Living it up in A'dam
In the morning, we had delicious croissants with amazing cheese and preserves, and invigorating, aromatic coffee. I biked back to the apartment to make an overnight bag for Amsterdam, where we were headed this afternoon to check into the bed and breakfast Joe and Tony had arranged for the next three days.
Arjan kindly dropped them at Centraal Station, where we took the train with all our bags to the Big City. Joe easily directed us to the correct street, but the name of the b&b wasn’t visible on any signs. There was a cafe that oozed marijuana smoke, which doubled as a b&b. We asked if they had a reservation under our name. Even though it meant we hadn’t found our place to sleep, I was relieved when they apologetically informed Tony that his reservation was not above this particular smoke shop (or any smoke shop at all, I guess). We wandered a bit more, looking for the address. I followed the numbers to a small green door wedged in between two gyro and pizza shops.
“Number six, right?” Joe nodded a confirmation. I pointed to the shiny number six nailed over this narrow door, a needle in a haystack of souvenir shops and kebab and pizza joints. On the jamb, three doorbells, unlabeled except for the middle one. The tiny label, about 4 centimeters by 10 centimeters, read, “AC__”. The second part was covered by a scrap of notebook paper which read, “Dear Guests. I am not home. Please call me,” followed by a cell phone number. I lifted up the scrap to read the rest of the address label: “’ACBB – JoJo.’ Does that ring a bell?” We couldn’t believe this was the sign for the b&b. Of course, we called the number, it was the correct place, and Kees arrived to show us our room.
He led us away from that narrow door between two Doner restaurants, towards the Oudekerk. Up three flights of stairs, he opened the door to reveal a jaw-dropping two-bedroom apartment with beautiful, full bathroom, huge living and dining rooms, and spacious kitchen with full amenities and even stocked with food, coffee and tea. The entire front part of the apartment opened with doors and windows onto the street below, buzzing with just enough commotion to be exciting but still enjoyable. Our view was unbelievable – the gorgeous Oudekerk. (not the best pic but it was glorious).
Arjan kindly dropped them at Centraal Station, where we took the train with all our bags to the Big City. Joe easily directed us to the correct street, but the name of the b&b wasn’t visible on any signs. There was a cafe that oozed marijuana smoke, which doubled as a b&b. We asked if they had a reservation under our name. Even though it meant we hadn’t found our place to sleep, I was relieved when they apologetically informed Tony that his reservation was not above this particular smoke shop (or any smoke shop at all, I guess). We wandered a bit more, looking for the address. I followed the numbers to a small green door wedged in between two gyro and pizza shops.
“Number six, right?” Joe nodded a confirmation. I pointed to the shiny number six nailed over this narrow door, a needle in a haystack of souvenir shops and kebab and pizza joints. On the jamb, three doorbells, unlabeled except for the middle one. The tiny label, about 4 centimeters by 10 centimeters, read, “AC__”. The second part was covered by a scrap of notebook paper which read, “Dear Guests. I am not home. Please call me,” followed by a cell phone number. I lifted up the scrap to read the rest of the address label: “’ACBB – JoJo.’ Does that ring a bell?” We couldn’t believe this was the sign for the b&b. Of course, we called the number, it was the correct place, and Kees arrived to show us our room.
He led us away from that narrow door between two Doner restaurants, towards the Oudekerk. Up three flights of stairs, he opened the door to reveal a jaw-dropping two-bedroom apartment with beautiful, full bathroom, huge living and dining rooms, and spacious kitchen with full amenities and even stocked with food, coffee and tea. The entire front part of the apartment opened with doors and windows onto the street below, buzzing with just enough commotion to be exciting but still enjoyable. Our view was unbelievable – the gorgeous Oudekerk. (not the best pic but it was glorious).
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