Second part of the itinerary: my third and fourth day in Amsterdam!
Day 3
For our third day in Amsterdam we chose to get away from the city a little bit to discover the real Dutch countryside and the famous windmills.
Before leaving, however, we need a brunch!
There’s only one thing I love more than brunch in the morning: brunch with avocado. And this time I think I found the brunch spot of my dreams.
Mytip: food
The Avocado Show is definitely the realization of my dream of brunch. There’s some avocado in every dish on the menu and it’s really impossible to choose: everything seems delicious.
In addition the owners guarantee that “Every single avocado is grown sustainably and they’re all picked, packed and transported socially responsibly from different markets and countries around the world, like Chile, Peru, South Africa and other certified farmers.”
At this point I really think they have created a place with all the things I love the most inside. In fact, it is no secret that in addition to brunch and avocado, I have a passion for everything that is sustainable, both from the environmental, economic and social point of view: for me it is always an extra point.
From the menu, that you can find linked below, we have chosen “The Champion Brekkie”, which is an avocado toast with smashed avocado, crispy bacon, rockchives and a poached egg, and the “The Benny Boy” which is nothing more than the avocado version of my beloved Benedict eggs. Did I mention that here they made all my dreams come true?
In addition, at the Avocado Show they love coffee, too. So, in addition to incredible dishes, finally I found a real cappuccino!
I leave you as usual some links and the address, and I think it’s better to end this here, otherwise I’ll buy a ticket to Amsterdam just go back to eat all these wonders.
Website: www.theavocadoshow.com + Menu Address: Daniel Stalpertstraat 61
Let’s get back to our trip: Zaanse Schans, is located north-east of Amsterdam and during the summer it’s available a direct bus, that takes only half an hour to get there.
Once arrived it doesn’t even seem real: you find yourself in front of about forty small boxes and windmills built the greenest countryside ever seen, it seems really to be into some fairytale book.
Among the things to do there’s definitely a visit to the Kaasmakerij Catharina Hoeve, a small farm where you can discover how the traditional Dutch cheese is made and look at it melting inside your toast: simply delicious!
I manage to count 11 windmills in total, they are all visitable and have different stories to tell. We choose De Kat, the paint windmill.
Yes, in this mill, built in 1664, they still produce high quality pigments and paints, which are sold to artists and restorers all over the world.
The cost of the visit is € 4.50 (€ 2 children 6/12 years), and includes, both the visit inside the mill, and the possibility to climb to the top, to have a closer look at the ancient mechanism and admire the surrounding landscape.
In general, my advice is to walk through the small village to discover every centimeter of this tiny concentration of history and Dutch charm.
This is the official website of Zaanse Schans: www.dezaanseschans.nl/en
In the afternoon, still not satisfied after the brunch and delicious cheese toasts, we decide to try another local specialty: the Stoopwafels. That are basically two biscuit, similar to wafers, filled with caramel and in many cases decorated with chocolate or other sweets. The most famous place to eat them is: van Wonderen Stroopwafers.
Due to the bad weather we are soon forced to return to the hotel for a few hours, but around 8pm, wearing practically everything we have in the suitcase, we get out and go to dinner, discovering another must go to Amsterdam, perhaps the strangest and at the same time delicious place ever discovered
Mytip: food
Entering the Restaurant Bazar Amsterdam you’ll be for sure amazed.
We are in the lively and multi-ethnic Pijp district, right in the Albert Cuyp Street, which hosts the famous market we visited on the second day.
The place it’s recognizable the golden angel on the top, and this is because we are in a church! Yes, you’ve read correctly, a bazaar inside a deconsecrated church. Strange? Yes, strange enough, but the result is truly wonderful.
Entering you are overwhelmed by the colors, the aromas, the lights, the mosaics on the walls, you feel like being on the other side of the world, in a real bazaar, where in every corner is full of something that makes you ask “where did it come out?”. Billboards from the 50’s next to oriental chandeliers and Christmas lights: UNIQUE.
The dishes are an authentic journey between North Africa and the Middle East.
We started with the hummus, the best ever tasted in my life, and then continue with two dishes that really made me want to discover the cuisine and culture of these countries.
The first is called El Couscous: grilled kebab of veal, chicken and vegetables; roasted vegetables, Shiraz mix and saffron sauce, all served on couscous. The second is Tavuk Sis Kebab: grilled chicken breast kebab marinated with saffron and yogurt with rice, curry mayonnaise, haydari and fries.
The list of my favorite dishes has definitely three new entries!
Website: www.hotelbazar.nl/en + Menu Address: Albert Cuypstraat 182 – Amsterdam
Day 4
Last day in Amsterdam = last brunch
Mytip: food
Bakers & Roasters defines itself as “a New Zealand style café served with a heavy dose of Brazil, in fact, the owners, after meeting on a night out in Hollywood, decided to open a place, “combining everything they missed about their homelands, and this multicultural mix is simply amazing!
Their menu offers unique combinations, mixing the classics of brunch with Kiwi and Brazilian flavours, something never seen before.
Finally I could enjoy a delicious açai bowl, which I love and which in Italy is still almost impossible to find (the last time I had found it in Barcelona), served with homemade granola. My travel buddy ordered a Banana Nut Bread French toast served with homemade banana marmalade and crispy bacon: a combination that I never thought could even exist but it’s truly spectacular!
New Zealand and Brazil are definitely a fancy team!
Website: www.bakersandroasters.com Address: First Jacob van Campenstraat 54
After the brunch, it’s time to move to the Museumplein, first stop: Moco Museum. A boutique museum that hosts various modern art exhibitions, in our case the works of Icy & Sot and Bansky.
The building is simply amazing, not just a museum but a proper masterpiece containing masterpieces.
To perfectly end the morning, a few pictures on the I Amsterdam writing are nearly mandatory. Right there we discover that the gardens surrounding the Rijksmuseum have completely free admission and are truly beautiful.
At lunch time the weather becomes unexpectedly sunny and we can have a little picnic on the beautiful green lawn, the Museumplein, in fact, is a huge beautiful park surrounded by several museums, including the Moco Museum, the Rijksmuseum and of course the Van Gogh Museum, our next stop.
Mytip: food
The picnic was an idea I had seeing the unexpected sun, but I really recommend it if you get there in a sunny day, because the park is simply beautiful.
There’s a little supermarket directly on the Museumplein, so you can buy some drinks and sandwiches on spot.
Supermarket Address: Van Baerlestraat 33A, Amsterdam
As already mentioned in the first part of the itinerary, it is preferable to buy museum tickets online, in this way you avoid many queues, especially in the case of the Van Gogh Museum, which provides only a certain number of tickets for each time slot and there’s the risk to not be even able to enter. (Here the links for the tickets of the two museums www.tickets.vangoghmuseum.com, www.tickets.mocomuseum.com/en)
The Van Gogh Museum hosts the largest collection of works by the famous painter and is directed by his nephew in person: certainly an obligatory stop for all art lovers.
In the late afternoon, unfortunately, it’s already time to leave, on the bus to the airport I try to take stock of the situation, there are 10 degrees less than when we arrived, we have two new umbrellas and two new sweatshirts, our legs are extremely tired and we have a new city in our hearts.
Amsterdam, thanks for everything!
And of course, a special thank you to my travel buddy, we can officially say that the first #sistertrip has been a success.
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