May was great! It really started to get warm and we even had a picnic in the park with new and old friends. The weather has been fairly nice and hasn’t rained too much, though of course it is raining as I write this. But it’s fine because it’s the perfect day to sit by the window as I write.
Parks and Picnics
Cycling through the city is pleasant, but cycling through the parks is the way to go, from Westerpark, to Vondelpark, and Rembrandtpark, it’s just the best way to enjoy your surroundings.
Down to what matters in this post…how did we do on our monthly goals? Well, we missed out on something, but I think we’ll make up for it this month. So, let’s go!
Lombardos in Amsterdam
Restaurant
We tried a couple restaurants this month, but the one that matters is Lombardo’s. Many claim they have the best burger in the city. I’m not so sure about that! Burgerlijk and Cannibale Royale still have my votes in that category. It was a good burger, definitely, just not the best in the city. That’s not just my opinion! We had good company when we went since we met some foodie friends. Everyone agreed. Though they have their own favorites.
Bar
Me and bars did not seem to get along this month! Before an event, there wasn’t enough time to go home and make dinner, so Sean and I met up on the Herengracht canal. (In case you are wondering, we never tire of the canals here). We ended up having dinner and drinks at the Herengracht Restaurant and Bar. Super nice staff but a little pricy. It was a beautiful day so all the outside seating was taken, but we were just fine sitting inside. We had snack foods and fondue with our cocktails. Too bad they were out of the cocktail I wanted.
Later in the month we went out with some friends to try a place near Leidesplein (should have known better) and went to Bar-B. It wasn’t very late and we already had dinner, so we were looking for dessert and a cocktail. We were told that it was too busy for them to make cocktails…or milkshakes. So I got water…in a bottle. I guess they did not have a bartender, we wouldn’t have gone in if we knew we couldn’t order what we wanted. Like I said, bars were not my friends this month.
Neighborhood
This didn’t happen as in depth as we hoped. But we explored a little more of the Jordaan. This is the area many tourists know as THE place to go. It is lovely, but it’s just another neighborhood with some good shops, and a couple nice markets. Winkel 43, the home of one of the favorite appeltaarts of the city lives here, at the end of Westerstraat. Noordermarket is a market on Saturdays with antiques, foods, etc. Then, on Monday’s there’s a completely different market on Westerstraat that spans the length of the street. So many markets everywhere!
Rollende Keukens Pulled Pork BBQ | Bara with chicken
Event
We did really well in this department! We went to Rolling Kitchens, a Yelp Mystery Dinner, and went to a neighborhood Liberation Day dinner. But I want to focus on the Rolling Kitchens. Over 130 food trucks in a park near our home. How perfect?! We went twice. Good food, great experience, high prices, but we ran into friends while there. Thousands of people and we ran into friends. I love this place!
Trip
This is where we kind of failed this month. We didn’t get out of town with the exception of me going with a girlfriend to Zaandam’s shopping street. Does that count? Probably not. We have so many Dutch cities to visit! So, in June we’ll probably spend a little time away. Even with an amazing city like Amsterdam, it’s still nice to take a break from your normal life.
What have you done this month to shake up your routine? Please share! If you haven’t done anything yet, what do you plan to do? Maybe you can take one of our goals and make them your own. And if you need some extra help, we have some tips on how to be a tourist in your hometown in case it’s not easy for you to travel far. We’ve been there and understand!
