Richard(Motion): ugly weather in SA right now . . .
Amsterdam is the easiest city I have ever been to for getting lost. There are no straight streets & every canal looks the same after a while.
Green House Centrum was a stop - yeah for the 'coffee' . . .
Trams, motorcycles & the maniac bicycle riders make walking challenging. Pedestrians must be alert at all times - which can be hard especially after a visit to the place above.
April 27 was King's Day which is the Nederlanders version of New Year's Eve & July 4th all in one. A major party the night before with children's flea markets in the parks during the day & music & drinking & smoking everywhere. The centrum is closed to cars & trams although the bikes & motorcycles do creep in to annoy all. The population jumps from 800k to 1.8m for the day. The party boats crowd the canals as all the tour boats are shuttered.
The weather was absolute crap - hovering around freezing with ice pellets, wind & rain - but the people were very friendly & everybody seems to speak English. We spent one day doing the museum circuit - the Rijks for the Rembrandts & Vermeers, the Hermitage for a Spanish art exhibition & the Van Gogh for . . . the van Gogh's. Properly pronounced something like van Gok btw. We had dinner at Johannes which is a Michelin Star wannabe but while they're very good they are not quite there yet imho. Anyway, put Amsterdam on your must visit list.
After multiple flights & airports & my 1st drive on the 'wrong' side of the road, we reached Franschhoek, SA at dusk.
Ian