We pack everything and double-check the room. Mum lets me know that I've left my phone charger under my bed. That's odd; I thought I packed it. Oh, it's hers. "That's odd," she says, "I didn't even know I got it out!"
I carry the two suitcases down the three flights of very tight circular stairs. I pay for the hotel and check how much cash I have in my wallet: €20. I don't think that's going to go far so I ask the hotel guy if taxis accept credit cards. He said they don't. Great. I tell Mum the good news and then go running four blocks up to the ATM to withdraw more cash. I run back with intervals of walking to catch my breath and end up with a mouth so dry that I couldn't breathe properly. This is eating into our extra time allowance!
The hotel guy tells us that all we have to do is wait outside for a taxi and hail one as they go by. If one doesn't come in 15 minutes, I should go back inside and ask him to call one. If that does happen, we'll have lost about 45 minutes with all this running aruond! Anyway, I go outside and watch the peak hour traffic. It is standing still. I become more anxious. The lights change for a moment and a few cars go through. Now they're stationary again. Maybe we should catch a Metro train after all? The traffic moves again and I hail two taxis but they're not in service. Again, stationary. Finally, they start moving and I hail a taxi driver who is willing to stop. I say to him, "j'ai deux valises. Est ce-que vous pouvez attendre ici pour un moment, s'il vous plaît? (I have two suitcases. Are you able to wait here a moment?)" I'm forgetting all my French as I feel the time slipping away. He agrees and I go rushing inside to call Mum out. We're in the taxi and now we're on our way, stuck in traffic. He takes a few shortcuts and gets us there quite quickly. The pressure subsides. The taxi cost €12.60 so I didn't need the run to the ATM after all.
The train trip to the airport is very hot and sweaty. There is an exhibition and nearly everybody on the tightly packed half-hour train ride gets off only only two stops before our airport terminal. We're hot. We're starving. In fact, we're usually either starving or full on this holiday. It's difficult to be 'just right' when you're out and about so much. We're either looking for food, thinking about food, or falling asleep after eating too much.
We walk through the terminal and find we have about a ten minute walk to our section: the second last section. We rush past McDonalds and salivate. We finally reach the check-in counter and we're immediately let through to jump the queue. I ask the check-in girl if there's time to go back to grab some Maccas: "No, sorry, there isn't. There are some light snacks after Security." A chocolate muffin will suffice for now. We board and take off.
The plane ride is quick and we soon find ourselves in Heathrow with a couple of hours to kill in the BA lounge. Mum spends some of that time talking to the Apple store where she bought her iPad asking for her VAT refund form. Since they don't send anything in the post or electronically, they tell her that she's out of luck. That's £72.33 down the drain. Thanks Apple. We board again and take off.
The flight to Amsterdam is also very short but a little bumpy due to the weather. It's cold! A couple of lovely Dutch ladies help us find the right platform for our train, which we catch from Schiphol Airport to Amsterdam Centraal. However, we have no clue where to go next. I looked it up when I had Internet last and the map said I have to catch a tram to Stadhouderskade. Where are the trams? How do we get out of this train station? Why can't Internet be available everywhere, especially in major transport stations for visitors like us who arrive in a foreign country?! I have an idea of where our street is but I don't know how to get there. I ask a guy how to go to Vondelstraat. He shrugs his shoulders and says we need to go on the free ferry "just there." Free ferry? I don't remember a ferry in the Google Maps instructions. I do remember a tram, though... but not an inflatable one. We eventually find an information desk for the fast train to the airport - it's worth a shot. He explains that we need tram 1, 2, or 5. Yes, and where is the tram? He points in the opposite direction to the "free ferry." Yay, we've found the bloody trams!
The trams are amazing: clean, efficient, friendly and helpful staff. We're now in a very different world: we've stepped into Amsterdam proper. The tram makes its way down the mall-like pedestrian street past all the shops. It's beautiful. People are riding bicycles, walking, talking, eating, and looking completely relaxed. We cross canals that are simply gorgeous. The architecture contains history in every brick and is maintained and clean. There are green trees everywhere amongst the paved cobblestone streets and cycle paths. Welcome to Holland.
We reach the hotel and we're filled with smiles. It's great. The people are friendly, the hotel is clean and in very good condition, and our room is large.
Night is falling so we head up to the Leidesplein where all the cafes and restaurants are. What a gorgeous setting. It feels like we've been shot back in time, albeit when there was still electricity and some modern conveniences. I love this place already. Oh yeah, dinner. We opt for Mexican - well, I do the opting and Mum agrees - and then have a lovely stroll back to the hotel. I can't wait to see what we will discover tomorrow.
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