Not about RE - What to do in Amsterdam and Barcelona

Two great choices! Both places you'll want to just walk and walk around. Asterdam's canals are wonderful and the light on them will make you realize why Dutch painting looks the way it does. In Barcelona go see everything designed by the architect Gaudi, the cathedral, the Parc Guell, other amazing things. Go to the covered market off the Ramblas if you like piles of spices, interesting foods etc, and get a great cup of coffee. If you get the chance, go to the Salvatore Dali museum - and his house not far from town on the Costa Brava. There are gilded loaves of bread on the roof.

For Amsterdam, I would not miss the Anne Frank House, Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh museum (pricey, but worth it), Heineken Experience. There's a nice park in the western end of the city (Plantage) and a lot of great little shops around the town's center, but it's not a very big city and you can discover a lot on foot. One restaurant I'd recommend if you want to see what's trendy these days - P King. Food is good, but the main draw is the ambiance and crowd. It happens to be owned by a family friend too, so I may be a little biased!

You must try rijsttafel while in Amsterdam, delicious Indonesian tasting menu from colonial days. In Barcelona it was difficult to find a nice restaurant that served dinner before 10:00 pm.

what kind of trip do you want to amsterdam? need to know a little more about your idea of a great vacation in a city that offers a lot of different things.

for me i never go without going to The Supper Club (http://www.supperclub.com/). Definitely make a reservation (think you can do it online). The original is in Amsterdam but now they have a few around the world. Only been to Amsterdam Supper Club a bunch of times but it is a ONE-OF-A-KIND dining experience. Great several course meal, served upstairs and down while you chill out on "beds." There is something for every sense here: excellent food, very cool music (they actually have their own series of cd's), usually some kind of performance art (that you can't always tell if it is just naturally occurring or a set-up to blow your mind that is already pushed to the limits). A wild night.

Rokeru - this is my favorite coffee shop

Struppewaffels (not sure if that is the right spelling) - an amazing dutch treat. two round wafers with a caramelly-kind of substance between them. a knockout on their own, but put them over the top of your hot cup of coffee for a few minutes to warm up and fugghedaboutit. the perfect gift to by for anyone you want to be indebted to you for the rest of their life. you can get them all around town but you are just as fine to grab a box or case on the way out in the airport.

if the top two on this list are not your styel, that's fine, but TRUST ME on the Struppewaffels and thank me when you get back.

Frommers.com - don't leave home without it.

Do not miss the Van Gogh museum. It is absolutely amazing.

As far as Barcelona goes -
Sagrada Familia (http://www.sagradafamilia.cat/sf-eng/index.php), Park Guell, La Boqueria, the beach. Take a train out to montserrat (http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/tour/montserrat-spain.html). For eating, the best meal I had was at Cafe de la Academia (http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/europe/spain/catalonia/barcelona/44875/cafe-de-lacademia/restaurant-detail.html)

Sniper, you know they sell a pretty good Stroopwaffel at Trader Joe's, right?

wish, I was robbed in Barcelona outside the Picasso Museum and I went to file a police report and I found myself in a long line of tourists who had been robbed outside the Picasso Museum. This was years ago, but the warning is: be a little careful. The cathedral, La Sagrada Familia, is wonderful, and any food you eat in Barcelona will be good.

ali r.
{downtown broker}

www.tripadvisor.com is a great resource. if you are a photographer, you can get terrific suggestions by posting the question on the travel forum of www.photo.net

i had no idea about trader joe's stroopwaffels. are they made in the states or are they dutch? either way, i will check them out.

Thank you all for the suggestions.

trinityparent- I didn't know about Gaudi, but looked him up on your suggestion. Interesting reading, especially about how he would model his visions. Can't wait to see it in person.

bjw2103- will definitely check out Plantage, sounds like our kind of thing. When you first said P King, my mind jumped to PF Changs and I was confused and vaguely horrified. Then I understood. Do they require reservations?

NYRENewbie - is rijsttafel a specific restaurant or a cuisine?

sniper- We like walking a lot, getting outside the city center; like museums, but won't let it dominate our trip even when it could (Paris comes to mind). love new food, and we like our booze too. I don't like zoos or aquariums (boring). Am not hugely into the amenities, but when in Rome... I feel like I'm writing an ad on a dating site...
Your link didn't work and sounded weird and intriguing!

junkman_r_u_serious- how does the beach work in Barcelona? I kind of figured it was like beaches in other big cities - not real beach. Is it actually the kind of beach you go to? Will definitely check out Cafe de la Academia.

front_porch - my good friend, who is a huge former swedish military (oxymoron there) guy got his wallet stolen in that exact same spot by a bunch of 9 year olds. He went back to find them. He didn't but as he was walking away realized his cell phone had gone missing since then as well. I'll be careful.