Amsterdam #1

Amsterdam--Bikes and Canals

I was so looking forward to reconnecting with Andrew and his family in Amsterdam.  Shelley and Larry, his parents, and |I have been friends for 30 years, and that kind of friendship is not easy to come by these days.  We don't get to see one another often, so this was a special occasion. I had just come down with a miserable cold and cough, but I was not going to let that stop me.

I made my plane reservations months ago; that's pretty standard procedure. I packed last minute and light--that's also pretty standard procedure for me. I had booked a 7:00 A.M. train for Toulouse, which would allow me plenty of time to get to the airport in time for my11:15 flight--even if there was heavy morning traffic. I had my pass for the navette to the airport in hand--I was all set.  I would be in Amsterdam by 1:15 the next afternoon.

Andre spots me at  Schiphohl Airport

Then came the text on Sunday night (late, nearly midnight) that the 11;15 flight had been canceled, and they (KLM) would be back in touch with new flight information within 2 hours.   I tried to re-book on KLM's website, but was unsuccessful, as the extra leg-room feature could not be "re-booked" on line; it needed human intervention.  That's fine, except their humans were all at home asleep.  Customer service lines were of no use at all, as the recording informed me that business hours were from 8 A.M. until early evening Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday.  Midnight in France on Sunday???Too bad.  And as for their promise to reach me within 2 hours???  It was 6:30 the next morning before I learned that I had been booked on the 4;14 flight tha afternoon..... I had to catch the train in half an hour and there are no ticket windows open at that hour in the Carcassonne train station to change tickets...so off |I went to Toulouse hours earlier than necessary.

It was raining in Toulouse and of course, I was umbrella-less.  Fortunately, I did wear my hooded raincoat and it's not far to the Brasserie for breakfast...nor was it far to the Gare Routiere to get the navette to the Toulouse airort.  I settled down over my French breakfast, and then walked over to get on the airport shuttle.   I arrived in plenty of time for a great lunch at the upstairs restaurant at Blagnac and the line for Security wasn't horrible.  I like Blagnac airport--it's not too big and not too small; it's just right for this Goldilocks.  I had a good mystery to pass the time, and  writing to get done.  There was a little too much sitting around than was good for a person, but there was nothing to be done about it. 

On the train to Central Station with Lauren and Andrew's foot

I confess to not liking it one little bit when I exited Passport Control and left France. I have worked so hard to be here that I don't relish the thought of leaving/  And of course, the plane was delayed.  But, eventually we were airborne and en route.  We landed at Schiphol only 20 minutes late.  However, we did not land at the terminal--we had to take a 15 minute bus ride from waaaayyy out in the country, which made an ever-lengthening day even longer.

There had been some question as to whether or not my phone would work in the Netherlands.  i have a 10 year old European cell phone.  I use a pre-paid card every month, and I get only phone calls and texts.  I don't have a keyboard, nor a camera and I cannot access the Internet nor my e-mail with my phone.  It is not smart.  It does, however do exactly what I need it to do---make and receive calls.  It had worked when I was in Spain, and now, it seemed, it was working in Amsterdam.  I was able to get a call from Andrew and we managed to find one another in Schiphol Airport, which is HUGE!  

These steps lead to the apartment from street level

From there, we set off for the train--the fastest and most direct way to the Central Station of Amsterdam.  I had purchased my tickets already on line, but Lauren had no problems using the machine and one of Andrew's credit cards to get their tickets. We jumped on the train--after making sure we were headed toward Amsterdam and not Rotterdam--and in 25 minutes we were outside the station ready to walk to the apartment.  

Lauren pretty much took charge of getting us to the house that would be our base for the next 4 days.  With modern phones and their GPS and maps, getting lost is no longer the delicious option it once was.  And I confess that \i do not like arriving at an unfamiliar destination at night.  We took what seemed like a round-aboiut route, but eventually we arrived at #7 Haaazrlemmerstraat, where Larry and Shelley were waiting for us.

The door to the street opened and I was confronted with two flights of the steepest steps I have ever seen.  Honestly, I have been on ladders that were less severely angled!  But there was nothing to do but climb--slowly--one step at a time, holding on to the rails on both sides.  I do believe that fatigue made the climb harder--I think it got easier as the week progressed.  But, we made it--luggage and all.  I felt bad for the kids, as they had big suitcases for their much longer trip.  My little valise was a snap compared to those big suitcases.

Larry at his "spot" in the living/dining room

Oh how happy I was to see my friends.  All of the aggravations of the day melted away at our being together once again. As it was late, and we had tickets for the Anne Frank house for the next morning at 9:30, we headed out for dinner.  We walked up our lively street; the apartment is sandwiched between a small grocery-deli and a wine shop.  Across the street is a coffee house, a bakery and a cheese shop.  There are interesting-looking boutiques on both sides of the street just a stone's throw from the front door.  I could hardly wait to explore them. We chose a Thai restaurant where we enjoyed a good meal and better catch-up conversation and laughter.  

Andrew forages in the kitchen

The walk back was short.  It was late and we had an early morning, so off to bed we went.  |I had the street-front bedroom, which was huge....and comfortable, once I negotiated an even steeper set of stairs.  Upon kicking off my shoes, I discovered that the podiatrist's-recommended footwear had given me a blister the size of Montana on my right foot.  It would need to be doctored before I would do much more walking.  Fortunately I had brought another pair of shoes that did not aggravate it.  Once I got it bandaged, I would be fine.  It's part of the joys of travel for me....paying close attention to blisters.  I wasn't going to let that stop me from seeing what I could of Amsterdam.