer all day! We also saw the Jannekin Pis, St. Huberts and the Royal Palace later in the day.

We visited Brugge the next day and walked all over. We saw the Bell Tower, the Beguinage, Belgium Chocolate Museum. We had dinner in the main plaza next to a woman with a parrot, quite unusual! We stayed the evening at a fabulous hotel in Brugge.

The next day we caught a boat out to Damme and had a look round. We got to see windmills and country side. The breeze on the boat was a welcome relief from the hot weather. I even located the hostel I’d stayed in ten years earlier. We caught the train back to Brussels and had dinner at Le Cercle des Voyageurs.

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