Day 665, 29 Mar '16, Cruise, Skinny Bridge, Poezenboat, House Boat Museum, Anne Frank's House, Dinner, Munt Toren (Mint Tower... Treasury not plant.)

We continued on with our 24 hour canal bus this morning - great cruise once it eventually turned up 20 minutes late and that occupied us all morning. Amsterdam's Skinny Bridge was on our to-do list and we motored under it this morning (tick!) Nipped home for lunch (the joys of living right in the city), then out for a walk. One of the animal-lovers delights in Amsterdam is the Poezenboat (The Cat Boat). It's a canal boat that's been converted to a cat shelter & welfare centre. Was a great little visit and so well organised - only open for visitors from 1-3 pm most days so chock-a-block with travellers pining for their own furballs. Some of the cats were old hands and making the most of the play and love - but others were hiding under their cages. Fair enough. Continuing with the canal boat theme we actually (gasp - shock - horror) paid to go to a museum. Though they did give us a €1 discount each with our museumkaarts. It's a small, private museum set up on a canal boat/house boat. It's so popular now that the owner can't live on it anymore, but we really enjoyed walking around - the living room and kitchen were about the same size as some places we've stayed - but the sleeping quarters were tiny! Amsterdam is a cracking place to walk - essentially flat and once your senses are honed for impending squashings from any direction, very easy to get around on foot - which means we cover major distances. Walked home just in time for a snooze then it was out and back to the Westermarkt district to visit Anne Frank's House. There are 3 things certain in life in Amsterdam and they are Death, Taxes and the 5 Hour Queues at Anne Frank's. Which are utterly pointless since you can book online for an exorbitant 50c fee and get a time slot. Ours was 6 pm and we arrived at 5.55pm. On the stroke of 6 pm the doors side door opened and in we went and we took almost exactly the 1 hour predicted to explore the monument. James finally got to see what true Dutch stairs are like (ladders...) I enjoyed the visit as I read the Diary of Anne Frank in high school. Never ones to let grass grow (except, obviously, during nap time), we hit the pavements again and walked across to the Plantage - Amsterdam's botanic gardens neighbourhood. Our second experiment with Groupon was a 3 course dinner for two genuinely valued at €80 (our eyeballs fell out looking at the menu prices). We paid €27 for our Groupon coupon deal. Not sure how anyone is making money but it was fabulous to be dining out in style. Pleasantly full and slightly tipsy (must avoid the canal edges when tipsy...) walked home and snapped today's picture of a tram speeding past our local landmark, the Munttoren or Mint Tower. Built in 1620 it keeps us on our toes and it's carillon tinkles away every 15 minutes from 8 am until 11 pm. If today sounded like a big day - brace yourselves... tomorrow is going to be huge - we're heading out of town and windmills are going to be involved.