Booked a tour to see Giethoorn, one of the mostly car-free villages in the northeastern Dutch province of Overijssel. It borders a section of the Weerribben-Wieden National Park, a marshy area once popular for peat and reed harvesting. A one and half hour journey out of Amsterdam. Went pass lots of tulip fields on the side of the motorways.

The village is often called the ‘Venice of the Netherlands’. There are many canals and bridges (more than 180 bridges). Most of the houses and cottages have thatched roofs, so it feels a little as if you have stepped back in time, as you walk along the footpath (watch out for testy locals bicycle-riding!) by the canal admiring the pretty homes and perhaps stopping for lunch at one of the canal-side cafes or restaurants. An initially sunny morning turned a bit grey and overcast towards lunch time…grrrrr!

Those peaceful-looking photos of cottages by the water with not a soul in sight? You have to wait quite a while and time your photography skills by a split-second! The footpaths beside the canals are quite small; many visitors just randomly stop to take photos, or mill around in packs talking and don’t move out of the way for others…got a bit frustrating at times.

I actually found it quite amusing how full the canals were, of tourists who didn’t seem to know how to steer their little whisper-boats, so they were constantly bumping into the edges of the canals/other boats like some sort of slow-motion dodgem’.

The village itself HAS picturesque charm. There are boxes of flowers on a lot of the bridges, the houses are all immaculately cared for, with beautiful painted shutters and gorgeous gardens. It’s also really nice to sit beside the canals and watch the boats, ducks and swans go by.

A chap was repairing one of the thatched roofs as I was ambling along, told me they last about 30 years, with constant maintenance…interesting watching his ‘spot repairs’.

On the journey home…..

A little treat for dinner tonight – a booking @ Ottolenghi Amsterdam. I was lucky to get it as I made it only a couple of days ago. And discovered it was 150m around the corner from my hotel! Occupying part of the atrium in the amazing Mandarin Oriental Conservatorium 5 star hotel, the restaurant looks bright and airy, lots of greenery and gorgeous decorative ceramics on display on staggered shelving, its a very pleasant spot for a bite. I ordered a couple of entrees: burrata, rhubarb, blood orange, coriander seed crunch; burnt leek, yuzu cream, sorrel, smoked almonds (both very yummy). For dessert, couldn’t go pass the preserved lemon pavlova, lemon curd, marscapone cream and …a delicious cocktail called Cheong Sour (Bols Genever, rhubarb, blood orange, lemon, ginger). Fantastic end to the day.