So, it looks as if our long-awaited, previously cancelled trip to Italy is a go. We leave in 11 days!!!!
A couple of months ago, we changed our transit location from London to Amsterdam, because of the increased restrictions in Italy at the time on travellers coming via the UK. The bonus is that the last direct flight of the season to Amsterdam on the airline with which we had credit departs 3 days earlier than we were originally scheduled to travel. We've never been to Amsterdam, so this will give us a little taste of that city.
We have 2 1/2 days--the day we arrive, plus two full days. We've done something similar before, spending that amount of time in Mainz prior to travelling to Namibia, and we managed to see and do quite a lot and have a great time. Jet lag is not usually a big issue for us going to Europe. (It's a different story coming home.) That said, we don't want to spend all our time rushing from museum to museum, since we will be seeing a number of museums in Italy, too. We want to spend some time just strolling around and soaking up the ambience. We probably won't go to a lot of cafes and restaurants, since that would require daily testing, and I'm not that comfortable with being unmasked in crowded places, but we MIGHT do so on our last day, because we need to get tested before going to Italy anyhow.
We aren't booking anything for our first day, because flights could be delayed, and we will probably need a little nap after checking into our place. Then, we usually like to walk around and get the lay of the land. We have booked the Anne Frank house for our first full morning, and the Van Gogh museum for that afternoon. That's probably enough scheduled stuff for that day.
I'm wondering what we should do on our last day? We do have some limitations, in that we will have to go for our antigen test, and we will also be changing accommodation. (To make a long story short, we are staying in bridge houses, and the one I really, really wanted to stay in was booked for our last night, so we are switching to another house. The hotel will facilitate this by allowing us to check directly out of one and into another. This will likely be early afternoon.)
Will we really regret missing the Rijksmuseum if we don't go there? Suggestions for other things to see, preferably outdoors (if not raining)?
Thanks. Getting sooooo excited!