MILLY: Amsterdam: A Hidden Gem & Eating Out

We started our last full day wandering in the direction of the Van Gogh Museum (definitely visit - no photos allowed, sorry!) and en route found a delicious deli-cum-bakery where we of course had to collect coffee (real good) and pastries (the perfect crispy-soft kind). You can find Stach here.

After we wandered into the city centre - ticking off the Red Light District (which personally I wouldn't do again), and ducking through archways into second hand book fairs and Amsterdam's beautiful University campus. On our way out of the centre we did stumble across something I would encourage anyone visiting the city to do. A hidden gem behind a fairly standard wooden door in a city wall, come inside...

The Begijnhof is one of Amsterdam's oldest courtyards. It's a group of private dwellings (all women, representing a sort of nunnery - but with more freedom) around a chapel and a church, steeped in history (and historical religious strife). It's an incredibly calming space and definitely a place worth visiting and learning more about.

Also, do yourself a favour and pick up a little treat from this highly-respected chocolate shop...

We also passed this bakery/cafe which we took note of to return the next morning for breakfast, and sandwiches to take to the airport - seriously good call! We tried the famous apple pie of Amsterdam, pastries, coffee, and packed up fishy-lemon-herby-garlic aioli sandwich combos... I loved the wall paper and the stools made simply out of old artist palettes and vegetable boxes. Some of the lampshades were even colanders. Find De Laatste Kruimel here.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. Our last evening meal was simply spot on. I genuinely can't fault a single aspect of it, and really can only do quite the opposite. Also - the wine.

Celeriac soup with blue cheese and walnut bread

Three fish medley

Dutch cheese, walnuts, and some sort of sweet chutney

We also had a thai beef salad, meat medley, and their take on eton mess. Find Humphrey's here

Until next time Amsterdam, I'll definitely be back...