Europe 2023 : Holland

Wednesday 23 to Sunday 28 August : Den Haag, Delft and Schoorl, Netherlands 

Den Haag

It's great to wander around a city that's not very touristy.

We met up with Stephan and Andrea again and had a good lunch at Tommy's and Zurveen. De Filosoof was a brilliant find; a very interesting wine bar with lots of natural wines from many central and eastern European countries. We enjoyed a fun evening with the owner and his friends.

Delft

The Delftse Hout campsite is a short walk into Delft.  Rainy weather.

Good coffee at Neef Rob.

We finally got to try "Kapsalon", a Dutch/ Belgian take on a kebab - frites loaded with doner meat, sauce and salad.  It's probably better at 2am after a night of drinking.

Not much else to do in town but to hang with the locals at a bar and enjoy a few glasses of wine. 

Schoorl

It was fabulous to catch up with Christiane and Arjen at their house for 3 nights. And chill. And enjoy lots of wonderful food and wine.

The weather wasn't great but we did walk through the dunes to the beach on Saturday afternoon. And even had a braai. 

Countdown to 60..Bubbly Party No.57

Sunday 20 August..On Gareth and Carmen's boat..Amsterdam

Europe 2023 : Amsterdam : Part 2

21 and 22 August

The Fabrique de Lumieres Dali show was really amazing.

We happened upon a street festival in the Red Light District, enjoyed drinks with a view at Cafe Emmelot and tried a variety of jenevers at a traditional "brown" bar.

We did a great trip on the water with Friendship Boats.

Foodhallen was a big disappointment compared to gourmet food courts we've been to in other cities.

We loved the street art museum Straat and the nearby restaurant Pllek over the water in North Amsterdam.

By chance we found out Charles and Philip were in Amsterdam. Daquiries at Tales and Spirits and a really good rijstafel at Tujuh Maret.

Europe 2023 : Amsterdam : Part 1

Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 August

Camping Zeeburg is a great campsite on the water in East Amsterdam. Public transport  is easy from here but we had become accustomed to using Uber in Belguim and the trend continued. We dashed into town to Coco's Pub to watch the rugby - Springboks vs Wales. The place was heaving with saffers and quite a lot of fun.

Great wine at Oocker Wine Bar.

After dinner it was just Neil and I still standing and we had a marvelous time at Bourbon Street Blues bar. 

We needed a lazy Sunday morning and then met up with Gareth and Carmen for a great day out on their boat on the canals and Amstel river.

Shiraz Wijnbar had an amazing selection of wine and good food.