Trippin' with Susan Straley

We had another good-weather day for our last ride on our Bike and Sail the Tulips trip.  We rode to Zaanse Schans and back to Amsterdam in a loop. We started out our day with a quick Ferry ride to North Amsterdam.   The ride was lovely.  Riding in a group, I don't have the liberty to stop when I want to take a picture.   Using your phone while riding is against the law and heavily enforced here.  It will cost 150 Euro.   So, when I saw the cube houses on stilts built over the canal, and when I saw the house decorated with wooden shoes, I didn't take pictures.  We pedalled right on by.  Steve and I discussed that it might be better to be on a tour with less miles and more time to stop. Sometimes we biked on paths through flat grassy lands, sometimes through narrow streets lined with brick homes built adjacent to the sidewalk without front yards.   We stopped and parked our bikes at a museum with lots of 15th and 16th centur...

 Hello there, you folks back in the States and Canada or wherever else you are reading this.   When we left, our bike group was getting smaller as the snowbirds and the travelers departed.  Florida was getting hotter. Here in Amsterdam, the day started out grey but dry. I didn't get more than an hour of sleep on our flight over night to Amsterdam from Tampa. The airplane seats don't lay back like they used to, and they slump.  That might feel good for someone that slumps, but I try not to.  I could not get comfortable.   Then we spent the day we landed walking around Amsterdam.  I thought I would really sleep well in our cozy motel room.  And I did for about four hours.  Then, even though I was exhausted, I just could not sleep any more. In the morning I was groggy and foggy.   We had reservations to go to three museums.   We had a wonderful huge breakfast at the Hotel buffet and several cups of coffee.  We ...