New Year in Amsterdam

30th December 2007 we took a 50 minute flight from London Gatwick to Amsterdam Schiphol, followed by a 15 minute Train Journey to the heart of Amsterdam made such a quick and effortless journey!

Once at Amsterdam Central Station we found electronic lockers that you can leave your bags in for a few Euros, while you browse the city and grab a bite to eat. We arrived late morning and could not check into the hotel until 2pm so these lockers were a perfect solution.

I quickly learnt to watch my step as there are not only cars to watch out for on the roads, there are also Trams and lots of bicycles which all have a different set of rules and rights of way. Best not to guess it, or play chicken with the traffic as you will lose. Wait for the crossing lights, you will see a lot of people patiently waiting.

Amsterdam was freezing at this time of year, a real icy breeze in the air. Lucky for me there were plenty of shops selling woolly hats of all styles, I opted for a less radical one but there were plenty of people walking around with Amsterdam hats with ear covers and tassel's all over the place.

Lots of places to grab a quick bite to eat, slices of pizza, hotdog stalls, hot waffles, cones of chips, cake shops and fast food outlets. There is a place called FEBO which is a store that can only be described as a hot food vending machine, not my taste but clearly suited many!

Restaurants are many, especially in the Leidseplein area of town such as Argentinian Grills, Greek, Chinese, Indonesian, Italian and much more.