Day 3

Friday 3rd June 2011 - Bruges to Amsterdam

Right now before I start this post I can hear the voices of my mum and dad in my ears - "that tent is too small" etc. etc. Well Mum and Dad, you were right, the tent is too small but worse than that is the condensation shower you get every morning. There is actually nothing worse than waking up with your face jammed against the waterproof tent material and finding the water is on the inside. Better still is trying to sit up and get dressed to leave and bashing your head on the soaked roof causing the whole inside of the tent to become sprayed with damp condensation. So, akin to my parents words, we bought a new tent this morning. It's a tour Licata 500 and it is amazing. Note to self and others - don't try and save money when it comes to a tent. Its easy to over-pack when planning a trip but this is one area where you should buy a tent a little bigger than you think necessary. This tent is 10m squared but the winning factor is the fact that you can stand up in it, this makes so much of a difference.

From the camp shop in Bruges we drove directly to Amsterdam which took around three hours, this was followed by a further hour and a half trying to find a camping site with space. We eventually plumped for a municipal campsite outside the main city but close to the metro station called 'Het Amsterdamse Bos'. I can only describe this campsite as a little oasis in the woods. We situated our tent (after 2 hours of fighting with it) right at the back of the site where you can hear the sound of running water behind the trees - beautiful. I must ask if you have you ever watched a couple putting up a tent and getting it wrong over and over again, its funny isn't it? Today, we were that couple and to the people we most surely entertained I hope we made your day all the better.

Once inside the tent, we made dinner on the gas stove and settled in for the night. Turns out, driving and then going two on one with a 10m squared waterproof giant will take it out of you. Furthermore it turns out that this plan to stay in was actually quite a good one as missing out on the scene which occurred next would have been sad to say the least. Now, unless I was so tired I dreamed it (Tom thinks it happened too though!), two men just after nightfall, appeared from their tent dressed in fluorescent Lycra, they then very quietly retrieved their bikes and went silently on their way in the direction of the city. Hello Amsterdam, and goodnight.