Our alarm gets us going at 4.20 am at Hammersmith and soon the taxi is waiting and whisks us through drizzling rain to the Trafalgar office in Westminster. Our coach sets off on time at 5.45 for Dover with our lovely tour director, Debra, in charge.
The Channel crossing is smooth and uneventful and we meet our European Coach and our first driver at Calais. All we can do is sit back and relax and enjoy the countryside of northern France, Belgium and then Holland (The Netherlands) arriving at Amsterdam late afternoon, at the Ibis Hotel near the Airport. Our introduction to Holland is highlighted by a fantastic power point production in the coach put together by Tour director, Debra.
We are soon on our way into the centre of Amsterdam where we have an hour or so of free time mainly to grab a snack before embarking on an evening Canal Cruise and walk through the back streets of Amsterdam including the famous 'red light district'.
From the boat Amsterdam is a really fascinating place with its network of canals, beautiful buildings old and new - some with a story to tell such as the refuge/home of the famous diarist Anne Frank.
The biggest danger in Amsterdam is clearly men and women, boys and girls riding push bikes. They have right of way and they are in plague proportion. Apparently one million bikes for 800,000 population. We spot a multi level bike park as we tour the city.
The red light district is in full swing as we wander the streets lots of girls advertising their wears in shop windows, some in fluoro bikinis. There is a most interesting array of shops the best of all being the Coffeeshop that sells anything, it seems, except coffee. There is an interesting smokey smell being emitted by these places!
Off to bed another big day ahead tomorrow.
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