Click to see Sebastian’s interview Everyone dresses for dinner. Even Captain Jules is out of his working clothes, and our guide Lea, who joins us for the last meal, is a revelation in a filmy long dress. And the menu? Sebastian explains what he is cooking for us (click here or on his photo at right). The cheeses for this evening are special too – an epoisse, a Sainte Maure de Touraine and some new and aged …
This week has flown by, and now we are down to the last day. After breakfast we head out to a farm and cheese factory and learn how the famous cheeses of Gouda are made. We had a tasting of the cheeses and they were so good that I bought a round which I’ll take home in my checked luggage. It is sealed in wax and vacuum sealed in plastic, so it should be fine. I always …
Read moreDay Six: Last Full Day on Board Le Panache – Cheese in Gouda and Frans Hals in Haarlem
I finally get a chance to chat with Sebastian when he has a quiet moment in the kitchen. He is so young, but undeniably gifted. His full name is Sebastian Amberville, he’s English and he has very good culinary chops. He has apprenticed with Gordon Ramsay –“That was hell”, he explains. “They spent the first half of the time tearing you down, destroying your confidence, making you feel useless. Then they start building you back up. Pure …
It puzzles me why anyone would take a Spring cruise through the tulip fields of Holland if they had no interest in flowers, historic cities, museums or local culture. And why would you come on a cruise like this and spend your afternoons watching movies in your cabin? But we all have our different reasons for traveling, I suppose. The majority of passengers have decided that they do not want to be bothered with a trip to …
A morning run through Delft is perfect – the streets are quiet and running past the old city gate that Vermeer painted, and along canals sided by pretty Dutch houses makes the experience more than just good exercise. After breakfast, we walked from the boat to the Royal Delft Factory (http://www.royaldelft.com) where we toured the factory and museum and visited the showroom. I was very tempted to buy a piece or two – blue and white china …
We have just a partial day to see a bit more of Amsterdam. The crew from European Waterways is scheduled to pick us up at Central Station at 4:30. There’s not a lot of time, but with the I Amsterdam card, we can use the tram service to get where we want to go fast. I have been to Amsterdam several times and have seen most of the major attractions. If this is your first time, don’t …
Read moreA quick tour through amsterdam’s newest attractions – and some old ones too.
There are those who may come to Amsterdam and pick up various addictions – this is, after all , the city of weed cafes and red light ladies, but I got hooked on a different habit: Dutch french fries! These babies are to die for! We stopped at a small shop, not much bigger than a closet, called vers gesneden friet, which I think means real fresh-cut fries. In Amsterdam, french fries are referred to as either …
The Hotel Ambassade (www.ambassade-hotel.nl) sits demurely on the edge of the Herengracht Canal, the gentlemen’s canal. The hotel occupies ten seventeenth century canal houses, all tied together and renovated but retaining their historic character. It’s a hotel I would come back to in a heartbeat. It is situated within easy walk of the flower market on the Singel, it’s not very far from the ‘Dam Square, and it’s close to the tram which can take you all …
This is one of my favourite cities, and I am always charmed by it. We didn’t have a lot of time to see too much – arriving on Saturday morning, leaving on the cruise on Sunday afternoon – so we had to be selective in what we chose to do. Even in the early morning light,as we arrived in the city, there was lots of movement on the streets of Amsterdam. This is a city that lives …
Blog Post #1: Pre-Cruise: From Schiphol to City Centre Amsterdam This is a trip I have been looking forward to for a long time. I have longed to see the gardens of the Keukenhof, the miles of tulip fields and the great cities of Holland. Finally it is happening, and in the best way possible – on board the European Waterways barge, Le Panache, that will cruise through the intitricate system of canals that crisscross the country. …
Read moreA spring barge trip through Holland’s tulip fields–Tulip Fever
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