Thursday, October 6, 2011
test again
Well this our hopefully the last test for the India blog. We willsee how hard itbis to type the messages to everyone.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
A Test......
9/28/11
Had not used my blog since April, so I thought I would do a test to remember how to use......next report should be when we arrive in India.
Had not used my blog since April, so I thought I would do a test to remember how to use......next report should be when we arrive in India.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Day 9 and 10
Day 9 opened by far the warmest of any day there....by noon it was around 75 degrees which is almost not heard of in Netherlands at this time of the year. But for us it was great.
As I mentioned our last day was to check out of the hotel and drive over to the Delft factory. Delft is a pottery company that has been in business since 1640. We parked right in front and without a tour got a electronic earphone tour of the factory on our own. We stared out seeing some incredible pieces....some were as large as walls. One depicted an exact replica of the Night Watch...all in Delft blue...on tiles. There were bowls, dishes, vases and more. Then we went through the factory watching and of course taking pictures of the workers making the basic pottery. All are made in molds with special clay.....and they are all white in color. A special glaze is applied and then painted with a very special black paint which turns blue when heated in the kiln. They used onther colors but blue was by far the most prominent. The pieces were all painted with the black paint and only shading (watering down of the paint) made the shades. We followed the pieces as the "matured" into the final product. We even watched the people paint the actual peices. Each piece depending on the size takes many hours to paint and if there is a mistake (and we got to see a few) they are tossed. Of course we had to buy a couple Xmas decs in the gift shop.
We then were off to go back to Haarlem to drop the car off but we wanted to backtrack again along the route where the flowers were. So we had several more stops with gorgeous views of acres and acres of flowers along with windmills to include in the pictures. WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THEM.
We arrived back and dropped the car off and the rep at AVIS was nice enough to give us a ride back to the train station. There we got our ticket and was on the train back to Amsterdam to transfer to the Airport. We decided to use an airport hotel so we did not have to take a long train ride very early the next day. So we arrived at Amsterdam and changed trains.....this is where the fun started. Now remmeber none of the cars have AC.....and this was Thursday before Easter weekend.....
We got on the train to the airport and it immedately filled up to capacity. We decided to stay near the door because of our baggage...we had 5 bags to carry. As I said, the train was filled when we left.....then about 3 minutes out of the station we stop again at another station and about 200 more tavellers get on with bags and more bags. They push and shove their way into the car....we are REALLY FILLED NOW. then about 5 minutes later down the track we stop at another station and yep......another 200 or so push an shove their way onto the train. Everyone now is yelling and laughing and talking in severl languages.....but we were all in good moods and people were all very nice about the crowd. So now the train is totally.....and I mean that.....full and we are finally off for the 20 minute ride to the airport....the car is as hot as a sauna.....we are as close to each other with MILLIONS of suitcases and bags.....oh it was a treat!!!!! But we made it and we were off to our airport hotel. It was a huge professionaly run hotel with 4 restaurants...2 bars and even a 24 hour snack bar available....for all types of travelers. We got to our room and repacked so that most everything could fit. We went and ate a pretty good pizza at the hamburger restaurant and back to go to bed. We had to get up early for our flight.
Day 10
Last day in the area.....we got to the airport 3 hours prior, checked in (their system is so much better than ours) and we were at the gate.......with guess what....no security check. Weird...but wait.....yep at our gate is a mini setup for security with a body scanner and all. So about 1.5 hours before boarding all all line up to go through security which takes a ton of time and then to A SECOND waiting area to board. The flight was great...no problems to Atlanta and Diana and I watched ...4 movies!!!! 2 on our ipod and 2 on the planes system. cooool.
We were delayed about 30 minutes in Atlanta to Ft. Myers due to plane traffic. We had to wait in line to take off.....but by 7:00 pm Friday night we were in Ft. Myers where friends picked us up and we all relaxed with a Mexican dinner nearby.
So, we are now home again.....
Next big trip............India and Nepal in the fall!!!!
I will post some photos when I get them downloaded onto my computer. So check the blog out in a few days!!!!
As I mentioned our last day was to check out of the hotel and drive over to the Delft factory. Delft is a pottery company that has been in business since 1640. We parked right in front and without a tour got a electronic earphone tour of the factory on our own. We stared out seeing some incredible pieces....some were as large as walls. One depicted an exact replica of the Night Watch...all in Delft blue...on tiles. There were bowls, dishes, vases and more. Then we went through the factory watching and of course taking pictures of the workers making the basic pottery. All are made in molds with special clay.....and they are all white in color. A special glaze is applied and then painted with a very special black paint which turns blue when heated in the kiln. They used onther colors but blue was by far the most prominent. The pieces were all painted with the black paint and only shading (watering down of the paint) made the shades. We followed the pieces as the "matured" into the final product. We even watched the people paint the actual peices. Each piece depending on the size takes many hours to paint and if there is a mistake (and we got to see a few) they are tossed. Of course we had to buy a couple Xmas decs in the gift shop.
We then were off to go back to Haarlem to drop the car off but we wanted to backtrack again along the route where the flowers were. So we had several more stops with gorgeous views of acres and acres of flowers along with windmills to include in the pictures. WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THEM.
We arrived back and dropped the car off and the rep at AVIS was nice enough to give us a ride back to the train station. There we got our ticket and was on the train back to Amsterdam to transfer to the Airport. We decided to use an airport hotel so we did not have to take a long train ride very early the next day. So we arrived at Amsterdam and changed trains.....this is where the fun started. Now remmeber none of the cars have AC.....and this was Thursday before Easter weekend.....
We got on the train to the airport and it immedately filled up to capacity. We decided to stay near the door because of our baggage...we had 5 bags to carry. As I said, the train was filled when we left.....then about 3 minutes out of the station we stop again at another station and about 200 more tavellers get on with bags and more bags. They push and shove their way into the car....we are REALLY FILLED NOW. then about 5 minutes later down the track we stop at another station and yep......another 200 or so push an shove their way onto the train. Everyone now is yelling and laughing and talking in severl languages.....but we were all in good moods and people were all very nice about the crowd. So now the train is totally.....and I mean that.....full and we are finally off for the 20 minute ride to the airport....the car is as hot as a sauna.....we are as close to each other with MILLIONS of suitcases and bags.....oh it was a treat!!!!! But we made it and we were off to our airport hotel. It was a huge professionaly run hotel with 4 restaurants...2 bars and even a 24 hour snack bar available....for all types of travelers. We got to our room and repacked so that most everything could fit. We went and ate a pretty good pizza at the hamburger restaurant and back to go to bed. We had to get up early for our flight.
