The apartment was on Herengracht, within the canal zone and up incredibly steep flights of stairs! It took two hands to pull oneself up, ducking your head to avoid a bump, just to reach the main floor—then further exertion to get to two bedrooms, and finally, in the bird's nest, Danny’s perch. Marty and I stayed at a b & b around the corner from the others; it was charming (and up multiple flights of stairs as well)! The room had a canopy over the bed, a touch I thought Pegge would definitely approve of…and then, after our first night, we learned it was actually mosquito netting—unbelievable how many mosquitoes we encountered there!
Being early risers, we two started each morning with a trip to a patisserie for espresso ( for us) and pastries for the group. Back at the apartment, Julie made excellent coffee and we all sampled tasty things, lots of chocolate and fruit filled pastries. Yummy!
We used our days in Amsterdam to acclimate to the time change and enjoy the charm and English speaking skills of its citizens. Bread and cheese and coffee and fruit were our staples at the apartment, and we enjoyed good eating at La Place, an upscale cafeteria eaterie, where we all found something to our liking, from pizza to seafood. Here is Martin, ready to head out on one of our explorations.
