For London, I would highly recommend the Design Museum, Serpentine Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum. The V&A opens late on Fridays and it is amazing to have a glass of wine and wander around with music playing.

In Amsterdam, be sure to visit Nijhof & Lee, the most excellent typography and design bookshop, now located in the special collections building of the University of Amsterdam (be aware that Google Maps may still point you to the old location, so best to search for 'Bijzondere Collecties' to locate the building).

In London, the British Library is definitely worth a visit even if you don't have an excuse to get a reader card and spend some time doing actual work there. Their well-reviewed exhibition of Mughal Indian manuscripts will be on while you are there, and their permanent exhibit remains amazing even though I have been there many times.

When you know your dates for London, check to see what events might be on at the St Bride Printing Library and the Letter Exchange society; the latter hold their events in an extraordinary Arts & Crafts guild house.

You'd think Amsterdam would show you what a ligature is all about.

n.