onegoodeye

I've been planning a trip for my gf and I for months now and we are under 2 weeks out. I have used a lot of the reviews and advice I've read on this board and have the trip roughly laid out but I wanted to get any further advice on what I may be missing or on the timing of things. I want to leave enough time in the schedule for wandering around and exploring but I also want to make sure we don't miss anything that we need to see. I would also like any recommendations or opinions on restaurants that I have planned.

In Amsterdam we are staying in an apartment on Kerkstraat in Leidsplein, in Bruges we are staying at Grand Hotel Casselbergh and in Barcelona we are stayin off of Carrer de la Princesa

Day 1 6/18

Check into apartment at 12:00

We are renting bikes for the full 3 days we are there.

Rijksmuseum or Van Gogh museum. What I've read suggests Rijksmuseum if we're only going to do one so that's what I'm leaning towards.

Heineken Experience?

Albert Cuyp Market

Brouwerij 't IJ - Windmill for a drink

Cafe de Klos or Lombardo's for dinner both near our apartment

Day 2 6/19

Pannenkoekenhuis "Upstairs" for breakfast

Anne Frank House - reservations for 11:00

9 streets for shopping and exploring

If it's nice out Take ferry over to Pllek

Afternoon/evening red light district walk

Possibly do Van Gogh museum (open til 22:00 on Fridays)

Trying to decide on dinner between Foodism, De Kas, Bussia or Cau

Kind of depends on what part of the city we're in around then

Drinks in RLD

Day 3 6/20

Breakfast at Gartine

Vondel Park (if it's nice out)

See some of the things on the Day 1 itinerary that we may not have gotten to.

Canal tour

Rijsttafel for dinner. Thinking about Tempo Doeloe, Restaurant Blauw or Sama Sebo. Any suggestions?

Day 4 6/21

Train to Bruges 11:00
Brewery tour at Huisbrouwerij De Halve Maan
Hit local bars and find a restaurant for dinner

Day 5 6/22
Explore Bruges - Market Place, Belfry, Basilica of the Holy Blood
Train to Brussels
Delirium
Flight to Barcelona
Check into apartment around 21:00
Wander around El Born
Dinner reservations at Arcano at 22:00

Day 2 6/23
This is the celebration day of Festival of St. Joan - Will everything be open?
Planning to explore shops and streets of El Born on our way towards the Boqueria. See the Cathedral on the way over.
Lunch at El Quim/Pintxos
Buy food for later that night down on the beach.
Wander down Ramblas to Columbus statue
Have a drink at El Bosc De Les Fades
Head down towards Barceloneta for bonfires/fireworks
Drinks and food in Barceloneta

Day 3 6/24

Planned trip to Dali Museum in Figueres because I read many things will be closed in BCN due to St. Joan holiday.
Any suggestions for lunch in Figueres? I have searched for this but haven't found anything that looks great near the museum.
Return from Figueres in the evening.
Dinner at Tapeo

Day 4 6/25

Sagrada Familia reservations at 10:00
Casa Batllo, Casa Mila, Parc Guell?
Lunch at Paco Merlago or Cervecería Catalana or Ciudad Condal
Shopping around Eixample
Back to El Born for Picasso Museum (open til 9:30 on Thursdays)
Dinner at El Xampanyet or Mosquito or Bar del Pla. Suggestions?

Day 5 6/26

Tour Palau de la Música Catalana?
Wander around shopping and exploring
Santa Caterina Market
Picnic lunch Ciutadella Park
Dinner at Montiel (have reservations) or Gresca

I wasn't able to get reservations for Tickets for the time we are going to be there but I did manage to get a reservation for 13:00 on the day we are leaving. Do you think it would be possible to "exchange" this reservation for a similar time for a day that we will be there?

My gf isn't huge on seafood but I would like to get one good seafood meal in. I was going to maybe switch one of our lunches out for La Paradeta either near the park or Sagrada Familia.

Sorry for the long post and thanks for reading but is there anything I'm missing? Does this look too full where we'll be running around?
Thanks for any help in advance.

PalenQ

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ite-things.cfm

a thread I and others have contributed about what we like about Amsterdam!

You have a full plate planned it seems - re-think the bikes IMO as you will be mainly in a rather compact area where walking is nice and riding a bike in Amsterdam is not child's play - make sure you know the rules of the bike paths and etiquette of them too. I'd maybe rent bike for a day and go thru Vondel Park and out to the windmill.

drinks in the RLD - wow that is adventuresome - mainly gritty pubs there with young and or gritty folks inside.

Now for train info - you can take InterCity (IC) trains Amsterdam to Bruges and just buy these flat-fare tickets once in A'dam no seat reservations are even possible - I'd say pay extra for first class or perhaps be in a very very congested 2nd class IME. 3.5 hours Amsterdam via changing in Antwerp to Bruges - alternative route is to take Thalys trains to Brussels then IC trains to Bruges (Thalys has a byzantine fare structure - deep discounts if booked WAY in advance and then non-changeable non-refundable but could be cheaper than the other route - if doing Thalys get the ABS Any-Belgian-Station fare that allows you to take any train to Bruges or any Belgian station after arriving in Brussels on your Thalys train - gives a chance to spend a few hours in Brussels if you want - put bags in station locker.

Anyways www.thalys.com for Thalys official site. Again the Antwerp route has IME no savings for advance purchase so just buy that one there but Thalys if you get a deep discount could well be cheaper and maybe faster.

Going back to Brussels again pretty mudch flat fare - just buy your ticket once in Bruges - probably two trains an hour and no reservations even possible - can always board even if all seats are occupied.

For lots of general info on trains check these IMO informative sites: www.seat61.com - great info on discounted tickets; www.ricksteves.com and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

The Heineken Experience is no brewery tour as the brewery itelf wa torn down long ago - mainly films and showcases and of course the tasting room for a few glasses of Heinie.

PalenQ

Train to Brussels
Delirium
Flight to Barcelona>

What is "Delirium" - some kind of sight? Curious.

OK - I Googled - for others who may be clueless too:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delirium_Caf%C3%A9

onegoodeye

Thanks PalenQ. That's a great link about what you like to do in Amsterdam. After reading so many negative things about the Heineken tour I think we're going to skip it. I'd rather go to some old bars instead and try some Jenever.

We already have Thalys tickets for the trip to Bruges. The only tickets I don't have yet are from Bruges to Brussels. Is it easy to get from the Brussels train station to the airport?

PalenQ

Yes trains go right from all major Brussels stations - Midi, Centraal and Nord right to the terminals at Zaventem Airport. But a ticket from Bruges to Zaventem and probably change in Brussels but some trains may go direct to the airport from Bruges.