Amsterdam: Homeward, once more
It was a Saturday morning, and our last few hours to spend in Amsterdam. The Rascal had us up bright and early, but unfortunately there was nothing but Starbucks open for breakfast until after 10am. We know this, because we searched in vain on the empty streets for quite some time before giving up. There were very few people to be seen, apart from an army of cleaners tackling a mess that would make TempleBar on a Sunday morning seem quite tame. We settled for letting the Rascal have a pancake breakfast in Starbucks. He grinned and babbled at the couple across the large hardwood table. He’s on a one baby mission to trick people into procreating on the assumption that babies are always happy and carefree, day and night. They’re not. This couple also fell victim to his charms though.
We packed up our bags in the hotel and then returned at 10am to Gartine which is a really small little place that requires quite a bit of luck to get into. We were first in the door when they opened and were blessed to get the one table not already reserved. And the table was only free until 11. Plenty long enough for us to sample some delicious granola and yoghurt, and sugary french toast followed by tangy lemon meringue pie. Not much there that was healthy enough for the Rascal to taste, so he amused himself playing peekaboo with everyone in the cafe. A steady stream of people came in while we ate, only to be turned away, faces full of disappointment. We left glad to have sampled some sweet treats, but feeling very sorry that we hadn’t discovered the place earlier in the trip. The afternoon high tea looked like something worth queueing for.
Then it was time to return to the airport and board a plane back home. The Rascal did not sleep on this flight. Not a wink. Instead he was determined to keep pulling at the seats in front and clambering from one parent to the other. Not a whole lot of fun for us, but at least he was relatively quiet for the sake of all the other passengers. Very soon we were descending over a somewhat sunny Dublin city. Amsterdam was a good break away for us overall, but now back to the daily routine.