In the shuttle from the airport in to Amsterdam this morning, I was kept amused amused by the folk behind me from Houston, Texas who could not get over all the ‘little bitty streets!’ as we careened through the city.
A couple of the other lout shared tidbits that I and the entire bus overheard from their conversation were: ‘The first thing I am gonna do when we get off is find me a Walmart!’
And:
‘Aghhh!!!! We drivin’ on a train line. There a train in front o’ us. Please Lord, let there not be a train behind us!’
Haha!
Once we hopped off the shuttle, it took a small army of friendly locals to help us find our budget hotel. We stored our bags there and immediately caught a tram into the city.
For some strange reason, it was decided that we should do our canal tour before our planned windmill visit.
The canal tour was beautiful because Amsterdam canals are beautiful, but the commentary was not great. I noticed a few of our crew nodding off and realized that fatigue and the 10 yr old’s cold would probably make an afternoon trip to Zaanse schans a torturous experience. Hence, I mentally eliminated it from the itinerary.
Amsterdam is just such a pretty place, away from the main tourist drag.
I loved the wandering we did, past the canals, past stack of parked bikes, avoiding hordes of cyclists and scooter-ists, just soaking up new smells, sounds and vibes.
After everyone settled into our very basic room, with absolutely fantastic wifi, we rested a while.
The youngest who is perpetually moving, needed to be exercised. The two of us walked up to nearby Vondelpark, a massive park where the local hang out. It was like a refreshing drink to my soul watching the 10 yr old scamper along the park trail, stopping to climb, play, befriend and explore.
A Bob Marley tribute concert was in full swing, people were roasting meat over little portable bbqs. What a vibe!
We came back to our little room reluctantly.
Dory the Explorer 