This is Don writing.
Happy 4th of July in the U.S.!
We started the day in Amsterdam with excellent croissants (best I've had so far), and then sauntered through a great farmers market. I've noticed farmers markets in Europe have the usual local food mongers mixed in with a variety of other goods. If you need some clothes, toothpaste, household items, jewelry, hardware, etc., then it can be found. Feels like part outdoor simple department store mixed with lots of great food product.
Next, we ate at La Perla for lunch. The restaurant was ideally located, with a nice breeze coming through giving us a little respite from the oppressively hot & humid weather here in Europe. Really good wood fired pizza, salads, and tasty beer.
After our lunch we boarded the train for the 1st stage of the Tour de France in Utrecht. The stage was a time trial stage with riders starting every minute. The train station literally exited on to the finish line of the stage, and we chose to walk up the course to just past the riders 1k remaining banner. The place was packed with a party atmosphere. We were 3 deep watching flashes of riders either just starting the race or going towards the finish. And we always new when a Dutch rider was coming as the crowd was whipped into a frenzy for 2 minutes. Oh, and the weather -- hot!
After the Tour, we made our way back to Amsterdam for dinner at Plantage. We all felt a little burnt out from the day, and you could tell by the food ordering. We had by our standards a light dinner which was tasty (Holly -bavette steak, Don-roasted chicken, Max- sausage ravioli, Ben - risotto, plus fries & aioli course) all served by our waiter who looked like a twin to Zach Galifianakis (Hangover movie).
Sunday July 5th is moving day back to Heidelberg, Germany where the weather forecast is 100+ degrees. Look forward to it!
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