Day 19

Wednesday August 15

7:00ish am - woke up and did a few last minute packing things etc. Went down to breakfast around 7:40 and ate a quick bite before leaving at 8 for the train station

8:15am - arrived at the train station and bought our tickets - 24.60 each, that may have been a little less than normal because of our age - he asked how old we were, put it that way lol. Anyway it was a little less than I expected it would be.

8:39am - train leaves - it is mostly empty, perhaps because Aug 15 is this big holiday, everything was very quiet (I had thought it might have been a busier travel day because people would be off but I guess not! Got a 4-seat area with plenty of leg room, a table, a/c units above, and plenty of room for our luggage. This is so much easier than flying! Plus you get to see the landscape as you go by.

11:40am - arrived and found the GVB Transport office. What a crazy place. I took a number that was about 30 but it moved relatively fast. The guy at the desk was really nice and I bought a 96 hour pass for 16.50 including unlimited trams, etc. Made our way outside and with the help of a friendly American, found where Tram 4 left. Took it 6 stops to Prinsengracht and found our hotel about halfway down the block.

12:20pm - rang the bell for the hotel 2 times and no one answered, we started to get a little concerned. But luckily after the third time, one of the owners came down and let us in. Our room is 111, down a short flight of straight and not too steep stairs right across from the breakfast room. It opens onto a little courtyard and is super quiet. The room is huge, and this is their smallest one! There's a table with a plug in the center, plenty of lighting, a weird red stand with a TV, safe, and minibar/fridge. The beds are a little soft but should be ok. The toilet is a little scary - it, well, collects the "stuff" and then flushes it down the front. Never quite seen something like that before but it's fine LOL. And the TV gets several English stations woohoo!!

1:00pm - went to go get something to eat when I realized I forgot the printout of the Frommer's walking tour we were gonna do. So we came back and couldn't open our door! So Amanda got Paul and he showed us that you have to pull it towards you. Would've been nice for him to show us that before but whatever lol

1:45pm - picked a big and hugely busy Italian place right on Rembranctplein square for lunch - they had margherita pizza for 4.90! It was quite good too!

2:30ishpm - set out for the Frommer's "Canals" walking tour - had us weave in and out down and around 3 of the main canals. It was mostly boring but it was nice to just wander through some less-traveled streets in the city. Went by the Westerkerk and Noordekerk churches - one costs and one was closed. Walked by the Anne Frank House but the line was huge, I think I will go Friday evening after Amanda leaves and apparently it is less busy at night and it stays open until 9pm.

5:00ish pm - Finished the tour up past the Brewer's canal near Central Station and weren't hungry yet because of our late plentiful lunch so I looked through the Rick Steves material I had with me and it mentioned this shopping area of 9 streets with quirky shops. Found that and walked a few of them - some weird shops - like one that sold antique lamps from the 30s to the 70s. Lots of little cafes and other quirky shops but nothing too fascinating. Decided to walk back to our hotel via the Signel canal, where we encountered the flower market. I have never seen so many tulip bulbs in my life!! And there are great magnets and other souvenirs. I will definitely go back there to buy some things. Found a supermarket so I bought some water to put in the fridge and also figured I would try a cheap jar of pickles.

6:00pmish - came back here and booted up the computer. I read the materials explaining the minibar and tv channels and whatnot in the room and saw a thing about there being an ethernet cable on the floor!!! So I am like, GOTTA FIND IT!! It was right behind the TV and bam, free ethernet! AWESOME! Wasn't expecting it at all.

7:00pm - finally we were hungry so we set out back to the Rembrandtplein area. Looked at a bunch of places - lots of Argentine steakhouses, one of which I will have to return to later in the week. Lots of Italian, lots of Middle Eastern (Even one with Hebrew on it), and LOTS of Italian.

7:45pmish - We were both tired and not really in the mood to search far and wide, so I picked a busy Italian one that had a lot of pastas and meat options and not too expensive. Well, it was busy alright but it took us about 45 minutes to get our food. Other people were getting mad too - this group of 4 guys actually went over to the guy making pizzas and said something! It was like mutiny in the whole restaurant! Anyway I had grilled chicken breast which, once I got it, was actually really yummy. Came with fries and a salad (no dressing on it, woohoo!). So in the end it was worth the wait but yea. Amanda wanted me to underpay b/c service is technically included in the prices, but I wouldn't feel comfortable doing that. We certainly left nothing on the table, though.

9:15pm - came here and relaxed - even though we didn't fly and the train was a lot less stressful, traveling is still tiring for some reason!