Day 10
Last day in the area.....we got to the airport 3 hours prior, checked in (their system is so much better than ours) and we were at the gate.......with guess what....no security check. Weird...but wait.....yep at our gate is a mini setup for security with a body scanner and all. So about 1.5 hours before boarding all all line up to go through security which takes a ton of time and then to A SECOND waiting area to board. The flight was great...no problems to Atlanta and Diana and I watched ...4 movies!!!! 2 on our ipod and 2 on the planes system. cooool.
We were delayed about 30 minutes in Atlanta to Ft. Myers due to plane traffic. We had to wait in line to take off.....but by 7:00 pm Friday night we were in Ft. Myers where friends picked us up and we all relaxed with a Mexican dinner nearby.
So, we are now home again.....
Next big trip............India and Nepal in the fall!!!!
I will post some photos when I get them downloaded onto my computer. So check the blog out in a few days!!!!
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Days 6, 7 and 8
First,........sorry, no internet for a couple days.
Day 6
This one was a big one. I must say first off that this day was one day that will never be forgotten. It was a day that will never be like any other day.
We picked the car up in Haarlem in the morning and set out for a day that we will never forget. We started heading south to Lisse, a small town about 15 miles south of Haarlem. But it was how we did it. It stared immediately almost within a few miles of town. We began to see acres and acres AND ACRES of flowers. Blues, yellows, reds (oh those reds), orange, white and of course green. There were simply mile after mile of flowers.....RIGHT OFF THE ROAD. We were on a very narrow road and we must have stopped 20 times during the trip. It was absolutely breath taking. You could get out of your car and litterly walk into the fields!!!!! Oh god the pictures. Our goal was a garden (of course I cannot remember the name) Kanderhoff or somethng like that (look it up). It is the largest and most famous garden in Europe and it truly is. It took about 20 minutes to get into the garden parking lot with all the cars and people. Oh I forgot to mention the weather....oh my god....70 or so and not a cloud in the sky!!!! The garden covers many many acres and EVERY square in is covered with flowers. It was an experience that I will never forget. I have been to some of the best gardens in the world and I can say this one was one of the top ones. Tulips, tulips and more tulips....and every variety, color in the entire rainbow. It was almost overwelming. And there were people.....many many MANY people and everyone had a camera!!!! At one end of the place there was a authentic windmill. We got to go inside and the treat was that on the balcony of the mill one could view acres and acres of flowers below.....both on the garden side and the outside where a farm was located. Rows and rows of millions and millions of floowers.....all in bloom. It was truly incredible. Oh again..........the pictures. We spent the entire day there, and probably took 500 or more pictures. Every turn, every angle was a true phot shoot. We saw more pro cameras and tripods than I have ever seen.
At the end of the day we drove out and our GPS....Jeff... led us (purely by accident) out the back way on a road that parelleled the farm that was seen from the wind mill at the end of the garden park. So here we were again walking among the millions of fowers and colors.....of course many more pictures. We finally got free from the power of the flower and headed to our next hotel in a nearby town to Lisse. That was really cool....it was a Best Western and the town was this perfect gorgeous little village. We could park right out in front of the motel and checked in. We decided we needed a nice cold beer and to view our pictures so we went to the bar/restaurant next door. We had 3 large beers (one does get thirsty seeing so many flowers!!!) and met and talked at length to our waiter who was a native Portugese and was going there next week to see his family. He gave us one free beer and asked if we wanted to eat......after 3 big beers who could say no. We had a wonderful fish (cod) meal with the typical fixed dinner here.....fabulous. And we actually left as friends with the waiter. And to bed.
Next day Day 7, we were up and ready to go to our next stop...Leiden. This was a much bigger place and the hotel was right down town.....no place to park. The consiege guided us to a nearby parking lot and said to get a ticket for 12Euro...to cover all night. We tried to use our credit card because we did not have 12 E in coins.....it was feeding amchine. WE thought we had the receipt for the car and went on our way first stopp was the wind mill. It was one of the last 2 in the city (once it had 30) and for a tour of the inside.....the one we visited in the gardens was not restored and just was a way to get higher to take pictures of the gardens and nearby flower fields. But this one was completely restored and truly was a treat. We learned all about them, what was the purpose, how they worked and what they looked like back in 1700s.
We bought some souvenirs and went back to the car....WE GOT A TICKET....WHAT....HOW COULD THAT BE. We had the receipt and all......but we did not know the ticket had all the information but also said in Dutch.....CANCELLED. The cost......54 Euros.....SO WE HEADED TO THE POLICE STATION. There we met with an office and he really could not do anything.... we filed an appeal and wrote out our case and will hear back in about a month.
We then headed for town and to walk around and see the sites. We actually found the second windmill, this one was not open but we got some great shots....also got some great shots of the market and town square and all the buildings. The traffic was heavy and the bikes.....oh my the bikes. You have to have eyes in the back, front and sides of your head to keep from walking in front of one. But we survived.
We checked in the hotel and our man gave us a tip on a good fish restaurant. So we took his advise and headed out after a rest to Crabiche, or the Crab. It was wonderful. It was on this very narrow side street...of course we missed it the first passing and had to ask where it was. But it was worth the trouble....mmmMMM. Several new kinds of fish....of course I cannot remember any of the names. But all was incredible.
We were quite tired after walkign all day in teh city so we went home to bed. We also had to move the car by 9:00 AM or it would be towed.
Day 8 We ate our typical Dutch breakfast......meat, cheese, coffee, tea and bread....they did have cereal and juice. I walked to the parking lot about 1/4 mile away and all of a sudden I look and the car is gone....in fact all the cars are gone. The lot is now filled with a CARNIVAL.....yep and carnival was setting up and my car was gone. I am standing there swearing away and a worker comes up and asks if I am looking for my car......'"oh it is across the street" he says, "the police moved it earlier today". Whoa was I a happy camper.....I went over and got it and drove back to the hotel to tell D that I almost lost our car!!!!
