There's nothing quite like a family dinner at home. But what if you're nowhere near your family — out on the road in another country, spending the night in a hotel (albeit a very nice one)?
If that hotel is in Amsterdam (the Sheraton Amsterdam Airport Hotel and Conference Center, for instance), you can have that nice family dinner — with a local family. For €49.98, Dine with the Dutch matches you up with a pre-screened Amsterdammer, who will play host for the evening, inviting you into his/her/their home for a meal and great conversation about the city and Dutch life in general. Hosts of various backgrounds are available, from taxi drivers to artists. Depending on the person, the evening might include a neighborhood tour and maybe even a boatride on one of the canals.
The service isn't just for lonely souls; couples and families are just as welcome. Children ages 8 to 16 are just €25 and children under 8 are free. (Dine with the Dutch is open to groups of up to 15 people, although obviously that would be a less intimate affair.)
Been-Seen points out similar programs in Paris and Wales, and I'm sure a little research (which I plan to do, just for you) will turn up more in other countries. Stay tuned...
