On a high in Amsterdam

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On the 31st of March, our 15 day express tour of western Europe began. The tour was thankfully a small group of 25 people - the benefits of travelling out of peak season - and consisted of 19 Australians. Just when I though I couldn't be any more at home, there were also 2 chartered accountants on board - and between the 3 of us, an economist and a maths teacher, the bus was fully aware of currency conversion issues, how much to tip and budgets were being drawn up. Just 3 couples in the 25 made Sarah and I instant outcasts, but we were all united in paying out our British tour manager (who annoyed most of us by trying to explain aboriginal culture to us). In fact our tour had pretty well segregated into 3 distinct groups - the Americans, the normal aussies and the Adelaide bogans, who rivalled the Americans as the people I was hoping missed the bus in the morning. Disappointingly, there are no kiwis on the bus as I had my barrage of sheep jokes ready and waiting.

First stop was Amsterdam - after a drive to to Dover, ferry to Calais in France, a drive through Belgium to Amsterdam for dinner. First night out on the town was a canal cruise followed by a walking tour of the red light district - where we lost a few of the tour group along the way - while the rest of the group went to the Grasshopper to get stoned. Sarah and I joined 3 others on the bus back at 10pm as the next day was an early start. The next morning there were plenty of sore heads on the bike ride through the little village of Edam - where the cheese comes from. A little cheese story was followed by a clog making demostration. Then the bus took us back to central Amsterdam for a diamond tour - quite awkward for the 3 guys on board with partners as we were constantly told it was the best place in the world to buy diamonds! Free time in Amsterdam for the afternoon was great - Sarah and I got to walk around the pretty city, go to the history museum and eat great frites - it was the warmest, sunniest day I had seen in over 3 months.

The night was a dodgy, expensive Chinese dinner at a floating restaurant with the group and a sex show - which was funny because it was very robotic on a revolving stage and just so wrong. To recover and help us forget how bad the show was, we joined the group for some joint smoking at the Grasshopper, however due to my lack of smoking ability it had no effect on me at all! Caught the last tram back at 12:30 after going to cheesy club Teasers briefly.

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Photos

The Grasshopper
Nice coffee shop!

Bike Park
Amsterdam is certainly the city of bikes!