Off to Kinderdyke we went. Kenderdyke is probably the most famous area for windmills in the world. There are approximately 30 there of all styles. I won't go into the styles but they range over the centuries and become more complex as the years passed. We had no problem (even in rush hour traffic at Rotterdam) getting there abnd found a perfect parking spot. But the cruise people and the tour buses beat us. There were hundreds of people who were on tours or cruises on their bus tours. But it was so funny, they went in only a few hundred feet walked and took pictures and all of a sudden,,,,,they were gone. They only were there a few minutes....oh my, no thanks. We spend all day there!!!!! It is about 2 miles long and all the mills are on canals. The wehater was absolutely perfect and the sky was as blue as water. So, I can trulhy say that our pictures are really really professional quality.....We must have taken 500 or more. The scenes no matter what direction was breathtaking.......each one was perfectly restored and several were still being restored. And there were PEOPLE LIVING IN THEM. Wow!!!!
WE walked and shot photos.....all day......the light.....was PERFECT!!!! We ate lunch at a nice picnic table and watched the bikers and walkers go by. There were alot of people there but most were local or Dutch tourist. As I said the cruisers and Americans were mostly gone.
About 3:00 we headed to Delft for our hotel. It was about 40 minute drive....this time mostly on the highway system....no problems with ...Jeff (our GPS) helping out.
We arrived at the hotel....very nice. Right downtown and the parking was at least right across the street.....10 Euros this time but underground and no carnival in sight.
We immediatly headed out for downtown to tour and buy anything we have not seen 100 times before. The town was small and quaint and really pretty....of course cannals all over and again the bikes....oh my. We shopped, shot some nice town shots and just enjoyed the afternoon. We found neat restaurant that had the table and chairs on a barge on the canal....so we chose it. We both had different kinds of fish soup and both had fish entrees....mmmMMM. D had a nice trout, but I had one of those local fish again....
We slowly walked home and reminised about the wonderful day today....the windmills (I have to say we are kind of experts on the subject now). The hotel is modern and has internet....yea!!! And now I am off to bed. Our last day is tomorrow. We go to the Delft factory for atour and maybe some buying....but we saw some of the prices of the real Royal Delft....oh boy!!! But maybe they have some seconds......anyway, it will be fun. Then the drive back th Haarlem to drop the car and head back to Amsterdam to go home. So tomorrow, sadly will be our last day of touring THE NETHERLANDS.....
Good night all.
Day 6
This one was a big one. I must say first off that this day was one day that will never be forgotten. It was a day that will never be like any other day.
We picked the car up in Haarlem in the morning and set out for a day that we will never forget. We started heading south to Lisse, a small town about 15 miles south of Haarlem. But it was how we did it. It stared immediately almost within a few miles of town. We began to see acres and acres AND ACRES of flowers. Blues, yellows, reds (oh those reds), orange, white and of course green. There were simply mile after mile of flowers.....RIGHT OFF THE ROAD. We were on a very narrow road and we must have stopped 20 times during the trip. It was absolutely breath taking. You could get out of your car and litterly walk into the fields!!!!! Oh god the pictures. Our goal was a garden (of course I cannot remember the name) Kanderhoff or somethng like that (look it up). It is the largest and most famous garden in Europe and it truly is. It took about 20 minutes to get into the garden parking lot with all the cars and people. Oh I forgot to mention the weather....oh my god....70 or so and not a cloud in the sky!!!! The garden covers many many acres and EVERY square in is covered with flowers. It was an experience that I will never forget. I have been to some of the best gardens in the world and I can say this one was one of the top ones. Tulips, tulips and more tulips....and every variety, color in the entire rainbow. It was almost overwelming. And there were people.....many many MANY people and everyone had a camera!!!! At one end of the place there was a authentic windmill. We got to go inside and the treat was that on the balcony of the mill one could view acres and acres of flowers below.....both on the garden side and the outside where a farm was located. Rows and rows of millions and millions of floowers.....all in bloom. It was truly incredible. Oh again..........the pictures. We spent the entire day there, and probably took 500 or more pictures. Every turn, every angle was a true phot shoot. We saw more pro cameras and tripods than I have ever seen.
At the end of the day we drove out and our GPS....Jeff... led us (purely by accident) out the back way on a road that parelleled the farm that was seen from the wind mill at the end of the garden park. So here we were again walking among the millions of fowers and colors.....of course many more pictures. We finally got free from the power of the flower and headed to our next hotel in a nearby town to Lisse. That was really cool....it was a Best Western and the town was this perfect gorgeous little village. We could park right out in front of the motel and checked in. We decided we needed a nice cold beer and to view our pictures so we went to the bar/restaurant next door. We had 3 large beers (one does get thirsty seeing so many flowers!!!) and met and talked at length to our waiter who was a native Portugese and was going there next week to see his family. He gave us one free beer and asked if we wanted to eat......after 3 big beers who could say no. We had a wonderful fish (cod) meal with the typical fixed dinner here.....fabulous. And we actually left as friends with the waiter. And to bed.
Next day Day 7, we were up and ready to go to our next stop...Leiden. This was a much bigger place and the hotel was right down town.....no place to park. The consiege guided us to a nearby parking lot and said to get a ticket for 12Euro...to cover all night. We tried to use our credit card because we did not have 12 E in coins.....it was feeding amchine. WE thought we had the receipt for the car and went on our way first stopp was the wind mill. It was one of the last 2 in the city (once it had 30) and for a tour of the inside.....the one we visited in the gardens was not restored and just was a way to get higher to take pictures of the gardens and nearby flower fields. But this one was completely restored and truly was a treat. We learned all about them, what was the purpose, how they worked and what they looked like back in 1700s.
We bought some souvenirs and went back to the car....WE GOT A TICKET....WHAT....HOW COULD THAT BE. We had the receipt and all......but we did not know the ticket had all the information but also said in Dutch.....CANCELLED. The cost......54 Euros.....SO WE HEADED TO THE POLICE STATION. There we met with an office and he really could not do anything.... we filed an appeal and wrote out our case and will hear back in about a month.
We then headed for town and to walk around and see the sites. We actually found the second windmill, this one was not open but we got some great shots....also got some great shots of the market and town square and all the buildings. The traffic was heavy and the bikes.....oh my the bikes. You have to have eyes in the back, front and sides of your head to keep from walking in front of one. But we survived.
We checked in the hotel and our man gave us a tip on a good fish restaurant. So we took his advise and headed out after a rest to Crabiche, or the Crab. It was wonderful. It was on this very narrow side street...of course we missed it the first passing and had to ask where it was. But it was worth the trouble....mmmMMM. Several new kinds of fish....of course I cannot remember any of the names. But all was incredible.
We were quite tired after walkign all day in teh city so we went home to bed. We also had to move the car by 9:00 AM or it would be towed.
