You're Never Lost If You Don't Care Where You Are

A Culinary Adventure (In which I manage to mention lots of famous people without shame)

2012-01-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day. Well, good for me. TERRIBLE for my diet but that’s the breaks. And what exactly does my diet have to do with travel, you ask??? ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Unless you count that I traveled ten minutes, and crossed a bridge, to get to Wilkes Community College to have lunch with a couple of friends. Yes, yes, I can see you are rolling your eyes. Why do I feel the need to share this with the world??? BECAUSE I CAN. Hey, wait a minute. I can call this a culinary adventure. If I use the word “adventure” it’s like a TRIP and therefore acceptable on a travel blog. So there. Culinary adventure it is.

Wilkes Community College offers a culinary program. And every semester the students cook and serve meals in the Tory Oak Room. Some semesters there’s a weekly theme to the cuisine, say Indian or Eastern European for example. And other times, it’s a six course variety of flavor. That’s what I had today.

It started with the amuse bouche.

Grilled Onion and Apple Tartlets and Marinated Chicken Bites.

A very nice beginning! The onion and apple tart was actually heavily flavored with curry, which I love. I wish they had balanced out the flavors more, with a bit more salt and tartness to balance out the sweet onion. I think that’s what they were trying to do with the curry (which was strong enough to have included in the description of the dish) but it fell just shy of being excellent. Still very solid offering!
The chicken was good, well cooked and not dry, which is always a danger when putting small pieces of meat on a skewer. The sauce was mustard, honey, and a bit of heat. (IF I got this wrong, I humbly apologize—it’s the flavors I remember!) Nice.

The second course was Borscht.

Let me preface this by saying I was REALLY looking forward to this because I adore beets. I mean adore them like they are the Jack White and Dave Grohl of vegetables. But I was disappointed. This didn’t strike me as true borscht—it lacked beety rock-star goodness. It was sweet and seriously under seasoned, more like beet syrup. In the photo you can see I added salt and pepper. Something I would normally NEVER do. It’s insulting to a chef. The pepper really woke it up and cut the sweetness, while the salt did what salt does best: enhanced the flavor and cut the sweet.

Seared Tuna with Thyme, Roasted Peppers, Blonde Raisins (ehm, lets call them sultanas next time??? OR at least golden raisins?) Capers, Garlic, and Saffron Foam served with Smoked Eggplant Puree.

This was an EXCELLENT course. The tuna was perfect and that’s no easy feat. If I have to critique anything here, it’s that the flavors became muddled. There was a lot happening on the plate. The saffron foam was fantastic, especially with the raisins and capers. But I don’t think the roasted peppers brought much to the party and didn’t really belong with anything. The eggplant puree was once again under seasoned and seemed like an afterthought. Perhaps they were thinking to play the texture of the eggplant off the tuna, but it wasn’t necessary. That tuna was perfectly creamy, smoky and delicious on its own. But hey, I love eggplant, so I wasn’t too upset to get a bite or two of it.

Next up was the salad course.

Bibb Lettuce with Buttermilk and Tarragon Dressing, Croutons and Bacon bits (according to the menu).

There’s not much to say about the salad course, other than I don’t see croutons or bacon bits on the plate. The dressing was very good. But I got maybe a teaspoon of it. I could have used a bit more. I’m just greedy like that. A nice palate cleanser between the fish and the next entree.

Breast of Veal stuffed with Veal Mousseline, Spinach, and Portobello Mushrooms served with Cabbage Rolls stuffed with Spaghetti Squash cooked in an Herbed Tomato Broth, and Corn Pudding.

The breast of veal was very fatty, which normally I don’t mind. Fat is flavor! And the flavor of this veal was very good. But it was very tough, it could have withstood a braise in that delicious tomato broth. Or wine. Or something to breakdown the tendon a bit. The mousseline was excellently flavored though and made up in taste what the veal lacked in texture. The cabbage rolls were my favorite part of this course, so flavorful and meltingly soft. Corn pudding is always welcome on my plate. I would gladly have eaten a bowl of that and been content!

Finally, dessert!

Chocolate Cake with Praline Profiteroles and Rum Ice Cream.

Oh, my sweet lord. The entire cost of the meal (which at $10 was a bargain) was worth it for this dessert. The cake—dense and chocolately and filled with a nutty pistachio, citrus zest, sugar concoction what was divine. Rum ice cream. I wants it, precious. Smooth and slightly melted, oozing over the tongue like Jack Sparrow over the deck of the ‘Pearl. The profiterole was nice but if it hadn’t been on the plate I wouldn’t have missed it. It was stuck on there like a third wheel on a hot date. The cake and ice cream were the stars, Brad and Angelina, while the profiterole was more….Kim Kardashian.

All and all, it was solid offering from culinary students and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. One that I will joyfully repeat again next Thursday.

+++++
(If by chance a culinary student happens up this humble blog entry, let me reiterate I enjoyed the experience! I hope you are not insulted by my words, but understand that it’s what my palate experienced and take the words in the constructive way they’re meant.)

Zuiderzee Museum – Enkhuizen.

2012-01-20T18:09:00.000-08:00

Photos taken at the Zuiderzee Museum in Enkhuizen, on September 28, 2010. I'm feeling nostalgic tonight and posting photos from my last trip to the Netherlands that I never managed to post. Just a few pretties, without commentary.

The Zuiderzeemuseum focuses on the past and the present of the IJsselmeer lake, the former Zuiderzee. The museum features living history, heritage, and crafts from the past.

(Apothecary figure on exhibition)

(Apothecary figure on exhibition)

Other arms reach out to me....Atlanta, Day the Last. And a wrap up.

2012-01-18T14:19:00.000-08:00

And as all good things do, our trip to Atlanta was coming to an end. Atlanta, the last. And I was saving the best of last. Best in my book, probably not in Ton’s. I had planned a trip to the High Museum in Atlanta. They do allow photography of their collection, but do NOT allow online posting of the collection. And you sign an agreement when you walk in the door. I respect that, so I won’t post any collection photos. But they do have quite a lovely collection! And the museum itself if quite lovely, too.

The unexpected highlight of our trip to the High Museum was the works by sculptor Grainger McKoy. His atypical but incredibly detailed carvings of birds were breathtaking. Every feather, every vein, was perfect. You can visit his website and view it for yourself.

After leaving the High, we wandered through downtown Atlanta, past the Federal Reserve where they were having some sort of emergency alarm. It was surrounded by police, while office workers complained about their lunch being interrupted. I felt it wasn’t prudent to whip out a camera and take photos of them, considering the police presence. So, we continued up the street to our destination—Margaret Mitchell’s house.

It was here, in what was then apartment number one, that Margaret Mitchell wrote Gone With the Wind.
After that, I had seen all that I came to see in Atlanta and our time was up. Dinner that night was another highly recommended restaurant in Buckhead, Eclipse Di Luna. The food and service was fantastic but it is definitely a place where you want to go with a large group of friends and hang out. Not really a romantic, cozy place but more of a festive atmosphere. But that’s the heart and soul of tapas, so no surprises. I have to admit, I had too much sangria and forgot to take a photo of anything I ate. Bad me!!! NO biscuit!!! We followed up with a cozy coffee and dessert at our favorite restaurant of the trip, Buckhead Diner. We lingered over coffee (with kahlua, of course) at the bar, watched the regulars come and go, and planned our return trip home.

My feelings towards at Atlanta are mixed. It was a good trip, there is a lot of fun to be had in the area. But Atlanta seems to lack heart. There’s no pulse to the city, no heat. It’s too spread out to be walkable, and their public transportation is sadly lacking. I had been warned about violent crime but saw no signs of danger. In fact, I didn’t see much activity at all. We were there during the week, at times when downtown should have been busy. Instead it felt depressed, and slightly dingy. In other words, it was a nice place to visit, I have fond memories, but it left me with no desire to return. Oh, well. There are other places. And not everywhere can steal your heart like Amsterdam!

And lo, came Day the Third

2012-01-18T14:18:00.001-08:00

And lo, the third day came and the sun rose and the city spread out before us. But that didn’t matter. We had aquarium tickets! Georgia Aquarium is a very big deal in the Atlanta area, even if it is supported by *coughcough*HomeDepot *coughcough*. I really wanted to go to see the whale sharks. That’s right whale sharks! And a dolphin show! But alas, it was the beluga whales that stole my heart. Such glorious, graceful creatures. We were some of the first people through the doors that morning, and for the first little while had the place seemingly to ourselves. Thus, my first glimpse of the belugas, I was alone in the filtered blue light of the aquarium. A beluga swam from the depths of its tank, and brushed against the glass. For long moments, I was alone, watching these creatures and getting lost in that surreal world. It was a moment I’ll never forget.

Georgia Aquarium is a “hands on” place, where they allow you to touch not only the regular horseshoe crabs (it was mating season, no thank you!) and stingrays (always a joy to touch one of those), but sea anemones and urchins, too. But if the beluga whales stole my heart, Ton fell for the penguins and sea otters. They even had an acrylic tube you could crawl through and enter the world of the penguin. It’s meant for children, but that didn’t stop Ton.

We did attend the dolphin theater show as well, but didn’t take a single photo of it. But it was a lot of fun—as was the 4-D theater. Nothing like getting misted with water and shocked in your seat!!

But the most lovely part of any aquarium experience is simply sitting near the large viewing tanks and watching the world swim by.

But one can stand only so much water, especially one who is deathly frightened of swimming (well more frightened of drowning if truth be told), before you have to escape back to dry land and sunlight. Next door to the Georgia Aquarium is the Coca-Cola Experience. Let me preface this by saying that I am not opposed to Coke, I prefer it to Pepsi! But the idea of paying to be inundated by advertising did NOT appeal to me. Ton, however, wanted to go. Being Dutch, the branding of Coke meant very little to him, the direct emotional marketing appeal of Coke being a bonding experience was not something he had ever picked up on. In other words, he WANTED TO GO. So, we went. We had to wait for a tour to start, so we stood in the lobby and admired the art work-- Coke bottles that had been carved by artists from around the world.

