Amsterdam - Day 3

Saturday, May 2nd

Another wonderful breakfast at the Banks Mansion.  Today I tried a chocolate sprinkles sandwich. Every morning Dutch people consume some untoasted brown bread covered with butter or margarine and sprinkled with hagelslag (famous Dutch chocolate sprinkle). And then to top it off, they don't pick it up and eat it like a sandwich, they use a knife and fork and cut it up in bite size portions. Although it tastes pretty good, it is the weirdest combination of ingredients I think I've ever heard of mixing together.  At the end of the week, I purchased a three pack of sprinkles (dark chocolate, milk chocolate and white chocolate) to bring back for my family and friends to try.

We walked through Dam Square onto Lindberg Travel (near Central Station) to board our tour bus to the Kukenhof Gardens. Travel by coach through the beautiful Dutch countryside. This extensive tour (€50,00 per person) takes you through the spectacular bulb fields, the coastal region between Maarlem and Leiden. The highlight of the excursion is the half-day tour of the Keukenhof Gardens from Amsterdam. This is the world’s largest flower garden (79 acres) and is truly a memorable sight in the spring.

Stroll down winding paths lined with millions of blossoming tulips, narcissis, daffodils, hyacinths and bluebells and dotted with lovely greenhouses, brooks and shady ponds. Stop by a special exhibit in one of the pavilions. We visited a sandwich vendor (grilled ham on a bun for €4,50) and a fresh strawberry with cream vendor. (€4.50) There had to be several hundred thousand people at this garden. It is only open to the public from mid-March to mid-May.  After our time at the gardens, we boarded the coach and head back to Amsterdam.

Please see this link to view several hundred tulip pictures if you are interested. Some of the photos are of the many tulip fields on the way to and from the Keukenhof as well as some of my favorite tulips.

Tulip Farm photos

Keukenhof photos

We walked back to the hotel for drinks. Went shopping at the A/H Supermarket to buy four cans of  Illy Coffee to bring home (way cheaper than buying it in the states).  Albert Heijn B.V. is the biggest Dutch supermarket chain founded in 1887 in Oostzaan, Netherlands. It is named after Albert Heijn Sr. the founder of the first store in Oostzaan.

We stopped at a little ice cream shop and enjoyed a stroopwafel/caramel cone and a strawberry cheesecake cone. Homemade and Delicious! 

We had dinner reservations at De NachtWatch (The Night Watch). This was a BBQ & Steakhouse located on Thorbeckeplein 2; We shared an order of the BBQ Spare Ribs with Patat (fries) and Gemengde salad along with a Affligem Dubbel biere and Pepsi Light. (Cost: €33,80)