Netherlands
Amsterdam

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    • Day 9

      Isle of Capri

      March 8 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 6 °C

      We picked a good day for the hydrofoil trip to Capri. Just 40 mins and we were docking. Rushed to buy tickets for the funicular before we were aware that it was closed for reno! Quite a long wait for the mini buses which careen around the island hairpins - and the buses are packed!
      The town of Capri was super busy with tourists so we settled for a pricey coffee (10 euro each) so we could relax and people watch on the sunshine. It was like walking down Bond St - unbelievable shops. Lots of construction/reno happening. Probably prepping for the new season. We did a walk about but very quickly caught the bus to AnaCapri which was much quieter, very few, if any designer shops and more to our liking. Found a delightful square with tiled benches to eat our home made sandwiches - cotto ham, rocket, provolone and roma toms. Perfect!
      Explored the beautiful church, had a cuppa in a cute little cafe and realised all too soon we had to head back to port, as I was ever hopeful of a dip at the little beach near the harbour.
      Sadly far too windy for a dip in the turquoise waters so I settled for a paddle. Bliss. Beachcombing for sea glass and terracotta bits was so rewarding!
      Headed home for last night in Sorrento, stopping en route for shirt shopping for Richard.
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    • Day 6

      all the time in the world!

      June 12, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

      Woke up at like noon in a ROUGH state. Sunday scaries! Had a really slow start to my morning but got showered and texted ave and vi to see if they wanted to grab food. There’s a place near by called “Anne and Max” and I looked up the times and they were open! So we headed there… well they looked closed and I think that’s what the sign in Dutch on the window said too. We kept walking and tried a place we had passed a few times called “Bagels and Beans”. So far the menu descriptions have been in English in all the places we’ve gone, but this menu is COMPLETELY Dutch and not many pictures or recognizable words. So thank you google translate technology for letting me just take a picture of the menu and translating it for me! I got the paddoburger which was a mushroom burger with Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, lettuce, and truffle mayo on a sesame seed bagel. It was very good!! I also got iced coffee (YAY!) which they blend up like a frappe, but it’s so smooth and frothy and not crunchy icey if that makes sense. The rest of the day I just did whatever! The windows in our rooms are so huge and open up fully and I love just having them open!! Plus AC is not common here so it’s nice to just have a bit of air flow! I stretched, learned a sideline, and went to the gym too! Then ave vi and I met up with hunter for a bit and then ordered a papa johns garden party pizza… never knew I liked sweet corn on my pizza until today! Again, it’s smaller portions but it was perfect size to split for us! Turned on some Dutch TV for a bit and heading to bed since tmrw is the 1st day of classes!!Read more

    • Day 63

      Cinq Fotos-Paris Day 4

      June 15, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      I see dead people.

      More accurately, today we visited the resting places of a number of famous people in the largest greenspace in the city.

      Before we left the flat, we enjoyed an apricot cake that Stephan made for breakfast. Last night they recommended some options for our last day in Paris. We decided to explore the Cimitèrie du Père-Lachaise.

      When we arrived at the cemetery the multitude of above-ground vaults reminded me of the cemeteries outside of New Orleans with the exception of all the trees and hills here. Famous artists, authors, composers, politicians and others are found here. There are memorials to those lost in the Holocaust. There are tributes to resistance fighters. And there are whimsical and unusual sculptures throughout.

      The chapels and monuments are quite elaborate. I'm reminded of the ways that some societies play tribute to the dead. I have always found a walk in the cemetery to be calming, and I admire the inscriptions and tributes.

      There were some gravesites that I wanted to visit. The first site was the Irish poet and playwright Oscar Wilde. While I have not read any of his works in depth, I have appreciated his quick-witted tongue and I'm drawn to his tortured story for being a man who loved other men. Wilde was imprisoned for two years in England for homosexual acts, and when he was released, he moved to France and never returned. The time in prison left him in poor health, and he died at the age of 46. The inscription on his memorial is from one his last poems:

      "And alien tears will fill for him
      Pity's long-broken urn,
      For his mourners will be outcast men,
      And outcasts always mourn"

      We also visited the gravesite of Jim Morrison. Like too many musicians of his era (Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix), he died very young. I was 9 years old when his song "Light My Fire" was released. I remember thinking the song was dumb at the time. I rediscovered Jim Morrison when I was in grad school. I liked his haunting baritone voice and I was intrigued by many of the lyrics and mood changes.

      A celebrity buried here that I knew less about was Colette, who was an actor and writer. I was reminded when we went to Moulin Rouge that she almost caused the venue to be shut down when she gave a long kiss onstage to another woman in 1907. She is known for her books, most notably a novella that was adapted for the movie Gigi.