I always feel like somebody's watching me!!!

And I have to say, despite my doubts, I had a BLAST. The tour started with a guide telling you a short history of Coke, and a museum of Coke advertising products over the years.

(See that little cheerleader lady?? Remember her. She will visit us later.)

After that we were shown into a theater where we watched a hilarious animated cartoon—featuring all sorts of odd creatures—including furballs with red lips (one of whom was terribly sad because he had fallen in love with a dandelion who had blown away) and the bottle-shaped cheerleader lady. After the film, you’re left to explore the rest of the “experience” on your own. The various rooms radiate off a center hub, and you can do them in any order, culminating in a Coca-Cola tasting room with drink fountains with products from all over the world.

It was in this center hub that a strange things happened. I turned into a big kid and had the best time!!! They had the Coca-Cola polar bear there and you could get your photo made with him, but I wasn’t interested. Instead, they had the furballs with the big red lips!! And I could kiss them ! And play with them!!!

In the middle of my furry-lipped lovefest, who should appear but the bottle lady! I squealed with delight, but Ton started freaking out. He dared me to go up to her and get a photo made. OF course!! I loved it!!

Ton, however, started laughing. And freaking out. He could NOT get control of himself. It was the funniest thing I have ever seen. The figure approached him, he tried to get away. The more he resisted, the harder he laughed, almost incomprehensibly muttering, “It’s too surreal!” (Rather like my reaction when I see clowns, I suppose. But it's a lot funnier when it happens to other people!!!!)

See? He was almost crying!! It’s still hysterical to me. But maybe you had to be there.

ANYWAY.

After a visit to their 4-D theater, and tasting so many types of Coca-Cola products that we were slightly nauseated, we left downtown Atlanta behind. With our freshly bottled Coca-Cola, and happy memories.

That evening, we decided to eat at yet another diner, this one featured on Guy Fieri’s show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

Marietta Diner was good, solid, diner food. I opted for the cheeseburger (I’ve had better) and onion rings (REALLY good) while Ton sampled their Greek menu with a gyro platter. But the main claim to fame for this diner is their desserts. When you walk through the door you’re greeted with a glass showcase FILLED with a myriad of cakes, cheesecakes, and pastries. This is what I was saving my calories for—the waitress recommended the house specialty, and I accepted.

Baklava cheesecake. Two layers of gorgeous baklava, with cheesecake sandwiched in the middle. It is served with a honey syrup that is divine. The portion was huge!! And yes, I ate every. Single. Bite.

After gorging on cheesecake, we went into downtown Marietta. What a lovely little town! They were having a concert/charity dinner on the town square—a vibrant lively little town square.

We walked around, enjoyed the music and the small-town feel. A lovely ending for our third day.

More photos are available on my Flickr account.

Atlanta, Day the Second.

2012-01-18T14:18:00.000-08:00

Time has gotten away from me again. The older you get, the faster it slips away! Scary, isn't it? Anyway, before I head off on any adventures this year, I thought I should catch up with a few retrospective postings from our trip to Atlanta. If you recall, day one of Atlanta was a trip to the Museum of Puppetry Arts.

Day, the second, October 3rd, 2011, was to consist of going to embassy and renewing Ton’s passport. It was our main mission, and it was very easily accomplished. Though they had very strict warnings about not being there more than a five minutes prior to your appointment, and if you were, you had to wait in the lobby. Very unaccommodating sign, but typically Dutch!! And in typical Dutch fashion, we assumed it didn’t apply to us and we waited in the hallway and arrived early anyway! They accepted the paperwork and we had an afternoon to explore our surroundings.

It was an absolutely gorgeous autumn day, unseasonably warm, so we opted to go to Stone Mountain. To be honest, I wasn’t expecting much and it is a very good thing. Because once we were there and went through the gate, everything was closed. A bit disappointing, but at least we didn’t have to pay full admission price! We’re Dutch. We like cheap.

Stone Mountain, Georgia, the empty village. See? Everything was CLOSED. C’mon people. There were signs everywhere touting a “Fall Festival”. Ehm, Fall, yes. Festival? Not so much.

The rock.

The cable car to the top of the mountain was working, and since we had come so far, we decided to spring for the extra fare and take a ride. It is worth the trip! The view is gorgeous.

View from the top, looking over the edge. The carving was directly below us!

Enjoying the view, Atlanta is in the distance.

Crocodile rock?!?!?

At least the insects were working at the park that day!

Dinner that night was at the Buckhead Diner. Amazing food, beautiful art deco interior, PERFECT ambiance. This was my favorite place we ate in Atlanta!

Chili crusted mahi on a bed of roasted tomato grits.

Ton was boring and had a sandwich with homemade chips. But it was a beautiful sandwich!

And the Pièce de résistance! Dessert—

Chocolate chip crème brulee!.

The rest of this set is available on my Flickr account.

Some day we'll find it…..(Atlanta, Day the First)

2011-10-02T18:43:00.000-07:00

HOTLANTA!!!

That's right. Dutchboy and I have ventured South to the land of rambling wrecks, peaches and peanuts. The trip down was completely uneventful. Even the drivers didn't seem as dangerous as people warned us they would be. Though I have noticed that drivers in Georgia tend to view road signs and lane markers more as a generalized recommendation rather than an actual law they should obey.

Our first stop in Atlanta was the Center of Puppetry Arts. A very small museum but WOW. Absolutely gorgeous things, gorgeously displayed. They do not allow photos or video, so you'll have to trust me on that. Most impressive was the collection of Jim Henson puppets. In their permanent collection they have Dr. Strangepork and Link Hogthrob from Pigs in Space!, Fishface from Labyrinth and the full body puppet of Skesis from the Dark Crystal. The reason we really went was the collection that is on loan from the Jim Henson family. Included in the exhibit was a life-sized Big Bird and of course, Kermit was there, too! My favorite Fraggles were there, Red and Mokie along with a whole group of Doozers. Labyrinth was well represented with Sir Didymus, the Four Guards, the Bronze Doorknocker and the Tunnel of Hands. Inside the Muppet exhibit itself was Rowlf, Swedish Chef, Dr. Teeth, and Ernie. All beautifully presented alongside a very moving tribute to the career and genius of Jim Henson. I left this place with a lump in my throat, missing the man who created such joyful memories for so many people.

But a girl has to eat! After finding the hotel, we headed to Buckhead to find the Turkish restaurant, Café Agora. I have to admit that once we found it, I was hesitant to go inside. It looked like…well, a dive. It was a simple snackbar type setup. There was no one else there at 6pm on a Sunday evening. See why I was doubtful??? I ordered a glass of Chardonnay, and it was wonderfully chilled and luscious. After that, Ton and I decided to split an entrée, chicken gyro platter that came with a greek salad, but we would also get two appetizers, babaganoush (smoked eggplant spread with grilled pita) and sarma (aka dolmas—stuffed grape leaves). The Sarma was incredible and by far my favorite thing, though the chicken, presented doner style, was perfectly smoky and charred.. At the end of the meal, they brought out two small bites of baklava, topped with pistachios, a very nice, sweet touch! By the time we were ready to leave, the place was filling up. And I can see why. The service and the food certainly lived up to the recommendations and kudos it received online. A delicious memorable meal, even if slightly lacking in ambiance, and I'm thrilled with our choice.

Now, I'm back in the hotel, and my mind keeps going back to Jim Henson. To what he gave the world and how it has affected so many. It makes me miss the wonders of childhood, how things are so fresh, so simple. Yet for a few moments today, I was able to be a kid again, squealing with delight when I saw Sir Didymus, the Swedish Chef, and the Doozers. I sang along with Ernie to "Rubber Duckie". Today, for a brief moment, I found the Rainbow Connection, and it was the lovers, the dreamers and ME.
That's the BEST start any vacation could ever have.

Tomorrow, I'll set foot on Dutch soil, for a few brief moments. The Queen's portrait will hang on the wall and the House of Oranje will rule on a few square meters. After that who knows what craziness will ensue! There might even be photographic evidence.

Chattanooga Choo-Choo, won't you choo-choo me home...

2011-05-04T19:15:00.000-07:00

So. Here we are. Day…the last. So what to do before we began our trek down that winding mountain path to North Wilkesboro?

We awoke early and I threw open the curtains to find….a fog bank of Stephen King proportions. Little pink suckers should have been flying into the glass and latching on with voracious gaping maws. Luckily, there were only the spatters of raindrops. Now, I've heard there's a mountain in Chattanooga that you should see. It is the stuff of legend. Heck, we even drove past a big sign declaring its existence and pointing the way. But I never saw a mountain. Just a curvy road around it and wall of fog. Three days. Three strikes. It's the mountain's loss, I say. It missed the opportunity to take my money and steal my heart. I pouted through breakfast.

Then I got over it. I've got mercurial moods, ya know?? Ton says I'm moody. But English isn't his native tongue and he is easily misunderstood. And mercurial just sounds better.

ANNNNNNNYWAY, I know you're dying of curiosity…what did Nicole do on her last day??? The art museum?? Nope. Only had a couple of hours and Ton drags his feet in an art museum. I couldn't have seen but a smidgen of the collection.

It's Tennessee, people. I had to ride a freakin' train, didn’t I??? You betcha!! *Winks*

We opted to go to the Tennessee Valley Railroad and take their Missionary Ridge Run. It's about an hour long trip, including the time spent at the railroad museum, and they give you a brief history of the area as you travel along Missionary Ridge.

It was fun and the conductor was fantastic—once again he was a volunteer with a real passion for his job.

At the endpoint of the line, they of course had to turn the train. They led everyone out to the turntable and explained the entire process.

Then we were taken to the "garage" area where they restore the old steam engines to their former glory. This one had been a long labor of love and was almost ready to return to service.

They have this sign hanging in their shop to remind them that no task is impossible. I don't know about that, but I admire the attitude.

