I slept like a rock last night. Not sure if was the 13 mile bike ride or the sea air or what it was, but I was drunk tired. The kitty kitty slept w/ me last night. J Made me miss Jacky boy! Ready to make him sit in my lap against his will. J One of my favorite things to do.
We were up and adam and out the door and to the office around 9:00am. Purchased my ticket for Versailles (decided to purchase no matter what) while Jan-Marie worked on a few things and then we were out the door to the boat tour.
First, I have to tell you, the clouds here are BEYOND! They hang so low and they’re huge. They’re just beautiful. I spent most of the trip hanging out the window looking at them. I probably have roughly 4 million pictures of them – just to guestimate. They made me a little teary too… maybe I need to see a psychiatrist… Anywho, they’re just great. Reminded me of the pictures you’d see the Dutch artists painting of the sea and the boats. Would have loved to have gotten to an art museum while I was here.
It reminded me of a Vermer painting... amazing... the clouds are the same after all these years:
The day was rainy and cold, but the boat was covered and the rain wasn’t too hard and was off and on, so it worked out fine for taking pictures and hanging out the side of the boat. Homes that are on the canal are a premium. It was fun to see the swans on the water near the windows of the homes. Swans can make anything beautiful. Can you imagine looking out your window and there’s a swan floating around. Hard to imagine.
Space is a premium in the Netherlands, so anything associated with taking up space is usually going to cost you it sounds like. You wouldn’t believe the bikes we saw. Everyone drives one. Cars are expensive in Europe as is parking. Jan-Marie said she makes a sport of the weekends and tries not to even use her car, which she finds quite easy to do. As I’ve mentioned, all of the animals are ginormous here, but that’s about it (other then the clouds). Most of the homes are connected due to a lack of space and are very small. During the boat tour, the water was lined w/ people living in boat homes. They said that they’re often bigger than most of the homes in the Netherlands. I’m not sure how I’d feel about living on the water and boat tours going by all the time. We saw a guy rising and shining in his boxers, just getting the party started I guess.
The homes were beautiful, all styles of them were very neat. The area we were in was 1 kilometer under water (the airport area is 5!! – not sure how this compares to somewhere like New Orleans). Henk (Jan-Marie’s boss and an old colleague – meaning we’ve known each other a long time, not that he’s elderly ;)) was explaining how they dug canals, pumped the water out and built the dikes and then began building – it’s difficult for me to get my head around. So, the land here is like river bottom – apparently great for growing (flowers/bulbs are a top export) – but maybe not the best for building, especially near the canals. The homes were built on wood pileons (sound it out – I’m not sure if I spelled that right) and now these pileons are rotting/eroding and the homes are leaning. It’s a big problem they’re dealing with. For other reasons, you’ll notice a lot of the homes have huge hooks at the top of them because they couldn’t get furniture in the front door because everything was/is so narrow, so they would hoist the furniture in thru the top window. I tell ya, moving is a big enough ordeal, let alone putting stuff thru the window.
From the boat tour we jumped off and hit the “Dam” as they call it. Kind of a square where all of their parades and events take place. It was pretty busy even while we were there, but mostly with tourists. There is also shopping in that area, so there were several people out and about doing that. As I mentioned, the Europeans are all excited because of their one week sale. The prices are just crazy here, I still can’t get over it. AND I never even thought about the taxes, which are 19%, which as far as I can tell about undoes the sale. I can’t imagine what would happen if these people were let lose in a TJ Maxx. It would probably be like the Tickle Me Elmo doll phase with grown women whipping each other around by their hair for a Michael Korrs purse for a mere $100. Jan-Marie lived in America for a while and she talked about how it is easy to get caught up in materialism in America because so much is available for so little. Which I agree with. There really is something to be said for the way they live here. I think between the lack of space and the high cost of things you live more with what you need and less with what you think you need. It’s a little bit more grounded way of living if you ask me, but no need to preach a sermon here.
AND on that note, I bought three awesome new pairs of tights at the European sale! Lol. Ha ha. I’m such a hypocrite. Lol.
Now for the good part! We were walking back and we grabbed us some fritas w/ mayo! I had just watched a Rick Steves (PBS) on somewhere where they did this – can’t remember if it was Amsterdam or not, so I was excited to have some. And they hit the spot! The sky had cleared, my beautiful clouds were back and I was eating mayo on fried potatoes… I dare you to tell me I wasn’t living! Plus, she had made me petal that bike for 13 miles the night before, I ate those fries and looked at the sky and rejoiced in the city that was Amsterdam. J
We jumped on the train (I think it was the train and not the metro) and headed back to the office to finish up a few things. Jan-Marie had a run tonight she was going to, so she had approximately 150 things she was juggling. I laughed a couple times, she’s a maniac and when she’s in a mode, you don’t mess w/ her. She can get anything done, and that’s not a joke. She was making calls, taking care of the boys, throwing me things, answering e-mails, etc. etc. Also on that note, people in Paris don’t seem to exercise like America. American’s would be all over running in parks and places, but not in Paris. The Netherlands was more like America on crack with regard to that stuff. The entire city is built for bikers and pedestrians. If you look at the picture of the bike rack, that will make sense. If cities in America were laid out like Amsterdam, I’m guessing it would be about the same. Not in Paris tho, they just eat heavy whipping cream on crab, smoke, don’t drink water and look amazing. And they do look amazing.
Back in the office Jan (said Yan) and I called my sweet friend Stacie to wish her a happy birthday! It’s today! J We didn’t catch her, but we left her a voice mail wishing her well. And then Jan was back to his meetings! And I was off to the airport. Looks like the flight is going to be delayed, but I need a rest, so I’m not too worried about it, although, with a phone that doesn’t work in Europe and no internet access, I’m not sure how to let her know this. Something to do w/ my spare time I guess.
Purchased some internet at the airport. I tell ya, the airport is quite the little monopoly going. Maybe that could be a business for me to open – the airport that doesn’t rip you off and has free internet access. Seems like that would be a good draw. Anyway – purchased the time and dropped Nanc a note to let her know what time I’d be in. She sent a note back to say we had reservations and we’d be getting going as soon as I got to the hotel. Phew… Did I mention I’m exhausted already? J So, jumped out of the car, ran up and changed and ran out the door for dinner.
There are a few people hear still working the show – tomorrow it is open to the public. They have been here a long time! I’m sure they’re ready to go home. It was nice to have them at dinner with us though. A few things made me laugh and laugh. It could have been sleep deprivation. AND I got to talk to Nick! It’s been a couple days so that was lovely. J Missing him!
Well, enough is enough for one day. I’ve been getting to bed around 2:00am every night for one reason or another, so I’m ready to wrap this up! J
See you tomorrow. Hopefully Versailles works out perfectly. It would be a lovely cherry on top of a lovely cake! Love to all.
The middle building is a "coffee" house.
The largest glass of water in Europe.
Not sure why this screen was up, but thought it was beautiful. Went on for quite a while.
You can see 6 bridges all at once. Well... probably not at this size you can't. :)
Love the pink car, but it's really about the tiny strip between the two buildings. It's the tiniest house in Amsterdam... We actually saw the guy coming out of it, so I assume he lived standing up in there. Make sure you don't miss it - look close. It's the grey one w/ white trim around it.
There were two hotels next to each other - both Botels.
A Sexmuseum right next to a pasta bar... this place is just like Cedar Rapids! ;)
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