Cheese, canals, Amsterdam.

My very first day in Amsterdam was picture perfect. It was a gorgeous day. Blue skies and big white clouds, with the sunlight bouncing off the waters of the famed canals. That being said, it was the perfect day for a cruise along the canals, which also came "free" as part of my I Amsterdam card.

The cruise itself was lovely - an hour along the canals, getting a bit of the history of the city. It was for me, nicer to walk along the canals and see their beauty from the many bridges which provide that postcard perfect view.

Next up, was a cheese lover's dream - cheese tasting. I am a lover of gouda cheese and here was my chance to sample gouda in every iteration known to man. Pesto gouda, truffle gouda (divine and in the suitcase), cumin gouda, smoked gouda with herbs and spices (already in the suitcase cause you know I love some smoked gouda), black pepper gouda, asparagus and bacon gouda...and the list goes on and on. My cheese ambassador was amazing. Sweet and very willing to let me try every single cheese in the place - and I mean I tried EVERY last one. Divine. Loved my day with the cheese!

Dutch cuisine, unfortunately is not characterised by anything unique. There were a lot of different types of cuisine being represent and what I had was always fantastic, but it was not Dutch and one cannot really point to anything that screamed Holland. Still, I ate!

And drank. Of course, the Dutch have great beer and while I am not a huge beer drinker, I was in the land of Heineken and Amstel so okay...bring it on. However, the non-Dutch rose beers stole the show for me. Pink beer with a waterfront view - what could have outclassed this?