Computer at last!

Well, the girls have been mocking me terribly because I've been so computer deprived! But of course it is only so I can update you all! I'm at an internet cafe while laundry is getting done next door.

We had a great time in Amsterdam but are now in London after a half day of travel.

We did lots of walking in Amsterdam and rode the Canal boats, too. There are over 1700 bridges among the 63 miles of canals. Over 300 of the bridges date from the 17th century. At night they are lit up and it is quite beautiful. I took lots of photos of the canal houses because things were going by too fast to appreciate all the fabulous architecture.

We went to theRijksmuseum and it was very nice. Meredith wasn't feeling well but was a real trouper. It was a nice museum in that it wasn't too big...very manageable. We saw 2 awesome dollhouses that were made for some wealthy merchant's daughter. A replica of their own house down to the last detail. Even marble floors. And it was wonderful to see the Rembrandts but my favorites were the Vermeers. Little gems!

We went to the Heineken Experience as well and that was...an experience! Not a working brewery, but a museum of the old brewery. There were a couple of "pseudo" rides. You know the kind - you're perched on a platform that moves while watching a video in front of you on a big screen. In one of the rides we were a beer bottle going through the bottling process. We also, of course, got tokens for beer.

We went into an old church and it was beautiful. Amsterdam is very protestant though so the inside was very plain. There is a long history of the tension between catholicism and protestantism as well as monarchy rule versus a sort of burgher rule. It has been difficult to keep the timeline all in my head and I expect when I return I'll do some more reading to get it all figured out.

We've had beautiful weather the whole time. Just last night it thunderstormed and it was much needed as it was getting muggy. As it began to pour we ducked into a restaraunt and had a nice dinner. All our meals have been good and everyone has been so nice to us. The people there speak excellent English as well as many other languages. It's quite impressive.

We never got the opportunity to rent bikes but it was easy to see that was the preferred way to get around the city. The bikes all take precendence - even over the pedestrians. The bikes are big and sturdy with high handlebars. However, no one wears helmets! Even little kids perched on the fronts and backs of the bikes are helmetless. Although we did notice that the bike police wear helmets.

Now we are in London and are anxious for our London excursions to begin! We flew over via British Midland and it was a great airline. Sooo roomy. We managed the tube fine until we tried to find our hotel. Ooops! Mom messed up and took us to the same named street in the wrong part of town. Locals were kind enough to point us in the right direction and commented that it happened all the time! Back on the tube, pulling our luggage and we finally made it. It is a newly remodeled, tiny hotel but I think it will serve us fine. The price is certainly right. And given how poor the American dollar is over here, I'm glad.

I know there's more to say about Amsterdam but I just can't think of it now. We've taken lots of photos and of course the girls have their own silly stories. I'll try and get them to post soon.