      We also witnessed Anerican novelist Gertrude Stein's grave who is buried next to her long-time partner Alice B Toklas. I admire them as those who came before us who demonstrated living authentic lives. "A rose is a rose is a rose "

      Rather than continuing with a name-dropping list of famous dead people I have walked by, I want to offer this reflection:

      I think most of us want to be remembered.
      Did we love?
      Were we loved?
      Did we make any contribution that mattered without needing to be famous?
      Will people still talk about us when we're gone?

      I cited a few of the individuals surrounded by a cast of deceases celebrities more to illustrate that everyone has a story. If we pay attention, we can learn their stories while they are living. We can let them know that they matter and not wait to build a moss-gathering monument after they're gone.

      One of the best parts of this trip is taking time to learn the stories of others we have met in our lodging or other chance meetings. It's a great lesson to bring home, and it was a gift that this cemetery walk brought to me today.

      Au revoir and merci, Paris. It was fun. And we're back up to Amsterdam for a few days. We're wishing everyone a good night from our floating home.
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    • Day 65

      VIJF FOTOS-Amsterdam Day 10

      June 17, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      I woke up this morning with cold symptoms that doubled down a bit from yesterday. We already planned a low-key day. After going out for coffee, we returned to the boat and I slept for several hours.

      Yesterday, I talked briefly about the recently graduated student. He is very enamored with the Oregon Trail. He noticed Pete the Cat, and I explained to him about this storybook character and the photos we send to our granddaughter. Ben is a graphic artist, and he felt inspired to send me an image with Pete at the reins of a Conestoga Wagon as a gift to Olive. 💞

      I woke up feeling significantly better. We enjoyed our immersion into canal life with no agenda. We heard the excited shouts of children in a nearby schoolyard. We watched young folks gather at a dock along the canal. We watched young boys jump off the foot drawbridge, and we waved to those riding by in their boats.

      The experience causes me to recall a myriad of summer adventures near the water with friends and family when I was young.

      I remember sunburns on top of sunburns and my mother slathering me with Noxema.

      I think about staying in cottages in Connecticut, Rhode Island and Cape Cod. I remember picking blueberries in Truro when I was 6. I remember the merry-go-round at Watch Hill. I remember being the only one in the family to go in the ocean at Sand Beach in Bar Harbor, and being covered with blankets when my lips turned blue. I loved bodysurfing and playing with pinball machines at the beach arcade in Misquamicut.

      I remember responding to the dare of friends to join then in jumping off a small cliff into Lake Erie. I think of times with high school friends at the Flaming Gorge in Wyoming.

      What I saw today were people enjoying the promise and gift of summer. I know that being next to some body of water in the summer provides solace.

      Another day of just being present was the perfect prescription for the day.

      Thank you, Amsterdam. Next stop: Ireland.
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    • Day 8

      Our last afternoon!

      April 13, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Walk to Jordaan again because it is a nice part of Amsterdam with café’s and restaurants. We had a drink by a canal and Dianne floated the idea of another canal cruise. We thought about it but decided that we would get some food and pack up our stuff for the trip back tomorrow. It was sunny and warm finally.Read more

    • Day 18

      1ère journée (Amsterdam)

      June 11, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

      Vincent

      On s'est levés à midi, dû au jet lag.

      Premièrement, on est allés déjeuner au McDo, question de se dépayser bien comme il faut. Alix trouve qu'il ne goûte pas comme les autres McDo, ce qui est totalement intéressant à mon avis.

      Après le déjeuner, on a prit le tramway qui nous a amenés au centre-ville pour le restant de l'après-midi. C'est tellement pratique tous ces modes de transport en commun en Europe... ne pas avoir d'auto ici, c'est entièrement possible et facile, contrairement au Québec...

      Arrivés au centre-ville, on a collationné HAHA ALIX VIENT D'ÉCRASER UN SAC DE CHIPS. On a collationné dans un petit café cute qui faisait de très bonnes limonades maison, comme celle à l'aneth, concombre et menthe!

      Ensuite, on a marché en ville et dans le mythique Vondel Park, où il y avait vraiment beaucoup de gens. En cours de route, on a aperçu le Rijksmuseum (photos), plusieurs canaux parsemés de petits bateaux, des bâtiments colorés à l'architecture impressionnante, et plein de beaux petits paysages.

      Après notre grosse balade, on est allés dans une petite épicerie pour se faire un souper qu'on mangera dans notre hôtel insalubre.

      On a remarqué que même très tard le soir, il fait super clair! Ça nous incite à se coucher un peu tard...
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    • Day 3

      “welcome to the neighborhood girls”

      June 9, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C

      I settled into the most beautiful living space ever and am seriously so in love with living at the Student Experience Minervahaven! Avrey and I both were pretty hungry after our insane 48 hour travel situation and decided to walk around and find some food. We ended up at Karaat which could not be cuter. The dinner was a bit nicer than we were going for, but VERY good. Plus after our meals of airport snacks, I think we needed it!! The neighborhood is pretty new and very updated. The pros are that everything is so nice and it’s not super crowded at all, the cons are that we are limited with what is within walking distance. Honestly though there’s shopping, theaters, bars, and more so once we are able to get to the grocery and have food at our apartments we will be set.Read more

    • Day 4

      need. unhealthy. food. NOW.

