Our journey to and arrival in Amsterdam was delightfully uneventful and exciting at the same time, influenced greatly by the fact that we would soon see Jane, a Canadian friend living in Amsterdam with her English partner, Jonathan. They opened the door to us with a whirl of hugs and helped us carry our bags up the steep Dutch stairs to their lovely apartment. Then they welcomed us with a yummy breakfast, including pink champagne. We toasted to travel and to connecting with friends.
We took a nap and a shower and then spent the day strolling around the city streets with J & J following on their bikes, excited to show us everything. Luckily we are all jet lagged (J & J have themselves just returned from a trip to Australia and Singapore) so we were all in a similar state, i.e. a little zoned out and couldn't remember what things were called. Nonetheless, we managed a long walk through the museum district, an adjacent antiques street and all the way down to the canal ring to the elegant core of this beautiful slanted city. A quick visit to a "coffee shop" called The Grey Zone was on my agenda, while Jane, Jonathan and Lizanne went to the other kind of coffee shop.
By late in the day, we stood in front of the the Anne Frank House, which was open and surprisingly line-up-free. We hemmed and hawed a bit, and ultimately decided to skip it. I was secretly more interested in trying a popular Dutch-style mode of transportation: being doubled on the back of a bike, sitting sideways on the rack and holding onto the person riding the bike.
We took a nap and a shower and then spent the day strolling around the city streets with J & J following on their bikes, excited to show us everything. Luckily we are all jet lagged (J & J have themselves just returned from a trip to Australia and Singapore) so we were all in a similar state, i.e. a little zoned out and couldn't remember what things were called. Nonetheless, we managed a long walk through the museum district, an adjacent antiques street and all the way down to the canal ring to the elegant core of this beautiful slanted city. A quick visit to a "coffee shop" called The Grey Zone was on my agenda, while Jane, Jonathan and Lizanne went to the other kind of coffee shop.
By late in the day, we stood in front of the the Anne Frank House, which was open and surprisingly line-up-free. We hemmed and hawed a bit, and ultimately decided to skip it. I was secretly more interested in trying a popular Dutch-style mode of transportation: being doubled on the back of a bike, sitting sideways on the rack and holding onto the person riding the bike.
The locals make it look easy, and Jane made it sound easy. I lasted about 10 minutes and when my hip flexor started to seize up and I could no longer feel my butt cheeks, I decided to walk the rest of the way home. Jonathan made a valiant effort, but there is definitely a science to being a passenger which I have yet to grasp. My earlier visit to the coffee shop made the ride much more interesting, but no less uncomfortable...
After a delicious pasta dinner, everyone retired early, with the exception of me...I am up late writing this blog.
Tomorrow: Uganda!
Tomorrow: Uganda!
Excellent! I look forward to following your travels - keep it up and best of luck!!! Sorry I missed you while you were in Montreal :(
ReplyDeleteAlison
Kaff, i'm so happy you arrived safely, i look forward to following your blog. I can't believe you actually bought an Ipod, i guess you got tired of carrying around all of those CDs...LOL...It's kinda sad actually, I liked having 1 friend who had not totally jumped into the 21st century
ReplyDeleteBeing Jet lagged in Amsterdam, ah, sleep is over rated. Now for the marshy warm Uganda, maybe elephants too, the dull grey kind? Happy trails.
ReplyDeleteSoo great to know you are off in distant Africa by now...
ReplyDeleteGood job on getting the blog up and running immediately. We will be watching closely. love and hugs to you...
To all my stalkers, uh, I mean followers, thanks for your comments and for your willingness to follow me on my adventures. Catyra (Nat?), don't worry, I still own dozens of CDs and I will listen to them on an "old fashioned" stereo when I get back to Canada. I still occasionally use a VCR as well as my DVD recorder.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing Flath,
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to many updates from the internet cafes of Africa. BTW, what's with the freaky mirror-image animals. They look like pushmepullyas.
Safe journey....
Flue
Hey Kathy! Sorry I missed you on Thanksgiving at Mom and Dads but if you had actually let me know you were going to be in Montreal, I would have driven over to see you! Have a safe trip!
ReplyDeleteShan
Yes, the bizarre animals...hmmmm...I was walking around Amsterdam and saw the one with the deers in the window of an "art" gallery. I was both intrigued and horrified, so naturally I had to go inside. Much to my delight, there were other, even more elaborate abominations. I didn't stick around to find out what they were supposed to represent. I snapped a few photos and ran!
ReplyDeleteAllo ma grande soeur, je pense à toi souvent et j'espère que les gens sont gentils avec toi comme toi tu es gentille avec les autres autres (je suis kétaine !! )
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