More thoughts on Amsterdam (see canal view above)...&
a few on Canterbury and Iepers too.....
I'm really hoping that the itinerary will work as well in
November as it has here in July for all of us! I suspect that all will be
much the same, just a bit cooler (it's still only 20 degrees over here
...sorry!) and the days a bit shorter for light, but other than that, the
'magic' should be the same.
On Day 3 you'll see that we leave London
for a LONG trip to France
via the ancient English city of Canterbury.
The old Cathedral in Canterbury
is approaching its 1000th anniversary and the age of the majestic building is
clear - worn steps, 800 year-old entombed kings, much restorative work
on-going. You'll not have seen anything like it and I encourage you to do some
comparison with Westminster Abbey and Mont St Michel.
The ferry ride is a real highlight as we ply the same waters
that Canadians took, following much the same route, as was taken on D-Day in
1944...while we depart from Dover and not Portsmouth think of the
crossing in terms of what it must have felt like to be in those ships 70 years
ago. It's a great ride and remarkably quick. For the shopper's delight,
there is a mall onboard, but it is expensive and most things can be purchased
elsewhere for less money.
Later in the trip we'll see more outstanding markets and
shops in Ieper and Amsterdam. I've included a photo of Dam
square which has the best market shopping in the city...so like I have
previously suggested....'save your money.'!
I was surprised by the lineup of three blocks (!!) outside
of the Anna Frank Museum
- thankfully we will get priority entrance as a group. The wait of two hours
was well worth it according to the folks I spoke to who came out. You'll
be surprised to see that the Frank House is just one small part of a much
larger museum now - it's hugely popular with tourists for obvious reasons.
Just for fun, I took a picture of the hotels in Ieper (Novotel http://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-3172-novotel-ieper-centrum-flanders-fields/index.shtmland)
and Amsterdam (Tulip Inn
http://www.tulipinnamsterdamwest.nl/),
both of which seem terrific. The breakfasts are substantial and the rooms
should accommodate the 'trios' comfortably.
More to come...so stay tuned.