Sticky Fingers BCN

Like I said yesterday, it is possible to have an interesting, refreshing Amsterdam experience far from the throngs of raging tourists. There are loads of quirky details, like this canal-side café that uses the iron roadside dividers as tables. Such a cute and practical idea.

Naked mannequins at the Nieuwmarkt flea market and pristine Delftware ceramics which come in every shape imaginable. The city caters very much to the tourist and there are innumerable souvenir shops with some of the worst items I have ever seen!

There are not many great shopping opportunities as the stores are few and far between outside of the more commercial areas. Amsterdam is expensive, which makes clothes shopping quite pricey. I have to admit that I was surprised to come away with only one purchase during the entire trip. The Dutch do know how to put together a window display, I love the stack of teacups.

Not to be ousted by the exquisite daylight, the night also offers up a plethora of different lighting experiences. From the fuchsia neons in the red district to the warm street lamps, vintage neon signage to old classics mixed with modern angles, the city is awash in electric colour. The old chandeliers hanging in the Theatre & Film Bookstore seemed to be trapped in the modern metal stairwell and shelves.

The food and eating issue in Amsterdam is slightly complicated.  After extensively researching restaurant options before every trip, this time around proved to be quite a challenge. The Dutch adhere to extremely early lunch and dinner hours and there is no clear rule on which day of the week a restaurant will be closed. Also, it is practically impossible to find proper Dutch cuisine, aside from a few common staples such as bitterballen. The entire city is filled to bursting with Asian and fast food restaurants, which is such a pity. It really seems like they are losing their culinary identity.

One really great place to have lunch is at the OBA library’s rooftop café. Only we had the great luck that it was being renovated and there were only sandwiches available. Albeit delicious sandwiches. If you really can’t stay away from fast food, the best option is Burgermeester, a gourmet burger joint. We did have excellent meals, but they were Mediterranean, not Dutch!

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amsterdam, asian, bitterballen, burgermeester, canal side cafes, ceramic, chandeliers, delftware, Delicious Food and Restaurants, dutch, fast food, la place, markets, neon, nieuwmarkt, oba, shopping, signage, souvenirs, teacups

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