Amsterdam!

I made it!

 Amsterdam.  City of windmills and waterways, wooden shoes and cheese.

Since I was a young girl and visited Amsterdam with my family, I have always felt drawn to return.  By great good fortune and thoughtful planning by a dear friend, I was able to celebrate my birthday this past weekend in this pretty city of canals.
Our hotel was called the Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky and was really in the heart of the city at Dam square.  Check it out here:
http://www.nh-hotels.com/nh/en/hotels/the-netherlands/amsterdam/nh-grand-hotel-krasnapolsky.html

It couldn't have been a better location for us - easy to walk to most things or to catch a tram. Here is a view from the front entrance.

Somehow I didn't get a photo of the Grand Palace, but it would be just to the right of Madame Tussaud's.
No, I didn't bother going in there!The streets were like a rabbit warren, but with my trusty map, and fairly dependable sense of direction, we seldom got lost. One highlight for me was the boat trip along the canals and being able to walk so much and still be surrounded by intriguing sights and strange

architecture.  Here you can see the juxtaposition of old (1695) and new.

Many of the old buildings were built leaning out toward the street because they had to be able to load goods by crane into the upper floors due to the narrow staircases. Nowadays apartment buildings still feature these hooks to deliver furniture, which won't make it around the narrow passageways.

Some of the buildings have settled badly on weak foundations, as you can see in this row of houses.

 Some 'newer' houses have been built oddly enough in the Venetian style, in that their front doors open directly onto the canal instead of onto a street. Imagine just rowing your boat up to the door with groceries and trying to unload - especially in the rain!