30th September London to Amsterdam

** Packed my bags again last night, pre- trip (Apologies to Elton John). So I'm on the road again (so to speak) after a totally 'chill-out week' in London with my wonderful sister & nephew, and my Jessie.  Hopefully I have taken sufficient medications for the next 4 weeks plus chargers plus cables. 

Woke at 4:45am, beating my alarm by at least 45 minutes. Could never do that as a teenager or even in my twenties when I was perpetually sleep deprived. Don't remember when I started to be able to wake on time, or even beat the alarm, but apparently I am sort of able to do that now I am retired and don't have to get up in the mornings.

** Learned something about Eurostar today. There is more than one destination from London. There are direct routes to Paris and there are routes that go to Brussels via Lille.

** Train about to depart, a minute or two early. Off I go. Amsterdam, here I come. These trains run at an amazing speed. Note that the quoted 334.7 kph was amore than likely achieved under specific conditions.

** About to arrive in Lille with about an hour change over and then off to the Netherlands. Funny in that I have never been to Lille before and I will be staying near here in two weeks time. 

** Just arrived in Amsterdam and this is my first view. 

** Now when I joked that I was staying in the red light district, I realise it was not a joke. Boobs, bums and beer are the least of it. However, the canals are amazing and I have hardly seen that many yet. Found a laundromat just 10 doors down; now that is more exciting for me than living in the red light area.  Talking of the sex shops. No photos of the girls are allowed. However, I must say I have seen more flesh on Scarborough Beath on a hot sunday in summer than what the girls show here in their shop windows, at least those that try to catch my attention. And the ladies seem to have no taste. The young, the old, the skinny and the flabby, all seem to think that my 70 year old body with a built-in spare tyre is just their idea of perfect. "Tell them they're dreaming".

Note that the sign is only in English. I wonder why that is?

** My hotel, is a bar with rooms above it, but some rooms are further above than others. And the stairs, oh the stairs, are a sight for sore eyes especially when one has a bit of a balance issue, and a bad knee and foot and uses a cane. The following image is the last flight of stairs to my room . I have asked for a change of room but they apparently are very full.

My room. Notice the outstanding wall paper and the metal beam over the bed just where my head would like under.

** I have been travelling for 73 days, so just over 10 weeks, and lately I have commented to my London sister that although it is a very big world, it would be nice to just bump into someone I know, irrespective who. So I'm walking around the canals near my hotel when I suddenly see someone running up to me and ask if I remembered meeting her and her girlfriend at Leipzig train station about 4 weeks earlier. I recognised her straight away even without the massive backpack & tent she was carting around that day. Anyway, long story, short story, it was nice to chat with someone I met earlier on my trip. Funny enough it was her girlfriend who spotted my hat.

As we parted I mentioned that I was aiming for a coffee shop across the square and she told that "coffee shop" here might not have the same meaning as in Australia. Apparently one goes to coffee shops here is get a public 'high'.

And then within 30 seconds of saying goodbye, I got a "G'Day Bruce"from some random ex-pat. It has all helped to improve my frame of mind today.