We traveled early this morning to the Basel airport and on to Amsterdam for a final day. We arrived in the rain, once again! I will be happy to be in Seattle where the weather is predictable! ...haha! We tried to book a hotel through the info center, but nothing was available unless we wanted to pay €350... no thanks. We are going to be here for less than 24 hours. We decided to venture out on our own, walked one block and found the Hotel Neutraal. The price was right and we really didn't care anyway. We just needed a place to dump our backpacks. We couldn't check in until 1:30 so we went for breakfast where I had coffee and apple cake (a staple apparently). We decided to do the Hop-on Hop-off tour, which is exactly as it sounds. It runs every 15 minutes, so you can hop off and hop back on whenever you want. Doug wanted to visit the Amsterdam Zoo which is one of the oldest in Europe. The second we stepped off the bus, it started pouring rain. (I'm saying that a lot, right?!) We walked for a bit until I took refuge in a neighborhood book sharing site. The rain wasn't letting up, so I put a shopping bag on my head and ran to the corner cafe, much to the local Dutch amusement! We ended up strolling the zoo, hopping back on the bus and taking a nap once we were settled into the hotel...at the top of a winding stairwell that was stinky (?), questionable (?). Turns out the room is clean, and the door locks...two necessities! It also has a pic of a golden retriever above the bed, which of course we love. We miss Scoutie and are excited to see him tomorrow. After Doug napped (I had trouble relaxing, knowing it is my last day) we ventured out to dinner. We went to the Cote Ouest Cafe and both had Coco Vin, and poached pears in chocolate sauce. We agreed that this couldn't compare with Sander's desserts on the barge! Strolled around town, stopped for another wine and decided we were trying to prolong the inevitable...it was time to head home. We are back in our last room preparing to head out in the morning...bittersweet, but ready to return to our lives back home.
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