Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
shower to refresh yourself for your first day, then head out to explore your new world. I
would recommend though that you keep your plans light, with dinner reservations as the
only major activity—the point of this first day is to get adjusted to your new surroundings.
“I can't believe we're actually here, baby,” Mark said as he pulled the door to their room
closed at the Hotel Synopsis. Their trip from the airport had been blessedly uneventful—an
express train from the airport to Amsterdam's central station, and then a taxi to their hotel.
Elizabeth, the proprietor of Hotel Synopsis, was amazingly kind and helpful. She had been
a little surprised when Hannah and Mark had greeted her with a Dutch “goedemiddag,”
but she appreciated their effort and humored them by speaking Dutch slowly, even though
she spoke perfect English. She told them that she spoke five languages, to varying degrees,
and was happy to help them with their Dutch
.
After checking Hannah and Mark in, Elizabeth gave them a little tour of the tiny hotel.
There were in fact only three rooms in the main building, two downstairs and one upstairs.
There was also a central kitchen area and, farther from the street, a beautiful trellised
garden. Behind the garden, even farther from the street, was a guesthouse that Elizabeth
said could house one more couple in a pinch. She then showed Hannah and Mark to their
room, which faced the street. There was a small closet on the left, a little bar area where
they could prepare coffee and tea, a very large and comfortable-looking bed, a desk area
with a computer on which they could access the Internet, and finally, a surprisingly large
bathroom with a romantic bathtub built for two. Mark couldn't help but give Hannah a
little squeeze upon seeing the tub, prompting Hannah to embarrassedly whisper, “Stop it!”
Elizabeth pretended not to notice and instead produced a form on which they could make
their breakfast selections. She asked that they drop it off on their way out, and that they
let her know if they changed their minds about their choices during the week. With that,
Elizabeth disappeared, leaving Mark to close the door behind her
.
Hannah looked around and broke into a huge smile, throwing her arms around Mark and
exclaiming, “I love it! It's even better than the descriptions on the Internet made it sound.
And I can't believe we're in Amsterdam!”
“I know, sweetheart. It's amazing. Do you want to get a quick nap and a shower before
heading out to see the city?”
