Amsterdam, Netherlands

May 26, 2012

We met the group at 6:45 AM to get in a “coach” or a bus.  I had no idea that Europe was huge.  We didn’t expect to be in the coach a lot, but we found out the first day that we would spend lots of time looking at scenery and lots of lunches to be in “service stations” or gas stations.

We went to Amsterdam by the English Channel so our bus got on a huge ferry.  When we left London we could look back and see the White Cliffs of Dover.  The ferry only took a total of 90 minutes and we were in Belgium.

We quickly made our way out of Belgium, through France, until we got to the Netherlands.

Here’s what I learned about the Netherlands/Holland.  It is known for the flat land and it was once all islands where they brought dirt in so there are a lot of canals and agriculture.  Leather comes from this part of the world because they do not need to fence in animals because of the canals.  Tulips are popular here and also biking since there are no hills.  Everyone owns at least three or four bikes. 

We made our way to Blue Square Hotel where we at dinner and then headed for a river cruise through the canals.  After the cruise what’s a trip to Amsterdam without the Red Light district.  I found out all about the skinny lane (most expensive girls) to the Big Mama lane.  We found “coffee shops” but realized it wasn’t coffee.  After a nice evening out we ate some French fries (skipped the mayo which is a tradition) and headed back home.

White Cliffs of Dover