A great place to go for ice-cream or capuccino! There is a new Crostino Gelatiro in Haarlem, near…read moreMarsmanplein. Wonderful location to enjoy a scoop of icecream, pastries or a sandwhich. In the Juliana Park I have not found too many attractive places to sit and meet friends for tea or a cup of capuccino. Happy to know now that there is a lovely new franchise located North of Haarlem, just a few extra blocks from Juliana Park. FYI their icecream taste better than the icecream in the center of Haarlem, it's worth checking out.

This Markt is reliably suffused with quality goods. Looking for fresh produce? Got it! Need cheese?…read moreThere are so many options! After fresh bread? There are at least two bakery stalls. Let's not even get into the snacks and sweets or the textiles and housewares. There's a butcher and a fishmonger. You can do all of your shopping and never set foot in a corporate store. It's a bit crowded and the pedestrian traffic isn't well organized for those of us using canes or walkers so be prepared for a some bumpy terrain.

I bought a beautiful laundry baskets at Haarlem Saturday Grote Markt. I was so happy to finally…read morecome across some quality baskets that will last a long time. You can easily find them a few steps away from the lovely Texel wool and cotton sheets market stall. They are located on the very end before you walk into the market. You will see some beautiful color mats, baskets and bags for a very good price. No where have I seen these types of quality baskets in the shops.

When in Amsterdam, it becomes your moral imperative to see the windmills. Yes, and very much as a…read moretouristy item for your agenda, but the reality is, it's something that you just don't want to miss. If you're going to spend day, this is the place to do it at ! Zaans Gedaan is spread out over numerous acres and overlooks the water. It truly is breathtaking, and as an American, it was nice to have that experience in what feels like it's a little bit country, and it's a little bit rock 'n' roll roll... There are numerous shops throughout the area, all clustered together like a small little town. Each one specializing in something different than the previous one. There's ice cream shop, a hot chocolate shop, a cheese shop and so much more. I will say one of the things that I love about Europe is that the quality of food is amazing. I love that. They use far less sugar in their sweet items. As a girl with a huge sweet tooth, it's a big deal. We both loved the hot chocolate shop. There's an entire process for making it where you do it yourself and it's rather cool. The hot chocolate shop also sells ice cream so you really can't go wrong. You jump in line for your hot chocolate and there's one size cup And different containers telling you exactly how much of each ingredient to put in your cup. It's essentially a hot cocoa mix and some other fun things and then by the time you get to the end, they will add the hot milk and voilà, you have hot chocolate. it wasn't sweet enough for me, but it definitely was flavorful. The shop also has an entire line of flavored peanut butter. And if you ask, they absolutely will share samples of each of the flavors. The honey peanut butter was divine. Yes, you know that I bought peanut butter. I can't wait to bring it home and share it. I found that the people in the shops were all super sweet, and the tourist that ended up chatting with me, it felt like family. We made friends along the way, and we hope to spend time with them in the future. And if you're wondering... Yes, I also purchased the obligatory clogs because why not?!

I just looooooove this place! ZaansGedaan is one of those…read moreunique authentic places at the schans area. You can get a DIY hot chocolate milk and hear all about the production and history behind making chocolate. Do you have plenty of time? You can make your own chocolate from bean to a small cup of chocolate in about 45 minutes. Hard work, but fun and the people of ZaansGedaan will guide you in every step. Those people have a genuine passion for chocolate and their chocolate shop. Great! Need to stop by when visiting Amsterdam.

Yes! KEEK! YES!!!!…read more KEEK brings the happy like you wouldn't believe! I am definitely in love with their cheese "scone" sandwich filled with seasonal grilled vegetables and pesto, yum. By no means is it a scone my friends, but it makes one hell of a delicious sandwich! Le husband had a regular sandwich with grilled Serrano ham, mozzarella and pesto with a cup of jasmine tea and I that wonderful grilled vegetable sandwich with a glass of hot chocolate. First of all, KEEK is an organic eatery but not just any organic eatery; one that truly cares about amazing quality in their products. Their tea is top notch and their hot chocolate (which I suspect they make themselves before service) is seriously the best pre-made hot chocolate I have ever had. So good! The next thing they do to ensure they have the best product is make everything from scratch in their own kitchen. Everything. Well, besides the bread for the sandwiches, they order those daily at another favourite of mine: de Veldkeuken. Can't blame them, I wouldn't want to stay up all night just for one menu item either and Veldkeuken is really good at baking bread. Back to KEEK. About a minute's walk from this location, you have Keuken van KEEK where you can get some simpler sandwiches and all of their baked goods to go. Yum, RUN! You won't be able to get the grilled vegetable sandwich from the to-go location which is a shame, but make sure you try it. So garlicky, so sweet, so delicious! I will probably have "adult dreams" about this sandwich for the next few weeks... Sorry, tmi. As for the vibe here, the interior is really nice, especially the "tea room" in the back which is so serene and full of light. Great for a happy afternoon catching up with friends. The front room is a bit more artsy and that shows in the crowd. I tend to ignore the people around me if the food is good enough to focus on, but le husband felt a bit out of place with some of the other customers which were: hippies, old people and loudly conversing women. Of which the first two were the most bothersome, I agreed on that but like I said, if the food is great, I don't give a shit who else is there. You could have probably placed my in-laws at the table behind me and I would have never noticed. So KEEK. I highly recommend it and I will definitely be back asap!

