2016-06-06 Amsterdam
This is our last day in Amsterdam before we take our 12 day Baltic cruise.
Our trip started with an overnight flight to London on May 29. We stayed in London at the White House Hotel. It had been a couple of years since we stayed there. It is conveniently located between 3 different tube stops. While in London we saw four shows in three days - Threepenny Opera with Rory Kinnear at the National Theatre, Titanic at the Charing Cross Theatre, Funny Girl at the Savoy, and Mrs. Henderson Presents at the Noel Coward Theatre. We enjoyed all of them but especially Titanic.
The weather in London was wet and cold. Expecting almost summer like temperatures, we didn't pack warmer clothes. Since we saw shows, there wasn't much time for sightseeing, but we did see the Curtains Up! Exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum. We had a couple of good meals at the Garrick and surprisingly Pizza Express. I was able to do some cd and DVD shopping while there.
We were hoping that Amsterdam's weather would be an improvement. The first day not so much, but since then very nice. Our first tourist spot was to the Rijksmuseum. It was a lovely museum with many paintings by the Dutch a Masters. We did sightseeing the second day and visited the rather small botanical garden and also the Amsterdam zoo which we enjoyed.
The following day we took a train to visit the town of Haarlem. Like Amsterdam it has many canals and is very picturesque. The Frans Hal museum was a real find. Returning to Amsterdam we found an enchanting restaurant decorated in the art nouveau tradition called de belhamel located on one of the many camels here.
Today we did a walking tour of the three oldest canals. Many of the beautiful buildings date back to the 1600's. A highlight was the Anne Franck house. It was a lovely day for the leisurely stroll along the canals. Amsterdam is a beautiful city with an amazing sense of history, lovely surroundings, great food, and picturesque vistas.
We look forward to the cruise and the many adventures to come.
