My favorite food is fish. If it swims, I'll probably eat it. The samples at Urker Viswinkle fish shop were a treat.

I was excited to try the traditional Dutch way of eating herring; raw with pickles and onions. The non-seafood fans in the group treated this like a Fear Factor Challenge.

The other traditional way that the Dutch eat herring, is the whole fish down the hatch. Check out the picture below, it had a poster of a little girl eating fish. I'm not sure that I could have handled that!

For the less adventurous, we also sampled fried fish. Excellent.

Next it was back to where we started the tour, Cafe Papeneiland.

Cafe Papeneiland is well known for their apple pie. At nearly four hundred years old, Cafe Papeneiland is one of the oldest "brown" cafes in Amsterdam. Here is an interior shot.

We were told that Bill Clinton had visited and was a huge fan of the apple pie. He couldn't just eat one slice. We were each given a generous slice, ala mode.

The desserts continued with Stroopwaffle Heaven.

Stroopwaffles are everywhere in Amsterdam. I had actually tried stroopwaffles before visiting the Netherlands. They are sold in prepackaged tins for gifts and Dan had brought some home to me from his previous trip to Amsterdam. Also, KLM served Stroopwaffles as a mid-flight snack on our journey over.

The stroopwaffles at Stroopwaffle Heaven were freshly made and this makes all of the difference. A stroopwaffle is like taking a waffle cone and making it into a circle, rather than a cone, then taking two circles and creating a sandwich with warm caramel in the middle. It's as yummy as it sounds.

We were given a tip for refreshing the pre-made stroopwaffles: The stroopwaffles are made to be the perfect size to rest on top of a cup of tea or coffee. You let the steam warm the caramel and make the stroopwaffle gooey again. Although it isn't quite as nice as having one freshly made, it does do the trick.

Our last stop was the Cafe De Blaffende Vis for local beer and bitterballen.

We drank the Funky Falcon from Two Chefs Brewing and learned that microbreweries are popping up all over the city.

I've blogged about bitterballen in previous Amsterdam trip reports. I ate it every single day of the trip. I didn't notice enough of a difference in the dish to where I could say "so and so has the best bitterballen in town", but I can say that it was across the board consistent and yummy. I'd never turn down a chance to eat those cheesy/meaty fried balls of joy.

A picture of our tour group. Our guide, Jelte, is on the far left. Nice people all around and a fun tour.

Here are some neighborhood pictures that I took while we walked around Jordaan.

The Eating Amsterdam Jordan Food Tour was a highlight of my Amsterdam vacation. It was a wonderful way to tour the city and get a taste of Dutch culture. Make sure to book early to avoid disappointment, this is a popular tour. And whatever you do, arrive with an empty stomach and pace yourself. This is a marathon, not a sprint!

My first trip to Amsterdam was a week-long whirlwind of trying to cram in as many museums, tourist sights, and local food as possible. It was exhausting and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

The exhaustion hit before we even landed. We were bleary-eyed and achy from the 10 1/2 hour red-eye flight, direct from Los Angeles. Sleep could wait for a few hours, while the excitement of a new city pulled us to explore.

We were staying in the center of Spuistraat, a vibrant neighborhood in Amsterdam that's just a short walk to many of the tourist sites. I can't imagine a more ideal location for a sightseeing home base.

First stop? The Amsterdam Cheese Company! It's never too early in the trip to make your cheese plans. Unfortunately, suitcase space is limited. The thought of bringing an empty "cheese suitcase" was under serious consideration.

We were a two minute walk from the ABC- " The American Book Center". Why should an American tourist go to an American bookstore in a foreign country? First, it's a bookstore. I can't walk past a bookstore without going in. Second, they had an excellent selection of Dutch novels translated into English. Books that I likely would not encounter in an American bookstore state side. I purchased Craving by Esther Gerritsen, and although I've not had a chance to read it, I'm pleased every time I look at my bookshelf and see my Amsterdam souvenir. Much better than a tee-shirt or snow globe!

Any ideas regarding this sign?

We got lost in a series of narrow alleys and discovered a beautiful courtyard.

For lunch, we headed to the Cafe Hoppe. I'm a Southern California native, and the more I travel, the more I realize how lucky I am to live in a place with such amazing food; fresh produce, great meat, and a culturally diverse cuisine. It's the best, especially the Mexican food. I don't know what I was thinking when ordering nachos at Cafe Hoppe. Not good. It recalled my fajitas in England fiasco.

This was my first experience with the local dish, bitterballen. We ate bitterballen every single day of the trip. Bitterballen are little deep-fried balls filled with a mixture of minced meat and cheese. They are served with a mustard dipping sauce. Yummy! The internal mixture is molten, so it's important to puncture the ball to release the heat before taking a bite. This is a lesson that everyone needs to learn only once.

After lunch, we headed to our hotel for a much needed nap. I've been long warned about the small rooms in European hotels. Honestly, I've not found them to be abnormally small. We've stayed in many hotels in Europe and none of them have been too small for two people. Sure, they may be smaller than a comparably priced room in a US hotel, and certainly smaller than the enormous Las Vegas hotels that we frequently visit, but there are still big enough. I think the real difference is city vs country hotels. City hotels are smaller due to space and the expense of real-estate.

Here are some pictures of our hotel, the NH City Centre. The pictures were taken towards the end of our trip, so please excuse the airing of our dirty laundry.

We woke up in the early evening and walked around the neighborhood in search of a restaurant for dinner. The canals were stunning with the soft lights of the street lamps twinkling in the water. Amsterdam is beautiful.

Memories of India was our stop for dinner. Good food, nice atmosphere. We ordered our favorite dishes like Chicken Biriyani and Tikka Masala, enjoying a meal very much like we would get in England or even back home in California. Don't worry, we ate plenty local Dutch cuisine during our trip!

Eating Amsterdam Jordaan Food Tour: Part Two

Amsterdam- Arriving in Spuistraat