Part II of our Epic European Adventure is coming to an end tomorrow when we fly to Tel Aviv. Today was “chore” day. I got a box of stuff shipped home, did two loads of laundry and had my hair coiffed by Zoran, a native of Amsterdam. He did a great job and I look stunning!
The staff at the hotel was great helping me pack up and mail my box. There is no Mailboxes, Etc., here, which is my go-to pack/mail place. So, one of the concierges, Gene, took me to the storeroom where we found a box. Then after it was packed, he taped it up, set up the shipping form and took it with him to drop at the post office on his way home from work. Way above and beyond.
Then it was off to do laundry. Luckily, I got there just in time to grab washers before a crowd came in. That also meant I was first in line for the dryer, so I didn’t have any wait time at all.
Peter, on the other hand, didn’t leave the hotel. It was another cold, windy day but there was no rain, so for that I was grateful. I made it home between chores to have lunch with him in the Sky Lounge at the hotel.
Peter stayed with his usual burger, while I had a Caeser Salad.
On my way to my hair appointment, I passed a few pretty sights.
I planned to stop at the Rembrandt House Museum but, unfortunately, it closed on 1 Nov for the next 5 months for renovations. But I did get a picture of the outside.
By the time I finished at the salon, it was starting to get dark, so the lights really looked pretty.
When I got home, I picked Peter up in the suite and we headed to the Executive Lounge for a few snacks. We have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner, so we thought a few bar treats and free beer were in order. Actually, we ate enough free food in the lounge that neither one of us is hungry, so we’ll have our sandwiches on the plane tomorrow.
I can’t believe this part of our holiday is over but I’m looking forward to seeing Israel. It’s a new country for both of us so it will be fun to discover it together. As much as I was originally uncertain about a fully guided tour, I’m now looking forward to it. During the last 15 weeks, I’ve driven over 8,000 miles in 10 countries (England, Scotland, Wales, France, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands) and spent hours dealing with the logistics of finding places to live. While I enjoy planning our trips and I love driving vacations, I’m exhausted, so I’m actually excited about being told where to go, what to see and when to be back. The only decision I will need to make is what to have for lunch. Oddly enough, I’m totally okay with that. Who would have thought?
Here is the itinerary for the next 9 days. Tomorrow, our flight is due in around 5pm (4 1/2-hour flight plus we lose one hour) and we have a car picking us up to take us to the hotel. We no longer need Covid testing so we don’t have to worry about a 24-hour quarantine. The tour doesn’t officially start until dinner on Thursday, so we have all day to explore Tel Aviv. On Friday, we put ourselves in the hands of our tour guide for the next 8 days. This is a small group tour, with no more than 24 people, so that will be very nice.
The last 7 1/2 weeks on the continent has been amazing. We saw some beautiful things, had terrific (mostly) weather, met some incredible people, saw a phenomenal concert, and ate way too many pastries and other not so good for us food. But most importantly, we did all of these things together which is what this is all about.
We’re so glad you traveled with us for this part of our adventure and hope you join us for the final 23 days.