2008
Remember those Soccer Saturdays? This was another one! We walked from home to visit Dutchboy's old soccer club, Amstelveen Heemraad, and maybe see his old teammates play a game.
There were some old guys in the club house, but not his teammates.
The team was playing an away game at AHFSAY. I had no idea what that meant, but it was said often. We're going to Ahfsay. Is it in Amsterdam, I ask? Oh, yes! There was a lot of talk of Iaxe! I was rather confused. Afsay and Iaxe. After much wandering around and walking two kilometers from the wrong tram stop, we found it! And it became clear that Ahfsay, was actually A-F-C. Amsterdam Football Club. AJAX is the pro team, and the ONLY soccer team that you're allowed to mention in Amsterdam and it's surrounding suburbs. Countries change, sports change but die-hard sports fans carry on.
You don't have to know the languge or understand the rules of soccer to understand EXACTLY what's happening here!
After the game, we wandered back into Amsterdam, to what would become one of my favorite areas, Waterlooplein, to Rembrandtplein.
We stopped in to see the amazing art pieces that's in the Stopera. Home to Amsterdam City Hall as well as the Amsterdam Opera House, home to the National Ballet and the National Opera. But it's the fiddler coming through the floor that I find truly amazing! The sculpture was put in place in 1991, and appears to burst through the marble floor. This is one of many "anonymous" art pieces that can be found in random places in the city. No one is quite certain WHO the artist is, and the city will only say that the person wishes to remain anonymous. Likely it is Dr. Andre Havas, but there is still much speculation. Some even include the former Queen, Beatrix on the list of possibilities!!
2012
My first trip to Italy. We chose to visit the Cinque Terre, five hill towns in the Liguria region of Italy, linked by hiking trails. The area had been hit by floods in the year prior to our visit and they were fighting to recover. We decided to throw our tourist dollars their way. It is a trip that stole my heart. On this day in 2012, I saw the Mediterranean's blue flash from a train window and lost my heart. Over the next few days, we would have our breakfast sitting by the harbor, eating pastry and drinking espresso. Every afternoon, after our hikes, we would sit in the same place and eat gelato. It was as close to paradise as you can get. Though, it started off rocky with a late plane, trouble getting train tickets (Milano Centrale! screamed the ticket agent, refusing to sell me a ticket to Genoa), late trains (train schedules seem to be suggestions in Italy), missed connections and a late arrival to our hotel, it was totally worth it. You can't believe how blue the Mediterranean is until you see it for yourself.
We stayed on the top floor of a Albergo Barbara in Vernazza. The view from our hotel room was pretty spectacular.
2013
A tour around Dordrecht, the oldest city in the Netherlands.
We stopped at the Dordrecht Museum. Love the art, but the bathrooms were freaky. We were washing our hands, and looked up to see Dutchboy on the otherside of the "mirror"!!
2015
We've been to Artis Zoo a couple of times but this trip, Uncle Dutchboy had to teach his nephews the laws of the jungle. How to rule the beasts of the Earth, and teach the who's boss. Fortunately the boys didn't listen to him, so they should grow up without any permanent damage.
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