|
So Dave had his operation on Thursday and all went well. He woke up with a new metal knee and today he came home! Excellent progress. Of course, there is still some way to go before he gets full movement back, but he's been here before and he'll get back to being perfectly mobile. Welcome home Dave!
On the weekend, Shell and I made a fleeting visit to Amsterdam. We had a 13:10 flight out of Bristol with EasyJet. As the plane was taxi-ing to the runway, the pilot came on the tannoy and told us that the weather in Amsterdam had been -16 that morning and that there was 6inches of snow. And when we arrived...
Indeed there was 6ins of snow and it was very cold (about -2).
We got the train from Schipol to Centraal station and then had a 3km walk to our hotel which took about an hour and a half due to the ice, snow, cold and getting lost. Fortunately, we had though to being gloves, hats and extra layers, so it didnt turn out too bad.
The hotel was basic but very clean and warmer than outside, so it was fine. It cost �75 for the night including breakfast which had to be paid up front. Just down the road from the hotel was a street of designer shops and further from that it led us into the centre of Amsterdam.
So we headed off into the centre and decided the first thing to do was eat, so we found a traditional Dutch restaurant and enjoyed pancakes.
Thats a complete lie. What we actually did was ran into the nearest Italian, where I had a Pepperoni Pizza and Shell had Spaghetti Carbonara. And damn fine it was too.
Then we walked around until we found a coffeeshop/bar called De Rokerij and spent some time in there.
The following morning, we got up and went down to a pretty measly continental breakfast, where Shell managed to almost not eat anything. Being the seasoned European traveller that I am (mostly France though), I tucked in to toast, juice and coffee like it was going out of fashion.
We then took a leisurely walk back through the centre to Centraal, taking in the sites and buying souvenirs and gifts for back home.
All told, the flights would have been about �200 and the accomodation was �70 or so. We saw cheap B&Bs when we were walking around (hostelries) for about �15-�20 euros a night.
We will definately be going back later this year when the weather is more favourable. Venice was cold but we hated it. Amsterdam was colder but we loved it.
Todays game of the day is Flying Gonzo. Enjoy!
|
