Amsterdam

Arrived in Amsterdam in glorious weather. No trouble finding The Hotel Rokin just a short way down from Dam Square. (Perfect location, pat on the back for me!). Dump the luggage and do a recce of the area. Soon found there is a great choice of dining options but most came with chips and it was expensive. We chose a bar just outside the hotel (as I was starving as usual). Bearing in mind the speed limit is 30k, whilst at lunch we saw a Lamborgini, a Porsche, a McClaren, a Maserati and a Ferrari, all desperately posing on the strip! The sounds were of muscle car struggling in first gear. Ha ha. Bicycles everywhere of course. Not the fancy racing/mountain types of good old England but more the type that would been seen in a wartime film. The merry tinkle of bells announcing thier presence is a delight to the ears. As we were sitting there, there was a huge crash. A delivery van`s side door had come open and a load of beer fell out into the road. The waiters rushed to help, and when our waiter came back he laughed and said `no matter, it was alcohol free.....who cares`. Did feel for the van driver though. After lunch we soon set off for a proper look around and got ourselves on a canal tour. Sunlight dancing on the water, moorhens swimming past and most noticably, peace and quiet! What a far cry from the noisy, smelly litter strewn London we left behind. The canal tour helped us get our bearings, Amsterdam is not that big, most destinations are easily got to on foot, but the boats and buses are a great way to travel too. Early to bed, its been a long day, slept like a log as it is so quiet (no traffic). Up bright and breezy. Breakfast included at the hotel. Fabulous. Everything you could possibly want including smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. Yummy. We did try the Dutch breakfast favourite of sugar strands (hundreds and thousands cake decoration to us) on bread and butter. I can report it is quite disgusting! :-)

First stop the ticket shop. First tickets purchased - Red Light Secrets (just curious ok?). The sex industry is legal in The Netherlands. Personally I dont have a problem with this as long as the workers are choosing this and not geing forced into it. Note; I say `workers` and not `ladies` as some are transgender.  The Ice Bar (Typical Trurans!). Norman has discovered the delights of Sambuca, God help us!  Minus 9.5 c.

Then we settled down in a quiet cafe on the canal side to people watch. What a treat! About 50 Classic Vespa gave us a drive past, hooters hooting, passengers waving. Fabulous. I was not expecting any motoring type entertainment in the centre of Amsterdam. Had a lovely walk to Vondelpark, a lovely oasis of calm, great place for a picnic and to feed the ducks. Last night we decided we had eaten far too much so far, so we went to the supermarket and bought a boxed salad, some dressed crab and a bottle of wine and had a hotel room picnic. Bliss! We also went to the body world exhibition. The human body stripped down and explained. Very interesting, I was transported back to human biology lessons.

But I think the best tour was the walking tour of Amsterdam. 2 & 1/2 hours with a guide who explained so much. Amsterdam was virtually untouched by the bombs of the war because the Dutch surrendered quickly to the Germans to save the city. This was not so great for the 250,000 Jews resident of whom only 5,000 survived. The Jewish quarter first turned into a ghetto and then, as people were transported out, was ransacked for anything that could be used right down to the wood of the buildings which was used for fuel.

The buildings of Amsterdam are interesting. At first I thought I had forgotten to take my tablets or had perhaps had too much to drink. (Who? Me?) But the fact is the buildings are all crooked. They lean in, they lean out! This is because they have been built on reclaimed swamp land and subsidance has occured. Because Amsterdam is a UNESCO world heritage site the facade has to be maintained as it is. So, they basically gut the inside, stabalise the frontage and rebuild inside.

Amsterdam best bits = Lively, pictuesque, friendly, few cars. Best food = vit water (basically minty, lemony, orangey iced water). Fresh ginger tea. Duck rillets on toast. Calamari.

Amsterdam worst bits = everyone smokes (tobacco and weed) felt like we had been kippered, chips with everything, expensive

Truran Travel Tips = Get on the walking tour first thing to find your way around. Find the supermarket to buy cheap healthy food.

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