Amsterdam

Last time I posted I was in Ghent.  Since then I have been to Bruges, Ostend and am now on day 4 in Amsterdam.

I absolutely loved Bruges.  I had this wonderful hotel, Hotel Ter Brughe which is a refurbished old building situated in a great area on a canal.  Cobblestone streets, bridges and a light mist, perfect postcard pictures.  This city is easy to walk around and navigation could not have been easier.  People are very helpful and most speak English, except for the grumpy bus driver.  I guess it is the same for bus drivers everywhere, even them driver in Amsterdam was snarky.  Must be a job prerequisite.

I am not sure how many of you are familiar with the British film called "Shirley Valentine", in that movie there are what I call quintessential British toursits, the kind that travel abroad but want everything to be the same as back home.  Well, I seemed to run into this group of four many times in Bruges.  You could tell it was them by that grating voice of the femal ringleader.  One afternoon I sat down for a well deserved pint and I heard that voice again saying "this is the best thing I've eaten since we left home".  I turned around and the silly woman was eating quiche and salad.  Quiche and salad when you have all this great seafood around.  Oh well!

I took the 15 minute or so train ride to the Atlantic coast to the city of Ostend.   Being raised by the ocean I wanted that smell and wave action again.  And for you Vancouver Island people reading this, yes it smells different than the Pacific Ocean on the west coast of the Island.
Ostend is a nice places, but man is it built up with high rise apartments right on the beach.

I have a fab apartment in Amsterdam in a great area (Grachtengordel South) that is close to museums, the Vondel Park and numerous sites.  Mind you, in Amsterdam everything's close and in great walking distance.

I went to the Rijksmuseum and Van Gogh Museums today.  I managed to get both done ina couple of hours because they are both downsized due to renovations and moves.  What I did see was good, but really wanted more.

This is a great walking city, and I would normally suggest to bring great shoes.  But this city has some of the best damn shoe stores, both men and women that I have ever seen.  Thinking of tossing some old footwear out and replacing them with something newer.