      June 10, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      truly everything has been so enjoyable and although it’s only been a few days, I love it here!!! Oddly enough the hardest part of the adjustment has been meal times. Because of jet lag and adjusting to the super long days here ( sunrise @ 5 am and sunset at 10 pm) , I’ve been getting hungry at the most odd times and mostly really late like 10/11 pm. I love living in a Dutch little neighborhood area, but we are far from the tourist hot spots so there’s no familiar food place, everything is new. Which is great but when you get to the point of just needing food, it’s not fun googling “restaurants near me” and having to scroll through all of the restaurants, just to find one we like, to then see if it’s walking distance and open. One night avrey and I seriously just decided to start walking and hope for the best. Came across a pizza place and were like “great this is perfect”. We ordered a margarita pizza… got a cheese pizza though? And 2 sprites… which btw all of the soda here is typically “no sugar”. The pizza was actually perfect size for us to split, but it was like a pizza inspired thin crisp hahaha. And we washed it down with no sugar sprite… I think I’m going to lose weight here… and not because I’m trying to!Read more

    • Day 3

      Alas

      June 9, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C

      I will say, traveling is not always fun. We had quite the hectic day following our first day in Chicago. We took our flight to London, which obviously was very fancy. Our first flight provided two meals and some real comfy seats that we enjoyed very much! Also for those of you under 21 and wondering, the drinking age follows that of the country you are headed to/the country the airline is based out of ;) So… we got some wine! Following this flight, we SPRINTED through Heathrow airport to make our flight that ended up sitting just outside the gate for two hours due to once again ladies and gentlemen: ✨technical issues✨ Thus, leaving me and Elena in not so great moods when we found out we’d be missing a boat tour :( As if you thought the story couldn’t get any worse, we then proceeded to sit in the AMS airport for 3 hours on a hunt for Elena’s bag that unfortunately we did not walk out with. However, we got checked into our rooms very smoothly and are both super pleased with them! Now onto buying groceries and apparently some clothing items for miss Elena because her bag went poof into thin air. Feeling all of the emotions.Read more

    • Day 2

      Kölner Dom & Weiterreise nach Amsterdam

      June 3, 2022 in the Netherlands ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

      Sind nach einem sehr guten, ausgiebigen Frühstück noch einmal zum Kölner Dom gegangen, um ihn bei Tageslicht von allen Seiten zu bewundern.
      Der Dom wurde als repräsentative Kathedrale für die Gebeine der Hl. 3 Könige erbaut. Den goldenen Schrein kann man besichtigen.
      Der Bau wurde 1248 begonnen und erst 1880 beendet. Er gilt als "Wunder", da er im 2. Weltkrieg unversehrt blieb.
      Neben dem Dom ist der Bahnhof. Der ursprüngliche "Centralbahnhof" wurde 1857 erbaut und 1859 eröffnet.
      Nach unserer Besichtigungstour haben wir uns auf den Weg nach Amsterdam gemacht.
      Nach dem self-check-in im cashless, Influenza-Yotel-Hotel sind wir durch Amsterdam spaziert und haben die Sonne genossen.
      Abends noch im Rotlichtviertel gewesen und ein Bierchen getrunken.
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Amsterdam, አምስተርዳም, أمستردام, ܐܡܣܛܪܕܐܡ, امستردام, Амстердам, Горад Амстэрдам, আমস্টারডাম, ཨེམ་སི་ཊར་ཌམ།, ئەمستەردام, Άμστερνταμ, Amsterdamo, Ámsterdam, آمستردام, Amstardam, Ámsterdan, אמסטרדם, ऐम्स्टर्डैम, Amstèdam, Amszterdam, Ամստերդամ, AMS, アムステルダム, ამსტერდამი, Amesterdam, ಆಂಸ್ಟರ್ಡ್ಯಾಮ್, 암스테르담, Amstelodamum, Amsterdamas, Amsterdama, 阿姆斯特丹, ആംസ്റ്റർഡാം, अ‍ॅम्स्टरडॅम, အမ်စတာဒမ်မြို့, आम्स्टर्डम, एम्स्तरद्याम, ଆମଷ୍ଟରଡ଼୍ୟାମ, ਅਮਸਤਰਦਮ, Àmsterdam, ایمسٹرڈیم, امسټرډام, Amesterdão, Amsterdams, ඈම්ස්ටර්ඩෑම්, Amistardam, Amsterdami, Damsko, ஆம்ஸ்டர்டம், อัมสเตอร์ดัม, ئامستېردام, אמסטערדאם, I-Amsterdami

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