Then it was back on the train and back to the station. On the return trip we were STUPID. (Notice when it's something smart, I did it. And if it's stupid it's we??? ) We chose to ride in the open air car because, get this, it's not really OPEN. It's enclosed but there's no heat. WTF. Why don't they say the UNHEATED car, the car that will make your teeth chatter because it's March and it's freakin' raining and cold??? We knew the "open air" car was not heated. But we also assumed that meant it was, ya know open to the air. Ugh. At least there were no screaming children or obnoxious teenagers fighting with their parents on the return trip. Just a bunch of frozen, blue lipped people. It was sort of like the end of the Titanic, without the icebergs and floating bodies.

But I digress. We arrived back at the little station and looked around for a bit.

As you can see, there wasn't much to look at. It was just delaying the inevitable. The journey home.

We made it as far as Bristol, Tennessee before I demanded food! That's not true. We had stopped at a McDonald's to steal wi-fi and pick out a restaurant nearer to home. I had packed enough snacks to get us through most of the journey (homemade currant buns, Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Granola and some veggie chips) but it's tradition we have one last hurrah before arriving home. We figured we would land in Bristol, so I hit up Urbanspoon and found The Mad Greek. Ton and I both adore Greek food. And this place has awesome Greek food. Best choice I could have possibly made!!! w00t!

We started out with an appetizer of tzatziki and warm fresh pita bread. I would have gladly made that into a meal!

But y'all know I didn't stop. I ordered the Greek Chicken ( Grilled chicken, topped with sun-dried tomatoes, sauted onions, feta and black olives).

Ton opted for a Stromboli. I believe it was the White Stromboli with basil pesto, mozzarella, feta, and tomatoes. But what was in it isn't as important as the size. It was HUGE. Hanging off the plate huge. And it was a SMALL. Who could eat a large one???

After that, I had to have my last dessert for awhile. That's when the waitress pointed out the dessert case. Row after row of cheesecakes, chocolate cakes, baklava, greek pastries…it was overwhelming. And all delicious, I'm sure. I believe I opted for the chocolate mousse torte, but I honestly don't remember. I didn't take pictures of it!! I know I wavered over the Greek pastries but decided against it. I adore baklava but it can be too sweet for me after a meal. And yes, I know that sounds weird. I should have bought some to bring back. They would have been awesome with some espresso. Ah, well. Maybe next time.

But while making my dessert selection I noticed something else. They sell that delicious feta by the pound. It's made in house and they sell it to anyone—I could take it home!! And I did!! To the tune of $5 a pound!!! Cheap!!!! This excitement is probably why I don't remember my dessert choice.

Then the heavens opened and choirs sang when Ton reported there was ANOTHER case around the corner with more Greek delicacies like Dolmadakia (aka Dolmas, I believe). I can only tell you this: I wish I lived in Bristol just because of the food I could buy from those cases. Forget the restaurant; I want that kind of deli in my town. Unfortunately, we don't and we had to go home. But this restaurant put Bristol on the map for me. I'm out of feta and that's excuse enough to drive there. It's just that GOOD. Next time I'm just going to order a bottle of wine, all the appetizers on the menu, followed by coffee and pastry. And a nice lump of feta, to go.

So, that was it, the climatic end of the rails for our own Chattanooga Choo-choo. Chattanooga was fun, it was rainy, but we didn't get snow like they did in North Wilkesboro. And all that rain is giving me a reason to go back. I have to find that damned Mountain. I'm sure it's there somewhere.

When you hear the whistle blowin' eight to the bar...

2011-05-03T19:09:00.000-07:00

When last we left our intrepid travelers, they were headed back to the hotel with no plan in mind for the next day.

Well, that's not exactly true. Our plan was to head to Lookout Mountain. Or maybe back to the Bluff View District to peruse the galleries and the Hunter Museum. Or MAYBE we would go to the aquarium. We're just that sort of wild and crazy, travel by the seat of your pants kind of people. We're rebels, people. REBELS. Fear us!!!

As it so happened, Mother Nature made our decision for us. We couldn't even SEE Lookout Mountain. And it was raining. I wasn't perusing anything from under my umbrella, and I didn't relish wet feet. The aquarium remained. And what an aquarium it is!! So beautifully designed. Perfectly laid out. Staffed with friendly people,most of whom are volunteers. How great is that!? And did I take my nice camera??? Nope. I took my little point and shoot. So bear with me, because the photos aren't up to snuff.

When you walk into the aquarium, you're funneled onto an escalator that takes you to the top floor, an open jungle of tangled foliage and humidity. We were greeted by their talking parrots, who were too busy grooming each other to say more than a litany of "Hello! Hello! Hello!" But they were still very sweet.

And then it was on to the "touch and learn" tanks. Rays! I love rays! I was a big girl, a brave girl. I could face the animal that killed Steve Irwin and survive. Okay, okay it was a tank of tiny rays, but I did touch them. While Ton talked with one of the many volunteers we encountered that day. They were getting along famously and talking of Amsterdam.

But perhaps the highlight of the aquarium is the butterfly center. I have NO idea why they have a butterfly house in an aquarium but they do. And it is GORGEOUS.

This is the time I really started kicking myself for not wanting to carry the camera around. SRSLY.

Anyway, after being checked for "hitchhikers" we left the butterfly house and rambled down level after level of beautiful tanks and mysterious sea creatures. The layout is such that the walkways spiral around a huge center tank where they house the major tropical fish—sharks, giant rays, as well as a coral reef with anemones, clowns, triggers and the like. It's dark, cool and lovely.

Housed in a second building is the freshwater and smaller saltwater fishes and reef creatures. Once again it's the same spiral pattern with the corridors featuring different exhibits about American river life, ecology and as I said, fresh and salt water creatures. Including my favorites: seahorses, seadragons and jellyfish!

They had really cool jellies that I hadn't seen before—bottom feeding upside down jellies!

And I have to include this photo because it's very indicative of the jellyfish area. It was very cold in there and very very dark. Dark to the point of being spooky. I suppose they were being atmospheric but it felt like Scully and Mulder should burst through the doors and save me from an attacking alien, or Frankenstein-esque monster.

But there was no sign of Cancer Man or Mulder and Scully. So we left the aquarium and found partly cloudy skies and warm weather. We picked up the DSLR from the car and headed up the hill to the Bluff View Arts District.

Remember the bakery I mentioned yesterday?? Well here it is. They make all the bread for the hotel, for the restaurant, as well as the pastries for the restaurant and coffeshop.

It's my dream come true. I wonder if I could throw the woman out and take over without anyone noticing??

Directly across from the bakery is the sculpture garden I was mentioning. The sculptures are for sale, but until they're sold they're enjoyed by everyone in a publicly maintained park.

But Icarus had to be my favorite of all!!

Ton was rather fond of this one. As was I.

Just past this "Garden", up a small hill and around a corner actually, is the Hunter Museum. They also have a lot of sculptures outdoors! Can you STAND to see more???

Ah, I knew you could! I won't make you beg. I'm a kind and benevolent mistress!

This was my favorite. It's so happy! So free! And it reminded me of a certain Dutch boy and myself. We're cute, offbeat, quirky, dancing fools. Too bad we don't have bags of money to dance on. But, eh. You can't have everything.

The other really intriguing statue was the skeletal horse, entitled "Boreal" by Deborah Butterfield.

Looks like weathered wood, right?? Nope. It's bronze with patina. Gorgeousness.

Following this little jaunt through sculpture, we noticed it was getting late. Too late to go into the museum. Oh, well! Did that get us down??? Nope!! We took a stroll over the Tennessee River Walk, a pedestrian bridge that spans the Tennessee River and wandered through Coolidge Park. (Where I have to insert a note to say they have a FREAKING AWESOME carousel there!!!) At the start of the riverwalk is this happy guy, greeting you, paw offered in friendly greeting. Awwwwwww, he's so sweet!!

I don't know if the scarf was an artist choice or a later, passing addition. But that pup knew how to work that scarf, baby!!

While walking through Coolidge Park, we notice the Delta Queen. It's a riverboat hotel. Ton had wanted to stay there but I balked. Ya see, I don't like water. Water likes to drown people. It has a mind of its own and it doesn't obey my every command. That's an issue. But anyway, Ton wanted to see the Delta Queen. And when he wants something, he goes for it. He walks up the gangplank to the hotel and wanders in, telling the concierge (okay, blonde woman behind the desk who wasn't busy doing anything) that she has a lovely hotel. Tells her we made a mistake and booked the wrong hotel instead of this beautiful old boat. He smiles at her, he is Mr. Unassuming. She is charmed (must be the accent. Or his bald spot temporarily blinded her judgment) . She encourages us to wander through the boat and look at everything. And we do. Rooms are tiny but beautiful. The boat is charming in a quaint, old-world way. I would even bite the bullet and stay next time. We tell Ms. Ultra-Nice Lady that as we leave.

We decide to take in an IMAX production back at the aquarium as it's on the way to the car. Our choices were "THe Ultimate Wave-Tahiti" or something about the Space Shuttle mission to repair the Hubble Telescope. REmember what I said about water?? Yeah. NOT watching an Imax where they are going to visually submerge me. The only other time I watched one of those type things on Imax I spent the whole hour gasping for breath. Who needs that. I like space. I like stars and planets. I like going fast and I LOVE flying. So, shuttle mission won! Whee!!

By now it's getting late and I'm starting to get hungry after all that flight time. Time for the NEXT place on my must eat in Chattanooga list, The Terminal Brewhouse. Which has the added benefit of being next door to the Chattanooga Choo-Choo, the rail station that was turned into a hotel.

But first, on the way back to the car we passed this pub. If you look carefully, you'll see they had a sign that says, "Hippies Use Backdoor". This made me smile.

Terminal Brewhouse. I've got mixed feelings about it. It's young, it's funky, and it's a bar.

The food is good but not amazing. The beer? Is pretty damned good and this is from a girl who doesn't like beer all that much. I went with the suggested pairing of a Belgian White Beer (called The White Shadow. Does anyone remember that show?? ) with The FruFru—a grilled chicken breast marinated in brown ale, topped with sliced pears, bacon and brie cheese.

