31 March and 1 April 2017 - Amsterdam day 1

A river Cruise starting in Amsterdam! Although long, the flight was good and we arrived feeling very excited to see Amsterdam.  We had arranged to come 2 days early so that we could see as much of Amsterdam and the Keukenhauf gardens before our Viking river cruise started. 
Finding our ride to our hotel was fairly easy. The airport is very large but well laid out and we were excited to get checked in so we could get out to explore the city. 

We were staying at a 5 star hotel with two restaurants in it. One had Michelin stars but of course we had not thought to reserve a table so could not eat  there.  Our room was very large with a great view of a small canal with trees in bloom.  We unpacked a bit, stretched out, admired the view and then went out to  explore. 

We started at the canal and walked along it for bit before trying to catch the trolley. We just missed one so we stopped in at a little cafe just up the street from the hotel and grabbed a bite to eat and a quick brew which was very good. I like dutch beer. After a relaxing lunch we then did catch a trolly, street car, bus, train thing into town. 

We got off at the garden and walked through it. Flowers blooming, green grass, people in light jackets walking around, the sun shining. It was lovely, especially after a long flight in a cramped airplane. fresh air and sunshine is a great cure for travel cabin fever. 

Back on the trolley and watching for the stop for the museums we were going to go and see the next day. We continued on into the downtown area and got off at what appeared be the correct stop, a very large square filled with people.  Around the square were lots of buildings and some of them were crooked, leaning heater skelter into each other. There are all over Amsterdam, crooked buildings leaning helter skelter. how fun is that! 

Crossing the street for the first time was fun. In Amsterdam there is a sidewalk then the bicycle lane, then the street,  then the lane for the cars, then trolley lane and then in the middle usually the raised platform (5inches high) for the pedestrians to get on and off the trollies, 

 then the trolley tracks going the other way, then the car lane going the other way, then the bicycle lane for the bikes going the other way and then the sidewalk on the other side of the street.  

The height difference between the pedestrian sidewalk and the bicycle lane is about two inches and the height difference between the bicycle lane and the car lane is about two inches.  I was little unsure of where the sidewalk ended and began at first but after just about being ran over by about a dozen cyclists, I figured it out. then there are the street crossing signals which are red and yellow and green but you really have to pay attention to who they are directing, people, bikes or cars. I love Amsterdam! 

It really is a city with million bicycles. We wandered around through a large square to try and find the market that was a tourist attraction but it was closed that day. there was a sun dial on a building but the sun had gone behind a cloud so we could not tell what time it was.

 the square had many different things going on one busker, Yoda was putting on a show for us. very cute.there was a horse drawn carriage with a driver checking his cell phone, and lots of young folks out for the big pillow fight that was just happening. Maybe it is a tradition to have an outdoor pillow fight in the square or maybe it was just for fun. 

We went to the large church on the square as they were advertising an El Greco exhibition.  It was a lovely church with some very nice windows but we did not get to see El Greco as that show was just closing. We lit a few candles and said a few prayers and then headed back out into the square.

 We got  a bicycle cab with a fellow named Herbert? from Budapest who wanted to earn enough money in Amsterdam to start his own bicycle cab business back in Budapest. although he said the hills could be a problem. 

He took us through narrow streets and along canals, past boats, over bridges on small canals. Amsterdam is the most picturesque city I have ever been to. I will paint this city with its waterways  and crooked houses with great architecture when I retire and relive these streets in my memories. 

He chatted as he peddled which just went to show that he was in really good shape, and dropped us off very close to the hot spots, souvenir shops, tulip and sex museums and the infamous red light district.  

We did try out different foods and drinks but did not partake of the edible canabis products that were everywhere. Decided that we wanted to see Amsterdam "eau natural" with no interference from legal drugs. 

We wandered around just absorbing the atmosphere. stopping to look in the windows and popping into a few shops to browse the souvenirs. Found a few interesting museums like the sex museum but we did not go in. We both knew that people have been having sex since there were people. 

We found the red light district which is pretty easy to find and the girls were just getting into the windows. there were signs asking to please not take photos as this was their livelihood and out of respect do not take photos so we did not but we did look. Ot one point I thought boy what a rough life it must be as some of the ladies were looking pretty rough. Margie asked me if I saw the men in the windows dressed as women and that explained everything to me. 

We walked up canals, over bridges and into shops, down canals, over bridges and into shops. We looked at boats and people and bicycles and trolley cars. there were lots of shops with canabis products but also quite a few with tulips and towels and souvenirs. Some lovely cafes and pubs and treat shops too.

