Going to Amsterdam was an exciting culinary adventure, because I had no idea what to expect - the only “Dutch” food I know of are stroopwafels, and I’d imagine the ones I can find in Boulder aren’t 100% authentic. And while two days there is seriously not enough time to explore Dutch cuisine thoroughly, I sure enjoyed my experience.

The first thing I learned (from my husband - seriously, he knows so much!), was that Indonesian food is a big deal, because of past exploration and trade routes. So our first evening, after a day full of travel from Madrid, we decided to hit an Indonesian restaurant called Aneka Rasa. Here we enjoyed a huge selection of tasters and stuffed our faces way too full. They brought out crackers called “shrimp crisps” with some peanut sauce for dipping as an appetizer, and our meal consisted of peanut chicken skewers, a few different types of meat, vegetables in various sauces, and both white and fried rice, plus fried bananas! And of course some Heineken to drink, since it is their local brew. I would highly recommend this restaurant - they have a delicious, diverse menu and, while it is a bit pricey per person to share the “rice table”, you won’t be left hungry.

After wandering around, walking off our massive, but delicious, dinner, we decided to get some crepes for dessert at Crepes & Waffles. They make the crepes right in front of you - it’s seriously mesmerizing to watch - and there are countless ways to fill them. I opted for nutella and bananas, while Nathaniel got apples and caramel.

The next day, we didn’t need to get food until mid-day, because we were still full from dinner and dessert, so to tide us over until after our visit to Rijksmuseum, we grabbed coffee and stroopwafels from a stand outside the museum called T’ Museumpleintje. Very simple, but it was quick and easy. After the museum, we went to Burgerlijk Burger Bar, where we split a burger with chorizo, goat cheese, fries and truffle aioli and some fries.

For dinner, one of our friends got a recommendation for Lo Sitvale d'Oro, a great Italian place where we enjoyed sage ravioli, spaghetti carbonara, and split a pitcher of wine and a tiramisu for dessert. They often have a guitarist/singer there while you eat, making the authentic Italian vibe all the more enjoyable.

That evening, we were looking for a waffle, and our friend is super sociable and the boys at this waffle shop insisted on making us the most amazing waffle we’ve ever seen. It had literally everything you could imagine on it - marshmallows, M&Ms, and even chocolate truffles! Little did we know that “let us surprise you with something” meant “let us blindside you by making you a 20 Euro waffle, which we won’t make you pay for until after you eat it”. I can't figure out what specific place this was (the locations services on my phone combined with Google Street View have failed me this time), so just a word of warning, you might be charged an exorbitant amount for your waffle if you don’t specify what you want on it. That being said, it was delicious, and we could have easily shared with another person, so if you break it down cost per serving, it’s not as bad…but still.🙄

Because stroopwafels are one of Nathaniel’s favorite things ever, we found a bakery that is known for it’s own. Lanskroon did not disappoint. These were bigger waffles than we’d previously seen, and they were a bit crispier than the others we’d had. The honey filling was super yummy, too.

Just down the street from Lanskroon is Van Stapele, where they have a delicious specialty chocolate cookie with a creamy filling - I’d highly recommend this, too.

After dessert for breakfast, we wandered through a couple street markets our last day there, and one stand in the Albert Cuyp Market had fresh peaches I just couldn’t pass by - the one I picked was perfectly ripe and juicy, and a great treat to eat sitting next to the canals. We also grabbed a burger and fries at Geflipt, a restaurant near the end of the market.

For our last meal, we decided on Indonesian again, since our friend hadn’t experienced it yet - we went to Kantjil & de Tijger, and split a few plates, which was more than enough food, including chicken with peanut sauce, sautéed veggies, and green beans and corn in coconut curry, all with rice on the side. We finished with a Heineken at Morlang, where they have tables right next to the water, before whisking ourselves off to the airport.

And here we are, 6 months later, I’ve finally finished telling the story. My personal journal is still nowhere near done, but the research I did for the blog (to give accurate locations as best I could) has really helped keep it fresh. But a part of me still gets a bit misty-eyed when I think of how much fun I had on my belated honeymoon. This trip reinforced how important traveling is to us. Yes, we love where we live, and having a permanent home is a luxury we probably won’t ever give up, but neither is exploration.