The sandwich looked better than it tasted, the pears and brie were lovely but the chicken lacked flavor. It did pair nicely with the beer, though. For dessert it was cheesecake again. (Notice a theme in my desserts?? ) It was their seasonal dessert and I honestly don't remember what kind of cheesecake it was. I believe it was toffee with some sort of beer mixed in, but don't quote me on that!! Whatever it was, it was delicious.

The inside of the Brewhouse is lovely and I'm not at all upset we went. I didn't like our seating, side-by-side at a bar area upstairs, with a large group wedged behind us. But it was a particularly busy night and it's all they had available. The building is beautifully done, with a very open layout.

I think that it would be a great place to go with friends and have a few beers and some snacks. But not a great place for a casual dinner.

As I said earlier, next door is the famous Chattanooga Choo-Choo.

Once again, Ton pushed right in to look around. There was no one at the desk, and the restaurant was not very busy so it must not be very good ( I can't say, but at that time of night, it's sad to see a place that empty). The building is just impressive. They've kept the features from when it was a Terminal Station and worked with the art deco theme that I love so much. We wandered into the bar and it felt like a movie set. In hindsight, I wish I had sat down at the bar and had a drink. It's what Rita Hayworth would have done.

Instead we headed back to the hotel for the night. The next day would bring an end to our trip. And I still hadn't seen Lookout Mountain! Maybe the skies would clear! Maybe angels would sing as I gazed over seven, yes count them SEVEN states!! Will it happen, won't it happen…it was up to fate. And we all know how fickle she can be.

Whoo whoo Chattanooga there you are!!

2011-05-02T19:07:00.000-07:00

Well, it’s been a month since our latest adventure and I have yet to update. Let’s fix that, shall we?? Ton and I decided (you have my permission to read that as NICOLE decided), to take a trip to Chattanooga. Home of the Chattanooga Choo-Choo! Home of Lookout Mountain!!! Home of the Tennessee Aquarium!! Home of the Chickamauga Battlefield!! Home of the…well…LOTS of other things!!!
We drove out on Sunday, arriving in Chattanooga at a respectable 1:00pm and decided to head for the most depressing spot we could think of…a Civil War Battlefield where thousands of men lost their lives! What better way to spend a gray, chilly Sunday afternoon?? We stopped in the visitor’s center, watched the video (don’t bother. SRSLY) and spoke with the ranger on duty (bother. Ask question. Listen to this guy. He knows STUFF. Important stuff). I asked about walking trails and was informed that the park is over five thousand acres criss-crossed with trails but it had rained so hard the day before that we shouldn’t venture far from the pavement. Now, everyone reading this has a pretty good idea of how my mind works. I scoff at things like that. A little bit of rain was not going to deter me from my red-hot date with a genuine Civil War ghost! No sirree Bob. Ton and I set off on our drive around the park. The place is so huge that it takes 45 minutes to drive the entire route. We stopped at marker number one because I saw monument in the woods that I wanted to see!

You see, not long after the Civil War, the families of the regiments who fought in the area, Union and Confederate, gathered together and agreed to honor their dead with memorial statues of where each regiment fought and died. All through the forest, monument after monument! I wanted to see them. All of them. We were walking and damned be he that said we shouldn’t because of “a lot of rain”. So, we walked.
Pretty, see?

And we walked.

And then we came to the BIGGEST freakin’ bog I’ve ever seen. Water was ankle deep off the pathway, and the path itself was muddy. The place was a MOSH pit. Okay, the Park Ranger was right. (Found out later they had indeed had “a lot of rain”, to the tune of four inches in twelve hours). We walked back to the car and our drove around the park.
We did venture out at Wilder Tower to climb to the top of the eighty-five foot tall structure, dedicated to Col. John T. Wilder and his men. Looks forbidding, no??

I had my doubts. The sky was darkening and the stairs were a tight spiral and not well-lit by the narrow windows.

But Ton had a flashlight, so I agreed. I probably wouldn't kill myself. After all, the stairs weren't any worse than the ankle breakers I had encountered in Holland. Up, up, up the stairs…
(Okay, so this is a view from top, looking DOWN. Shoot me.)

To a great view of Chickamauga.

See the standing water among the trees??? Told ya it was a mosh pit!

I’m PRETTY sure that these marks were made by aliens. Or they’re junior crop circles made by teenage aliens who are getting their crop circle license.

Then there was a sign, very near Wilder Tower, that made Ton laugh. It was just an empty field marked with a sign on the site where the Union general Rosecrans had taken over a home and made his headquarters. He insisted I take a photo. Ton, not Rosencrans. He wasn't there anymore. I don't think Widow Glenn was very accomodating.

On the way back to the parking lot near Wilder Tower, we found a beautiful old tree, a little bit twisted, and clearly all alone. I can relate to that. I'm gnarly, I'm twisted and people tend to avoid me like I've got root rot. I've been called many things in my life, not all of them kind. But now, you can add tree hugger to the list.

Luckily for me, Ton is just as weird as I am.

As much as I like that tree, it was a cold, wet tree and it didn't make lovin' fun. Onward, we went to our last stop at Chickamauga, an old cabin that had served as a hospital.

If there was a ghostly presence, sure this would be the place to find it. I had been joking all along about ghosts, not ever having heard of a famous ghost story of the area, but I finally admitted to Ton, I simply didn’t feel any presence at all. It was a peaceful, beautiful place where very horrible things happened. But nothing scary remained. Later, of course, I found out it is one of the most haunted battlefields in North America. Goes to show you, I have NO psychic abilities. None. Zilch. Zippo. Nada. So don’t expect me to come to your house and give you a reading. Unless you want me to read dust bunnies or the latest issue of Us Magazine.

You probably don’t want Ton to do it, either. Come to your house, I mean. Would you really trust a man in your house who stands by a cannon and does this?

No?? Me neither.

Since we couldn’t find ghosts and we were reaching maximum history saturation, as well as maximum sock saturation (Let's state again because I believe in overkill, it was wet. VERY wet) we decided to venture into Chattanooga proper. We hopped back in the car, drove across Missionary Ridge and into downtown.

I knew I wanted to go to the Bluff View Arts District, so we headed their first. It’s very near the Hunter Museum and, of course, a few restaurants. That's right. I had an ulterior motive. I was starving. AND I had done my foodie homework and knew we should eat at Tony's Pasta Shop and Trattoria. Of course, I got my way.

The meal started with bread, made at the bakery in the same area. A decent white loaf that was tender with a light crumb and a nice chewier cibatta studded with garlic cloves. The oil wasn't great quality but it was fruity enough.

After that, Ton ordered a pasta salad (he stuck to his diet!).

While I had the Baked Pesto Chicken Ravioli, rosemary chicken ravioli and pesto cream sauce topped with mozzarella. It was FANTASTIC and went very well with the clean Sauvignon Blanc I ordered.

Clearly my diet was out the window. So I went for dessert, too. Bailey's Cheesecake. It was fantastic but after eating so little all day, the wine was hitting me too hard for me to remember to take a picture of it!!!!

We had to walk all that dinner off, of course, and opted to walk around the neighborhood and through a sculpture garden that looked out over the Tennessee River. It was gorgeous and I vowed to come back the next day to truly appreciate the art. But the city lights were pretty nice, all by themselves.

We also walked to the Hunter Museum, which was closed (you know that though because DUH Sunday night) but still had gorgeous outdoor sculptures to enjoy.

Ton was quite taken with the little structure with the brightly lit top(I call it the nuclear thingamabob). It was really cool, with little brass statues worked into the lattice. There were brass bells, artichokes, and other random things. You can't really see it well, but we tried to capture it.

And that, my friends, is a thoroughly detailed report of our first day in Chattnooga. The next day held more fun—a trip to the Tennessee Aquarium and another great meal. Oh, and a glimpse of that elusive choo-choo

If you want even more photos of Chickmauga (Chicka-make-a-move-a as I like to call it), you can view them on Flickr.

Egmond aan Zee. Day Three.

2010-10-28T16:37:00.000-07:00

Wanna know what Dutch looked like as a baby?? Kinda like this.

Sunday morning, day three of our trip, started with another visit from the entire clan—including the twins! Wow. They're LOUD and rambunctious! But what do you expect from a Ton's namesake??

The family departed around noon and we were picked up by an old friend of Ton's, Michel, so that we could spend the afternoon with him, his wife, Denise and their little girl Is-A-Bella. That's how she said her name—totally adorable!!!

Went to their house in Purmerend, and headed out to one of their favorite spots, Egmond aan Zee, a little beach town a little over 50 km northwest of Amsterdam. It was a gorgeous afternoon so lots of people were out getting their last licks of summer. We had coffee at Het Wapen and enjoyed the sunshine. We also had the traditional dutch snack, bitterballen, meat so finely minced that it is almost a paste, mixed with spices, rolled in bread crumbs and deep-fried. Very good with wine and not bad with coffee, either! We also had kaas soufflés which isn't a soufflé at all, but puff pasty stuffed with cheese.

After that, we took a stroll on the beach so Is-A-Bella could play in the sand.

Beaches in Holland aren't like Myrtle Beach or the Outer Banks. They're wide—VERY wide. Take the visible amount of beach and multiply it by ten. That comes close to how wide it is. Seriously WIDE. And even though there was a storm over the North Sea, it never seemed rough.

Egmond aan Zee also has a lighthouse! Which, once again, is nothing like our lighthouses, Dutch lighthouses always seem terribly short and stumpy. Maybe Hatteras has spoiled me. I don't know.

This light house was named for a great sea hero (all Dutch heroes are Sea heroes. And they're all GREAT. Never forgot that while in the Netherlands. And for Gods sake, Do NOT talk about the war!!)

Jan Carolus Josephus van Speijk is famous because he blew up his ship and killed his crew rather than be taken by the enemy. More specifically, he despised the Belgians and their fight to separate themselves from the Dutch. So when his ship was blown off course in a storm and he made port in Antwerp, he blew up his ship rather than give it up to the Belgians. His famous quote is "Dan liever de lucht in" (better to blow up). He is deemed as so loyal to his country that the king decreed that the royal navy would forever have a ship named in his honor. Dutch boy just says he was crazy—if he wanted to kill himself that's great but his crew??? I kind of agree with van Speijk. Better to die like a lion than live like a dog.

