...that would be me! Not really, but compared to what I knew when I arrived, I do feel like an expert. It's been a busy time, but I did see and do a lot. I realized that my ipad just doesn't work well with blogspot since the blog has changed, so it isn't quite as convenient to write now, but at least I won't have anymore long posts disappear before my very eyes! AND they are now posted with the paragraphs so that is nice. No more work for Murray to put them in after the posts.
Yesterday morning I woke up in Bergen op Zoom and wonderful Tanja and Jaap took me to the train station in Breda, which saved me having to chage trains with all of my luggage, a very kind thing for them to do, savng me a lot of trouble with my very heavy two suitcases. So much for coming home lighter after dropping off their gifts. I was able to get on the FYRA, I think it was, the high speed train so it only took an hour rather than almost 2 hours. I arrived at Central Station in Amsterdam about 9:30 and made the walk across the square and bridge and street to get to my hotel. It isn't really so easy rolling suitcases across the cobblestone streets and walks, but it was fine. I was very pleased to be able to check in that early. I am at the NH Barbizon Palace, and although not a palace, it is a nice hotel. I am not sure about the 5 star rating, but all of the people are very kind so that is a pleasure. It is the first hotel I booked with priceline and I did get a really good deal, less than 1/2 what the goinng rates were when I booked, so I feel very lucky. It is in a great location as my friend assured me it was.
I immediately talked to the conierge with my list of things I wanted to see. I think so much of the conierge people in Europe. They are so helpful and kind and always a pleasure to work with. I found a tour to Zaans Schwans (?) and it had two other stops on it so I just couldn't resist the opportunity to see all those places! The first stop was the 'windmill' village of Zaans.... and I was very disappointed we only had 45 minutes. It is a step back in time to a Holland of long ago. There were several windmills so I hope that I got at least a couple of good photos, along with photos of the clog making building and others. After that short stop we proceeded to the fishing village of Volendam and had time there for lunch. Another lovely destination.
It was funny, I was walking up to a table for 2 when a man arrived at the same time so we shared the table. He was on my tour and is from Mexico. He was alone, he'd been to a printer's conference in Germany and had a few extra days so he is exploring here too. He was very nice, only spoke spanish so my 'extensive' knowledge of the language came in handy. It was good for a lot of laughs but we communicated just fine really. At one point the man at the table next to us started laughing so at that point he and his wife joined in our conversation. They were from Jakarta, Indonesia and as we talked it was amazing that the man had attended the University of Colorado in Boulder for his law degree...small world...the concept proven once again! That is where I went for my undergrad degree. The 4 of us had a nice lunch and then I wandered until it was time to take the boat across the lake to Markin, another small village. There we were suupposed to have a cheese and clog demo but there were so many people I didn't see a thing. There were many cheeses to taste and I believe I had each at least once. There are so many cheeses here, and they are from cows, sheep and goats. I do like the goat cheese the best. There is even a pesto cheese which is green, delicious! Unfortunately you have to buy pretty large blocks so I can't get one of each, but at least it was fun to taste them..
After the tour I rested a bit and then headed out for a walk from my hotel along Damrak to the Dam square. A nice evening stoll and many people were on the street as I returned to my hotel about 9:30. I had fries for dinner, and just don't think I'll get tired of them. They are larger in The Netherlands, than in Belgium,, but also delicious too, ahhh and the wonderful toppings!
