AMSTERDAM

I have lived in Amsterdam for over 7 years and have fully enjoyed my time there. I currently live half an hour away from the centre of Amsterdam. A place with more nature, less crowded and our kids can play on the streets. Ideal as my kids are 3 and 4. However with Amsterdam just a stone's throw away, we still often go there for a cup of coffee and to enjoy the facilities this big city has to offer. Nice cafes and restaurants, great shops, museums, parks etc. As I dont like the commercial and touristy shopping areas in Amsterdam we go to those parts of the city where they have more boutique kind of shops and cafes. This time we decided to go to the Utrechtsestraat area where they have to coolest shops, a.o. JAN, some great conceptstores like LEUK and Sissy Boy (I finally scored an ampersand sign there!) and my favourite store Mobilia. The best cafe for lunch seemed to be Bar Moustache as it was solidly packed for over two hours. To bad, so we needed to go elsewhere for coffee and a pit stop for the kids. We also made a quick stop for a shot of wheatgrass, for the well needed energy, at Lite/Dark, a cool modern place with a brick wall, where they serve al sorts of fresh fruit and vegetable juices and fruits covered in raw chocolate. The Utrechtsestraat also has great restaurants, delis, patisseries and Marqt, a great 'supermarket' full of biological goodies. All in all it was just a perfect day, cold, blue and sunny. We ended our trip with having a late lunch in the Ysbreker, just a few blocks down the Utrechtsestraat, at the Amstel river.

Bikes on the canal bridge

Hay Kaleido trays at Mobilia

@Ysbreker