Katarina & Pascal’s place is so nice for the next four days we do almost nothing but hang around, read, drink and eat.  We did go back to the wine and food festival on Sunday night.  It did seem a bit tame in comparison to Martinborough but there was a bit going on and we did head over to Leuven & Brussels on Monday but as it was a bit showery we did not do  much.  Wednesday we had dinner at Le Bon Choix, 12 Rechtstraat, Maastricht, a place recommended by Katarina and turned out to be really nice.  We almost had the place to ourselves, one other couple came in when we were almost finished.  The chef spent a lot of time talking to us and lining up places to go to in Amsterdam.  I have put the address in because if you are ever in the vicinity then I would recommend it as well.  We both ate Argentinian Angus beef 

Thursday we have breakfast with Katarina & Pascal, they had got home from Ibiza late Wednesday so it was our chance to  thank them for the use of their fantastic apartment and catch up before heading off to Amsterdam 200 km away.  We dropped off the motorway at Sint-Michelsgestel because it had a quaint name and it turned out to be this lovely little village.  We probably spent a couple of hours there drinking coffee, exploring the supermarket.  We even ate some raw herring (Hollandse Nieuwe) with raw onion.  We had been told in the little restaurant we went to last night that this was a must do and a Dutch speciality.  It did melt in your mouth as you held it up by the tail and sucked it down but once is enough for now.  We were in Amsterdam by late afternoon and booked into hotel Casa 400 out by Amstel Station, a short hop into the city centre from here.  Accommodation is quite expensive here.  It is quite a lively place with a lot going on.  After settling in we went out for a walk, sorted the transport and had dinner at Dauphine, across the road from Amstel Station and I think not far away from the brewery.

Katarina & Pascal’s Apartment 

Across the Road from Wine & Food 

Wine and Food