Days 0 & 1: Welcome to the Netherlands
Daily Briefing
This is it, we've made it. Our flight from Chicago didn’t go as well as expected and we were delayed. We had given ourselves two full days in Haarlem prior to the trip and it turned out to be a good idea! We arrived in Haarlem on Saturday May 3 at 5pm and still had a day to explore beautiful Haarlem on our own before the tour began. We stayed at the Amadeus Hotel on the market square and loved our tiny garret room at the top of the building with a great view of the square. We spent the evening trying to follow Rick’s suggestions for overcoming jet lag. We got the fresh air and the light dinner he suggested but cheated on the “no nap” rule. As a surprise, we were treated to front row seats at the annual Flower Parade which ended in the square.
The next morning I got up early and began my routine of going out to take photos before the crowds and bustle of the day. Parade floats filled the Grote Markt (Market Square) and much of the rest of the little town center. In the early afternoon, we toured Haarlem. It was a festive day as thousands of locals packed the town to enjoy the floats as we watched vendors, street performers and brass bands entertain the crowds. We arrived at our meeting place, the Ambassador City Centre Hotel, early and checked our luggage. We eagerly awaited the 4:00 pm group meeting. We all gathered in a room at the hotel and were introduced to our group leader, Reid Coen, and to each other. Reid asked that we provide him with a little background on ourselves and with our expectations for the tour. After we shared initial introductions and tour information, we had a little excitement. Rick Steves joined us as a member of our tour! Once a year, Rick travels as a participant on one of his tours. He considers this tour as his vacation and wishes to travel as a member of the tour group. He was joined by Trish Feaster from Rick Steves' Tours. This “Best of Europe in 21 Days” tour was the same tour Rick conducted when he began the company. We had our first group dinner and a walking tour of Haarlem with our local guide Jodi. She talked about the history and culture of Haarlem with a special emphasis on the attitude of acceptance among the Dutch. Jodi was our first exposure to the great RS local guides. We used our evening free time to take photos of Haarlem at night. |
Image of the Day
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Daily Photo Gallery
A Few Words About: Packing Light
We watched Rick's videos on packing light and decided to take a scientific approach to this process. We selected everything we thought about taking using Rick's packing list as a guide. We weighed each item on a food scale where possible. Once we had the weights, we totaled them on a spreadsheet. Next we added or subtracted items until we met our desired weight goals. Pam carried her items in a Rick Steves' backpack, I used a roller bag since I was carrying heavy camera equipment. Here is a picture of the contents of Pam's bag plus clothes worn on the plane. Total weight of her backpack was 17 pounds including the bag. (By the end of the trip, everything was used and nothing else was needed!!! ) The bag was easy to handle, proving it pays to pack light.
p.s. You might notice Pam in a pink fleece jacket that didn't make the picture!
p.s. You might notice Pam in a pink fleece jacket that didn't make the picture!