HELLO FROM AMSTERDAM!

Hello from beautiful Amsterdam!

After a few weeks of fast and furious plotting and planning, here we are in lovely Amsterdam.  This was a bit of a last minute trip--not our usual "plan almost a year ahead of time" travel style!

I may have even forgotten to mention it to a trio of my favorite peeps! ;}

We left Spudville on Wednesday, flew to Portland where we boarded our Delta flight to Amsterdam.  No first class travel this trip--we were nicely snuggled (ha!) in our economy class seats for the 10 hour flight. Somehow, Delta managed to change our seats so were not sitting together, although the  flight attendant nicely straightened it out for us.  Luckily the flight was less than half full!

Our flight landed in Amsterdam about 30 minutes early, and after a quick trip through immigration and customs, we relaxed over a cup of coffee until it was time for our scheduled "Tinker Taxi" into the city.  We met our hostess in the arrivals hall and she escorted us to our taxi.

At the airport: 


It was a relaxing 1/2 hour ride to our "home" for the next 9 days--a lovely Air BnB apartment located in a nice neighborhood northwest of central Amsterdam.  We love it!  It's fairly big by European standards, and has the most amazing kitchen.  I think we'll be cooking a few meals at home.  It's a bit of an odd, loft style layout--the bed is in the living room, and the shower/tub is open to the living room and kitchen!  We are nothing if not adventurous ;}  The decor is artsy and quirky, as the owner is an artist.

The best part of the apartment is the small balcony off the kitchen--it's RIGHT ON the canal!  I'm sure we'll be enjoying a morning coffee and/or an evening glass of wine, relaxing and watching the ducks and swans float by.  Well--that is IF the weather shapes up--it's a bit cool and cloudy right now.

Here's a few pictures:

 Kitchen

 Sitting area in the kitchen

Very comfy king size bed--right in the living room!

 One end of the living room

Bathroom--very interesting decor:

Nice old tub--looking into the kitchen

And the very best--balcony right on the canal--the perfect spot for an evening glass of wine and duck watching!

This bird was very aggressive, and repeatedly chased away a pair of mallards.  She must have a nest nearby.

After our "check in" and orientation we quickly unpacked and then walked the short block to our tram stop.   Our destination: The Albert Cuyp Market.  It's a big street market, selling everything from clothes to food.  We browsed around, buying a loaf of bread for our dinner.  By now it was almost 1:30, and we were more than ready for lunch.  We weren't choosy--and popped in to just about the first place we found!  We lucked out, though--it was a trendy organic burger place, and we really enjoyed our amazing hamburgers.  I chose the local organic beef burger with lindberger cheese and topped with pear preserves--it was delicious!  David had a spicy chipoltle burger that he really enjoyed.  We also had our first beer in Amsterdam- a delicious locally brewed IPA.

After lunch we made our way back to the tram stop and rode back to our apartment to drop off our purchases.  We made a quick trip to a nice big grocery store about 2 blocks from home, where we stocked up on a few necessities for the next week.

We agreed that tonight would be a dinner "in" night.  After enjoying a glass of wine on our canal side balcony, we munched on a plate of brown bread, assorted cheeses, olives and sausages.
We are now thoroughly exhausted--jet lag has definitely set in!  Early to bed for these two travelers.

Tomorrow in Amsterdam:  No big plans--just exploring the old town area of this beautiful city.