Day 11: Onwards to Utrecht!

This morning no one set their alarms, but we were all moving around by 8:30 or so.  I cooked a bit breakfast (eggs with feta, tomatoes, and basil; sauteed potatoes, and brussels sprouts sauteed with prosciutto).  K flies out today for Copenhagen and B is going to hang with her.  L and I packed an overnight bag and hopped on our bikes.  We rode across town to return them, then walked to the Amsterdam train station to hop a train to Utrecht.  

On the train.  We were told that 'only tourists travel first class,' but we're both delicate flowers.

Utrecht is a medieval city that's now a university town.  It's only about a 25 minute train ride from Amsterdam, but the pace is slower.  

The market in the main square had about 50 vendors.

Beautiful canals, and a slower pace.

A cloister at the university.

The main university building.

More canals.  More pretty.

The Smooth Brothers smoothie store was super tasty, very refreshing, and very swank.

The church is beautiful, and there was a small choir practicing while we were there.  I closed my eyes and let the reverberation wash around me.

The church started out Catholic, but when the protestants took it over in 1580, one of things they did was smash the faces of all of the figures.  No golden calves!

L and I walked around town for a few hours until we could check into our hotel, and then we took a siesta for a few hours, enjoying having our own space and privacy for the first time in a week and a half.  I caught up on some email and had a siesta.  We met up after a few hours and ambled to dinner.

The whole town is full of these beautiful flowers!

Full of canals, but much chiller than Amsterdam.

Seconds before I took this photo, the kayakers ran straight into one of the pontoon boats. Seconds after I took it, the kid on the pontoon boat fell off the boat and into the water.

Dinner was at a Greek restaurant.  It started with a shot of ouzo, included spanakopita (a first for L), and then a lamb and orzo dish that was delicious!  After dinner, we wandered town, stopping for a cocktail, two cannoli, and some beautiful streets.

After dark in Utrecht.

This underground tunnel led to a nightclub.