The Mermaid within...

I have always loved the idea of a houseboat. To me it suggests a dream-like, almost fairytale existence. "Couldn't we stay, for our three days in Amsterdam, in a houseboat, " I asked? My husband, who is not nearly as romantic, noticed that the bedrooms were below deck - no windows, not even a porthole and really, who would want to wake up in the dark.

Alas, Ariel, your siren song has been ignored once again. Due to the housing shortage in Amsterdam, people are allowed to live in houseboats. It's a very romantic solution to a perennial urban problem. I presume that the boats are fairly permanent and hooked up to the sewage system, because the canals are very clean!!

I don't know the exact count, but there must be hundreds of these charming houseboats moored up and down the city's waterways.

This one has its own arched entrance, with a small patio on the "pier." In fact, many of the houseboats actually had tiny gardens right on their decks.

There is no subdivision blandness here, just a little magic in an urban environment. I think we need a few in Toronto.

Have a great day!!