Amsterdam with Ashley

 

We arrived in Amsterdam on Sunday, May 7th after 15 days of cruising. 

We got to Ashley's a little earlier than she expected but she and Bob--the new man in her life--were cheerful and welcoming.

We brought some good weather with two days of mostly sun and temps in the 60's. 

I'll write more about cruising--not all of it positive, at a later time, but, in sum, we are happy to be off the ship and away from the cruise milieu.

As I mentioned, Sue and I arrived pretty early on Sunday morning, having left the ship at 7:30; John and Bonnie didn't get away until 10:00.  Once they arrived and got acclimated, Ashley and Bob took us for a walkabout of Amsterdam, which included an interesting first Amsterdam tram ride.  

Ashley, Sue and I successfully got off at the right stop, but Bob, Bonnie and John couldn't get out in time and ended up having to ride to the next stop.  Thanks to cell phone communication, we soon reconnected with only a moderate amount of distress.  

We had a delightful meal at a traditional tavern and visited a small art fair; then ventured over to a small quiet neighborhood which has housed since the 17th century religious women who want to live together in service to others, but don't want to become nuns. 

You could look into the neighborhood and see their lovely homes and gardens, but you couldn't go into the restricted area.  Attendants kept watch on the visitors and frequently shushed those who were talking too loud, including some of our group once.

Ashley lives in a lovely, quiet neighborhood in the heart of Amsterdam.  There are far more bikes than cars; and every block has two or three EV charging stations. 

Her second floor apartment is small, but cozy.  She has turned it over to us for our four day stay. She acts as our guide and keeper during the day, but leaves us at bedtime and walks to the nearby home of friends who have a spare room she is using.

Yesterday, we rented a car; picked up Bonnie and John at their hotel and then drove to Keukenhof a vast garden devoted mostly to tulips and other spring bulbs. 

It covers nearly 100 acres and attracts thousands of visitors during the two spring months each year it is open. 

We spent four wonderful hours oohing and aahing at all of the lovely plantings. 

Fortunately, it was a beautiful spring day with temps close to 70. 

We walked around the park for more than four hours. 

(Sue and Bonnie wisely decided to share riding in the wheelchair, although we all could have used one.)

 

I'll post some of our photos, but as always the pictures can only give you some idea of the loveliness of the reality of the visit.

Today we will rest up as we have tickets to the Vermeer Exhibit at the Rijksmuseum tomorrow. Unfortunately, John and Bonnie are returning home today so they will miss this once in a lifetime experience, but we all thought visiting Kuekenhof checked off one important item in our travel bucket list.