Bastion Deluxe Hotel Amsterdam / Zaandam

... finished and we watched until they had done all the medals and Nick Reiwoldt had wiped his last tear (only day of the year you get to see a whole footy team cry!) before going back to our hotel for a nap.

On the way back to our hotel we noticed a cat in a shop window, not for sale, just sleeping! We later learned that shop owners keep cats in their shops to keep away the mice! We even saw one asleep on a table in a closed restaurant!

We got back to our room at about ...

... We wandered along and looked at the touristy things and Dan bought a pair of sunglasses, since breaking the last ones in Egypt. We stopped where the Italian peeps where having something to eat and saw a good meal deal so we had a slice of pizza and drink. I had no clue what the pizzas were but picking one that looked nice..it turned out to be delicious and a Tuna pizza. How random! Dan had 2 slices and a drink, and we mosied on towards the Victoria hotel, our group meet point for ...

As our European tour winds down we are winding down too. Our morning is an easy one with a German Breakfast to fill us up and a trip to the botanical gardens in Hamburg. They are as beautiful as they are relaxing and it is a beautiful day for a roadie to The Netherlands. We are glad once again to be getting out of the German road construction and to the less traveled roads of Holland. It is flat and straight and sunlit as ...

... Anne Marie Hostel'i yaklasik 2 saatlik bir Amsterdam turu (daha dogrusu kaybolmasi) sonrasinda buldugumda sevincten resmen aglayacaktim.

Kaldigim oda (kogus) 8 kisilik. Tuvalet, dus hersey birarada. Ama internet free! Sanirim oda arkadaslarimin cogu bayan (yatak uzerlerindeki ve ortaliga sactiklari kadinsal esyalardan oyle anladim). Ranzamin altinda kalan bayan arkadas gunluk tuttugu defteri orada birakmis, valla kotu bir niyetim yoktu ama soyle bir karistirinca icinde ...

... most disgusting thing anyone has ever seen, but we are all managing.

The red light district was an experience... You could get high from just walking the streets, there is so much weed around!

The Ann Frank house was really interesting, we are so glad we went there

... of my kiwi friends... An inflatable sheep!!! No joke! Anyway, there is much more to Amsterdam than the red light district. The next day after several calls back to home where things weren't going too well, I walked the streets of Amsterdam, soaking in the sights whilst also being soaked by the rain! It really is a beautiful city architecturally even though many of the buildings seem to be built in the same style as that famous tower in Pisa (see ...

... and drink them." I about died. I finished my pizza and flagged down the waitress. The boys were still completely oblivious to me and I decided to play a joke. I told the waitress to put 4 beers on my tab and serve them to the boys when I left. Then, I pressed a note into her hand and told her to give it to the boys after they get the beers. I wrote on the note: I have been enjoying eavesdropping on all of your conversations. Thank you for the perpective! and I signed ...

... some frightening moments. We got to Toronto about an hour and a half late, but managed to visit with our friends and family, albeit briefly. I even learned that Ross has been holding out some information on me....critical to my research, of course! After brunch with Gilly and coffee with Allison, we headed off to the airport. Of course, there were massive lines, and I got increasingly anxious. I'm not quite sure why I was so anxious - I think ...

... go back and do (no, not coffee shops or the red light district!) Wednesday 11 July With the gray skies and threatening rain over the Netherlands, we decided today would be a great day to spend on the river. Luckily for us, our hosts father (and my great-uncle) had a boat that he offered us to use. It was a massive boat, not one for towing skiers on, this one had a bathroom, kitchen, bedroom and deck! We spent an hour sailing down a river alongside the village where he lives ...

... Sinclair Podcasted by www.RadioFreeAmsterdam.com @ February 27, 2007 Okay, now I've got my current Travelogue set up, so I'll finish the Winter in America series and try to write up the missing stops from the Summer of 2006 series before I forget everything that happened. Tomorrow I meet Mark Ritsema at Schipol for 1:00 pm and we fly to Sevilla, Spain for the Musica y Palabra Festival. Nice work when you can get it! -The Dolphins Amsterdam February 27, 2007