Travel
Amsterdam, Netherlands
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I still remember how full I was after our dinner at Comme Chez Soi. It was more of a 5-course dinner than a 3-course if I were to count the amuse bouche and petite fours. I really appreciated the stroll back to the hotel. The plan for the next day was to be in Amsterdam. The distance between Brussels and Amsterdam is about 2 hours by train. We took the Thalys train. The scenary along the journey was nice and I think this is the best way to see a country.
2 hours was quick. In a blink of an eye, we arrived at Amsterdam Central Station, Centraal Station Amsterdam. As usual, we started our adventures the organised way to i) save time – as we have only about 5 hours to explore, ii) to see what we wanted to see, iii) to avoid running around like chicken without a head.
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I have to admit that it was a different feel in Amsterdam – the people, the pace of life, the structure of buildings, the beautiful canal, the mostly used transportation – bicycles….. ah not to forget the weather – we were lucky that it was sunny and warm the day we were there. Amsterdam is a scenic place. There’s no excuse not to have your camera ready at all times!
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Needless to mention, the Red Light District is worth checking out. In this area, the women parade/pose themselves in the red-fringed windows parlours. I found this a bit too much for me (me being narrow minded?!) It feels like they are the ‘live’ products, being displayed on the shelves. Bunch of men – young or old walked pass each display and chose.
After much of sight-seeing, we sat down to enjoy a drink before heading to the train station. On the way, a shop caught my attention. It’s called Royalvkb. In this shop, you could find designed products that are beautiful and smart to use at home. I got myself a french carafe. What makes it different is that you could stack the glasses in the neck and transport them with only one hand!!
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So, that was the last minute shopping. We finally had to take the train for another 2 hours to go back to Brussels. It was quite an enjoyable short trip to Amsterdam!
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Back to Brussels, after a quick shower, it was time for dinner. We went to Le Vistro in the St Catherine area. There are quite a number of seafood restaurants in this area and they all look good. We had Les Moules Au Curry as starter. I know it’s unusual, but we can’t seem not to have mussels again, so we shared the dish! As for the main, oh my, we both had lobsters! I had Homard au Champagne a la Truffe, Lobster cooked in Champagne and Truffle and Arnaud had Homard a L’armoricaine. Both are really good. Of course, to finish off the dinner with a dessert, Tarte Tartin.
It’s time to call it a day….
Lovely photos! I was based in Amsterdam for 3 months for work and I loved every minute 🙂 Your photos are bringing back a lot of good memories 🙂