Amsterdam to Paris

FRIDAY 5th
There were different activities that were options for today. We opted to do a canal boat cruise which was very interesting and got a bit of a look around the city. Driving into town via the scenic route we stopped at a traditional windmill which is someone's residence. The people living there hid inside until all the buses had gone. After that it was dicing with death as we dodged among all the bicycles to walk around the city. One of our ladies was knocked over. It is a very busy place with a lot of young people around. It is a university city and it has a relaxed lifestyle, where you can indulge in a few different guilty pleasures (?).
After lunch we went to the flower market. the tulips are finished of course, but you could buy all sorts of bulbs and plants there. we were let loose on our own for an hour or so, before returning to the hotel.
The farewell dinner (another one) was held at the hotel and it was quite emotional for Cheri as not only did she have to organize us, she was dealing with the fact that her country was in a state of crisis and her home town was cut off by a landslide. One of the local guides we had used in one of the cities lost her home altogether, so we are not so badly off after all. Although she is a Scot by birth, Cheri has lived in Austria for 20 years.
Although this is the finish for us of our trip with APT there are many others continuing on to do the Paris extension with them. They are booked on the same train as we are on Saturday morning.

SATURDAY 6th
Well it was up at sparrow's this morning for the buses to take us to the station to catch the 10:19 train.
The station would have been really easy to get to had we disembarked from the ship, but by bus it was a different story. All stations seem to be in a state of renovation and we had to lug our cases across roads and roadworks, but we got there. Found our platform and boarded (first class of course!!). The train took off on time and it was a three hour trip across Holland, Belgium and France, really beautiful countryside and all of it cultivated in some way. Lunch was included so we didn't go hungry.
Arriving in Paris we got a taxi to the hotel, which is a small boutique hotel in the Latin Quarter. By the time we put our bags in the room there was not enough room for us, which says two things , the room is  really small and our luggage has increased in size.
We are out on the town tonight, with a sightseeing tour, dinner at the Eiffel Tower, a cruise on the Seine and visit Moulin Rouge. I think a sleep in might be the first order of tomorrow