We take off under clear blue skies, land in Houston and on to Amsterdam, arriving 14 hours later. With a birds eye view, I am constantly struck by the lushness of places outside of our area, Houston’s broad swatches of forests, and the flat green fields of Amsterdam broken up by sinewy waterways. In my mind I see colorful fields of spring tulips.
We stay in an area full of airport hotels. The Ibis is european simple but quite adequate. It is time to walk off our plane legs, the bus takes us to old town in a matter of minutes. My birthday dinner is at The Seafood Bar. The dish in the photo is layered, mussels cooked with herbs and onions, baby dover sole, adult sole, lobster halves, langoustines, skewers of shrimp and squid. Thank you TripAdvisor!
Leiden Square near the city center is vibrant and bustling, full of young adults, light rail and masses of bicycles. As we walk, I tell myself “red is for bikes”. Do not walk on the red brick pavement. Every few blocks, the pavement crosses a canal, quiet and unpretentious compared to Venice. Amsterdam feels comfortably “local” in contrast to many European cities, a surprisingly lack of tour buses and cruise liners. Though we cannot escape the plethora of US establishments like McDonalds, Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts.