Categories: uncategorized
Date: 09 May 2007 16:28:05
We emerge from the ferry and head off for our meeting point just past the passport point. From here we begin the 10 car convoy to Amsterdam. Now some people had not driven on the Continent before and others had not driven in convoy. For those reading who haven't done this, imagine driving on a motorway (freeway) trying to keep 10 cars together, or at least in sight.
Within 10 miles we were strung out into a 3 mile convoy. Despite having several walkie talkies in cars there was very little radio chatter. No one had been briefed on what to do to ensure that no one got lost. FW was a little amused at my frustration at this amateur attitude. It was as we were going into Belgium, having lost sight of the cars, I wished that I had sat-nav fitted already.
This was to be a theme throughout much of the early part of the holiday.
One thing I would say is that the scenery was great. Once you leave the port of Calais behind much of the journey is through beautiful countryside. This is the way to travel. More environmentally friendly than the plane and slightly more than the train. We saw wind turbines and even a few windmills, though not as many as I'd hoped for.
We arrived on the outskirts of Amsterdam to encounter Dutch rush hour. Our hotel was a 30 minute tram ride from the centre and, in the words DJ Richie Rich our resident wit, was in the ghetto. However it was a great place to stay and the area wasn't as rough as the above statement made out.
In the evening we all went into Amsterdam for a meal. In keeping with earlier events, the party was divided within 10 minutes of elaving the tram. A large section went off while some of the others were still using the facilities in a local bar. I was left waiting outside for FW to emerge.
As we wandered past a bar showing the Man Utd game, Milan had just scored their first goal, we commented on the lack of organisation. Then we passed several Argentinian, Uruguyan or South American restaurants; it seems that Amsterdam has a lot of these. Just as we were deciding what to do we bumped into the large group as they were entering an Italian and decided to join them.
This was a good opporyunity to get to know other members of our group. As we'd never been able to join their local "runs" we were a little isolated. By the end of the meal we'd made friends with all of them and discovered that one was connected with my Dad's Male Voice Choir. It is a very small world indeed.