We leave next week for Amsterdam! Really looking forward to this trip with our "travel family".
I am going to list a couple of things here in the hopes that I can have internet access at a good rate!
If you click on the links you can go to the websites.
We are staying at the Amsterdam Marriott Hotel for the first 3 nights:
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/amsnt-amsterdam-marriott-hotel/
During the first day Connie and I plan to visit the Rijksmuseum - which recently completed a 10 year renovation! We arrive in Amsterdam at 9:30 in the morning. Have to figure out the trains to get to Centraal Station from the airport. Centraal Station is about 1 mile from the Marriott. IF we're not too tired we will head right to the museum. It's real close to out hotel.
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en?lang=en&gclid=CPzS7L3m8rYCFXSVMgodFmoADg
The we are supposed to meet up with nine others the first night for dinner at this restaurant. This will give me the address in case we miss some of the others at their hotel:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g188590-d2431853-Reviews-Tasca_Bellota-
Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html
Others are staying at this hotel:
http://www.estherea.nl/en/index.html
The next day we are taking a day trip to Keukenhof Gardens for the spring bulbs. Hopefully Holland has had our cool weather and the tulips will still be in bloom!
http://www.keukenhof.nl
The third day some are going to the Anne Frank House (we couldn't secure online tickets in time). There is a line you can get in at 8:00 so Connie and I might try that. The others are going to the Rijksmuseum that afternoon so Connie and I might entertain ourselves.
http://www.annefrank.org
We'll have a light lunch as we are going for the feast that night. The rijsttafel!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijsttafel
Dinner is at this Restaurant. Reviews seem mixed but this meal is not to be missed. We would have enjoyed it a bit more before we cut way back on the carbs. We'll just pound the protein and have a little rice!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g188590-d1200726-Reviews-Indrapura-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html#REVIEWS
The following morning Rich has arranged for a canal tour with a drop off right at our barge! We leave Amsterdam around 1:00p.m. to start an 8 day adventure. Rich has secured the entire barge for our group so we won't have to deal with smokers. There are 29 of us this time (the largest effort by far) - quite the undertaking. Each day you have the option of bicycling and joining up with the barge later that day or just relaxing on the barge. After your breakfast, if you choose to cycle, a box lunch is supplied for the day trip. When you return to the barge a nice dinner will be served each night. So, barring rain,, we hope to bike 20-30 miles each day on very flat land (Holland!) and then come back to dinner and the hot tub that is on the barge. Seems pretty sweet to us!
Here's a link to a tour sponsored by another group that uses the exact same barge we have rented. Rich had secured a much better rate than the amount quoted here:
http://bikesherpa.com/tour/105-bike-and-boat-holland-belgium-with-magnifique
And finally, here is the link to our barge for the week:
http://www.tripsite.com/bike-boat/boats/comfort-plus/ms-magnifique/
We chose to rent a bike for the week - It seemed too much trouble to bring ours. Amazingly we have to lug our bike helmets with us. Too bad - they take up quite a bit of room in our bags. It seems that no one uses a helmet in Holland and they are not available for rental! I don't want to risk smashing my melon. We all know how accident prone I can be!
Once we leave the barge in Bruges, Belgium 6 of us are leaving heading right to the train station for a 1 hour trip to Brussels. We chose to stay in Brussels as we are flying back home at 11:30 the next day. We figured it wasn't worth the worry to stay a night in Bruges. This might be a mistake - Bruges looks awesome. One of the few cities in Europe that was not bombed - original architecture still intact. Oh well, next time?
I am going to list a couple of things here in the hopes that I can have internet access at a good rate!
If you click on the links you can go to the websites.
We are staying at the Amsterdam Marriott Hotel for the first 3 nights:
https://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/amsnt-amsterdam-marriott-hotel/
During the first day Connie and I plan to visit the Rijksmuseum - which recently completed a 10 year renovation! We arrive in Amsterdam at 9:30 in the morning. Have to figure out the trains to get to Centraal Station from the airport. Centraal Station is about 1 mile from the Marriott. IF we're not too tired we will head right to the museum. It's real close to out hotel.
https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en?lang=en&gclid=CPzS7L3m8rYCFXSVMgodFmoADg
The we are supposed to meet up with nine others the first night for dinner at this restaurant. This will give me the address in case we miss some of the others at their hotel:
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g188590-d2431853-Reviews-Tasca_Bellota-
Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html
Others are staying at this hotel:
http://www.estherea.nl/en/index.html
The next day we are taking a day trip to Keukenhof Gardens for the spring bulbs. Hopefully Holland has had our cool weather and the tulips will still be in bloom!
http://www.keukenhof.nl
The third day some are going to the Anne Frank House (we couldn't secure online tickets in time). There is a line you can get in at 8:00 so Connie and I might try that. The others are going to the Rijksmuseum that afternoon so Connie and I might entertain ourselves.
http://www.annefrank.org
We'll have a light lunch as we are going for the feast that night. The rijsttafel!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rijsttafel
Dinner is at this Restaurant. Reviews seem mixed but this meal is not to be missed. We would have enjoyed it a bit more before we cut way back on the carbs. We'll just pound the protein and have a little rice!
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g188590-d1200726-Reviews-Indrapura-Amsterdam_North_Holland_Province.html#REVIEWS
The following morning Rich has arranged for a canal tour with a drop off right at our barge! We leave Amsterdam around 1:00p.m. to start an 8 day adventure. Rich has secured the entire barge for our group so we won't have to deal with smokers. There are 29 of us this time (the largest effort by far) - quite the undertaking. Each day you have the option of bicycling and joining up with the barge later that day or just relaxing on the barge. After your breakfast, if you choose to cycle, a box lunch is supplied for the day trip. When you return to the barge a nice dinner will be served each night. So, barring rain,, we hope to bike 20-30 miles each day on very flat land (Holland!) and then come back to dinner and the hot tub that is on the barge. Seems pretty sweet to us!
Here's a link to a tour sponsored by another group that uses the exact same barge we have rented. Rich had secured a much better rate than the amount quoted here:
http://bikesherpa.com/tour/105-bike-and-boat-holland-belgium-with-magnifique
And finally, here is the link to our barge for the week:
http://www.tripsite.com/bike-boat/boats/comfort-plus/ms-magnifique/
We chose to rent a bike for the week - It seemed too much trouble to bring ours. Amazingly we have to lug our bike helmets with us. Too bad - they take up quite a bit of room in our bags. It seems that no one uses a helmet in Holland and they are not available for rental! I don't want to risk smashing my melon. We all know how accident prone I can be!
Once we leave the barge in Bruges, Belgium 6 of us are leaving heading right to the train station for a 1 hour trip to Brussels. We chose to stay in Brussels as we are flying back home at 11:30 the next day. We figured it wasn't worth the worry to stay a night in Bruges. This might be a mistake - Bruges looks awesome. One of the few cities in Europe that was not bombed - original architecture still intact. Oh well, next time?
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