Thursday eve and Friday May 10

Before we crashed last night we took the tram to the Red Light district but before we did that we stopped and had dinner at McDonalds. As we walked in the direction of the RLD we walked right into the middle of a tour group so we got a free spiel. We were pretending to enjoy the view while we listened and as soon as they left we started chatting with another couple beside us. It turned out that they are going to be on the same river cruise as us. What are the odds?
Anyway, back to the RLD, since it was relatively early, not everyone was yet out in their windows but we got enough of a view to see what was going on. It was very interesting to see them display their wares while trying not to ogle, if you get my meaning. As you walk through the area, you get exposed to the scents from the various "coffee" houses.
After our exploration and with a growing lack of sleep headache, we decided to call it a night.
Good morning,
We slept well, as you can imagine, and the alarm we set did not wake us at the time we thought we should get up. Later, we got up and went for breakfast. There was a choice of coffee or tea as well as a choice of breads, 2 kinds of cheese, 3 kinds of meat and an assortment of cereals so, we were well fed.
After breakfast, we set off for the Van Gough museum and this time the line was shorter. The museum was interesting and ent
ertained us until noon. The museum had a decent restaurant  so we had a lunch consisting of tomato vegetable soup, chicken, pasta and grilled vegies.
Next was the free tour of Coster Diamonds. What pretty, sparkly things they have there. Too bad, they didn't give out free samples.
The Bloemenmarkt was the next stop. It was very busy there, lots of people milling about and more flower bulbs in one place than I have ever seen. Across the sidewalk from the bulb vendors were cheese shops.  We went in for free samples and came out with a wheel of cheese.
The challenge today was with our credit cards not working and the inevitable phone calls had to be made to restore functionality.
It is dinner time now and as I write this we are trying to decide where to eat.
Tomorrow is the day we get on our river boat. Looking forward to this next part but we still have to get through the day.