Day 2 – Amsterdam
We got in to Schiphol (AMS) around 8:00am and to the hotel by 9:30am. We are staying Andaz Prinsengracht, a Hyatt property located centrally in the canal region of Amsterdam. We have stayed here before and really loved it. The hotel is quite nice and the whole property has an “Alice in Wonderland” theme, including their outstanding bar. Unfortunately, our room wasn’t ready at such an early hour, but we were able to use their spa facility to shower and change clothes.
We’ve done the big tourist activities before: Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum, canal cruise, Anne Frank house, etc. so we didn’t have much of an agenda. We’d seen a recommendation for a brunch spot called Little Collins, so we headed there. Super cute vibes and amazing food! We had the peach French toast, spiced potato flatbread, iced coffees and bloody marys and couldn’t have been happier. The spiced potato flatbread was particularly interesting – especially the pineapple-jalapeno chutney.
After brunch we walked down toward the “museum district”. The Rijksmuseum is always worth a visit, even if only to enjoy the exterior architecture. Additionally, in the Moco Museum, a short walk away, they had a Banksy exhibit. We love Banksy and actually saw a temporary exhibit of his last time we were in Amsterdam, so this was a can’t miss. Another stroll along the canals and we were back at the Andaz around 1:00pm and our room was almost ready. We killed time in the lobby bar, where the bartenders are 50% servers and 50% story tellers. They are extremely creative and know an amazing amount about local spirits and mixology. Definitely one of the top bars in the city.
By 2:00pm we were in our room (garden view) and able to get organized for our next stop – High tea the Conservatorium Hotel. The hotel is spectular, from the violin-related art installation in the entry, to the atrium in the courtyard (where tea was served) to the large, well-appointed rooms (per Trip Advior & Hotels.com). Definitely worth a try next time we are here, but the price point ($700+) matches the quality of the hotel. Sometimes you get what you pay for.
Dinner tonight was at La Perla, a pizza restaurant that is about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. The food was exceptional (spicy sausage pizza, tomato & prosciutto flatbread and a nice bottle of Chianti). We even made friends at the next table (also Americans, plus they live 10 minutes from us in Los Angeles.). After dinner, the four of us had a night cap at the bar at the Pulitzer hotel (another potential hotel for our next trip) and then it was off to bed.
Geneva here we come!