   We did pass the Ann frank museum but the line was long we did not go in. We did find the smallest tea shop in Amsterdam, probably the world. It was so cute. We went in but, surprise, it was full. We bought some tea to go and continued exploring.

We ended up going back to the main square to catch the trolly back to the hotel.  We were getting pretty good at crossing the streets now and did not cause any more almost accidents. the trolly tickets are good for a day but you have to get them scanned when you get on and off. Interesting.

We got off at a different stop and had to walk back a bit down the canal past some lovely trees, flowers and buildings decorated Art Deco  We decided we would ask at the hotel about how to get to the Kuekenhoff gardens. We were going to two art gallery / museums tomorrow but we could go the next day if we had time in the morning. 

Poor us. Tired and hungry, walking in Amsterdam on our way to our 5 star hotel for a great dinner and big room with nice view.  Tired and happy travellers. Poor us.

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20 may - Rome the Eternal City in a Day

We both woke up refreshed, raring to go and see the Coliseum. The Mercure puts on a great breakfast  so we headed down and filled up for our adventures of the morning.
Our tour started at 9:30 and we were to meet them above the metro station B beside the coliseum.  I was a little confused but Margie figured it out and we were there on time in our proper group waiting for other confused people who did not have Margie to figure it out for them.
It promised to be a warm and sunny day so I was glad that I brought my hat and that I had put on sunscreen. There were about 15 to 20 of us and we headed off with our ear buds on listening to the history of Rome from our lovely tour guide.

Entering the coliseum was easy but then it got a little confusing. Our tour guide was ahead of me and I was listening to her talking while I was looking up at the underside of the coliseum. Then, quite suddenly, I could not see them and thought that they had gotten ahead of me while I was trapped behind some slow people, I got up to the gate and said I had to catch up to my group motioning a little frantically to the other side of the gate and the gentleman on the gate let me through. I went as quickly forward as I could looking for them. I could hear the tour guide saying to wait up here for her, which would be myself, and thought they had gone up some stairs already but I could not see them on any of the staircases.  This was not a good way to start the tour, lost and alone with hundreds of strangers in the coliseum.

I retraced my steps and found them at the beginning of the tour back on the other side of the gate. The tour guide asked me how I got through as she had my ticket and I told her I just went through and they let me. She said that does not happen but lets just start the tour. I stuck very close to my group after that.
The coliseum proper is wonderful, huge and so interesting. I think everyone should go to the Coliseum.
Wikipedia says " the Colosseum or Coliseum also known as the Flavian Amphitheatre  is an oval amphitheater in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy. Built of  travertine, tuff and brick faced concrete, it is the largest amphitheater  ever built. The Colosseum is situated just east of the Roman Forum.  Construction began under the emperor  Vespasian in AD 72, and was completed in AD 80 under his successor and heir Titus. Further modifications were made during the reign of Domitian (81–96). These three emperors are known as the Flavian Dynasty, and the amphitheatre was named in Latin for its association with their family name (Flavius).

The Colosseum could hold, it is estimated, between 50,000 and 80,000 spectators, having an average audience of some 65,000; it was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as mock se battles (for only a short time as the hypogeum was soon filled in with mechanisms to support the other activities), animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology.  The building ceased to be used for entertainment in the early medieval era. It was later reused for such purposes as housing, workshops, quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine.

I did at one point see the Christian Shrine and it is said to be good luck to kiss the cross so I pretend kiss it as I do not think God would mind if I did that rather than really kissing it and getting God only knows what from other folks who kissed the cross.

 Although partially ruined because of damage caused by earthquakes and stone-robbers, the Colosseum is still an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is listed as one of the 7 wonders of the world. It is one of Rome's most popular Tourist attractions and also has links to th Roman Catholic Church, as each Good Friday the Pope leads a torchlit "Way of the Cross" procession that starts in the area around the Colosseum. 

Our tour guide was very good explaining all the history and important things  from the days of Rome. The name Colosseum is believed to be derived from a colossal 30 meter high bronze statue of Nero nearby.This statue was later remodeled by Nero's successors into the likeness of Helios (Sol) or  Apollo, the sun god, by adding the appropriate Solar crown.  Nero's head was also replaced several times with the heads of succeeding emperors. Despite its pagan links, the statue remained standing well into the medieval era and was credited with magical powers. It came to be seen as an iconic symbol of the permanence of Rome.

In the 8th century, an epigram attributed to the  Venerable Bede celebrated the symbolic significance of the statue in a prophecy that is variously quoted: "as long as the Colossus stands, so shall Rome; when the Colossus falls, Rome shall fall; when Rome falls, so falls the world". This is often mistranslated to refer to the Colosseum rather than the Colossus. However, at the time that the Pseudo-Bede wrote, the masculine noun coliseus was applied to the statue rather than to what was still known as the Flavian amphitheatre.

