Amsterdam - we love you!

Our day exploring Amsterdam was great fun. We travelled there from Den Haag by train (no dramas today) and on arrival we jumped straight on to a Canal boat for a tour of the city. Seeing the city from the canals was great and with an informative commentary it helped us once we were back on the ground. Amsterdam is a Grand Old city, much of it dating back to the 12th Century. Quite an effort to imagine the age of some of the buildings, given that we as a nation are so young.

The canals certainly seem to be the most stress free way to get around the city as once on the ground, it is the bikes that rule and there sure are a lot of them. Combine them with fact you have to watch for traffic coming from the opposite direction and it is a miracle that I got home really. Bill had to save me more than once as I looked the wrong way and thought all was clear. Still, I made it and I'm here to tell the story.

We started our walking tour of Amsterdam from the Station and armed with a map from one of the visitor guides we headed off towards the old city. After a couple of blocks we found Chinatown and decided to venture in to have a look. What we found was a little more than the Chinatowns we know and love. We were right in the middle of the district that Amsterdam is famous for. And I'm sure I didn't see a red light in sight. Well, of course once there we had to walk through and even though it was not yet lunch time many windows were occupied with girls to entice people in. Poor Bill got sick of my running commentary pretty soon but just as I thought I had adjusted we'd pass another and my 'did you see that one' started again. Oh well, an education in the seedier side of life you might say. Makes Hay St look like Kindergarten and we didn't even see it at night time when it comes alive. We also passed some of the 'Coffee Shops' that Amsterdam is just as famous for but did not venture in. Time we found some real sights so we just kept on walking.

Following our nose rather than the map saw us wandering along canals with wonderful shops and houses to look at. Of course, we saw more Churches and came across a couple of markets during the day. Some of the landmarks we saw from both on the canals and while exploring on foot were the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum, the Nieuwe Kerk & the Royal Palace in Amsterdam's Dam Square, many of the amazing sights we saw we recognised from the miniature village the day before. It was incredible how real they were.

We followed a couple of walks marked on the map and one of them was a unique shops walk where you used the map to find a number of little shops with an interesting mix of goods. It took you through other parts of the city so just by exploring we found little streets, quaint shops & houses and houseboats on the canals. We also came across the Houseboat museum so we went on board to have a look and were quiet impressed with how life could be on the canals.

Finally walked out once more, we set off through the busy city centre, back to the station for our ride home to make the most of our time with Ethan, there was a racing car set that I had a date with. Did I win, against a 4 year old, not likely. I just might crawl up those damn stairs tonight!!!!

Until tomorrow...........