What a cute café in one of the oldest shopping streets in Utrecht. The rooms used to be a tailor…read moreshop run by the grandmother of Maria who is now the owner of Kunst en Eerliijke Koffie. Thus not only the street but also the café is full of history. Although the athmosphere is not that stunning, the menue definately is. Selfmade cheese scones, fresh tea and a great combination of sandwich ingredients. The scone made me super full and it is definately a full meal. The coffee was good, too. I really enjoyed my breakfast and the friendly stuff who made my stay a great experience.

The famous Magere Brug or Skinny Bridge gets its name from the narrow bridge that was originally…read morehere. Traditional says that there were two sisters who lived across the Amstel River from each other and had a bridge built so they could easily visit each other. More likely, the original bridge was named because it was so narrow that two pedestrians could not pass each other. Mager means skinny in Dutch. The bridge was replaced in 1871 with a wider Old Dutch double-swipe balance bridge to accommodate increased traffic. It is a very beautiful and popular bridge. Be mindful of the cyclists, though. They don't always look out for pedestrians.

Historic bridge and I think something worth seeing when visiting Amsterdam. Get out of the Red…read moreLight district and see the Amstel River and beautiful Oost after crossing the bridge. I may go check it out again today since it's such nice weather, and the bridge is FREE.

Our visit to Broek in Waterland was part of a "First Reclaimed Land" shore excursion through the…read morecruise line. I totally recommend it for anyone interested in the charming water villages to the north of Amsterdam. It was given the distinction of being the cleanest village in Holland back in the day. It was and probably still is an affluent community surrounded by breathtaking beauty. Did you know that Napoleon once visited this town in 1811? You'll hear about some of the amusing legends that came about from that visit. We visited on a day when a wedding was taking place at St. Nicholas Church. A church that was rebuilt in 1628 after the Spanish burned it down to the ground in 1573. There's been a church on this site since 1400. We didn't get to see the interior for obvious reasons. It was the only missed opportunity of the tour. Honestly though, it was just nice to walk around the village while listening to song birds. It was so quiet here. It made the scenery around us even more enjoyable. There are bike trails all over this area that take you through polders and beautiful villages like this one. In the winter, the lakes, canals, and polders form a natural winter wonderland that brings many ice skaters to this area. How lovely is that? It would definitely be a great place to visit for lunch or teatime just to get away from the hustle and bustle of Amsterdam. It's about 15-30 minutes away depending on your mode of transportation. The bike routes from Amsterdam are also very popular. It was a nice scenic visit!

Beautiful bike ride from Amsterdam through the typical Dutch countryside and only a few miles…read moreoutside of the city. Highly recommend to anyone visiting Amsterdam. Rent a bike and burn off some of that apple pie and beer!

It's a large tree-lined square in the middle of Amsterdam with the statue of a very famous Dutch…read morepainter. If anything, it appears to be a good base location for tourists and locals alike. It's primarily known for its night life. There are hotels, bars, and restaurants all around it. It's close to many attractions and public transportation options. The square was historically a dairy market known as the Botermarkt. The iron statue of Rembrandt was placed there in 1852 when it was still a marketplace. It didn't get renamed to Rembrandtplein until some time in 1876. It's been an attraction for tourists ever since that time coupled with the growth of businesses around the square. Rembrandt's house (now a museum) is actually within walking distance from this location. The Amsterdam Flower Market is also close by. During our recent visit, I noticed that the current art installation is totally different from the ones that others have described in the past. It appears that the "Waterlife" sculpture by Ronald A. Westerhuis has replaced the gold astronaut. Prior to that, it was a grouping of statues in what was once a very popular work of art. It was a 3D version of Rembrandt's "The Night Watch" painting. So, don't be surprised if you encounter something totally different during your visit. Would I make a special visit to see it? Well, I don't think anyone really does. It just happens to be a square that you'll eventually walk through. It's everything in the neighboring streets around it that make it special. We found our exploration along Utrechtsestraat to be more local and enjoyable.

Rembrandt Square is named after the artist Rembrandt van Rijn who lived nearby. In the square,…read morethere are two statues -- one of Rembrandt and one of an astronaut called "The Thinker" by artist Joseph Klibansk. "The Thinker" is so-called as the figure is sitting in the same position as Rodin's famous sculpture. There are several hotels, restaurants, and shops around Rembrandt Square, and we went to the nearby restaurant, Cafe Kuyl, twice -- once for drinks, and once for dinner. Rembrandt Square is a popular destination, although I wouldn't go out of my way to see it. But if nearby, definitely check it out. [Yelp collections: Europe 2024; Amsterdam, the Netherlands]

This tour/fishing trip was a grand highlight of our 10 days in Amsterdam…read more Piet Ruijter has been fishing the back harbors of Amsterdam all his life. Now he takes visitors on his fishing excursions, and it's a wonderful experience! Because he does both fishing and biological monitoring he has access to places closed to the boating public. This is a look at Amsterdam far beyond the well worn standard tourist experience. If your curiosity extends to how big international ports operate, if you like behind the scenes looks, if you enjoy boats, if you like to meet local people, if you enjoy fishing, if you want a great ecotourism experience, you should definitely go Fishing With Piet! The website is in Dutch but don't be scared off. Piet speaks some English, and his next-boat neighbor Flip (at the MS Luctor Houseboat Bed and Breakfast, http://www.yelp.com/biz/b-and-b-m-s-luctor-amsterdam#hrid:Pa1c9_igToHv8rQJqlYKdQ) can assist with any questions as well.