The Colossus did eventually fall, possibly pulled down to reuse its bronze. By the year 1000 the name "Colosseum" had been coined to refer to the amphitheater. The statue itself was largely forgotten and only its base survives, situated between the Colosseum and the nearby Temple of Venus and Roma.

After the Coliseum we went on to the Forum. by now it was getting very hot out and every onion the tour was looking for shade everywhere we stopped.  

 It was so interesting. the stories of the vestal virgins really floored me. after the heat of the morning Margie and I headed back to our hotel and along the way saw my first Roman wildlife. a lizard sunning himself. I thought he would probably cook if he stayed out much longer but he did not as he skittered under at the stone he was on when we went by.
 a quick change in our room and we were headed up stairs to the pool

. Margie went first but stopped almost instantly when her foot hit the water. "It is Freezing cold! I am not going in there!" "What" I said No way I am going in it can't be that bad. Oh my God! it was freezing but we did go in and once we were totally numb it actually Flt really good to be out of the pool. the het on top of the hotel was very high but we sat in the shade having a little bite of lunch and felt perfectly comfortable as we thawed out to a normal temperature.  

After lunch and the refreshing dip into the pool we got showered and changed and went exploring once again. 
we went to the hop on hop off bus stop by the coliseum and figured out our game plan. the Tiber river, the castle, the Pantheon, the Piazza . Ok. busing around Rome was so much faster and easier than walking it. 

We had a bit of a discussion on the bus as to which stop was ours but we did figure it out. the Tiber river is lovely although somehow I was expecting it to be more developed like in Paris.  It is more like the north Saskatchewan in Edmonton except of course with way more really cool bridges.

the bridge over the tiber river is lovely. lots of statues along the way. We could see Saint Peters and the Vatican from the bridge which was fun as we had already been there and actually need to come back and see the gardens as the day we went they were closed.

the castle Sant'Angelo was lovely on the outside but we decided not to go into it as we still had quite a few places we wanted to see.

We walked down the side of the river past a lovely shaded little park with some horse police and we also paused to enjoy the shade.

We past a lovely large building with fountains in front of the next bridge

While crossing the Tiber River,  I sprinkled mom and dad mid way pretending to sneeze and drop my Kleenex into the river. when we got across I looked back and saw that there was a large shelf that extended out from the railing of the bridge which had caught mom and dad and they sitting there in their Kleenex just waiting for puff of wind to catch them and blow them into the Tiber. For some reason I found this to be very amusing and laughed about mom and dad just hanging around Rome.

we walked through a few small streets and found the Piazza Navona.  It was very long with a few restaurants along the each side and three fountains, one on each end and one with a tall tower in the middle. There was something going on, a rally or protest to the far end so we did not go there but stayed on the end and middle of the plaza where we came in.

I did manage to get some nice photos of both the middle and one of the end fountains. Once upon a time the Piazza was where the rich came and promenaded. A place to see and be seen. a playground for people travelling the continent.  and yes if there was a hotel on the square the location would be great. I liked our location not so crowded with tourists and still in the middle of things,

 The piazza Navona does had some very pretty fronts but mostly it was just a large rectangular square.  We stopped for  an ice cream coffee. It was, unfortunately,  not as good as the one we had in Kotor, but we did get to sit down for a bit.

We left the Piazza Navone and walked over  a few blocks to the east and came to the Piazza Della Rotunda, the one with the Pantheon,  the oldest religious temple in Rome. There was a very long line to get in and so after taking a few photos we headed back to lfind the Ho Ho bus.

on the way we discovered The church of St. Louis of the French _ San Luigi dei Francesi, which had beautiful artwork by Carvaggio and many others. It was gorgeous. Some one told us it was Michael Angelos favourite church to go to in Rome but I may be remembering that incorrectly although I would not blame him for it at all. 

We said a few prayers and lit a few candles for the friends and family back home and after the very large crowds outside. the cool and quiet was most enjoyable.



 Catching the the hop on bus  was fairly easy once we figured out where the stop was and then we went in search of a place to have dinner that was not the place we went to the night before.
 What about that great little restaurant by the train station. we could try to find it again. OK lets do it. 
 after getting to the train station and trying to retrace our steps we finally found the restaurant and were rewarded with a great meal of pasta and wine. what a great way to end the day and our tour of Europe. we were flying home the next day and glad to be going home but sad to be leaving Rome.