Good Morning from Amsterdam!

Many of you probably know that the day doesn't truly begin for Jim until he has had his cappuccino. So that is how we started our day (Monday).

Our trip began on Friday.  We left from SFO at 2:40 p.m. on KLM.  We didn't know what to expect due to the many stories we had been hearing about cancelled flights, long lines, etc.  But we breezed through checking our bags and TSA and then, of course, had to sit and wait the three hours for our flight!  But it left on time, we had a free middle seat between us, and we arrived early to Amsterdam.  Then it got more complicated.  We joined the "mob" waiting at the top of the escalator (which was not working) to go down to customs and baggage claim.  It was so crowded that there was somebody letting people go down in groups and then we were in a long, weaving line to go through customs - only two customs agents.  All of that took about an hour which was more irritating because we were sleep deprived.  My suitcase came through quickly, but Jim's took forever.  Probably would have been sooner if he had recognized his newly purchased suitcase (it was black, but he could have sworn it was blue).  We successfully navigated to Uber pick up and took the short ride to the house.  Then it was my time for error - I had written down that the address was #16, but in fact it was #21.  

The house and garden are lovely and we are very comfortable.  Here are some photos.

Amstelveen is beautiful, green, many waterways and ponds, and walkable to stores and restaurants.  On Saturday we focused on settling in.  One of the first tasks was to walk to the grocery store.  A very sweet lady in front of us offered to let us use her discount card (afterwards realized we had one on the keychain), but when Jim went to pay the cashier with our VISA card, we were told it was cash only (or I guess some Dutch credit card).  As Jim walked over to the store's ATM (he had left his euros at the house - as I said, we were sleep deprived) Sweet Lady smiled and told the cashier "I'm not paying for their groceries..."

Sunday it rained most of the day.  I did get out for a walk before it started.  

We spent the day just relaxing and reading which is so wonderful about these long home exchange trips as we don't feel pressured to be on the go every second.  In the afternoon we ventured through the drizzle to check out the other, closer, grocery store. Quite a scenic walk.

By today we were adjusted to the time zone and headed off to Amsterdam.  Although they have bikes for us to use, 

we are saving that for another day.  It was a quick bus ride (would have been quicker if we had gotten on the correct bus the first time) into city center.  We were able to get a sense of the bike lanes and actually will probably do that next time as it seems it will be faster and probably more fun!

We walked around, exploring the Jordaan and Negen Straatjes (Nine Streets) district, both full of cute shops and cafes.  With both of us on special diets (Jim is Vegan and I am Low FODMAP which, among other things, eliminates gluten) we were pleased to walk by this pastry shop called SUE where every item was gluten free and Vegan.

So, as long as we don't fall down the two flights of VERY narrow and steep stairs, we will be heading off for some day trips.