Amsterdam we made a friend

On the canal bus, we met a lovely lady named Kathryn from New York City.  She was taking in the sights while waiting for her friend to arrive that afternoon.  When she realized that we all were headed in the same direction, she adopted us and we welcomed the company.  I may have misled her a bit by bragging about Katie’s geographical expertise.  I didn’t tell her we walked two miles out of our way to get home the previous evening.  Anyway, in this instance, Katie led us directly to our destination, the Flower Market.  I have to say: it was a bit of a disappointment.  Katie was expecting something like the Pike Place Market.  Instead of rows and rows of flowers, however, there were rows and rows of flower seeds.  

To pass our time, then, we went into the cheese shop.  Quickly, we discovered that Kathryn could indeed prove to be an excellent traveling companion.  She’s frugal just like us!  What do three frugal women do at a cheese shop in Amsterdam?  We have lunch!  We walked through the shop sampling numerous types of cheeses and then washed them down with chocolate samples.  This made it quite easy to cleanse your palate.  Cheese, chocolate, cheese, chocolate, and so on.  We were like locusts, swooping in and eating until we exhausted the cheese and chocolate supplies, then moving on to the next cheese shop.  

Kathryn ‘s hotel was near the train station so we all headed in that direction.  Katie and I were taking the train to the airport early the next morning and wanted to do a trial run to make sure we knew how to get there and what to do once we got there.  The trains here run a little different than I am accustomed to. First, you buy a ticket.   Next, you reserve your seat.  Finally, before you get on the train, you must validate your ticket.  Failure to do so could result in a substantial fine.  Therefore, to avoid any problems, we were at the train station practicing purchasing our train tickets.  Practice does make perfect after all.  

After a fun afternoon, we had to say goodbye to Kathryn. We exchanged email addresses and told her if she ever wanted to come to California she would have a place to stay and a tour guide to show her around.  She said the same goes if we ever want to come to New York City.  Poor Kathryn doesn’t realize that she only has to offer once and shouldn’t be surprised if I show up on her doorstep someday.