Now that's a dessert!

Hello from Holland. We arrived safe and sound in Amsterdam yesterday afternoon after a very smooth 10-hour flight. Bill rented a minivan in Lake Forest and after picking up the Talanians and the Greens and cramming all our luggage in the minivan, we were off to LAX. Bill had an easy time returning the van to Avis while we waited for him in the terminal.

Once we all were in the airport, we stopped at the food court and had lunch. When we printed our boarding passes at home, KLM said that we would be boarding at 3:30 pm, which was earlier than we planned, so we had to adjust our timing and got to the gate at 3 pm, and then had to wait around to board until 4:30 pm!

After our 10-hour flight we arrived in Amsterdam and connected with our driver (a very helpful and nice man) and he drove us to the Doubletree Amsterdam Central Hotel where we stayed for one night. 

While waiting for our room, we enjoyed sitting in the roof top cafe while Beverly had a very tasty apple cake.

Some of us took a quick nap as we didn’t sleep at all (or very much) on the plane. Bill and Karen took a walk around the central area of Amsterdam and later they met up with the Greens and Talanians for dinner at the hotel restaurant. The food was excellent, but Bill and Paul had a hard time finishing off their giant burgers and salad.

 
We finished our giant burgers difficulty.

Now that's a dessert! Even Karen's Vegan desert was tasty.

Our dinner was briefly interrupted by a stroll outside as the fire alarm went off and everyone in the hotel was told to go outside. The hotel quickly fixed things and we were back at our table to enjoy our dessert in no time (someone pulled the fire alarm button in error).

In order to not fall asleep too soon, Bill and Karen took another walk after dinner and then crashed for a good night’s sleep. Pail and Beverly also walked around Amsterdam and got a little lost but eventually found their way.

At the end of the day, we were all very grateful for a smooth and safe trip. Tomorrow we board our Viking cruise ship.

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