After a good night's sleep and a very leisurely morning, I finally headed out. My first stop was a few blocks away at a camera store. A lady yesterday pointed out my lens was scratched. Luckily it was a UV lens over my actual one so I was able to replace that today. Then it was on to Madame Troussauds's Wax Museum. Edward was in the window so no photo with him. Waiting in line I started talking to some girls behind me and they were from Venlo, where I'd been at the Floriade and we enjoyed visiting while waiting in line and they had an extra 1/2 price coupon they offered me, so kind. When we finally got to the ticket desk they were talking to the young man there in Dutch. All I understood was something about Johnny Depp so I asked him to repeat that in English please. He was adorable, so very funny and said he loved American accents and loved listening to me talk. SO FUNNY! Usually it is me that likes hearing other's accents. He said he liked me so much he was going to give me one of the 6 euro guides for free and give one to my friends in Dutch too. How very kind! The Dutch people really are wonderful! Well, the wax Johnny had been moved and today was the last day that Obama was going to be there for photos, so yes, I posed with Obama in Amsterdam! The photo came out blurry but is still fun so maybe I'll post it. Had photos taken with a few other celebrities and then headed out to the van Gogh museum. Here it is pronounced van Goff. The museum was wonderful but unfortunately my feet were already killing me from the long wait earlier, so I didn't spend long there, but did see it all. Wonderful museum.
On my way out I stopped at the gift store, of course, with the intent to add to my bookmark and magnet collections. There were some lovely ones that were quite a bit more expensive than the typical ones. There was a sweet older (than me) lady from Enland, who was looking at them and said she had a collection of bookmarks...guess I'm not the only one! She said she wanted one but it was just too expensive. I said if she loved it she should get it, when would she be back. She looked at me and said I was right, she would really enjoy it and was going to get it. I'm so glad, too many times in life we don't do or get what we want and later regret it. A bookmark, a simple thing to do! She was just beaming when she told me thanks to me should would have the bookmark she really wanted! Wonderful!
I left and walked a bit to get on the tram that would take me back to my hotel, and was talking to the driver about a cheese museum. He was great..of course....and called in but no one had ever heard of it, so he came to a stop and said if I got off there I could find a cheese shop where I could sample the different cheeses, so I decided that would do. He told me where to go to get the tram back to the hotel so off I went, walkng by some flower stalls and finally got to the cheese store where I basically had a small lunch. Then I headed back to the hotel. After a short nap, I will be going to Moeder's for dinner, my mother's photo in hand for them to hang on the wall and then I will know a part of her is with the tulips in Holland.
Tomorrow morning I've reserved a taxi to take me to the airport. I will enjoy some time at the lounge and then head to Frankfurt, where I will be for a couple of hours, and then on to Athens and finally Mykonos...a few days of leisure in the magical setting! Ciao from Amsterdam!
Yesterday morning I woke up in Bergen op Zoom and wonderful Tanja and Jaap took me to the train station in Breda, which saved me having to chage trains with all of my luggage, a very kind thing for them to do, savng me a lot of trouble with my very heavy two suitcases. So much for coming home lighter after dropping off their gifts. I was able to get on the FYRA, I think it was, the high speed train so it only took an hour rather than almost 2 hours. I arrived at Central Station in Amsterdam about 9:30 and made the walk across the square and bridge and street to get to my hotel. It isn't really so easy rolling suitcases across the cobblestone streets and walks, but it was fine. I was very pleased to be able to check in that early. I am at the NH Barbizon Palace, and although not a palace, it is a nice hotel. I am not sure about the 5 star rating, but all of the people are very kind so that is a pleasure. It is the first hotel I booked with priceline and I did get a really good deal, less than 1/2 what the goinng rates were when I booked, so I feel very lucky. It is in a great location as my friend assured me it was.
I immediately talked to the conierge with my list of things I wanted to see. I think so much of the conierge people in Europe. They are so helpful and kind and always a pleasure to work with. I found a tour to Zaans Schwans (?) and it had two other stops on it so I just couldn't resist the opportunity to see all those places! The first stop was the 'windmill' village of Zaans.... and I was very disappointed we only had 45 minutes. It is a step back in time to a Holland of long ago. There were several windmills so I hope that I got at least a couple of good photos, along with photos of the clog making building and others. After that short stop we proceeded to the fishing village of Volendam and had time there for lunch. Another lovely destination.
