Hello from Amsterdam

We arrive on time on Friday, after a very smooth KLM/Delta flight.  We were served a full dinner and then a full breakfast several hours later--we enjoy a few hours of sleep bewteen meals, and make a smooth landing at Schipol.  We are met by a HAL rep who escorts us to the waiting Mercedes Limo to take us to our hotel, the Renaissance Amsterdam, just a few steps from all the central sites of the city.

We start the afternoon with a crazy wild thunderstorm, but after a two hour nap, we find the sun is shining and we head out for a walk to take care of some "tourist business" (transportation passes, etc), a walk through the infamous red light district--now so seriously cleaned up that they give guided tours.  We have dinner at the "Marco Polo" restaurant--a pizza and salad (and beer) place I have frequented on previous visits.  By the time we return to the hotel it is 8pm and we are ready for a good night's rest.  We are planning a busy tourist day tomorrow, so I will have much more to report then.  And keep your eye on that Icelandic volcano--it looks like it might be stirring up trouble again.