Our lovely hotel is keeping us well supplied with both!

A little packet of stroopwaffel finds its way into our bag each time we go out, thanks to the stroopwaffel fairy who leaves them on our dressing table. Not only that, but we have to pass by what I considered to be a bottomless bowl of liquorice sweets every time we leave our room as well, though as we arrived back last night we discovered it is not bottomless after all, for we snagged the last two toffees!

It was gone 11.15pm when we got back from the Concertgebouw. It hadn’t started till 8.15, there was a generous interval (with drinks included in the ticket price) and the programme was none too short. It was magnificent, however, and one encore from the pianist plus two from the orchestra ensured we got our money’s worth. Thankfully, the trams are efficient and we were back in our cosy room in no time.

Today, there was a peaceful scene on the canal when we set out.

We were heading for the Dam Square and the Royal Palace, where we thought we’d spend the morning looking round. The self-guided tour was first class, the audio guide not too detailed and we felt we moved at just the right pace.

As often happens though, the crowds built up as the morning progressed and having started out in a virtually empty hall, we began to find it less simple to see what we wanted to see.

We did, however, have the privilege of seeing what the Royal Family see when they stand on the balcony!

I’m not sure it’s an altogether pretty sight and walking from the Dam Square to the station an hour or so later, I remembered the last time I was in Amsterdam and shuddered at the thought of repeating that trip today.

This photo was taken in 1981 (I think) when my colleague Sue and I took our classes of thirty small girls over on the ferry from Hull for a couple of days here. We asked them to wear their uniform for ease of identification, which they hated - until we arrived and created such a stir wherever we went, they loved being the centre of attention! We had no worries about the care of our charges, the traffic wasn’t a concern and neither did we fear losing any of them. Looking down the main streets today, I sadly doubt that anyone would attempt such a venture.

We had plans this afternoon to take the train to Leiden, where we’d meet our friend Ilja. it was an easy half hour journey and I loved the way the chap on the next platform chose a yellow suitcase to match the trains!

Leiden is a fine city and we enjoyed a wander through the old town stopping for beer and coffee as well as to take photographs of Rembrandt’s father’s windmill.

Having caught up with Ilja and Marieke’s news over a great Indonesian meal, we made our way back to Amsterdam.

There was another pack of stroopwaffel waiting for us.