Tulips and Windmills

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Day 1 and 2 April 15 & 16 - Travel DaysWhat a beautiful day in Denver this morning. But, after hearing the upcoming weather report, we looked at each other and said "let's get the heck out of here"! Denver is expecting snow starting this afternoon through he weekend. Unbelievable!!

We showered, finished packing and waited for our Anthony's limo driver to come and take us away to the airport. Our driver, Eric was very chatty and once he learned that Jim worked with NASA back on the glory days he just couldn't ask enough questions.

Our experience with United and TSA couldn't have been better on this trip. This is our first vacation after receiving our GOES cards. (Global online entry system). In January, Jim and I completed our application, were interviewed, finger printed and finally approved for this card. We were listed on boarding passes as TSA pre-check and we were given premier status by United. We waited for our flight in the United Club near gate B44. We snacked, enjoyed a cappuccino and waited for boarding. Loved having group 1 boarding! Our flight departed about 20 minutes late but we landed in Chicago right on time.

Once again, we waited for the longest leg of our journey in the United Club in the C terminal. Boarding went smoothly and we quickly settled in to our business class seats. The seats were configured in pods of 2 with 3 sets per row. We were in row 6 and our pods faced the rear of the plane. It was so odd to face the wrong direction on the plane but we viewed it as a new adventure to experience. Soon, the flight attendant greeted us and we asked for champagne! What a great way to toast this new journey and memory.

Once the airbus 360 plane took off and we were at altitude we were offered more wine and we selected a French Chardonnay. Delicious. The monitors were about 15" displays and we started browsing through the menu. Ultimately we each selected "Gone Girl". Interesting movie. The flight attendant came by with more wine and took our order for dinner from the inflight menu. We both had a salad but neither ate the sushi grade ahi tuna appetizer. For the main course, I opted for the beef short ribs and Jim went for the salmon. Both were delicious. Next, the cheese course with port. Best part of any meal is dessert!! They came by with a cart with bowls of vanilla ice cream including optional toppings of hot fudge, carmel, walnuts, strawberries and whipped cream. We both thoroughly enjoyed some of each.

We finished watching the strange yet somewhat enjoyable movie and settled our pods into flat sleeping mode and quickly went to sleep. Too bad everyone on the flight couldn't experience this type of comfort. I awoke first and it was still dark out so I played a couple of games on the iPad. The sun came up and there was light and brightness. As I looked out of my little window, at first I forgot we were sitting backwards and was startled by my view.

The flight attendant came by and soon brought us continental breakfast, orange juice and coffee. The flight actually landed safely in Amsterdam at the Schichol airport about 20 minutes early and the gate was still occupied. We had to wait for the gate to open and then we were able to disembark at 9:35am.

We went through customs and then made our way to baggage claim. As we walked in to the great hall, we looked for our Uniworld transfer. Yep, sure enough there he was standing in the forefront with his Uniworld sign. We were so happy to see him. We were his only passengers so we headed to the parking garage. He made a stop at the cafe machine near the exit and made me an expresso and Jim a cappuccino. Very necessary as I needed the boost!! Our driver took us to our hotel the Amsterdam Grand Amrath hotel in a brand new Mercedes. Lovely ride through town and we saw lots of daffodils growing on the highway. We asked him about the tulips and he said they are in bloom and beautiful. Hopefully he is telling a truth. We arrived at the hotel after a short 20 minute drive right in the heart of the city near the Central train station. The reception was in an office and I was told to sit down to check in. Thanks to Costco the room was comped as well as the transfers and breakfast. We were able to check in to our room early, #316. The valet brought our bags up and gave us the tour of our room. Window coverings are automated via remote control, nice flat screen and the mini bar with wine, soda and water is COMPLIMENTARY. Yes you read that right. He said they restock once each day and whatever is used, they replace we are not charged. I'm thinking I need to take the wine and place it in my luggage and partake on the cruise top deck.

The Grand Amrath Hotel was built between 1912-1916 and is quite beautiful. The rooms are very large and modern and the bed was extremely comfortable. We wandered through china town and the Nieumarket area then walked to the Main Street. We found a money exchange to unload the U.S. Dollars for euros. We stopped by the Old Amsterdam cheese factory, tasted and bought some cheese. This we will enjoy along with the wine from the hotel mini bar! Stopped at a Deli France for a baguette sandwich. After lunch we were deciding where to go and we both had this wave of tired come over us and so we decided to return to the hotel to take a nap. It felt sooooo good.

Our friends that we were meeting for the trip, Jane and Bill Loetell from Tampa experienced flight delays and arrived late around 7pm. We all went to dinner at a wonderful Italian restaurant named Gusto near the area Nieumarket. We enjoyed several glasses of Sangiovese along with appetizer platters of meets, cheeses, grilled veges, mussels, calimari, shrimp (yes, in true European fashion, WITH heads on). The specialty of the house is a pasta that is poured into a large wheel of parmesean cheese that is hallowed then they add flaming liquor, the pasta, toss and serve, Delicious. The favors that the the cheese bring to the pasta were really wonderful. I wished I had a such a wheel of cheese. We all shared this dish and also ordered and shared Osso bucco and steak Diane. More wine was enjoyed and dinner was fabulous. The owner brought us 4 shot glasses and comped us with Lemoncillo shots. What an evening. Time to walk back to the hotel and get some rest. Good night.

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