Amsterdam, Day 2

It is cold and wet but at least it has stopped raining.  We walked down the canal passing the several plant shops to breakfast.  Tulips for sale!

We thought we should try and get out by 930 although now that I am more familiar with the town we could have waited a few hours.  Things open later on Monday not sure why but they do.  Jess wanted to go to Cora for breakfast but they did not open until 1030.  Alas.

So we ventured onward to Cafe de Pels.  Super cute small bar. 

They did not have a full on breakfast, only on Sundays do they make eggs, so we opted to share 3 French breakfasts.  Really good bread. 

And then we began our walk.  Check out the white house and how it looks as if it will implode.  So many of the homes are askew.  The foundation is sitting over a canal so not surprising but kind of crazy.

Some people opt to live on houseboats on the water.  It is unfortunate how filthy the water is here.  If the waterways were filled with clean sparkling water it would cast a very different hue on the city. 

We walked around the corner and bumped in to my bff's kids.  So random.  They had just got in that morning.  Obviously a small town.  Cute pic!

We went to see Rembrandt's house.  He bought this entire house during the first part of his career when he was having success.  He not only lived and worked here, he sold his own work and the work of others.  Very entrepreneurial. 

The house is about 5 floors up.  In this hallway there is a small window overlooking the room below where his work hangs.  Kind of cool.

There is a grocery store by our hotel called Marqt.  What is interesting to note is that the layout in the store is different than most I shop in.  There is a format and it is a bit different here.  Also, no cash just credit with a pin.  They do it for security reasons.  You literally can not buy anything there with cash.  Also, every credit card in Europe gives each person their own personal pin code so that when they buy something they have to push it in to confirm the purchase.  Super smart.  I wonder if the fraud is less here than the states because of the pin. 

Stopped by Lite/Dark to get some energy drinks but had to take a pic of the chocolate dipped blackberry.

This pic is very Amsterdam.

We stopped by Micafe for lunch.  Sitting on a canal down a very quaint residential street. 

Love how they serve mint tea.  This could be my drink of the summer.

A mixture of antipastos for the table. 

Mackerel salad.  A small bowl of whitefish salad with some bread and salads.  Make your own.

Cheese truffle omelet.  I am not a huge omelet person but this was definitely one of the best I have had.  Soft eggs, gooey cheese and just a hint of truffle. 

Stopped into Frozen Fountain.  A very cool modern furniture store.  They have everything from fabrics to accessories.  Too bad their website doesn't do ecommerce yet.  Fascinating that it doesn't because they are definitely noted as one of the cooler stores in town and they would benefit from people like me finding stuff that they have online that nobody else carries. 

I loved these green glass holders

Josh and Jessica entertained me by going in.

Time to return back to the hotel for a little nap action.