Old Haunts

Waiting for the Americans to arrive from their various cities across the US, we (or should I say I) took the opportunity to revisit some old haunts. After walking through the tourist area of Rembrandtplein; (the famous painter who lived in Amsterdam and who's house is now a museum), with its many bars, cafes, restaurants, hotels and of course the modern sculpture of the Thinker. After stopping off at the Flower Market; famous for its tulips🌷 (from Amsterdam 🎼) and clogs in all sizes for the tourists, we walked down Leidsegracht crossing 3 of the main canals in Amsterdam. We stopped off at Leidsekade, where the hotel I stayed in when working at the airport is (no longer) there. Just 8 minutes later , we walked to our 1st destination, Cafe Helmers, on Eerste Helmersstraat, which was our (British Aircraft contractors at KLM) local bar when not working 🍻🍻🍻🍺. Physically, the shape of the bar had not changed much but visually quite a bit in the 38 years since I frequented it. So after stopping for the obligatory beer 🍺 (well, it would be rude not to and I was on a reminiscing trip). Shortly after, we left to walk 🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️ to another important destination.
Vondel Park, where in the summer bands 🎸🎶🎷 would play, people would walk🚶‍♂️🚶‍♀️, cycle 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♀️, run 🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️, and sunbathe 😎😎. It is also the place where I knelt down to tie my shoe lace, I heard "YES" and ended up proposing 💍 to Jayne on a long weekend visit back in the late 80s 🤣🤣🤣Read more