You can see the rest of the photos on on my Flickr account, Be warned it's mainly family photos and shots of people you don't know!!

Day two-- Haarlem.

2010-10-25T17:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday dawned with odd weather. Sunshine, followed by brief spits of rain. But if you let a little rain stop you in the Netherlands, you’ll stay home. All. The. Time. SRSLY. It can rain for two minutes and the sun burst through. Or it can drizzle miserably for hours. Netherlanders forge ahead. Just beware of puddles. And bikes that swoosh through them. Trust me. I found out the hard way.
Ton and I had planned to return to Haarlem on this trip. I love Haarlem. It is very old, very small and very, very beautiful. I had been to the Frans Hals museum, and St. Bavokerk (though I was glad to see that they had given the steeple a renovation and shiny coat of gilding) but I had never been to the Teyler’s Museum. It’s a science museum but the building itself warrants a visit.

Grand architecture at it’s finest! From the domed ceiling of the foyer,

to the intricately wrought floor grates,

everything is an exercise in perfection.
The Teyler’s Museum is the oldest museum in the Netherlands, having opened in 1794. I was very disappointed to learn that the oldest part of the museum, the Oval Room, was closed for renovations. But there was so much to see that I wasn’t disappointed for long. The collections of the museum are arranged chronologically, forming a tour of science and discovery through the ages.

Archaeopteryx

There's no interior lights in the majority of the museum. It was built before the electric lights and they want to preserve the original architecture as much as possible. Some evenings, they even do guided tours by torchlight! How cool would that be?!?

Almost as cool as running into someone you know while in a museum in another country! Which probably isn't all THAT cool when you hear it is Ton's sister, Marianne. But I was still very shocked when a woman waved at me (the Dutch aren't notoriously open and friendly with strangers) while I was walking down the aisle. It took a moment, and a double-take on my part for it to register. I was very happy she decided to spend her day off in the same museum. Serendipity, no??

Teyler's was having a special exhibition on the myth and mystique of an artist's studio but I was honestly so taken with the building, I could see very little else.
Especially this stairway to the second floor, which was closed for a private party. I was allowed to sneak up to the landing and take a few photos!

And the it was time to leave, via the grand entry way with its gorgeous carvings and dark wood.

After picking up our coats (yes we needed coats it was very cold and windy) we headed out into Haarlem, to wander around and just enjoy being in a city that feels so much like Antwerp but still decidedly practical and very, very Dutch.
The glory that is St. Bavokerk

See the blue sky in that photo? It is deceiving. It rained not twenty minutes after that photo was taken. I had to wear a hat. My poor hair stylist would be appalled by the state of my hair after THAT. We decided to forgo getting wetter and stop for dinner at an international fusion restaurant, Specktakel. Marianne recommended it and I have to say, she wasn't wrong to do so. The food was, well, spectacular.
It started off well enough-- a nice, warm loaf of crusty bread, fruity olive oil and a bowl of indian spice mix. Went very well with the wine!

Then the appetizers started arriving. And it got a little bit dicey. Looks harmless, no??

Mr. DeMille, he's ready for his close up:

Ton, not being much of a foodie, failed to read the complete description of his appetizer and was thus very surprised to see that his aged beef salad contained crispy crickets. I noticed it the minute they put his plate on the table but dismissed it as misshapen lumps of beef. Oh, no. They were crickets all right. He ate one before he realized it. The others were gently laid on the side of his plate. He said he was relieved when he found a second one. One cricket means the kitchen is dirty. Two crickets can't be a mistake!
My crab dim sum was much better.

As was Marianne's salmon tartar with caviar. Mmmmm. Caviar.

Ton's main course was much more sedate. Nothing had jumped on his plate that wasn't supposed to be there- just tandoori lamb, spiced potatoes and mango pickle!

Marianne had Miso cooked salmon that arrived in a beautiful bento box presentation.

I opted for Italian chicken saltimbocca. I was torn, though. I really thought about the Antelope sosaties. But after the cricket incident, I played it safe. Besides, it had Parmesan foam. Who could say no to that?!?! And aubergines, too. Mmm.

We all decided to have the chocolicious coffee—espresso, chocolate crème brulee, chocolate liquor and truffles.

After all that food, we headed back to the train station, taking the scenic route to walk off some calories. I present, Haarlem by night!

Teyler's Museum and Spaarne Straat.

Big, winged-foot statue!

(That's me walking down the street for a moody photo!)
We dropped Marianne off at the train station so that she could head home to Leiden. Then we hopped on the next bus to Amstelveen. It had been a great day—long and tiring but very good! And I leave you now with one last photo, complete with caption and jaunty hat!

Who watches the watchers??

(You can view the rest of the set, if you're so inclined, on my Flickr account.

Amstelveen. A look back at the trip that was...

2010-10-25T15:39:00.000-07:00

Every year I head to Europe with the thought that I will update my blog as I go. And every year I fail miserably. It’s becoming so depressingly predictable as to be tradition. So here, once again, begins a retrospective of our trip.

On our first day in Amstelveen, we didn’t do much. I have to admit, I was busted from the flight. We came in, hugged and kissed everyone and went to BED. We got up around 14:00 and had a shower before venturing into the market in Amstelveen. Friday is market day, and it’s always a joy to spend time in European markets. Oh, and we ventured to Koolhaas for my first hazelnoot gebak of the trip. Koolhaas is truly a wonderful bakery—and the place that Ton’s family has always gone when they want a special treat. The quality is clear, the taste superior. But I was so busy eating the delicious hazelnut cream between layers of chewy meringue that I forgot to take a picture! In fact, I took no photos at all that day, other than the back garden at Mum and Pa’s.

And her gorgeous hydrangeas, still in full bloom!

The family came over that night and it was a gezellige evening with infant twin boys running wild and lots of laughter. And coffee. I didn’t sneak away once to escape. Not once! Even though Marianne had thoughtfully brought me a welcome present of mergpipjes and dropjes. Mmmmmmmmm.

It was probably the last quiet day we would have during the entire trip. The rest seems filled with friends, family, old favorites and new places to see!

Leaving on a ....corn stalk????

2010-09-25T00:31:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the Netherlands!

Flight out went well-- PTI (Greensboro) is so tiny that it is virtually impossible to have trouble there. The only issue that came up was that Delta pulled me out of line because apparently Ton and I were already showing onboard the plane that was boarding!! That was quickly straightened out though. Our connection was in Atlanta. And there I was greeted with a strange sight.

Flying corn???

More like flying porn!!

Nothing like flying phallic corn to set the mood of a layover. I was hoping that our Airbus 330 was more fuselage than stalk. I didn't want to arrive in the Netherlands like an obscene Dr. Strangelove riding an ear of corn-- though such an entrance would be rather fitting here.

Never fear. It was fine.

Delta did do me the honor of misplacing my luggage. They decided my bag needed to be stashed in the basement for safe keeping. It must be that my underwear is too precious to be put the belt alongside that of the riff-raff. I felt honored. Once I got over the annoyance.

Now, it's time for me to head out for the day. Don't know where I'm going, but that's half the fun.

Tot Ziens!

Antwerp Art Nouveau- a happy ending!

2010-07-15T07:45:00.000-07:00

It was our last day in Antwerp and I knew I had to visit an area I read about in a travel guide. I didn’t know HOW to get there…or exactly what we would find but I knew I wanted to see the art nouveau architecture of Antwerp. To be honest I wasn’t expecting much. As usual, I was wrong. Completely WRONG.

But before we go there, lets talk about GETTING there. It wasn’t easy. We couldn’t figure out how to get a bus ticket and ended up wandering outside of Antwerp Centraal for a long time! Which isn’t bad, mind you. It’s a gorgeous area. See??

The entrance to the zoo is there, too.

The Zoo may provide the explanation for WHY there is a man dressed in a banana suit and another person dressed in a bear suit standing outside Antwerp Centraal. But do we REALLY want to know the explanation for the Rent-o-Kil van??? (I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical DUTCH reason for this name. But I like Rent o kil better.)

But none of this could deter me from my mission. Not banana man, not bear dude, not even the promise of a Zoo—I wanted art nouveau glamour! Ton, being ever so resourceful and speaking Dutch in a Dutch-speaking city, procured train tickets for us. Brilliant!! And we were off to Berchem station.

Zurenborg, the area in question, is one of the most visually stunning and architecturally impressive areas I’ve ever seen. There’s not one house that can be called plain and unadorned. Built in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, the houses, are mainly art nouveau in design, which is probably why Ton and I loved it so very much. There’s only so much one can say, words cannot accurately describe it. Instead, I’ll let the pictures, as inadequate as they are, show you.

Viktor Horta-inspired art nouveau….

Another simply gorgeous nouveau design…

Mucha-esque!

Neo-Classical or Gothic Revival?

And perhaps the oddest thing we saw on the block…A house with what appeared to be wax heads in the window. Every window in a very large house had heads peering out!

Even the water towers were impressive.

Worn out and weary from oohing and aahing, we headed back to Antwerp Centraal and our train back to Amstelveen. Train stations are curious places…everyone is in a hurry and never appears quite sure of themselves. There’s an unease there, an impending sense of, not exactly doom but definitely disquiet. While we were waiting, a man hurried by with his dog. He stopped, tied the dog to a pipe and went to the restroom. The look on the dog’s face mirrored the disquiet so perfectly…he was waiting, worried, clearly not at ease in his surroundings.

The story ends happily, though. Man and dog reunited with a pat on the head and a lick of the hand and they were off, out the door, leaving us to wait another hour for a train that didn’t want to come. It was delayed. And delayed. And delayed. Ton played with the camera. I simply got irritated. He had better results that I did. Antwerp Centraal, after all, the most beautiful train station in the world!

And how can you go wrong with gorgeous models like this?!?

