Amsterdam at Last

We spent the night docked near to Amsterdam in Zaandam, largely because of the backlog of ships trying to get into Amsterdam.  We didn't miss a beat, though, with a short bus ride into the Amsterdam city center for our first half of the day - a canal boat ride on the very old canal structure.

The weather was beautiful and the ride was very pleasant.  Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and pointed out the many things to be seen only from the canal system.  There are many 15th. and 16th. century structures left standing and a mixture of beautiful new architecture.  One particularly interesting structure was a set of houses called the "Dancing Houses" who are unsettled in their mooring and appear to be leaning into each other.  It was a morning well spent.

In the afternoon, we went to Kukenhof Gardens which is in the height of bloom for the tulip season.  About an hour away from Amsterdam, it is an annual event that runs for 8 weeks through late spring, and features 7 million tulip bulbs planted annually across the 60+ acre site.  Today was a "sellout" of 26,000 people and the place was absolutely packed.


We thoroughly enjoyed the mix of flowers - mostly tulips but also hydrangeas, amaryllis, blue bells, orchids, and others - with an unbelievable array of colors.  We wandered around for a couple hours and hit some of the gift shops for a few treasures before returning to the ship for the Captain's toast and farewell.

Tomorrow we leave here at 8:30 a.m. to go on a walking tour of Amsterdam while our luggage is transferred to our hotel (Pulitzer Amsterdam), and meet Jenny, Dave, and the girls at 4 p.m. for an evening together.  More then.


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