Day 1
Check-out for our hotel in Amsterdam was 11 am, so we decided to head to Haarlem earlier than the 2pm meeting time. We took the train from Amsterdam to Haarlem, which was both quick and convenient. Once in Haarlem, we dropped off our bags at the front desk of the hotel and wandered around Haarlem and grabbed lunch.
David and I were both excited and nervous for the tour to officially begin, and we sat patiently in the dining room where we were to meet our group. People slowly began to trickle in and take a seat...it was the only time the entire tour that the room was quiet. Daniela, our tour guide, livened up the scene immediately with her outspoken, yet gentle, personality. After some formalities, those of us who had not checked into our rooms were given a few minutes to drop off our luggage.
Check-out for our hotel in Amsterdam was 11 am, so we decided to head to Haarlem earlier than the 2pm meeting time. We took the train from Amsterdam to Haarlem, which was both quick and convenient. Once in Haarlem, we dropped off our bags at the front desk of the hotel and wandered around Haarlem and grabbed lunch.
David and I were both excited and nervous for the tour to officially begin, and we sat patiently in the dining room where we were to meet our group. People slowly began to trickle in and take a seat...it was the only time the entire tour that the room was quiet. Daniela, our tour guide, livened up the scene immediately with her outspoken, yet gentle, personality. After some formalities, those of us who had not checked into our rooms were given a few minutes to drop off our luggage.
The tour had begun...and we started with a bang. As I was checking in, the receptionist said "Oh, because we are renovating, you will have to go a different way to get to your room. Go out the front doors, turn right, then go past the restaurant next door and turn right again. Keep walking down and on the right hand side, you'll see a red door with the number 8. Go through that door and your room is in the courtyard." David and I both half-expected her to stop us as we walked out the front door to go to our room--I must have heard her wrong. Nope. Out we went, her directions we spot on, and we found our room very easily. Downside, we were the last ones back to the lobby for our meet-up, but it was certainly a funny story to tell.
Our Haarlem walking tour began with Ruby, a local who was very knowledgeable and even had supplementary visual aids. Ruby was open to answering questions that we had, ranging from the canal system, to red light districts, to the economic structure of the Netherlands. After walking around what seemed like all of Haarlem, we stopped at the De Adriaan Windmill for a tour. We learned about the history of windmills and the process by which flour (or whatever grain of choice) is ground.
We made our way back to the center of the city for dinner at a local Indonesian Restaurant. Ruby, our local guide, surprised us when she said she would also be one of our servers for the night! With such a large group, we sat at two long tables and dinner was served "family style," and the dishes seemed to never end!
After dinner, we were on our own for the night, and we wandered the streets of the city for a while before heading to bed...after all that walking and being stuffed with delicious food, we were ready to hit the hay.
After dinner, we were on our own for the night, and we wandered the streets of the city for a while before heading to bed...after all that walking and being stuffed with delicious food, we were ready to hit the hay.