Amsterdam!

From London we caught the Eurostar train to Brussels where we switched trains for Amsterdam.  We arrived in Amsterdam around 1pm and met up with Brenda (our friend we met in Cambodia) for drinks while she was on her break from work.  We didn't have a place to stay but one of Brenda's coworker's parents runs a bed and breakfast, so we stayed there for two nights.  The B&B was the same price as getting two beds in a hostel in Amsterdam.  Andy and I explored a bit of Amsterdam while Brenda finished work for the day.

Brenda met up with us after work and, after getting recommendations from the Rita the owner of our B&B, headed out to find dinner.  After wandering small cobbled streets for a while, we found Orangerie, a dark pub like restaurant.  Dinner was a goat cheese salad for me, and a veggie burger each for Brenda and Andy. Brenda and I split a half liter of house white wine while Andy had a pint of Grolsch.

After dinner we walked through the red light district. You are literally window shopping.  Prostitutes stand in full length windows in their sexy underwear under black lights, enticing you in (or in one window, sitting around a table and chatting with each other).  Most of the women didn't look very interested in us, probably because we were two women and a guy.

For our second day in Amsterdam, Brenda took the day off of work and we went on a bike tour, led by Brenda. It was a blast.  At one point we rode through a park and took a break at a cafe to get tea and pastries.  We stopped at the Van Gogh Museum while it was raining outside.  It is a really well done museum and totally worth seeing if you are ever in Amsterdam.

For lunch we ate at a Surinamese place (Suriname is a country in South America and used to be a Dutch colony).  We all split some vegetarian roti, a curried chicken dish with rice, and bawkjaa (or some spelling of that), which was white fish with fried potatoes.

For dinner we picked up vegetables and fish and made a stir fry with couscous.  Thus ended our time in Amsterdam.  The next day we had breakfast at the B&B and then headed to the bus stop for our next destination: France.