Biking Amsterdam

I guess we had to do it - we had to rent bikes! We spent about 3 hours touring around the city, through some spectacular parks where we stopped to see storks and herons nesting. Fortunately we started in the morning before things got too crazy busy and by then we felt pretty comfortable ringing our bells at people in our way. Bikes RULE in this city so it was quite easy to get around although I'm not ready to do it in heels and while texting yet (very common here).

Yesterday we enjoyed the Van Gogh museum (I'd recommend it) and took the train to Keukenhof to see the tulip gardens. Their peak is probably a few weeks away but it was still quite impressive. Probably 1000s of varieties plus hundreds of different orchids.

Does this one remind you of me?
Another train trip on Sunday took us to the historic village of Zaanse Schans complete with working windmills, cheese shop and clog factory - perfect tourist stop. Very picturesque though.

Also on Sunday we had a great canal boat trip with captain Peter who definitely didn't stick to the recommended commentary. It was fun and he didn't seem too concerned whether or not his information, dates and facts were accurate.

Home tomorrow - thanks Mike for being a great travelling companion. And your sense of direction has been invaluable. One day I'll learn to follow a map!