Amsterdam

My flight from London to Amsterdam was delayed 2 hours (spent mostly on the runway waiting to take off).  I didn’t mind.  I’d been so excited the last week that my body couldn’t figure out when to sleep.  I snuggled into my borrowed neck pillow (Thanks Sarah!) and slept through the whole so-called inconvenience.  At the airport I found the train to central station, and took the metro 2 stops and a short walk to my hostel.  No one was there, so I didn’t feel bad at all taking a long luxurious shower.   Fresh and clean, I headed back to the train station to find my way to Zaandam (2 stops again) where my mom’s friend Michelle had invited me over for dinner.  She asked if I had any food restrictions before presenting a dinner full of vegetables!  I was in heaven.  Her 7-month old grinned as she and her husband and I had a lovely conversation about travel and cultural differences.

Friday morning I rolled out of bed and stumbled through the streets in search of the Van Gough Museum.  Canals.

I am so delighted with the canals and the cobblestone streets.  The cyclists who are as aggressive as a London commuter.

Narrow streets.

I found the museum, hung out with Van Gough and his portraits, found my way back, took a rest and then set out to get lost again.  At the end of the day I was so impressed with myself to find I had walked 10 miles.  Until I did it again the next day.