Tuesday 4th in Amsterdam

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As usual John was up early, feeling his way around the room to not wake Peggy, and going out for a walk in this lovely city. Lots of beautiful views of buildings, waterways and barges. After ninety minutes of walking and taking pictures, he returned to Peggy and pushed the wrong button, turning all the lights on in the room. The system for temperature and light and curtains is all run from an electronic system next to the bed and in the bathroom. Turns out you can turn on all the lights in the room and bathroom from the bathroom panel but not the other way around. Having turned every light “on” John went to remedy the situation and turned every light off so it was pitch dark. Ah well, time to get up….

The Park Plaza Victoria is located near the train station and thus is very busy at all times during the day. Getting out of the area to more sedate surroundings is the charm of Amsterdam, so transport (trolley, railway and boat) is the name of the game. We walked to the trolley stop and took it to a part of the city where there are book shops and antiques and flower stalls. Of course we visited the Delft shop and purchased a few small gifts, then proceeded to check out the little streets up and down and across the canals.

Various stops included a flower stall, a CBD dispensary and a cute little café where we sat outside and watched the traffic go by (many pedestrians, more bicyclists and lots of trams). After a few hours of this falderal we stopped at a nice hotel with a highly rated (TripAdvisor) restaurant: Brasserie Ambassade. The wait staff was terrific and the time there (nearly 2 hours) was very relaxing. We had two glasses of viognier and were happy for the rest of the day. Perhaps it was the CBD but most likely it was the good time we had at the restaurant.

We made our way to the Blue Tour boats near the Museum Quarter and took a 75 minute tour of the city. Peggy listened to the tour guide and learned about the city, its history and architecture. John stayed on deck and took a slew of pictures. Every so often we would get together and compare notes. A highly enjoyable afternoon.

Back to the hotel late in the day – via our multi-day pass from the municipal rail/ferry/trolley/tram service – and a nice drink at the bar and then early retirement to do this blog and enjoy the warmth of the day’s events.

Tomorrow it’s going to rain and we’re off to the Van Gogh Museum.

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