Day 8 We ate our typical Dutch breakfast......meat, cheese, coffee, tea and bread....they did have cereal and juice. I walked to the parking lot about 1/4 mile away and all of a sudden I look and the car is gone....in fact all the cars are gone. The lot is now filled with a CARNIVAL.....yep and carnival was setting up and my car was gone. I am standing there swearing away and a worker comes up and asks if I am looking for my car......'"oh it is across the street" he says, "the police moved it earlier today". Whoa was I a happy camper.....I went over and got it and drove back to the hotel to tell D that I almost lost our car!!!!
Off to Kinderdyke we went. Kenderdyke is probably the most famous area for windmills in the world. There are approximately 30 there of all styles. I won't go into the styles but they range over the centuries and become more complex as the years passed. We had no problem (even in rush hour traffic at Rotterdam) getting there abnd found a perfect parking spot. But the cruise people and the tour buses beat us. There were hundreds of people who were on tours or cruises on their bus tours. But it was so funny, they went in only a few hundred feet walked and took pictures and all of a sudden,,,,,they were gone. They only were there a few minutes....oh my, no thanks. We spend all day there!!!!! It is about 2 miles long and all the mills are on canals. The wehater was absolutely perfect and the sky was as blue as water. So, I can trulhy say that our pictures are really really professional quality.....We must have taken 500 or more. The scenes no matter what direction was breathtaking.......each one was perfectly restored and several were still being restored. And there were PEOPLE LIVING IN THEM. Wow!!!!
WE walked and shot photos.....all day......the light.....was PERFECT!!!! We ate lunch at a nice picnic table and watched the bikers and walkers go by. There were alot of people there but most were local or Dutch tourist. As I said the cruisers and Americans were mostly gone.
About 3:00 we headed to Delft for our hotel. It was about 40 minute drive....this time mostly on the highway system....no problems with ...Jeff (our GPS) helping out.
We arrived at the hotel....very nice. Right downtown and the parking was at least right across the street.....10 Euros this time but underground and no carnival in sight.
We immediatly headed out for downtown to tour and buy anything we have not seen 100 times before. The town was small and quaint and really pretty....of course cannals all over and again the bikes....oh my. We shopped, shot some nice town shots and just enjoyed the afternoon. We found neat restaurant that had the table and chairs on a barge on the canal....so we chose it. We both had different kinds of fish soup and both had fish entrees....mmmMMM. D had a nice trout, but I had one of those local fish again....
We slowly walked home and reminised about the wonderful day today....the windmills (I have to say we are kind of experts on the subject now). The hotel is modern and has internet....yea!!! And now I am off to bed. Our last day is tomorrow. We go to the Delft factory for atour and maybe some buying....but we saw some of the prices of the real Royal Delft....oh boy!!! But maybe they have some seconds......anyway, it will be fun. Then the drive back th Haarlem to drop the car and head back to Amsterdam to go home. So tomorrow, sadly will be our last day of touring THE NETHERLANDS.....
Good night all.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Day 5 continued.............
Just got back from dinner and had to add to today's blog.
Went to a local place only 100 yards down the street from our hotel. We found it on the internet as a fantastic Danish Fusion style restaurant. Well we can say that it was all it was reviewed to be...and more.\
It was a fixed menu with choices. I had for the appitizer....kangaroo pot pie and Diana had Thai shrimp. Mine was a small pot pie with of course kangaroo meat and it was with a sweet and sour sauce...and ???strawberries???on top. Oh man.... Diana had 3 leaves that were formed into boxes and in each was Thai rice with crab meat and shrimp on top mixed in with a wonderful thick sauce. The three "boxes"were steamed!!!! For main, we both had UMAMI. We asked and it is a Japanese word for "delicious". It means there are 5 taste experiences that we go through.....1) bitter, 2) sweet, 3) salty, 4) sour and 5.....the ultimate!!! A mixer of all three. So we had a wonderful (one of the best steaks I have ever had) with 4 different items which gave us the 4 flavors.....salty ham, sour beet, bitter asparigus and sweet potatos. It was incredible. And for the final dessert.........I had chocolate frontant......a warm cake stuffed with chololate with vanila icecream and caramel on top.......mmmmMMMM. D had 3 different shorbets....one we THINK was spicy pepper sorbet!!!!! Double wow on the meal. And the price was not bad.....oh and the wine was one of our favorites.....an excellent MALBEC we have had before.
So, now to bed and for those UMAMIs to take effect!!!
As I said, tomorrow we get the car and head south to see the flowers.......weather....yep, sunny and mid 60s. Our waiter said because of all our luck today we were to get a lotto!!! But Sunday all is closed!!!!
Went to a local place only 100 yards down the street from our hotel. We found it on the internet as a fantastic Danish Fusion style restaurant. Well we can say that it was all it was reviewed to be...and more.\
It was a fixed menu with choices. I had for the appitizer....kangaroo pot pie and Diana had Thai shrimp. Mine was a small pot pie with of course kangaroo meat and it was with a sweet and sour sauce...and ???strawberries???on top. Oh man.... Diana had 3 leaves that were formed into boxes and in each was Thai rice with crab meat and shrimp on top mixed in with a wonderful thick sauce. The three "boxes"were steamed!!!! For main, we both had UMAMI. We asked and it is a Japanese word for "delicious". It means there are 5 taste experiences that we go through.....1) bitter, 2) sweet, 3) salty, 4) sour and 5.....the ultimate!!! A mixer of all three. So we had a wonderful (one of the best steaks I have ever had) with 4 different items which gave us the 4 flavors.....salty ham, sour beet, bitter asparigus and sweet potatos. It was incredible. And for the final dessert.........I had chocolate frontant......a warm cake stuffed with chololate with vanila icecream and caramel on top.......mmmmMMMM. D had 3 different shorbets....one we THINK was spicy pepper sorbet!!!!! Double wow on the meal. And the price was not bad.....oh and the wine was one of our favorites.....an excellent MALBEC we have had before.
So, now to bed and for those UMAMIs to take effect!!!
As I said, tomorrow we get the car and head south to see the flowers.......weather....yep, sunny and mid 60s. Our waiter said because of all our luck today we were to get a lotto!!! But Sunday all is closed!!!!
Day 5
Today is Haarlem......
