Amsterdam

A week ago today, Jeff and I headed to IAH for our flight to Amsterdam. With Jeff's Platinum status, and me a Christmas baby on a free ticket, we miraculously got upgraded to business class. The drinks flowed and the courses served and Jeff was nodding off before the ice cream, but did wake enough to indulge. We both slept over 5 hours and were feeling good when we arrived at noon Friday. The room was ready for check in and we cleaned up. We were both feeling out of synch and knew we had time to wander and time to nap. The Netherlands had celebrated 'Queen's Day' 2 days earlier and the city was littered orange. Apparently the Dutch treat this day as their 'Mardi Gras'.
Day 2 we headed for the tulips. Our overall impression of Amsterdam was of a quiet city. Their favorite mode of transportation is bicycle complete with designated lanes for them as well as traffic signals. The canal boats are quiet and traffic moves sedately. Such a change from Milan and scooter frenzy.The fact that the 3rd and 4th day of our visit were Remembrance Day, observed with a invitee only service at the old church, the laying of the wreath by the Queen in the square, and a city wide moment of silence, and Liberation Day (Monday) with no morning traffic, may have had affected this impression. All in all a relaxing weekend of good weather and food and drink.