It was funny, I was walking up to a table for 2 when a man arrived at the same time so we shared the table. He was on my tour and is from Mexico. He was alone, he'd been to a printer's conference in Germany and had a few extra days so he is exploring here too. He was very nice, only spoke spanish so my 'extensive' knowledge of the language came in handy. It was good for a lot of laughs but we communicated just fine really. At one point the man at the table next to us started laughing so at that point he and his wife joined in our conversation. They were from Jakarta, Indonesia and as we talked it was amazing that the man had attended the University of Colorado in Boulder for his law degree...small world...the concept proven once again! That is where I went for my undergrad degree. The 4 of us had a nice lunch and then I wandered until it was time to take the boat across the lake to Markin, another small village. There we were suupposed to have a cheese and clog demo but there were so many people I didn't see a thing. There were many cheeses to taste and I believe I had each at least once. There are so many cheeses here, and they are from cows, sheep and goats. I do like the goat cheese the best. There is even a pesto cheese which is green, delicious! Unfortunately you have to buy pretty large blocks so I can't get one of each, but at least it was fun to taste them..
After the tour I rested a bit and then headed out for a walk from my hotel along Damrak to the Dam square. A nice evening stoll and many people were on the street as I returned to my hotel about 9:30. I had fries for dinner, and just don't think I'll get tired of them. They are larger in The Netherlands, than in Belgium,, but also delicious too, ahhh and the wonderful toppings!
After a good night's sleep and a very leisurely morning, I finally headed out. My first stop was a few blocks away at a camera store. A lady yesterday pointed out my lens was scratched. Luckily it was a UV lens over my actual one so I was able to replace that today. Then it was on to Madame Troussauds's Wax Museum. Edward was in the window so no photo with him. Waiting in line I started talking to some girls behind me and they were from Venlo, where I'd been at the Floriade and we enjoyed visiting while waiting in line and they had an extra 1/2 price coupon they offered me, so kind. When we finally got to the ticket desk they were talking to the young man there in Dutch. All I understood was something about Johnny Depp so I asked him to repeat that in English please. He was adorable, so very funny and said he loved American accents and loved listening to me talk. SO FUNNY! Usually it is me that likes hearing other's accents. He said he liked me so much he was going to give me one of the 6 euro guides for free and give one to my friends in Dutch too. How very kind! The Dutch people really are wonderful! Well, the wax Johnny had been moved and today was the last day that Obama was going to be there for photos, so yes, I posed with Obama in Amsterdam! The photo came out blurry but is still fun so maybe I'll post it. Had photos taken with a few other celebrities and then headed out to the van Gogh museum. Here it is pronounced van Goff. The museum was wonderful but unfortunately my feet were already killing me from the long wait earlier, so I didn't spend long there, but did see it all. Wonderful museum.
On my way out I stopped at the gift store, of course, with the intent to add to my bookmark and magnet collections. There were some lovely ones that were quite a bit more expensive than the typical ones. There was a sweet older (than me) lady from Enland, who was looking at them and said she had a collection of bookmarks...guess I'm not the only one! She said she wanted one but it was just too expensive. I said if she loved it she should get it, when would she be back. She looked at me and said I was right, she would really enjoy it and was going to get it. I'm so glad, too many times in life we don't do or get what we want and later regret it. A bookmark, a simple thing to do! She was just beaming when she told me thanks to me should would have the bookmark she really wanted! Wonderful!
I left and walked a bit to get on the tram that would take me back to my hotel, and was talking to the driver about a cheese museum. He was great..of course....and called in but no one had ever heard of it, so he came to a stop and said if I got off there I could find a cheese shop where I could sample the different cheeses, so I decided that would do. He told me where to go to get the tram back to the hotel so off I went, walkng by some flower stalls and finally got to the cheese store where I basically had a small lunch. Then I headed back to the hotel. After a short nap, I will be going to Moeder's for dinner, my mother's photo in hand for them to hang on the wall and then I will know a part of her is with the tulips in Holland.
Tomorrow morning I've reserved a taxi to take me to the airport. I will enjoy some time at the lounge and then head to Frankfurt, where I will be for a couple of hours, and then on to Athens and finally Mykonos...a few days of leisure in the magical setting! Ciao from Amsterdam!
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment