Bikes EVERYWHERE!

I have never seen bikes like I did this weekend. Between Amsterdam and le Tour de France I would be willing to bet I saw about 50,000 bikes. That is no joke. Let's start with Amsterdam .... first and foremost it was breathtaking. It looked like someone picked it up from the middle of Once Upon a Time  and plopped it in the Netherlands, along with a Heineken factory and a bazillion bikes. Yes a bazillion is more than 50,000 so I may have exaggerated that last description.  I only spent a total of 24 hours in this pretty little city BUT they were fantastic. Getting around in a new city normally frightens me a little bit but with canals to follow and the iphone there are no worries for this girl. Between a boat cruise along the canals, passing Anne Franks house and a stop in at the brewery I saw quite a bit of what Amsterdam had to offer but honestly the best thing I saw was the bikes..... 

Hmmmm, I can't seem to remember where I parked .... maybe on the ramp, or over by that tree, oh it's near the blue bike... I have no idea how they do it!! It's like a mean joke they play on the patrons of all the coffee shops!!

In this parking garage alone there are something like 5,000 bikes. The garage went out over the water, had multiple floors and the space leading up to it was jam packed with bikes like I have never seen before. About 90% of the bikes were the old fashioned looking cruisers, some were painted and decorated with flowers and baskets and colors. I can imagine the bike is truly a reflection of the person riding it. 

Aside from the bikes the other thing the really amused me was the amount of Western culture the city had. When I left I was determined to try some Dutch food, never have so why not?? But as I walked I realized I was surrounded by Mexican, Indonesian, Pizza, McDonalds, Steak places and this delightful little hot dog stand: 

Yes I ate there and it was wonderful...notice it's surrounded by bikes?!?!