That story ends happily, too. We finally got on a train, albeit an overcrowded one that left Ton standing in the aisle for over an hour of the journey while I sat next to a slightly smelly Eastern European man. He greeted me in French, I apologetically told him I’m only conversant in English. He smiled and said that was okay, he could speak English, too. Turns out, he spoke English, French, and Russian. Most likely some other Slavic language, too. Yes, I felt stupid and inadequate. He didn’t speak Dutch, though, and was afraid he would miss his stop. I was glad I could help him with that at least. We tend to think we’re smarter than the people around us. We make value judgments based on appearances, and yes, smell. Luckily, the world occasionally brings us down a peg. That is the true merit in travel: it forces us to readjust our thinking. We see the world with fresh eyes, but we also see our place in that world a bit differently. The architecture of our world changes just a bit. And that makes it all worthwhile.

The whole set of photos, including A LOT of pretty house photos can be found in the set 10-30-2009 on FLICKR.

And more Antwerp Centraal photos here.

Antwerp twerps! Leaving Brussels behind.

2010-07-14T17:19:00.000-07:00

Sorting through the pictures on my hard drive, I came across the last of my vacation pictures from last fall. Including the photos of my favorite place we visited in Antwerp! But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

After our days in Brussels, we headed back towards the Netherlands with a two-day stop in Antwerp. Another Grote Markt! Another grand cathedral! More art by the Great Masters! And yes, more old buildings that make American buildings look like wimpy little pups!!

Speaking of the Cathedral, what can you say about such a gorgeous and imposing piece of architecture? It dominates the skyline and draws you in.

And as you approach it, it grows more beautiful.

Inside there was a special exhibition of the religious works of Peter Paul Reubens. But honestly, the cathedral itself is so spectacular that the works of the great master paled in comparison. I have to admit, I am not a deeply religious person. But the stillness, the heavy blanket of calm that falls upon you when you enter a great church moves me. It moves me more than any religious service, any sermon.

Lots of buildings in Antwerp, especially near the cathedral, feature Madonna and child sculptures. Many of them, like this one, are finely wrought and quite beautiful!

(More Cathedral pictures available here.)

After leaving the cathedral, we wandered to the Grote Markt. And once again, as in Brussels, it is STUNNING. Smaller, more compact than what Brussels offered. A bit less grand perhaps but no less beautiful.

And it’s just as beautiful at night!

We also spent a large part of the afternoon wandering around the city. No definite destination in mind other than finding the Scheldt and seeing the waterfront. What we happened upon was ‘t Steen.

It is the oldest building in Antwerp-- 800 years old! So old that above its front gate is a pagan fertility god. But when the Spanish came, they chipped away his very large penis—the Inquisition would not allow something so obscene and unholy to remain!!

It was closed and rather deserted. But it was beautiful and they had a boardwalk behind to watch the river barges go by. It used to house the Maritime Museum but that was being relocated into a better facility in 2010 but in the meantime was kept next door in a group of open-sided warehouses.

It, too, was absolutely deserted. I can’t imagine that every happening in the States!! A deserted warehouse FULL of boats and no one even noticing or trying to steal anything!

We then wandered back to the Grote Markt, through one of the older sections of the city. I loved the narrow, winding streets, and small doorways. It felt like being on a movie set of a medieval movie.

The road that leads to the Grote Markt:

In a sense, Antwerp is an odd city. The older city center has a heart, a character that appeals. But outside the old city, a modern city sprang up that seems to have lost its spirit. Maybe it’s the diamond trade that did that? The drive of such a hungry, greedy industry has to leave its mark.

(You can see more Antwerp photos here.
One more day in Antwerp. One more chance for Antwerp to wow me!

Transported by cuisine...

2010-02-04T19:11:00.001-08:00

Tonight, Dutch and I were out galavanting around the big city of Winston-Salem after finally seeing Sherlock Holmes. Good movie! Really fun. Great chemistry between Jude Law and Robert Downey, Jr. A few things felt very slashy, like they were giving the public a wink and a nudge. I guess you could interpret it as an Odd Couple reference, but where is the fun in that!?!??!?? Watson & Holmes OTP!!!!!!!!!! I had no problems with the movie like some other literary people do. I was never a fan of the books. Holmes was always a bit to smug and perfect. Of course Downey could act out a page of from the encyclopedia and it would be entertaining. I do adore the man.

But a movie review is not the point of my post. It is a review of a different kind! After battling our way through Costco, we required sustenance! I had read a very positive review of the Indian restaurant, Tumeric. We decided we would give it a go. I am so glad we did. Great service! We were seated immediately, and somehow—I have yet to figure out how, the waiter knew to bring my husband water without ice and me water with ice. Perhaps his accent was a give away, since most Europeans don’t like ice. Whatever the reason, he was very observant and gets mega points for that. He also handled the entire dining room by himself, doing it with such grace and skill that no one was neglected. Absolutely impeccable!

I immediately new I wanted to try their Masala tea with spices and heavy cream while Dutch opted for plain, black tea. Both were a bit disappointing—the masala lacked the spice I had hoped for. Ton’s black tea was great by my standards, strong and oily. By his standards it was too strong. He likes the tea leaves to lift their skirts and run through the water. Meh.

We both opted to forgo an appetizer, but I was very tempted to try the vada, a mildly spiced and fried lentil donuts served with sambar and chutney, but I opted not to eat that many carbs in this meal! I was saving up for naan. I adore naan. And at Tumeric it did not disappoint. But more on that in a minute.

For our main courses, Dutch opted for Paneer tikki masala, while I went with chicken tikka masala. A safe choice, I’ll admit, but hey, I wanted comfort food! It was delicious. Gorgeously spiced, not too hot, but with great flavor. The chicken was meltingly tender and the naan…oh, it was warm, somehow crisp and chewy at that same time. It soaked up the tikki masala sauce so lusciously that I would have been content with nothing else. In fact, I ate the sauce with a spoon and would have licked the bowl but there were lots of people (and I could hear the shame in my mother’s voice). Ton’s Paneer was deliciously crisp on the outside and perfectly soft in the center. I’ll definitely try their Saag Paneer next time.

Other than the questionable masala tea, the only other thing I question is the ambience. Tumeric is located in a strip mall, but has a very nice entrance. Once inside, you’re greeted with sagging leather chairs and the cash register. The wall art consists of some nice leaded glass windows that look very elegant but have those rather poorly painted roll-up reed scrolls. In this case, each window was flanked by matching scrolls, in one case it was tigers, another one had elephants, and a third had an Indian dancer. Cheesy green vinyl diner-quality booths are spaced very close together for a definite lack of privacy. The tables were covered in a curry & white checked vinyl tablecloth topped with glass. On the tables were "flameless" plastic candles. Real tablecloths and candles would have helped a bit. But the china was good quality, as was the flatware.

While we were dining, we were surrounded by quite an eclectic mix of people, including a family with several small children. If you’re looking for a romantic getaway, this probably isn’t the place. If you’re looking for good, solid Indian food, it definitely fits the bill. And for that, I can forgive the ambience. Dutch and I will definitely go back.

Tumeric (located in Healy Plaza)
3088 Healy Drive
Winston Salem, NC 27103
(336) 794-8280
(336) 794-8282

Building up muscles in Brussels.

2009-12-15T17:16:00.000-08:00

We booked our hotel through a travel company and then promptly forgot about the logistics of travel. What the hell was I thinking???!?!?!? I assumed we would arrive in Brussels and be in the thick of things and have no trouble finding our hotel. Instead, we arrived in a horribly busy central station, in a place where once again I didn’t know the language and could NOT suss out a direction to save my life! We wandered the streets for at least thirty minutes before stopping in at not one, but two, different hotels to ask directions. When we finally DID locate our hotel, we were very pleased. The Hotel Ibis St. Catherine’s was nice and the view from our room was beautiful. We were on the fifth floor, overlooking St. Catherine’s church. Spook, yet very beautiful in its gothic way.

We were also very close, an easy five minute walk, to the Grote Markt—the Grand Square. Which was truly grand, truly awe-inspiring and worth the entire cost of the trip to see it! It is this place that lingers in my head, the throngs of people embraced by elegant architecture that stood as testament to the resilience of the Belgians. In 1695, the French bombarded the city destroying much of the Grote Markt. But within four years, the guilds of Brussels rebuilt their square more resplendent than ever. That is what moves me the most—that such magnificence could rise so quickly because of the dedication of a city’s people. We kept wandering back to this place—it just keeps pulling you back. At night it is alive, vibrant, almost magical.

Ton wanted to get up very early one morning and watch the city come to life. We got up at 5am and started wandering the streets. The main thoroughfares were already busy, but the back streets leading to the Grote Markt were silent. The Grote Markt was virtually deserted, except for the flower vendor setting up his wares and the sweepers tidying up. Slowly more store owners trickled in as the sky started to lighten. It felt like watching a play, seeing a scene that had been acted out day after day for centuries. It is a good memory and one Ton's best ideas, ever.

One of the first things I wanted to do in Brussels was see the world-famous fountain, Manneken Pis. The little boy peeing. There are a lot of legends about this little statue but no one knows the truth of his origins. But if I was in Brussels, I had to see him for myself. After all, there’s a whole museum dedicated to him and his international wardrobe. Since Brussels is a center of international banking and diplomacy as well as head of the European Union, dignitaries from all over the world come here and gift the city with outfits for the lil’ guy representing their culture. All I can say is, after a long walk up some decently steep hills, I would have walked right by this "attraction" if I hadn’t seen three or four people taking photos of something. Turns out that Manneken Pis is indeed a little guy. Tiny. In fact, not more than a foot tall or I’ll eat him whole (made out of chocolate, of course. Available in shops everywhere in Brussels). Talk about disappointing! Ton had tried to warn me that is was small but would I believe him????? Of course not. Still we had a good laugh, and headed on towards grander things.

I also knew that if I was in Brussels, I wanted to see the newly opened Magritte Museum. As much as I love the art of Renee Magritte, I was disappointed in his museum. While they had a variety of his work, and it was laid out in my preferred chronological order, the museum seemed to miss a heart. It clearly did NOT have the best of Magritte’s work on display and the pieces they had, while very nice, were poorly displayed in pitch black rooms that were narrow enough that you could not escape the glare on the paintings. I’m not sorry I went, mind you, but I wanted to find the director and give him a stern talking to!

