We Walked & Walked, Then We Ate Well

April 22, 2019

We tried to make up for lost sleep by not getting out of bed until after 9, so everything started slowly today. Easter Sunday breakfast at the hotel’s restaurant, then slowly headed out for the day. We’re in no rush since it’s an unplanned day, but hoped to get in the line at the Van Gogh museum if it wasn’t too long. We’d heard they let some people in without purchased-ahead tickets, but the line can be 60-90 min. No tickets are available online all week.

We bought 96-hour tram tickets for about 28 EU and I think got our money’s worth all in one day. Matthew is very good at figuring out tram and train lines, where to go, and how to maneuver. Me? I follow very well.

The tram was a cool way to see the city. Each entry has a scanner that scans your card when entering and leaving, seats are mostly available, and stops are clearly called and viewed. They’re clean even though folks are allowed to eat and drink on them. Trams are picked up in the center of the street, but you need to know in which direction you’re traveling to be on the correct side or street.

We found the museum on a lovely day with many people sitting outside on the lawn areas or at nearby outside cafes.

We asked a young lady who worked at the museum where the line is and she said there isn’t one. Wow, did that mean we could walk right in? No, it meant there were absolutely NO tickets available for the day. She suggested we get back on another tram and head to an area with the outdoor market that’s huge and well-known, which we did.

We walked and walked and walked to find this place only to discover that it either closed early (it was now about 3:00) or not open today because of the holiday. Either way, we had a second aborted plan. We had passed a side street with lots of outdoor cafes, so I suggested returning and having coffee or a cold drink. I chose a piece of lemon cake because my back and I had earned it. My back and hips have become an issue, though I’ve had X-rays and an MRI. The latter shows bone spurs and stenosis, which might be why I can’t stand or walk for long periods of time. Today I was doing both and had to sit for a minute periodically. But I trooped on. And had cake.

Amsterdam is a beautiful city with gorgeous old buildings as well as many modern. They haven’t built on every available space and even in front of apartment buildings, they have grassy areas with access for everyone to enjoy, plus cafes and restaurants on the ground floor of the buildings.

We've seen a couple of places that use the word naked for their business. Guess it atta

We returned on the tram(s) to our hotel for a brief rest before heading to dinner. We made a reservation at a Trip Advisor recommended spot that is Asian Fusion. I took many photos because Umami is beautifully decorated and the food was amazing. The guests have 2 choices besides a la carte—choose the fixed price menu that is already planned or choose 2 dishes each from the 3 pages of courses. So each course has 4 small plates for a total of 12 dishes. Some were an extra 3 EU to order, but we just ignored that and ordered what sounded good. Each dish was masterfully prepared and presented, flavorful and unique, and enough for each of us to have a perfect amount. Food was transformed into something unrecognizable yet delicious. One of our favorites—though it was hard to chose a fave—was crayfish that was shredded atop fois gras. I took many pictures….