I have taken off again!! I boarded a plane (or 2) to meet my sister (Jackie) and brother-in-law (Paul) in Amsterdam, our first stop. Arrived about 9:30 am on Friday in Jordaan, a charming neighborhood along one of the 42(ish) miles of canals in Amsterdam proper. It is sweltering hot right now: real feel of 111 degrees!! We are told that this day is the hottest day on record for Amsterdam!!! (good timing!) We suffered through lunch in an un-air conditioned restaurant. Then we headed to meet our afternoon canal cruise. The cruise was very nice and very informative but we were so beat down by the direct sun that beat relentlessly on our heads! All the homes have hoist beams with hooks attached to lift all the imported spices that folks made their living off of. Many of the homes are tilted forward so that the lift line isn’t too close to the windows as it ascends. The spices were kept on the top floor to protect them from any flooding. Today the hoist beams are used to move in furniture, etc to the top floors. I took no pictures on the canal cruise: I don’t think I have ever been that hot; I just couldn’t manage it. I will do better from now on, I promise!

A quick rest back in the hotel was followed by a stroll around Dam Square and the Red Light District. Well, either the reputation of the Red Light is greatly exaggerated or it has calmed down in this day and age. Yes, there were sex shops and peep shows. There were also lots of curtained windows that would showcase the “merchandise”. There were a few windows that were occupied but the majority of them were closed and we had heard that the action really does not start until 10pm but we had already been up for at least 36 hours and were not interested in prolonging that very long day.