Another day in Amsterdam... now what?

Sunday, July 26

As if this wasn't expected... yes, we slept in late again. From now on, I'm just going to create the assumption that yes, we slept in every day, because we pretty much did. Moving on...

We woke up to another beautiful day in Amsterdam. Scott read in the tour book about a place we had to go to for traditional Dutch Pancakes. We walked down to the restaurant, and secured a table for 4 outside. We thought this was a friendly, quaint place, until Ben went to the restroom to wash his hands, and the attendants (or bathroom guards, some would say) demanded 30 cents for entry. So of course, Ben was not happy about this.... he was still not over having to pay 9 Euros for water on Friday night. But, he calmed down when he read the menu filled with various kinds of pancakes and sweet treats. He and Megan got milkshakes for breakfast, Scott got an espresso, and I got a latte. Megan and Scott both decided to try an official Dutch pancake- Scott got one with currants and raisins, and Megan got one with just cheese. Yes, I said cheese on a pancake. Also toppings to note were bacon and apples; (I went online to look at the menu for more toppings but it was all written in Dutch) Ben and I decided that we were more in the mood for brunch, so he got a club sandwich, and I got some delicious herb encrusted goat cheese, served with toast points.

After our satisfying brunch, we walked around Amsterdam. And walked. And walked. And pretty much just kept walking around, kind of aimlessly, for most of the afternoon. There aren't many sites to see in Amsterdam, and unless you are getting high or getting a hooker, the town is pretty quiet. We took many pictures of beautiful canals, quaint buildings, and general "Take a picture of us, we're on vacation" shots.

"Take a picture of us, we're on vacation!"

A Beautiful Canal

Quaint Houses

After admiring all the scenery we could stand, we decided it was time for a wine and cheese break. So we went to a cheese shop and sampled some delicious cheese. We finally decided on a couple different ones, and also bought a bottle of wine. We found the perfect spot to have our picnic; a bench that overlooked a canal. We had a nice time watching the boats cruise up and down the canals. Sadly, it was time for Megan and Ben to leave for the train station, so with heavy hearts we walked back to the hotel to get their luggage, and then walked with them to the train station. We saw them off, then thought, "now what?" So, we did what we always do on vacation... walked around. We stopped at the occassional pub for a glass of Heineken, then walked around some more. When we finally got back to the room around 11:30, we were happily surprised to find.... Megan and Ben! They had missed their train, and had to stay another night and catch the early train the next morning. So, we had another fun night in the hotel, just talking and planning the next weekend together when we would meet in London.