Jambo! from Africa

Saturday, June 20, 2015

We were  "up and at 'em" pretty early today in order to coordinate our plans, get in our taxi at 7 and then head for the airport. Arrived there and went through their unusual baggage check when we were informed that we did not have confirmed seats, that we should have confirmed our seats 30 hours before departure and that we would have to proceed to the gate to see what could be done!  We hadn't received any info about confirming seats. We were the first of the Desert Horizon /Classic Escapes group to arrive at the gate and spent an uneasy hour or so while the others appeared. Everyone had confirmed seats but us!!

Soon we were trying to come up with a plan. "What if there are only 1, 2 or three seats available?"  In the end we decided "all or nothing!" We'd stick together and hope to catch the group the next day!  Then the gate agent approached with a "hard to read" face......we HAD 4 seats!!!  None of them together but ON THE PLANE!!

Hallelujah!!

Flight finally took of at 11:06 AM. Food, movies, snoozing, reading for 8 hours!!  Arrival scheduled for 8:07 PM Tanzania time.  After a very long flight, we landed a little late, spent a lot of time procuring our visas for $100 cash with 20s issued after 2006!  After getting our bags, we met our drivers and their Toyota Land Cruisers and learned our first Swahili......Asante is thank you. We drove 45 minutes to the Lake Duluti Serena Hotel where we had a snack before retiring to our cottage thatched with banana fronds. Off to bed at 11, have to be ready for our first safari at 8:30 tomorrow morning. 

Bicycle Dodging in Amsterdam

Friday June 19, 2015

June 19, 2015

I as woke with my alarm at 7:30 this morning and fell promptly back to sleep. Peter woke me at 8:45 when Bea knocked on the door!  We were supposed to meet the Sextoms downstairs at 8:30!

What a day!! We left the hotel at 9 AM and returned at 9 PM (for good, day was over!). For breakfast we went to a traditional Dutch pancake place we'd seen yesterday, for pancakes(more like crepes) with the toppings we desired. I had lemon curd and fresh strawberries an then rolled up the thin pancake. Yum!!  

From there we walked to th famous Van Gogh Museum where we waited in line for about a half hour until we could buy our entry tickets (17E,  isn't that expensive? Isn't $19.00 a lot for entry to a museum?). Despite the free, the museum was extraordinary!  It includes ALL of the Van Gogh family art works. And, if you consider that Vincent sold ONE of his paintings during his life (to his brother Theo), that is a lot of art that has never been available to the general public. Needless to say, I was enthralled. Waiting in line was worth it!!

The day was deteriorating weather-wise. But we plodded on in our quest to see as much as we could!  We decided that with the deteriorating weather, we'd do well, at this point, to take a canal cruise in a covered boat. This city is amazing!  The architecture is so in tune with the environs of Amsterdam. And the stories and history of the river, dam and canals are history-making. So many canals, so many bridges, so many narrow houses-all connected!!  And, before I forget, it's important to be careful of the bicycles. It's hard to know where you are able to walk. And it's a wonder there aren't a lot of accidents!  I think there are more bikes than people in Amsterdam. And none of the bicyclists wears helmets!  Bea thinks the pedestrians should wear helmets!  

After a beer and "coffee" at the Bull Dog Cafe, a coffee shop, we, slowly but surely wended our way to Dubbel, a restaurant recommended by Rick Steves, small, crowded (good sign!). The servers were sooo gracious, gave us a flight of 4 local beers to taste, and tended to us with care!  Mostly a local place but probably for a younger crowd. We WERE the only gray hairs, I mean, Peter and Tom were the only gray hairs there. The food was great:  bitterballen again for an appetizer (!warmed creamy veal surrounded by a crispy, crunchy deep fried ball of crumbs!  Sound delish?  Dinner for Tom and I had Dutch steak with fries and salad, Peter had "American" steak and Bea pork with apples and we all had local beer. Good discussion ensued and, before we knew it we were back on the road walking to our hotel and an early evening. After a cordial, we retired for an early bed, meeting at 7 at the desk. 

"PROOST" from Amsterdam

Thursday June 18, 2015

After a bit of a shaky start to our trans-Atlantic voyage (bus was late, discovery we were flying Delta not KLM, time spent trying to have our mileage added to our Delta Miles) we boarded our plane just a little late and off we flew!  WIth dinner and a movie, a 6 hour time change and a 6 hour flight, not much time for snoozing!  Arrived in Amsterdam at 8 am (2am EST!). Spent time waiting for Bea and Tom by getting our bearings, finding the most convenient way to get to our hotel, NH HOTEL MUSEUM QUARTER, and sipping coffee at Starbucks!  Amazing....EVERYONE here speaks English....and they speak it well!

Bea and Tom arrived without any problems. Took a cab into the city (a a Tesla, as are many of the taxis in Amsterdam) and checked into our hotel easily. Paperwork done, we walked around, past the very ornate Rijiksmuseum, across MANY canals to the flower market, cappuccino at Starbucks and then on to the Leidesplein, a popular square with the Bull Dog Coffee shop.  Most streets are paved in brick, as are the bike lanes and the number of cyclists on the road is colossal!  It's not hard to get in their way. Back at the hotel a couple of hours later. We decided to dine early since none of us got much sleep last night!

Recommended by the concierge, we walked a short distance to the Cafe Loetje, a local favorite. Dinner was very good, lots of good people watching, good steak and Wiener schnitzel. But we were totaled!!  Back to the hotel by 9 with plans to meet at 8:30 tomorrow morning got a FULL day of sightseeing!