Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Final British Isles

6/11-12 British Isles

After disembarkation, we stayed at the Amstel Hotel in Amsterdam. First afternoon, we mostly rested. Had tea and dinner at the hotel. 

Monday, we ventured out a little. Took a canal cruise tour. Turned out to be very sunny and warm. Interesting city though it lacks the architectural interest of the larger cities we have visited in Europe. 

We decided to have High Tea at the hotel at 4:00. Got way too much food. We should have ordered one with a second tea only. We got double of everything - sandwiches, sweets, scones... It was about 5:30 when we finished. We decided to skip dinner. 

We turned in a little early since we had an early pickup. Very good breakfast. The hotel was almost on par with The Goring in London. Our room and the restaurants looked out at the Amstel River. Lots of small boats. Also, Amsterdam is loaded with bicycles - like Copenhagen. 

Upon arriving at the United check-in, we learned that our flight was significantly delayed. But, we had already been rebooked to fly through Houston rather than Chicago. Good thing we got to the airport early since the new flight left almost an hour earlier. We will, hopefully, get home earlier than our original flights with the delay. Called our limo. Hope it all works out. Around 12+ hours total flight time. 

By the way, security was much simpler in Amsterdam. Not looking forward to Customs and international to domestic terminal change in Houston.  But, Chicago would probably be worse. 

We will be glad to get into our own beds. 

PS - It was a very long day. 6AM Amsterdam time to 7:30PM Indy time.  13-14 hours with 12+ hours on planes. Very glad to be home.

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