One of the other key things we wanted to do while in Brussels was find the Victor Horta Museum and take a tour. (Ton and I had stumbled on Horta's work on display in the Drenthe Museum in Assen.) Well, let’s just say that didn’t go as expected either! We thought we knew where we were going. Turned out that we didn’t! We must have walked 12 km that afternoon, looking for that house and asking people for directions in Ton’s rather impressive sounding, if slightly broken, French. We did find a fantastic shawarma/falafel shop though, and had lunch. After abandoning all hope, we stumbled upon the right street! The Rue Americain! We were even early! Ton and I both adore Art Nouveau and Art Deco. This house was incredible and did not disappoint! Horta designed every facet of the place, down to the banisters, the doorknobs, the cabinet hinges…everything. It was worth the walk. We would get our fill of Art Deco architecture later, in Antwerp. The only other side note I can add to this excursion is that we were so tired by the time we were through touring the house we decided to take a tram back. The tram was so full that we had to stand. It’s not unusual to have to do this and you get your “tram legs” fairly quickly. Only this time, my tram legs had another lady’s legs wedged between them so that when she stumbled, I stumbled. Luckily, Ton caught me. Unluckily, not before I wrenched my knee so badly that I didn’t think I would make it back to the hotel. I did. But I popped enough Aleve in the next few days to kill a small horse. Or one very tiny Manneken Pis.

Writing this I realize that time has made Brussels more magical for me. While I was there, it was intimidating. It was large. It was dirty. At times, I felt threatened and not at all safe. The city had more than its share of Eastern European women carrying babies and begging for money with outstretched hands and large, dark eyes. But distance has diminished the dirt and danger. I remember now how beautiful it was, the gentle roll of old historic streets. We were only there four days but we saw so very much that it felt like much, much longer. After all, how could you not love a city where you get waffles covered in chocolate and whipped cream at any hour?

If you want to see the other photos of Brussels, and be warned there are quite a few! Click onward the Brussels (Bruxelles) Set on Flickr.

Edam. It brings out my cheesy nature.

2009-12-01T12:19:00.000-08:00

After our day in Assen, we spent the night in Oosterwolde, a small town nearby. The Hotel Zon was a nice hotel and they had a very good restaurant on site, too! Great food, but the wine we ordered was only mediocre. You can’t win them all, I guess.

Oosterwolde photos

Sunday morning, October 25th, dawned bright and cheerful, and we headed to Leeuwarden on our way to Franeker and the Eise Eisinga Museum. Leeuwarden was quiet—not a lot of people out and about. It was here that I saw the most crooked church I’ve ever seen! It leans so far to the left that it rivals Pisa. In fact, it was leaning so far during the building of it, that they abandoned it. Then it was on to Het Princessehof Ceramic Museum. After coffee in the museum café, we headed on to Franeker.

Leeuwarden photos

In Franeker, we walked around this lovely town to the home of Eise Eisinga , a wool carder who built an accurate, working planetarium in his canalside home between 1774 and 1781. It was fascinating to see it—an elaborate and beautiful model of our solar system. Unfortunately, they didn’t allow photos inside, so you’ll have to settle for my photos of the Franeker City Hall, and the surrounding streets.

Franeker photos

Leaving Franeker, we headed back to Amstelveen. This meant traveling across the Afsluitdijk. Something I both anticipated and dreaded! Anticipated because, hey, nothing is more dutch than this enormous dijk. Dreaded because, hey, it’s a DIJK. Holding back a lot of WATER. I get creeped out on bridges over tiny rivers! Luckily, it was nothing as bad as I feared. In fact, it was so beautiful, I forgot to worry about it at all. We even walked a bit along the Wadden Sea, where the wind blew away all worries and fears. It was gorgeous.

Afsluitdijk photos.

Leaving the dijk and the sea behind we arrived in Edam, just as the sun was setting. It was here I fell in love again. Friesland held no magic for me. Groningen had no heart. But here, in Edam, there was a pulse, an air of antiquity, a feeling of home. I would move to this place. I wanted to soak it all in and become part of its history. Why, yes, I do have a flair for melodrama. But after all this time and distance, I can still feel the way I felt on those streets. Perhaps it was the time of day, seeing the city in the gloaming , perhaps it was the stillness and peace of a Sunday evening. Whatever it was, for that one evening, Edam was magical.

Edam photos.

October 24th, 2009. Assen. Or the Ass-end of nowhere.

2009-11-19T12:05:00.000-08:00

Saturday, we left Bakkeveen to head into the heart of Friesland. Henk dropped us off at the hotel in Oosterwolde where we would meet up later with Ton's folks. But Saturday, we were on our own! So, we hopped a bus and headed into Assen. It felt a bit more like "Dutch" than Bakkeveen, Roden and some of the other places. And it was market day when we were there. That always adds to the atmosphere of a place.

We opted to have lunch in the market and choose not to have the fish but instead ate lumpia with sambal sauce. Delish! There was also a man with his calliope in the town square. They are very prevalent in the Netherlands and always a joy to see.

However, most of the day was spent at the Drents Musuem. It was open house day at the museum and admission was free! But best of all, there were people in costumes from all periods of Dutch history and there was a re-enactment group in the ballroom doing clog dances. Very fun! The specialty of the museum is the history of Drenthe and the Hunnebedden.

The museum building itself was incredibly gorgeous and housed a fantastic exhibit of Belgian Art Nouveau and Art Deco design. This exhibition would influence our trip to Brussels because of our new-found love of the work of Brussels architect and designer, Victor Horta.

After the museum, it was time to head back to Oosterwolde and have dinner with Ton's parents. Tomorrow would be a day filled with new places: Leeuwarden, Franeker and the dreaded Afsluitdijk.

You can see the rest of my Assen photos on my Flickr page.

When last we saw our intrepid traveler...

2009-11-10T17:35:00.000-08:00

I was in Bakkeveen promising an update with photos. Now I'm in America and a lot of water went under the bridge and I have to scramble to catch up! So, let's start again. First, the promised pictures!

Let's start with the elusive and famous "Merrypippins", aka Mergpipjes!

And follow with Dutch Heather...

And end with...Honey Buns! I mean hunnebedden (or hunebedden depending on which spelling you prefer. Some Dutch people seem to spell it with two n's, while others spell it with one.) These are large stones that were pushed into Holland from Scandinavia during the Ice Age. The early Dutch people in the area created a legend that giants brought the stones into Holland. The Funnel Beaker people (or was it the clock beaker people?) used the stones to make grave chambers. There are 54 hunnebedden in Holland in Drenthe and Groningen. If you're really interested you can read more about it here.

See the kids climbing on the rocks? I wanted to tell them that the ghosts of the dead would come back and grab them from their beds that night and pull them under the rocks if they didn't stop blowing their ear-splitting whistles and screaming like banshees. AARgh. I should be more patient with children but those whistles were LOUD. Ton and I can still hear that sound. *shudders*

If you want to see the rest of the set, including market day in Roden, a trip to Groningen, and a climb up an observation tour in Bakkeveen, head over to my Flickr page.

Friday. The beginning of the second week.

2009-10-23T13:08:00.000-07:00

Edit to add: This post was written BEFORE the Belgium trip. I'm just catching up!

We're still in Bakkeveen. The morning started with a trip to the town of Roden to take our friend's car into the shop for maintenance. Nothing serious-- just an oil change! So we had time to visit the market. That's always fun! Lots of cheese, baked goods, cooked meat, deli meats, olives,flowers, even clothes and jewelry! It is interesting to see how similiar it is to our farmer's market-- yet so very different, too.

After that, we went into Groningen to see what we could find. We ended up going to the Noordland Scheepivart Museum. It gave a history of Groningen from medieval times and a look into Netherlands shipping history. The museum also had several rooms dedicated to tobacco in the Netherlands. Don't really see how the two are related, but it was interesting nonetheless.

As I said in an earlier post, lunch was on the run so we ate at Subway. *eyeroll*

Then it was back to Bakkeveen and a nature walk through the dune heather. I don't know how else to describe the very barren landscape. It looked like sand dunes covered in low-lying purplish juniper-type "heather". We also climbed their "viewing tower" to see the lay of the land. It was like climbing a fire tower on the Parkway. You were in the trees and could see nothing but tree tops and nature. It is fairly common for this area, but outside my realm of experience in Holland.

Saturday, we leave here and head to Oosterwolde and Assen, in Friesland. I have enjoyed being with Henk but I can't say that I will be sorry to leave North Holland. It feels so open and flat-- people live in real houses surrounded by land. Even though the area is older than Amsterdam, they don't feel old-- they seem to lack the charm of places that are a few hundred years younger. Everyone here drives a car, there seems to be very little public transportation. Doing anything involves driving. Living here would feel like living in America. I suppose this proves that places aren't that different, really.

Amazing. It's what's for dinner.

2009-10-23T12:51:00.000-07:00

De Drie Provinciën

Just had an amazing meal at De Drie Provincien! Fresh, hot bread with herbed shallot butter. Italian dry white wine. Halibut with shrimp in lemon sauce. It was served with small dishes of brussel sprouts, Belgian endive, roasted potatoes.

Ton had Cranberry Chicken. Chicken filet stuffed with brie and ham, topped with a plum, cranberry sauce. It was good but my fish was better!

Dessert was caramel ice cream coated in toffee-coated nuts, topped with whipped cream. OMG. SO GOOD. So good. I forgot to take a picture until it was too late.

These two hour dinners really agree with me. But I think I need bigger pants.

Oh, my other dining experience today? Subway. They are EXACTLY the same as in America. And the Dutch apparently love them. WTF.

More later-- probably Sunday evening. I'm uploading photos now but don't know when they'll be available.

A Quick Update....now from Bakkeveen!!

2009-10-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

We've left Leiden and headed north, to Groningen with Ton's friend, Henk. He has bought a new house in Bakkeven. Things up here are more spacious-- very small towns with lots of open land. It's free-standing homes, rather American actually. We had a nice lunch on the way in and I had my first "farmer's omelet" which is a fairly typical lunch around these parts. It's really just an omelet with lots of veggies in it.

