After breakfast we headed out to the Noordermarkt (North market) which is a street market one canal and a few streets from our hotel. The weather could have been better, it rained off and on, but the sun eventually showed itself and made it much more pleasant. We sampled some fabulous cheeses and mustards today, the Gouda with cumin and the Balsamic mustard being my favorites.
Just like our last visit to this city, 3:00 found us sitting outside the bench of the oldest bar in Amsterdam....the Wynand Fockink....waiting for it to open. Jane and Sylvia had met up with us in Dam square as planned, so we could share the experience with them. And it really is an experience, such a small place, standup only, and within 5 minutes of opening, it is packed. We decided to " drink healthy" and all chose fruit liqueurs, Tom's and my favorite being the sour cherry, however the sour lemon was a very close second. We certainly had our quota of fruit servings for today. The picture shows the four of us doing the 300 year old traditional slurping the first sip, as the glass is so full that you cannot pick it up without spilling.....and what a waste that would be.
Walking around the city, you can still see the decorations all over and above the streets, from the mass celebration when Queen Beatrix abdicated and handed the throne to her son, Willem. He ascended the throne on April 30. I referred to it as a coronation, but i was corrected, it was an inauguration. Interestingly, the crown was placed in front of him, but not on his head, and it is never worn....therefore cannot be called a coronation.
After dinner at a lovely little pub, Tom and I walked with Jane and Sylvia thru the shopping district, before heading back to our hotel.
We are having technical difficulties attaching pictures to the blog, so will attach more when we get things figured out......stay tuned
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