Hotel Zuiderbad Zandvoort

... Also saw clogs being made. A highlight was the cheese shop where we saw them make cheese and tasted several varieties...each one more tasty than the last. Unbelievable! If we didn't have to drive home without a cooler, we would have bought a lot! I guess it's a good thing everyone in the ...

... a tip. He kept all 30. Geez. I tried to argue but all our **** was on the street, Ben was entering someone's apartment at random and was getting chewed out and Russ looked really stressed. He said we can expense it anyway. Still, I hate getting ripped off. The apartment is awesome! It's a corner apartment with canal views on two sides. And a rooftop garden with 360 degree views of the city. I hope the rain lets up ...

... our time outside of the room. It's funny in concept, but when you're forced to live in a steel trap for 3 days, it gets really old really fast. Luckily, the button was out of order, so we never had to deal with its repercussions. We spent our mornings in coffeeshops (which conveniently offer delicious English breakfasts -- sausage, eggs, tomatoes, beans, toast -- all of which taste better some smoke in the morning). After setting off each day on the right foot, we spent hours ...

... then when sabotage against the Nazis occurred, these unlucky ones were also murdered. The Dutch Resistance Museum was a lesson about how a population will often look after their own best interests, fall prey to an insidious political agenda that seems to promise attention to those interests, and then after thousands of friends and family have died or been sent to work as slaves in a foreign country, this population realizes it has made a big, big mistake.

... nice to relax, drink and watch all the boats drive by. What we like about Amsterdam: History, Canals, Architecture, good looking people, squares (which were great for people watching) What we didn't like: Too many tourists (especially the drunken stag parties), lots of litter, felt like a carnival atmosphere at times (It is like a European Vegas) I can't see myself wanting to go back, but I am glad I have seen it.

... went to De Beiaard and sat outside. Lily people watched and was amazed by the trams. She was so tired at this point. We had a beer and decided to head back to the hotel so we could relax. Maybe walk to the dunes. This town, Zandvoort must be home to some very wealthy people. The homes were huge! Enormous thatch roof houses down beautiful roads. WOW! And the town was fun. Very much a vacation town. Lots ...

... around. The real way to travel in the city is by bicycle and if I ever come back I would definitely rent one for a day. There are literally thousands of bicycles and there are many lanes on roads just for them. As pedestrians we had to be careful not to step into these lanes or risk having a collision. After cities in England and Ireland it would probably be the easiest city in Europe for an English speaker to live.

... ambience but I found the bed uncomfortable and there were no extras, you were paying for a bed, a shower, and little else but a central location. After the move to the new place we were tired and didn't do much, just wandered around the city and then slept off the previous night, plus a bit of reading. Our last day was all sightseeing which was great although we then realised how much more we could have done, which is why I'd like to head back one day, get a bike ...

... a special bus directly to the gardens. Many of the tulips had lost their petals already but it was still quite magnificent. The grounds are just gorgeous and there are many, many little flowered paths throughout the park, dotted with works of art. I'm sure it wasn't Jacob's favorite attraction in the Netherlands, but it was marvelous all the same. Remember how I said Amsterdam seemed to have few seniors? Well , we found them! They were all at Keukenhof ...

... the tour instead. One really cool thing about Amsterdam is the layout of the city. Trams divide the routes of the city, fanning out in all directions. There are about 90 islands, hundreds of bridges, and tons of canals. There are pleins (squares) just about every twenty feet - Muntplein, Rembrandtplein, Waterlooplein, Frederiksplein, etc. - all with different sights surrounding them. We started in the city center, Dam Square, and took in the view from the Amstel River with many ...