Amsterdam: February 2020
Pretty serviceable breakfast at The Breakfast Club before the rest of the group arrived. Not sure why this place is so highly rated-- pancakes are tasty and the design/layout is kind of cool, but not enough to justify the praise? Did a bunch of random wandering and catching up until lunchtime, then a late lunch at Restaurante Guts, with some solid turbot and a much better quality steak than the night before.
Quick stroll through Albert Cuyp market, checking out the vendors for several noted Amsterdam specialties: fish, smoked fish, and stroopwafles. Unexpectedly saw dim sum (!?) and a few other vendors, too. Having just eaten, we passed, and instead we migrated over to an escape room, 'cause Emily, unknown to the rest of us, is actually obsessed with escape rooms.
Turns out Sam had never done an escape room before, so what the hell, why not. We managed to save Luigi with less than 2 minutes to spare, and everyone had fun? (although for the price, not sure most of us would go again...?)
Decided to soak in the views of the canals and the River Amstel from the waterfront and the NEMO Science Museum, then fled across the river via the Mr. J. J. van der Veldebrug bridge and the subway when it got too cold. Jumbo supermarket was in the same complex as dinner, so it was another place to warm up before going back into the cold-- t'was also nice to see some areas of Amsterdam outside of the old town. Cafe-Restaurant Stork had a ridiculously large seafood tower, and when paired with a solid fish and chips, ended up being a two hour meal. We might have all ended up with negative calories from the meal, as two hours of shellfish shell cracking is no joke!
Final stop of the night was Rene's Croissants. Total tourist trap but was good to soak in more of the sights in old town, and who can say no to bananas?