This was a real treat today. We slept in again until 9:00 and packed and headed out to catch our trolley to the train station....no trouble at all. The train was pulling out as we arrived so we did not wait more than 20 seconds!!!! The trip to Haarlem took 20 minutes, on a super quiet super smooth train (why cannot the US get their act together with trains). We walked to our hotel which was in the middle of town....maybe 10 minute walk. Oh yea.....it was a gorgeouos old building and our room was fabulous. I forgot to mention that our room in Amsterdam was about as big as a stamp.....we had to keep moving our bags to get around teh room. The bathroom was almost as big as our shower at home!!!! That will give you an idea. For those who have sailed in cruises.....you know the bottom rooms (the super cheap ones), well, this was smaller!!!!!
Anyway, we were happy campers and then we found out that we arrived on the weekend of the city"s Flower Festival.....Oh my god.....it is incredible. first there are thousands of people crowding the streets. And many floats and yes they are covered COMPLETELY with flowers. The theme was obvious.....Broadway hit shows. There were about 20 floats in all, and like I said every one was covered front to back with flowers......like the Rose Bowl Parade. So our plans for touring the city went out the window. We just enjoyed the day...........we brought our lunch as usual and siting there people watching with a beer and seeing bands, shows, floats, and people and people and people. Wait until you see the pictures. We took a bunch of videos too to give more of a feeling of the place. Around 4:00 we decided to try to see the windmill at the edge of the city. We found it closed |(Sunday) but we got some great pictures of the mill and its surroundings. The day was about 65 and absolutely gorgeous.......lots and lots of sun. We are not back at the hotel to rest abit and ready to go out for dinner. And of course there are dozens and dozens of restaurants withing 5 minutes of our hotel.........\I want to try \Indian but D will proably nix that.
All I can say is that Haarlem is a gorgeous small city....the people are sooooo nice and everyone and I mean everyone, speaks English. And most of the signs are in English.
And after seeing all the flowers and the floats......WE CANNOT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW AND THE CAR TOUR OF THE FLOWER GROWING AREA!!!!!
When I get home I will post some videos and pics on facebook and the blog........We have a ton but they are soo neat. That is what I want to do now.....rest and look at some of them.
Hopefully I will see you tomorrow in Lisse....our next stop.
This was a real treat today. We slept in again until 9:00 and packed and headed out to catch our trolley to the train station....no trouble at all. The train was pulling out as we arrived so we did not wait more than 20 seconds!!!! The trip to Haarlem took 20 minutes, on a super quiet super smooth train (why cannot the US get their act together with trains). We walked to our hotel which was in the middle of town....maybe 10 minute walk. Oh yea.....it was a gorgeouos old building and our room was fabulous. I forgot to mention that our room in Amsterdam was about as big as a stamp.....we had to keep moving our bags to get around teh room. The bathroom was almost as big as our shower at home!!!! That will give you an idea. For those who have sailed in cruises.....you know the bottom rooms (the super cheap ones), well, this was smaller!!!!!
Anyway, we were happy campers and then we found out that we arrived on the weekend of the city"s Flower Festival.....Oh my god.....it is incredible. first there are thousands of people crowding the streets. And many floats and yes they are covered COMPLETELY with flowers. The theme was obvious.....Broadway hit shows. There were about 20 floats in all, and like I said every one was covered front to back with flowers......like the Rose Bowl Parade. So our plans for touring the city went out the window. We just enjoyed the day...........we brought our lunch as usual and siting there people watching with a beer and seeing bands, shows, floats, and people and people and people. Wait until you see the pictures. We took a bunch of videos too to give more of a feeling of the place. Around 4:00 we decided to try to see the windmill at the edge of the city. We found it closed |(Sunday) but we got some great pictures of the mill and its surroundings. The day was about 65 and absolutely gorgeous.......lots and lots of sun. We are not back at the hotel to rest abit and ready to go out for dinner. And of course there are dozens and dozens of restaurants withing 5 minutes of our hotel.........\I want to try \Indian but D will proably nix that.
All I can say is that Haarlem is a gorgeous small city....the people are sooooo nice and everyone and I mean everyone, speaks English. And most of the signs are in English.
And after seeing all the flowers and the floats......WE CANNOT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW AND THE CAR TOUR OF THE FLOWER GROWING AREA!!!!!
When I get home I will post some videos and pics on facebook and the blog........We have a ton but they are soo neat. That is what I want to do now.....rest and look at some of them.
Hopefully I will see you tomorrow in Lisse....our next stop.
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Day 4
Another great day. First the weather. Teh first 2 days the weather was perfect...sunny and about 60 degrees, since then the clouds have come in but the temp is still hovering around60-65.... not complaints. Don't need alot of the layers we brought. But just in case. We checked the weather and next week will be sunny and even warmer!!!!
Today we slept in to 9:00...oh yea. The upsons are on their own and will be gone now to Munchen. We ate a nice breakfast...made our lunch and were off to walk the city. No real plans, just play it all by ear. We walked to a big park where we had seen some gorgeous flowers blooming and took a bunch of pics. I know it is kind of dumb since we are off to where there will be acres of them tomorrow. Then we took the trolley back to the flower market to look some more (it was so big we missed alot the other day) and bought a bunch of Christmas decs. Neat.... Then to the flea market. It was on the other side of the city and of course we got alittle lost. But that did not stop us from finding it finally. It was really a true flea market, lots of clothes (second had mostlly) some real cheap stuff and some neat old junk anteques. it was fun. Then to the Botanical Garden but our free city ticket had ellapsed so we nixed that.....most plants were Floridian anyway!!!
Then decided to take the long way back all through the old city with stops for beer and bathroom. Lots of pitctures of bikes, weirdos, kids and such....remember it is Sat. here and EVERYONE IS OUT FOR THE DAY. Lots of stores and neat stuff along the way. We made it to the one of the oldest churches in Europe....it was great....very primitive compared to the one we saw yesterday. But gorgious in its way. They had a another gorgeous organ and pipes...I just love those. Also had a 4 story spiral staircase to the roof.............wow.
Then off to another food market with tons and tons of cheeses and odd items..... I bet it is only open on weekends the way it looked. Of course we stopped for lunch earlier at a nice park, this time we could actually sit on a bench and eat.
Decided to go back home around 5:00 and rest this day. WE cheated and took the trolley all the way back...nice. WE had bought some neat stuff and now had to figure how we were going to fit them all in our small bags.....yaaa we did. We then relaxed and looked at all our pics....some really good ones....and tons of the city. Went to dinner near by at anothher Indonesain restaurnat. Very nice. Had the same Rice Table it is called where they give you rice and then serve 15 or so different small portions of things...veggies, meat, chicken, shrimp, crab.....wow. But must admit that this one was good but NOT as good as last nights. I gave this one a B but last night was a solid A+. Back to hotel and now to finish the blog so I can relax tomorrow before we go to train station to go to Haarlem. We are there all day or most of the day (it is only about a 20 minute ride by train) and tour the city and then the next day pick up the car and head for the flower fields!!! The bad thing is that we have to slep the bags on the trolley to the station....not too bad because we are about 100 yards from the trolley pickup and it goes straight to the train station. That is exactly why we travel light!!!
