After a long flight we finally arrived in Amsterdam. On our way to the hotel we saw the famous canals and charming canal houses all lined up in a colorful array. We stayed at the Hotel De L'Europe and when we arrived at the door we were met by a doorman in top hat and tails and we knew then that we were in for a luxurious stay. The hotel is magnificent with a beautiful foyer adorned with 8 huge crystal chandeliers. At the reception we were told that they would be upgrading my deluxe room to a superior suite with a view of the Amstel river so I was thrilled to hear that. Since the room was not yet ready we decided to venture out to explore for a few hours and settle in later.
Our first stop was a quaint cafe across the street from the hotel were we had a nice refreshing local draft beer before grabbing a tram to Dam Square to take a canal cruise.
Canal cruises are the best way to see all of Amsterdam's main points. The cruise took about 75 minutes and the city was just as beautiful as the last time I saw it some 25 years ago.
We did some exploring after the cruise and bought some souvenirs before returning to the Hotel De L'Europe to check if our room was ready.
We were happy to be greeted by our friendly doorman once again and now our room was ready and what a fantastic suite it was too!! It was large and luxurious with beautiful artwork on the walls, reproductions of museum artwork. We had a beautiful direct view of the Amstel river which runs through the city and of the quaint houses in a variety of pastel colors. We could see the throngs of bicycles speeding along the streets which added to the charm of this great city.
The bathroom was stupendous with black and white marble from floor to ceiling and a great European tub. It didn't take us long to settle in and then we were off to explore
