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  • Day 17

    Amsterdam - A Very Wet Welcome Indeed!

    September 5, 2018 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    It was a bit bittersweet to take our last climb up the 8 feet to our loft bed in London.  I wont miss the tricky and tenuous descent in the middle of the night to tinkle ... but ... it was so nice and cozy up there.  I was hoping our bed in Amsterdam would be as comfortable!

    GRATITUDES: John has been reading blogs about travel (while I was under the weather and tucking in early!) and one tip he picked up was not to use the barcode check-in device at the train station, but rather to go to the desk to check and ensure your seats are facing forward!

    We did so ... and ...discovered our seats were not!! THAT could have been a bit challenging for my motion sickness ... so ... the kind Eurostar staff reassigned our seats ... AND... gave us a table!!!  Turned out there was no one seated across from us so we had lots of space and room to breathe!!! 👌👌👌

    Let me begin by saying how much we enjoyed train travel! We were so impressed with Eurostar!  No wasting 4 hours in airports prior to departure and claiming bags after arrival! We only needed to arrive 30 minutes before departure.  It was sleek, smooth, swift, spotless and silent ... except when we were underground!

    GASPS: According to the stats, 334.7km an hour is it's fastest.  We were travelling @300km/hr for most of our trip! AND apparently their are 50.45 kms of train travel through each tunnel between the UK and the mainland ... and ...each tunnel is 75 meters below sea level!! It was such a stress free mode of travel.

    GAHS:  Well ... given we have escaped rain for our first three destinations (Scotland, Ireland and England) ... it should not have come as any surprise that we might get wet in Holland.  And ... we sure did!  Thunderstorms were booming and the water was falling in cascades when we arrived.

    We left Centraal Station on foot ... GPS in hand ... searching for our little abode amongst the umbrella laden lanes. And ... before too long we found it!  It was nestled almost invisibly between the "Seed Shop" and the Italian restaurant. And ... those seeds are not for gardening! 😏

    After taking the highest climb up the narrowest bank of stairs yet ... we got settled into our humble space ... and ... hastily unpacked our yet unused rain jackets!

    GRATITUDES: At the recommendation of the lady at the wine store ... we enjoyed a very nice Dutch inspired lunch of croquettes and spicy beef stew on baguettes at a place called "Blom"!  It was delicious ... 👌

    With full tummies we donned our rainwear and wandered a bit to acquaint ourselves a little more with our surroundings! I think I've already gone a bit 'nose-blind' to the 'pot'- pourri (if you get my drift). So so many skunks around here!! 😉

    GRINS: And, we barely logged any steps before we had to take off our jackets.  The thunderclouds cleared and we enjoyed the walk ... sans rain.

    GASPS OF ENTHUSIASM:   Guess what?  They have baked potato bars that you choose your toppings just like you would at a Subway.  We didnt have one ... yet ... but it's on my ' to experience' list. 

    A little further along the way ... we spotted a little table for two by a canal and stopped for a drink. A glass of wine was $3.50!!  The best price I've seen anywhere... and ... it tasted lovely! 😍

    Anyway ... wondered about trying to follow Google maps to restaurant we picked out and somehow ended up in the red light district in the midst of what appeared to be a movie shoot!! And... if you've ever seen those three windows with the ladies of the night selling their wares ... well ... we walked right past them!! Perhaps when we have more time we'll head back to take it all in ... but for that moment ... there was no time for window shopping!! 😀

    Oh my ... no shortage of unexpected moments to treasure! But ... now ... we are safely back in our room and looking forward to unwrapping more gifts from Amsterdam tomorrow! 🧡
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