I now hope the Upsons had a nice day also....they took an all day tour of the flower area...where we are goibng. And then they have a night train tonight to Munchen.
Good luck Tom, Ann Marie and Jeff. See you at home.
Night night all.
Today we slept in to 9:00...oh yea. The upsons are on their own and will be gone now to Munchen. We ate a nice breakfast...made our lunch and were off to walk the city. No real plans, just play it all by ear. We walked to a big park where we had seen some gorgeous flowers blooming and took a bunch of pics. I know it is kind of dumb since we are off to where there will be acres of them tomorrow. Then we took the trolley back to the flower market to look some more (it was so big we missed alot the other day) and bought a bunch of Christmas decs. Neat.... Then to the flea market. It was on the other side of the city and of course we got alittle lost. But that did not stop us from finding it finally. It was really a true flea market, lots of clothes (second had mostlly) some real cheap stuff and some neat old junk anteques. it was fun. Then to the Botanical Garden but our free city ticket had ellapsed so we nixed that.....most plants were Floridian anyway!!!
Then decided to take the long way back all through the old city with stops for beer and bathroom. Lots of pitctures of bikes, weirdos, kids and such....remember it is Sat. here and EVERYONE IS OUT FOR THE DAY. Lots of stores and neat stuff along the way. We made it to the one of the oldest churches in Europe....it was great....very primitive compared to the one we saw yesterday. But gorgious in its way. They had a another gorgeous organ and pipes...I just love those. Also had a 4 story spiral staircase to the roof.............wow.
Then off to another food market with tons and tons of cheeses and odd items..... I bet it is only open on weekends the way it looked. Of course we stopped for lunch earlier at a nice park, this time we could actually sit on a bench and eat.
Decided to go back home around 5:00 and rest this day. WE cheated and took the trolley all the way back...nice. WE had bought some neat stuff and now had to figure how we were going to fit them all in our small bags.....yaaa we did. We then relaxed and looked at all our pics....some really good ones....and tons of the city. Went to dinner near by at anothher Indonesain restaurnat. Very nice. Had the same Rice Table it is called where they give you rice and then serve 15 or so different small portions of things...veggies, meat, chicken, shrimp, crab.....wow. But must admit that this one was good but NOT as good as last nights. I gave this one a B but last night was a solid A+. Back to hotel and now to finish the blog so I can relax tomorrow before we go to train station to go to Haarlem. We are there all day or most of the day (it is only about a 20 minute ride by train) and tour the city and then the next day pick up the car and head for the flower fields!!! The bad thing is that we have to slep the bags on the trolley to the station....not too bad because we are about 100 yards from the trolley pickup and it goes straight to the train station. That is exactly why we travel light!!!
I now hope the Upsons had a nice day also....they took an all day tour of the flower area...where we are goibng. And then they have a night train tonight to Munchen.
Good luck Tom, Ann Marie and Jeff. See you at home.
Night night all.
I'll keep trying
First I must say that I wrote a long detailed blog yesterday and of course it crashed just when I was to save and post....so I will try to recap 2 days here.
The day before yesterday was our first real day in Amsterdam and we did ALOT. We started out thinking that we would do only one area of the city, the left side or west side. We started out walking and discovered a really cool area of shopping with trendy shops and alot of neat gift ideas. So we wondered through very slowly stopping at almost every shop. It was great. Then we discovered that we were closing in on on museum and decided to start the museum tours. Our first was the canal museum which presented a nice light show history of how the city was built, who built it and why. It was really interesting because we discovered that the city was a totally planned city. It started out a small village but because of its location to England and all of Europe and its location in relation to ships going east and west, it became a very big trading station. As it grew it needed to expand and so the city decided on a plan with circular canals and long blocks with houses built in squares with the center of each square being a garden or "green". And it grew in stages....really cool planning. From there we stopped at the photography museum. It has several shows but the biggest was on photo journalism. It was on the war in Serbia with video interveiws of journalists and how they handled the awful situation. Then we worked our way downtown to the center of town and all the action....people everywhere...........do people work in this city???? We stopped for lunch at one of the canals and ate some sandwiches we made from our breakfast (must save some money). We then visited one of the preserved homes which gave an example of what each house looked like inside which were built by the city planners. It was dated by to the 1400s and the same family STILL OWNS IT. Then it was getting later in the day and we got very thirsty, so off to the Heiniken Experience. It was the old brewery which was changed into a visual experience on how the beer is made and all about the company. We all thought it would be boring but ity was THE HIT OF THE DAY. It was part DisneyWorld and part party. They gave us severl free beers and experienced a vurtual ride of pretending we were beer!!! It was great. We ended in the bar with more free beer and met several people from Stockhom. We compared travel and beer tasting!!!
By this time it was around 7:30 and we saw a small Indonesian restaurant nearby and decided to go for it. It was great and the owner was so nice. We wanted more bread and he was out so he ran down the street and got more from a local bakery for us...........coool. Tom and Ann Marie, it was their first taste of Indonisian and they liked it. Jeff got to relax and got some help by us in guiding and touring. He had been the general guide with his parents and now we could help out with maps and etc.
After we were rested and ready to go again, so we decided to hit the Red Light District. It was not too far away and we wanted to try the trolley (tram) the best way to get around the city other than walking. WE headed to the district and it was packed,.....super packed. There were people, noise, music, honky tonk everywhere. We actually had to ask where the "girls" were. Once we knew we got to "tour the girl's area". Fun. At first on one street, we saw the I guess you would say the "less prime" collection. Then after awhile, we hit the super "prime" area. They were young really cute and quite nice looking. They even tried to get Tom to bite!!!! No deal said Ann Marie. Now it was around 11 and we took the tram back to the hotel. The older Upsons went straight to bed, but Jeff, D and I were still wired and we had one nightcap before we headed to bed. GREAT DAY.
Yesterday.............
We all were tired from the day before but ready to go. That day we had the boat trip on our first agenda. Also we all wanted to see Ann Frank Museum some time. The glitch was that the Upsons only had 2 days at the hotel due to booking and had to check out and move to a new hotel during the day which cramped our style. We hit the boat right after breakfast and it was great. Lots of pictures. Then we started walking and found the house boat museum....cute place. It was a house boat that was made into an exhibit of what it is like to live on one. Really cute and quite interesting....AS WE ALL SAID...NO THANKS.
We were now down in the major part of the city and decided to go to the Palace. This was really interesting because it was the sight of the early government then later changed into a palace for the king and queen. it was in total shambles and the governament restored it to the way it looked back in the 1000's or so and when it was the seat of governemnt. They restored EVERYTHING....and did a hell of a job. They showed what it looked like before and of course now. They also found ways to see exactly how it looked by scraping off paint and taking the fabrics off to see what was underneath. This was a huge building with many rooms so we took a long time to tour. Then right across the street was a big church with a huge exhibit of Islamic Art. DOUBLE WOW. It was an incredible exhibit. Annndd, besides the artwork, the church itself was incredible to see. It was a highlight of the day. For lunch we all decided to chuck the home made sandwiches and go to a place that had Danish pancakes...........oh man. Some of us had apple, some banana....oh man were they delicious. After that that is all we talked about most of the day!!!
The Upsons then had to leave but Jeff decided to tag along with us and we walked and toured until it was time to go to the Ann Frank. WE got in line and it moved pretty well. There were hundreds of people going to see it. We were to meet the Upsons there but they never showed. We have not yet found out what the delay was. so the 3 of us went in and toured. After we knew of supposedly the BEST INDONESIAN RESTAURANT IN THE CITY. So the 3 of us were off to find it. We did and wow wow. It was fabulous. WE had the traditional rice dinner (I forget what you called it). They serve you a large dish of rice which you share and then about 10 different dishes all small, just enough for the 3 of us. They ranged from mild to very spicy. Also they served chutneys and salad to accompany the meal. We of course ordered Indonisian beer to go along with it. It was really a treat. We then took the trolley to the Upsons new hotel to say goodby (we would not tour anymore with them) and help Jeff find the hotel. It was in the Red Light District. When we arrived the Upsons were not there....so we said goodby to Jeff and went back home to bed.
Today we are on our own and will do some walking and shopping and see the last few museums and shows that are left. Tomorrow we take the train to Haarlem to tour and pick up the car and start our flower tours!!!
I hope this works this time.
The day before yesterday was our first real day in Amsterdam and we did ALOT. We started out thinking that we would do only one area of the city, the left side or west side. We started out walking and discovered a really cool area of shopping with trendy shops and alot of neat gift ideas. So we wondered through very slowly stopping at almost every shop. It was great. Then we discovered that we were closing in on on museum and decided to start the museum tours. Our first was the canal museum which presented a nice light show history of how the city was built, who built it and why. It was really interesting because we discovered that the city was a totally planned city. It started out a small village but because of its location to England and all of Europe and its location in relation to ships going east and west, it became a very big trading station. As it grew it needed to expand and so the city decided on a plan with circular canals and long blocks with houses built in squares with the center of each square being a garden or "green". And it grew in stages....really cool planning. From there we stopped at the photography museum. It has several shows but the biggest was on photo journalism. It was on the war in Serbia with video interveiws of journalists and how they handled the awful situation. Then we worked our way downtown to the center of town and all the action....people everywhere...........do people work in this city???? We stopped for lunch at one of the canals and ate some sandwiches we made from our breakfast (must save some money). We then visited one of the preserved homes which gave an example of what each house looked like inside which were built by the city planners. It was dated by to the 1400s and the same family STILL OWNS IT. Then it was getting later in the day and we got very thirsty, so off to the Heiniken Experience. It was the old brewery which was changed into a visual experience on how the beer is made and all about the company. We all thought it would be boring but ity was THE HIT OF THE DAY. It was part DisneyWorld and part party. They gave us severl free beers and experienced a vurtual ride of pretending we were beer!!! It was great. We ended in the bar with more free beer and met several people from Stockhom. We compared travel and beer tasting!!!
By this time it was around 7:30 and we saw a small Indonesian restaurant nearby and decided to go for it. It was great and the owner was so nice. We wanted more bread and he was out so he ran down the street and got more from a local bakery for us...........coool. Tom and Ann Marie, it was their first taste of Indonisian and they liked it. Jeff got to relax and got some help by us in guiding and touring. He had been the general guide with his parents and now we could help out with maps and etc.
After we were rested and ready to go again, so we decided to hit the Red Light District. It was not too far away and we wanted to try the trolley (tram) the best way to get around the city other than walking. WE headed to the district and it was packed,.....super packed. There were people, noise, music, honky tonk everywhere. We actually had to ask where the "girls" were. Once we knew we got to "tour the girl's area". Fun. At first on one street, we saw the I guess you would say the "less prime" collection. Then after awhile, we hit the super "prime" area. They were young really cute and quite nice looking. They even tried to get Tom to bite!!!! No deal said Ann Marie. Now it was around 11 and we took the tram back to the hotel. The older Upsons went straight to bed, but Jeff, D and I were still wired and we had one nightcap before we headed to bed. GREAT DAY.
Yesterday.............
We all were tired from the day before but ready to go. That day we had the boat trip on our first agenda. Also we all wanted to see Ann Frank Museum some time. The glitch was that the Upsons only had 2 days at the hotel due to booking and had to check out and move to a new hotel during the day which cramped our style. We hit the boat right after breakfast and it was great. Lots of pictures. Then we started walking and found the house boat museum....cute place. It was a house boat that was made into an exhibit of what it is like to live on one. Really cute and quite interesting....AS WE ALL SAID...NO THANKS.
We were now down in the major part of the city and decided to go to the Palace. This was really interesting because it was the sight of the early government then later changed into a palace for the king and queen. it was in total shambles and the governament restored it to the way it looked back in the 1000's or so and when it was the seat of governemnt. They restored EVERYTHING....and did a hell of a job. They showed what it looked like before and of course now. They also found ways to see exactly how it looked by scraping off paint and taking the fabrics off to see what was underneath. This was a huge building with many rooms so we took a long time to tour. Then right across the street was a big church with a huge exhibit of Islamic Art. DOUBLE WOW. It was an incredible exhibit. Annndd, besides the artwork, the church itself was incredible to see. It was a highlight of the day. For lunch we all decided to chuck the home made sandwiches and go to a place that had Danish pancakes...........oh man. Some of us had apple, some banana....oh man were they delicious. After that that is all we talked about most of the day!!!
