Amsterdam Day 4 - Lost in The Jordaan

I had the day to myself again, so I thought I would take a walking tour from my guidebook. It was called Lost in the Jordaan. The Jordaan was a working class district in the1700's and has always been home to the outspoken and its people notoriously hard to govern. These  days its a mix of yuppies, families, the elderly and shops and gallerys. Apparently even with such a diverse group it is still close kit and you are expected to be part of the community.

I started the tour at the Noorderkerk (northern church) and had a most awesome walk. Everything here is both old and very cool. This was a warehouse at one point and still has the same famous red shutters.

Wandering around this neighborhood was a bit challenging. all the roads were at diagonals to each other and were not all that clearly marked. But at least they had street numbers. In the old days before they adopted the French custom of numbering houses, they used tile placards to show you what the store did... ie tailor, baker etc. Check out the butchers sign

I got quite hungry on  my walk and stopped at a cafe. Ordered a cheese panini. It came with ham, pesto asparagus and about seven pounds of mozzarella. OMG i may never leave this city.

Had dinner with David and Jason at a small Greek place, quite yummy. David and I decided about 11:00 to go for a beer tour. MMM Heineken Extra Cold. stored at 0 degrees.   New favourite.