Well, Robbie our travel agent has set us up well in Amsterdam - we are in the centre of the red light district!!!!! Had a good night's sleep as we said earlier. after breakfast we then headed out, not really feeling in the mood to do the walking tour that Anna had suggested. We will probably do that tomorrow. But we did just wander around some of the streets of the old quarter where we are and there is a mixture of old and new, narrow streets and wide avenues and modern trams. Piles of pigeons were in the Dam Square and people were feeding them and there was this big carnival oputside the Queen's Palace - sublime and ridiculous. After a little nibble for lunch we then decided to go on a boat tour around the canals - of which there are many and varied. Lots of house boats many in great disrepair but still residence for some. Again, many of the old buildings are so narrow but very deep and were once warehouses. Just about all of them have this beam protruding from the top of the house used as a crane to lift things into the houses upsstairs as the stair ways a so steep and narrow and twist that furniture could not be got in any other way. Saw Anne Frank's house from the canal, as well as the oldest building one called Noah's Ark. Bicycles are the order of the day here, they are all over the place and there are multi-storey building for bike p[arks, one is even an old ferry moored at the wharf next to the rail;way staion. SOme of these facilities hold 3000 bikes. Its the major mode of transport which interesting add-ons whether for carrying babies, or goods.
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