The Upsons then had to leave but Jeff decided to tag along with us and we walked and toured until it was time to go to the Ann Frank. WE got in line and it moved pretty well. There were hundreds of people going to see it. We were to meet the Upsons there but they never showed. We have not yet found out what the delay was. so the 3 of us went in and toured. After we knew of supposedly the BEST INDONESIAN RESTAURANT IN THE CITY. So the 3 of us were off to find it. We did and wow wow. It was fabulous. WE had the traditional rice dinner (I forget what you called it). They serve you a large dish of rice which you share and then about 10 different dishes all small, just enough for the 3 of us. They ranged from mild to very spicy. Also they served chutneys and salad to accompany the meal. We of course ordered Indonisian beer to go along with it. It was really a treat. We then took the trolley to the Upsons new hotel to say goodby (we would not tour anymore with them) and help Jeff find the hotel. It was in the Red Light District. When we arrived the Upsons were not there....so we said goodby to Jeff and went back home to bed.
Today we are on our own and will do some walking and shopping and see the last few museums and shows that are left. Tomorrow we take the train to Haarlem to tour and pick up the car and start our flower tours!!!
I hope this works this time.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Amsterdam
Well, we made it in one piece. We took off from Ft. Myers then to Atlanta and finally arrived at the Amsterdam airport early yesterday. The ride was very very fast but the plane was the bumpiest ride in many years. But we arrived about 1.5 hours EARLY!!!!
We went to the hotel to meet Tom and Ann Marie Upson where they were to arrive about the same time via train from Paris.....with their son Jeff. But their train was late and so we headed out to scope out the area and saw the Van Gogh Musuem. So we decided to go ahead and check it out and leave them a message at the hotel where we were. We did about 3/4 of the museum when we saw them in the main gate area. We hugged and their train was late due to mechanics...they think. Anway we all finished the museum and headed to the cafe in the museum for lunch. The museum was fabulous. I had see most of the paintings before but to see ones that are iconic in nature is really a treat........and it was packed. There were hundreds of people roaming the rooms. Luckily there was also a small Picasso show there in the basement and with some really good stuff especially from his hearly times. Van Gogh only painted about 5 years of his short life but did about 500 paintings, 300 water colors (yes, he did them too) and many letters. His work diverged several times all through his short painting time depending on where he was. It was funny to find out that all the famous painters at that time copied from each other and even the subjects were copied. They all lived near each other in France and Netherlands and they all painted the same subjects and in very similar ways, but over the years they all found their own technics and became famous for them.
After a nice lunch (which none of us wanted to get back up), as they finished the museum D and I went to have a rest at a local cafe with a great Dutch beer. We met again and went to the museum where most Rembrant master paintings were shown, Night Watch for example. There were many by him and several of his contempararies. It was quite impressive and.....VERY CROWDED. All the Europe kids are out of school and it seeemed that all were following us.
Once done we all wanted a short day and so we headed back to hotel to check in and go back out quickly to a nearby cafe or restaurant for a small dinner and bed. We ended up down the street about 4 blocks at a local cafe where we had 2 pitchers of beer....oh yea and a nice small sandwich. We all were nearly run over several times by bikes. The bike lanes are unidentifiable from the sidewalk except for a different color of cement.....and we all heard the jingle of the bike bells all the time telling us to GET OUT OF THE WAY.
Jeff was nearly at the ed of his rope guiding his parents around England, Scotland and France and so he was happy we were there not to help. We all had a great first day. Back to the hotel and we all were in bed in about 10 minutes............we were pppppooooopppped.
This morning we were up and ready to go!!! Breadkfast in the hotel, where we all made extra sandwiches for lunch and we are now about ready to hit Amsterday head on. today we are trying to hit as many "house" museums as possible and stay in the one area to see some shops, ride a canal boat and hopefull stop at the best cheese shop in the city.............See ya later!!!!
We went to the hotel to meet Tom and Ann Marie Upson where they were to arrive about the same time via train from Paris.....with their son Jeff. But their train was late and so we headed out to scope out the area and saw the Van Gogh Musuem. So we decided to go ahead and check it out and leave them a message at the hotel where we were. We did about 3/4 of the museum when we saw them in the main gate area. We hugged and their train was late due to mechanics...they think. Anway we all finished the museum and headed to the cafe in the museum for lunch. The museum was fabulous. I had see most of the paintings before but to see ones that are iconic in nature is really a treat........and it was packed. There were hundreds of people roaming the rooms. Luckily there was also a small Picasso show there in the basement and with some really good stuff especially from his hearly times. Van Gogh only painted about 5 years of his short life but did about 500 paintings, 300 water colors (yes, he did them too) and many letters. His work diverged several times all through his short painting time depending on where he was. It was funny to find out that all the famous painters at that time copied from each other and even the subjects were copied. They all lived near each other in France and Netherlands and they all painted the same subjects and in very similar ways, but over the years they all found their own technics and became famous for them.
After a nice lunch (which none of us wanted to get back up), as they finished the museum D and I went to have a rest at a local cafe with a great Dutch beer. We met again and went to the museum where most Rembrant master paintings were shown, Night Watch for example. There were many by him and several of his contempararies. It was quite impressive and.....VERY CROWDED. All the Europe kids are out of school and it seeemed that all were following us.
Once done we all wanted a short day and so we headed back to hotel to check in and go back out quickly to a nearby cafe or restaurant for a small dinner and bed. We ended up down the street about 4 blocks at a local cafe where we had 2 pitchers of beer....oh yea and a nice small sandwich. We all were nearly run over several times by bikes. The bike lanes are unidentifiable from the sidewalk except for a different color of cement.....and we all heard the jingle of the bike bells all the time telling us to GET OUT OF THE WAY.
Jeff was nearly at the ed of his rope guiding his parents around England, Scotland and France and so he was happy we were there not to help. We all had a great first day. Back to the hotel and we all were in bed in about 10 minutes............we were pppppooooopppped.
This morning we were up and ready to go!!! Breadkfast in the hotel, where we all made extra sandwiches for lunch and we are now about ready to hit Amsterday head on. today we are trying to hit as many "house" museums as possible and stay in the one area to see some shops, ride a canal boat and hopefull stop at the best cheese shop in the city.............See ya later!!!!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Just tesing for Amsterdam
It is April 1st and I am just testing the blog for or upcoming trip to Amsterdam on April 12. Hopefully I can start sending some neat stuff on the trip with this new netbook!!!
See ya later!!!
See ya later!!!
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