A is for Amsterdam

This time last year I was involved in the official A to Z Challenge Blog Hop and really enjoyed the discipline of finding something to do with my Celtic/ Roman Britain novels to post every single day in April, bar a sunday or two.

My excuse for not doing it this year is that I've just had a new book launched one week aga and that my domestic situation is more challenging than last year in that I'm surrounded by more family on a daily basis including a 2 and 1/2 year old and a new baby of 13 days.

Instead I'll just be posting something every day, but without linking to the challenge.

A is for Amsterdam

Amsterdam features a lot in my ancestral based mystery thriller Topaz Eyes. It's a city I love to visit and have special fond memories of since I lived within a bus ride of the city for a while. I trawled the museums of which there are many and walked the legs off me along the many canal bordered streets, preferring Shank's Pony to any other transport.

 

I rode a bike around the two villages I lived in but never in Amsterdam.

I always found the architecture fascinating, no matter the street becasue there were so many amazing houses all cheek and jowl and so different to look at when studied closely. 

 

 If you've time and the budget stretches to it, I think seeing Amsterdam from the water is such a different experience from walking the cobbles. The commentaries can be quite amusing as well. given the choice I'd take on of the tours which goes all the way out of the 'ring' canals and out to the main harbour areas. That way you get to go through the larger an dsmaller canals and you can go out around the large vessels which are docked close to the main city canals. You might be lucky and see a variety of commercial, fishing, pleasure and naval flotilla.

 

This corner of Browersgrach features in Topaz Eyes and I particularly walked my husband here to this spot in 2013 so that I could take some photos here. 

Amsterdam is a place to enjoy!