Day 6: Orienting Ourselves in Amsterdam :)

We are heading to Amsterdam this morning. :) Lin booked us on the Thalys. :D

The train ride was approximately 3 hours 15 mins. Not too bad. :) From Amsterdam Central Railway Station, we cabbed to Mr Jordaan Hotel. ;) This hip hotel is located along the Bloemgracht canal, in a 1896 building. :) That's quite something isn't it! :D

View from our room ;)

Now time for some nice Dutch fare. ;) Walking is the best way to explore the city. :D

Here's our lunch spot, The Pantry. It serves traditional, old Dutch dishes. :)

I have no idea what Dutch fare is about until this first meal in Amsterdam. :)
Dutch shrimp croquettes with homemade cocktail sauce. 

Bitterballen (beef croquettes)

Seabass fillet with mash and fresh green herbs 

Stew beef with mash and beetroot

Our Amsterdam day 1 exploration continued after lunch. :) 

Albert Cuyp Market didn't interest us much. But at least we tried Stroopwafles. :D

When in Amsterdam, how can we not visit the Miffy store! :D I really needed to get one Miffy! :)))

Cherry blossoms are in season! Woohoo! :)

After a week away from home, we missed Asian food. So dinner tonite would be Indonesian cuisine at Jun. :D

Tummies are filled and ready for bed. Was contemplating to find a supermarket to grab some ice cream but our lids were just too heavy. So this is our day 1 in Amsterdam. :)

Details of The Pantry:
Leidsekruisstraat 21, 1017 RE Amsterdam, Netherlands
T: +31 20 620 0922
W:https://thepantry.nl/info/

Details of Jun's Indonesian cuisine: 
Frederik Hendrikstraat 98, 1052 HZ Amsterdam, Netherlands
T:+31 20 785 9185
W: http://www.restaurantjun.nl/en/#

Day 1: Hola! :D

We arrived in Barcelona in a blur...haven't taken a long haul flight on economy class for ages and our knees are stiff from being constricted in tight spaces for such long hours. :( 
Dropped our baggages at Hostel Grau and headed out almost immediately for an Espanol adventure...not in our best form. But no time to waste. 

Our tummies needed refuelling and the first stop was brunch at Cerveseria Catalana.

Mom and Beanie needed their coffee perk-me-up. Coffees are so cheap in Spain. :)))

Eh....Spanish hot chocolate are so thick it feels more like eating mousse. :)))

Calamaris....fat & chewy. :)

Despite its smallness, Spanish croquettes are very heavy....way to heavy for my liking actually.

Carbo seems to be inevitable in every dish...Spanish omelette has potatoes in them. 

Shredded potatoes with eggs....now you know what I meant. :)))

The waitress taught us to eat them the Spanish way by mixing them up for us. :)

My tummy wasn't ready for such a heavy brunch and the only item I enjoyed at Cerveseria was the grilled shrimps. :)))

Lin didn't plan much for the day...which was brilliant. We slowly made our way to Escriba for some desserts.

Eating helps keep us awake. :) We popped into Escriba for some cakes. 

Escriba's cakes are so fanciful... :O

Their croissants are supposedly to be good too. :)

Tiredness written all over my face...

Let's hope some retail therapy helps. ;)

Finding our way to La Chinata 

Spotted this little one waiting patiently for his owner at a cafe. :) 

La Chinata is an olive speciality store. :)

We are destined to be friends! We didn't know we are all going to be in Barcelona at the same time. It wasn't plan at all. :))) Crystal and Alan flew in from San Francisco, Jose flew in from Phoenix, Stella flew in from Hong Kong and us from Singapore. Dinner tonite will be at Tapas 24. :)

Quite a number of items we wanted to try weren't available...making the dinner rather disappointing. But the company was fabulous and more than made up for it. :D

Bikini Comerc 24...a sexy name... is actually warm sandwich with black truffles, cured Iberian ham and buffalo mozzarella. 

Roast chicken croquettes...I struggled with these again.

Spanish egg atop with ham...

Mom & Beanie shared some lentil soup as they wanted something soupy. 

That was all we had for dinner. We didn't even bother about desserts because we were dead tired and the dining experience at Tapas 24 had been underwhelming. 
My take on my first day in Barcelona...not liking the food at all...

Details of Cerveseria Catalana:
Carrer de Mallorca
236, 08008 Barcelona
Spain
T: +34 932 16 03 68

Details of Escriba:
Carrer La Ramble 83

Details of Tapas 24:
Carrer de la Diputacio
269, 08007 Barcelona
Spain
T: +34 934 88 09 77