If racial abuse wasn't how I expected to remember the first day of our holiday, being the victim, albeit very minor, was about as far from my imagination as it could be!
It started off difficult - the traffic through Tinsel (that's Tintwhistle to the uninitiated) was the worst we'd ever seen - then Mottram was hideous too, only a few cheeky shortcuts helped us regain some time, and using the meet and greet parking at Manchester Airport for the first time was a blesssing - so easy - goodness knows why we've not done that before?
Already late, we then experienced the most stringent security (that isn't American) yet, it seemed that every other person was getting stopped for either a close personal or bag search. We bearly made it to the lounge in time to sneak a coffee and a couple of Danish before heading off to the gate, only to discover there was a delay of unspecified time, so we were left hanging around. It later transpired that Amsterdam had had to close a runway because of the terrible cross-winds, so they couldn't receive us as planned, we just stood waiting to board for a while, and then after boarding sat on the tarmac for about an hour.
Eventually we bounced into Schipol just over an hour late, having caught up 30 minutes in the air - the clever captain added time travel to his skill set! The majority of the plane was onward bound (Amsterdam is a huge transport hub) and many of the passengers missed their connections.
An informative 30 minute drive into town by a very pleasant driver and we were deposited at the door of our hotel, we quickly checked in and then went exploring the city. If first impressions count, then I can't be too enthusiastic about Amsterdam, it was grey; far too many people, mostly tourists; many too many bikes hurtling along the narrow streets; sickly clouds of dope puffed from every street corner and did I mention the tourists? We wandered for a couple of hours, scoping out a suitable Italian, before returning to dress for dinner.
The hotel is a curious place, I'm sure more info will be forthcoming, tonight we found the bar is an old converted rectory which is literally in the middle of the forecourt, old oak panelling, a cute little balcony for two, and, as we discovered, a rather good Chardonnay can be had there. Afterwards we headed off in the direction of Casa di David, the promising outcome of our earlier investigations.
En route we stopped at one point to take an obligatory photo on a bridge, during which we were lambasted by a couple of (not European) lads. However, the real joke was on them, as they were so stupid they didn't actually realise we weren't Americans, I guess that's the trouble with foreigners, we/they all look and sound the same! Joking apart, it wasnt nice and although nothing bad happened, it's easy to see how that could have become very much more unpleasant. Being good Brits we walked away stiff lipped so they had no idea their cruel words were more laughable than hateful.
Dinner at David's House was excellent, Hubby literally bit off more than he could chew by ordering a mountainous fish soup, but I was able to help by devouring the crayfish, octopus and a few clams, muscles and squid towards the end! My burrata, mozzarella and tomato salad was pretty good, but if I'd made it there would have been at least three times as much garlic and extra spices in the dressing - indeed I will when we get back! Mains were rigatonis of carbonara (for him) and filet in red wine sauce (for me) magnificent! An added bonus was watching the delightful open dumb waiter, running on just two brass rails - wonderful! Definitely an excellent Italian worth a recommendation here.
There's no point judging Amsterdam, indeed anywhere, in one day, so we have three more to grow accustomed to it, everything but the dope that is!
You can follow the photos via FaceBook (FB account not needed) from this link ... https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10154720271241617.1073741851.531021616&type=1&l=fcdf482665
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