It is Gladys special birthday and she thought the best way to celebrate it is to have a mini cruise to Amsterdam!!
Everything (check in, immigration control and boarding) was on time except us who forgot to adjust our watches (apparently we should be in Amsterdam time which is + 1 hour the moment we stepped in the boat) therefore we were very late for our dinner at 6.30 pm. We appeared in the restaurant an hour late. Good start but staff managed to find a table for us so everyone was happy.
After dinner, we explored the boat’s upper deck (very windy), 2 bars (very full of merry people) and of course the duty free shop. After a spot of shopping we settled for cocktails and enjoyed the last 30 minutes of the live band’s repertoire of Eagle’s songs.
We tried to have an early night because of an early start the next day.
Breakfast was full English with freshly brewed coffee. Then we were ready to disembark and explore Amsterdam.
No not yet… we had to wait for 45 minutes for the disembarking manoeuvres (duh?); wait another 10 for immigration control and another 15 for the sightseeing tour bus to fill. I was ready to have a sleep by then.
Pointers from tour guide:
· Men and women in Amsterdam share toilets. Her tip: Use toilets in hotels or restaurants.
· Amsterdam has coffee shops and cafés and make sure you know the difference
· You can take us much ‘stuff’ in cafés but please do not take out.
· Cyclists have their own lanes and they do not stop for pedestrians.
· There are hundreds of museums so visit one that you really are interested in.
· Canal tours last an hour and it is recommended to explore Amsterdam’s architecture
· Best way to travel from one point to the other is by tams.
· We should be in the meeting point 10 minutes before 4.00 pm or we find (and pay) our own way to the port.
The bus dropped us off next to
Hotel Victoria. And following the tour guide’s advice we went straight in to use the toilets.
After successfully crossing the street (the business of avoiding trams and cyclists was totally stressful!); we caught the 11.30 am canal boat trip. It was a good introduction of the city – the route was picturesque and architecture was amazing.
Off the boat and into the tram to visit Van Gogh’s museum. Because we bought our museum tickets from Hotel Victoria we jumped the long queue in the entrance and breezed through security. It is such a shame that we have to rush through the collection but it was an experience to be up close with VVG’s masterpieces. Shhh, I took a photo of the Sunflowers.
We missed our stop to visit the shopping mall so we ended up in the side streets (that does not sound right ;-). Hmm, very very interesting window displays and we also passed by the cafés that our tour guide mentioned. I have to say that everyone in that place certainly looked very chilled and on top of the world.
After the customary souvenir shopping we headed back to the meeting point. I was shattered and fell asleep as we headed to the port.
We rested for an hour and then had our dinner. We did some more duty free shopping and met up with Filipino crew in the boat.
A glass of mojito and a cupcake --- probably does not complement but truly a very good way to end our day!!
