Third day, which is enough

Can't way we woke up today excited. We were both very tired and we not really sure what to do this morning. I went to the gym and did what is perhaps the stupidest thing one could do in Amsterdam, that being riding an exercise bicycle. This is a city that thrives on people getting from here to there on bicycles, so what business have I pretending to ride a bike while listening to awful dance music in a small room, laughingly referred to as a gym? Whatever. i didn't feel like going out and renting a bike. So sue me.

We got up late, had breakfast, and went to explore a new neighborhood that supposedly had shopping possibilities. Not. Didn't even get cheese this time. And then when we came home, we rode on a tram for part of the way, and then I asked the driver if we could transfer to the bus at a convenient spot. What he neglected to mention was that the busses and trams are different companies and yes, you can transfer, but you have to pay again. Even though they stop at the same stops. Does this make any sense at all? The Dutch are usually so logical about this kind of stuff.

But we got back. Had a quick bite to eat and then went to have a massage. The hotel that we're staying in is very nice but is mall and does not have have a spa. So they booked us massages at a nearby day spa. That was different. Don't get me wrong, it was very nice and the massage was good, but compared to what happens in a US spa there's no easy comparison. First of all, no matter what spa you enter in the US you have to sign a waiver of liability, so if the massage therapist does something that kills you and you have even a hint of a preexisting condition, you can't sue them

Second thing, one locker room. There is a little toilet room if you don't want to get naked in a co-ed room, but nobody else seemed to mind. The waiting room was like the salon of a grand house. It was a really beautiful building with all kinds of art nouveau decor inside, and the massage rooms were fine.

In any event, we walked home more relaxed and then took a pleasant cruise around the Amsterdam canals on a beautifully preserved old boat.

It's quite a remarkable city, and a lot quieter and less hectic on the water. The canals are lined with houseboats and apparently just a space to park a boat costs a quarter of a million Euros (that's what they call their money here, even though we all know dollars are the only real money). The boat is extra, and some of them are pretty amazing. Kind of like a nicer version of a double-wide trailer with a much nicer ambience to boat. I mean, to boot.

After the ride we rested a bit until dinner, which was at a local restaurant called Envy. If you want to know the whole story, you can read my TripAdvisor review once I've posted it. But it was a ridiculous meal in many ways. Everything except the food was incompetent and the food was very very good.

The waitstaff seemed to be stumbling over each other a bit, and we were chuckling with the German people at the next table about it. At the table beyond the Germans, there was a very attractive young couple who were pawing at each other the whole time and at one point both just leaned over the table and started kissing and did not stop until their waiter came with food.

Once we were done with dinner, we tried to pay the check. In Europe, they use these little wireless charge machines that they bring to the table. Theirs was literally taped together and simply refused to work. Eventually someone decided to restart it and it finally worked, but Ronnie and I and the Germans were laughing so hard at that point it was hard to take the restaurant seriously, even  though they clearly want to be so.

Enough of Amsterdam. Off the Bruges tomorrow.