We spent the afternoon at Kasteel Nienoord. (http://www.kasteelnienoord.nl/fotos) It's very tiny but they make the most of what they have. We had a personal guided tour (no one else was there!). The house itself is beautiful inside but needs restoration. There's just a lack of funding to do it.

They have an amazing collection of carriages, coaches and sleighs. They store them and have restoration facilities as well.

For the more macabre people on my list...I included the funeral coach and requisite coffin!

After that, we went to see Henk's niece who owns her own farm. 11 horses, a goat, a pig, some chickens, a new kitten and a dog so sweet I wanted to bring her home! We followed that with dinner in Norg, a very small town with an amazing Italian restaurant, Monte Giove. (http://www.montegiove.nl/site/norg.php) I had Lasagna ai peperoni met gorgonzola-- lasagna with red and green bell peppers, tomato sauce and gorgonzola cheese. For dessert, Dame Blanche-- homemade gelato with whipped cream that you pour warm dark chocolate sauce over and devour while the chocolate forms into pieces of fudgy goodness. *sigh* I think I gained ten pounds today.

Tomorrow we're going into Groningen, probably to a museum or two, or maybe just to walk around the town. We'll see what happens. Saturday we are meeting Ton's parents in Oosterwolde to stay at Hotel Zon and go to the Eise Eisgina museum (http://www.planetarium-friesland.nl/engels.html). Then, back home Sunday evening (possibly traveling over the Afsluitdijk! EEP!)to wash clothes and pack for three nights in Brussels and one night in Antwerp. Whew. The time is flying by!

PS THere are more pictures but I don't have time to get them posted tonight. I'm tired and I want to go to bed! :-P

Leiden, Katwijk and Panbos

2009-10-20T08:18:00.000-07:00

Hoi! Arrived in Leiden yesterday. We're with Ton's oldest sister and her family. We spent the day wandering around Leiden and planning our next adventure. Monday I leave for Brussels! We tried to book something for Paris but it wasn't in the cards. It was possible to get a hotel but not possible to get a ticket for the Thalys (high speed train). Oh, well. Maybe next year. We tried London, but had the same train issues. We settled for Belgium. I'm going to the Magritte museum! Whee! I'm happy with the outcome.

Today, we went to the Panbos and had a little walk about. It's a lovely wooded park, with lots of trails that lead to a "tank wall" that was built by the Germans to stop the Allies from coming in from the North Sea. Ton and the boys kicked around a soccer ball. It was a gorgeous day and a leisurely walk. Nice!

After that, we went to Katwijk an Zee (http://tinyurl.com/yg2umju) to the beach! I love going to Katwijk-- it feels so different from our beaches. There was a lot of activity even though it was very cool with a lot of wind. A bit of cold doesn't keep the Dutch down for very long! There was even a man and his son who were shrimping with small box nets. They caught enough shrimp for their lunch and were proud to show off their catch.

I'm sipping tea now, waiting for Marianne and Peter to finish dinner. I'm being treated so well, I may not ever come home. It's a cozy and comfortable house and a wonderful family.

Tomorrow, it's off to the Hague and the Gemeente Museum (http://www.gemeentemuseum.nl/index.php?id=1&langId=en). Then back to Amstelveen tomorrow night. Thursday, it's off to Groningen.

As usual, you can see the rest of my photos from today on my Flickr page.

2009-10-18T11:35:00.000-07:00

Had a family day with Ton's parents and his sister Marianne's family. We spent time walking in the Amsterdamse Bos--- a man-made forest built around the same time as the Blue Ridge Parkway. (http://www.amsterdamsebos.nl/algemene_onderdelen/english_site?popup=true) It also has a huge pond for rowing which was built, according to Ton's Mother for the Olympics in Summer of 1928. Walked something like 4km around the damned thing.

We did stop for pancakes at a little house in the park. We were greeted by a very thin cow holding a menu. The pancakes took forever to arrive!! But it was good, if a little too thin, eggy and Dutch for me. I have to apologize-- I forgot to take a picture of it!! Have a cow photo instead.

At the pancake house there was a rather weird "decoration" if you will. It was a girl doll that was dressed in prison stripes with a ball and chain hanging from her ankle. She was suspended from the gutter of the building! WTF. I still don't know. But everyone in Ton's family thought it amusing. I still don't get it.

Later, we went to see Ton's other sister, Evelien, to meet the latest and greatest family members, her twin boys-- one of which is Ton's namesake! Cute babies who didn't cry once and let me hold them without a whimper. In fact they grinned at me foolishly most of the time. I liked them. They don't speak Dutch. Yet.

An afternoon in A'dam.

2009-10-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Spent the afternoon rambling around Amsterdam. We rode the tram through the city and hopped off on Koningsplein near Dam Square. It was HECTIC in the city! So hectic that we decided we had to fortify ourselves with some Vlaamse Frites! Belgian fries, for those uninformed. Delicious golden gems of potatoey goodness topped with mayo and sate sauce. DELISH!

Turns out the crowd would get worse because the fair was in town! It was set up in front of the Palace on Dam Square. Some things are the same the world over! Loud music, wild rides and lots of fried food. I managed to get Ton to ride their version of the ferris wheel. It was huge! And had great views of the city. After that, we wandered to the Begijnhof, which is a little oasis on calm in an overcrowded and hectic city. Originally, the Begijnhof housed catholic women who sought to do good works and practice their religion without actually becoming a Nun. Today, it remains housing for women, but also offers anyone who seeks it a place of solitude and contemplation in a quiet garden and a small chapel. (http://www.begijnhofamsterdam.nl/index_engels.html)

We moved on up the Damrak towards Beurs van Berlage. The Beurs van Berlage was built by Hendrik Petrus Berlage (1856-1934) for the Municipality of Amsterdam. Construction started in 1898 and was completed in 1903. It was Berlage’s first really large commission – and it would make him world famous. (http://en.beursvanberlage.nl/beursvanberlage/index.html). A beautiful building designed by Berlage (think Amsterdam School!! and you've got it!), who is a simply amazing architect. I hadn't had an opportunity to see the building up close and after seeing it, I'm not sure I took it all in. There is so much detail, so many things to absorb...gah. Pictures don't do it justice. Not mine or anyone else's.

But one can take only so much scholarly observation and religious contemplation before they are driven straight to The Walletjes, aka The Red Light District. This is always an odd experience. The women for the most part are beautiful, well-toned, and completely disinterested. What is most interesting is watching the men. Men who wander down these extremely narrow alleyways to see the women behind glass rarely stop to LOOK but rather march on, hardly daring to look at these women out of the corner of their eye. Ton looked down at his feet and soldiered on claiming the women behind the glass are intimidating and most men find them so. I just find it ODD. C'mon. It's just sex. *shrugs* You're window shopping for it just like you would in a bar. Except you're not buying them a drink first, you're just paying for it outright. Cutting out the middle man so to speak.

Past the red light district, we ambled back towards Centraal Station, past the Waag, and through China town. When we saw the famous Nam Kee sign, Ton had to stop for dinner. There was a wonderful little wizened Chinese man making dumplings at the front table. His economy of movement, his fast and practiced hands were fascinating. I wanted to take his picture, to film him, but I didn't dare ask. Somehow, his preparation felt a bit like ritual and interrupting it didn't seem right. Instead, I settled on Chinese Chicken Sate with green onions and Ton choose sweet and sour chicken. I could have had cuttle fish, or pork intestine, or crispy bowel (of what, the menu didn't say) but I played it safe. Bourdain would be so disappointed in me. Oh, or I could have picked my eel from the tank and let them cook it for me. Ugh. The food that arrived was worth the hype. It felt like home-cooking, not the standard Chinese-American fare we have come to know as Chinese. I want to add Chinese tea here is nothing like our heavy smokey tea in the states. It is jasmine tea and light as summer honeysuckle. I could drink it by the gallon.

The day was winding down and turning cold but we wandered down to the harbor, behind Centraal Station and took the Buiksloterweg ferry to Noord Holland to have a drink and take a few shots from across the harbor. I had a decent glass of bitter lemon at Cafe De Pont (http://www.cafedepont.nl/foto-s/) followed by a stroll through the marina. At the marina, we passed a series of bathrooms, all illuminated in a very weird blue light. Ton tells me they use that color because junkies who seek out private spaces like bathrooms, can't find their veins in that type of light. Interesting, no???

Then it was back on the ferry and onto another one! This one to Ijplein. By this time it was soooooooo cold and the wind was blowing we did nothing more than take a few snaps of a heron that asked to pose me. Being the kind American that I am, I didn't want to offend this native and obliged. Until the ferry returned to pick us up (8 whole minutes! Whew!) and then it was back to Centraal Station and the Number 5 tram to Amstelveen.

By the time we returned to Amstelveen THEIR fair was in full swing! If such a small fair can swing. I think they had three rides and a few mechanical arm toy-grabbing machines (what ARE they called??) I snapped a few photos and walked back home. To a warm pot of tea and a stroopwaffle. What more could a girl ask for?

I might not want to know the answer to that. Tomorrow if "family day". In the Amsterdamse Bos. Pannenkoeken anyone?

Tonight's bonus!! You get to see all my photos of the day!! You can find them on my flickr account..

"On the Ground" means landing. Thank god.

2009-10-16T08:59:00.000-07:00

United/Lufthansa keeps telling you that you'll be "on the ground" in X amount of time. I think this is a poor choice of words. Of course, it could be their form of disclaimer. If you crash, you're on the ground. But maybe you'll get lucky.

We landed safe and sound around 7am Nederlandish time and waited for around 30 minutes to get through the WORST Customs line I've ever waited through. Our baggage arrived with us, too. This always surprises me. At any rate, the flight was horrendously rough, lots of turbulence and rain. They ended up climbing to 39,000 feet to get above the weather and still had to keep flight attendents in their seats a good part of the flight.

After a shower and a nap, we wandered to the market with Ton's parents and now we're awaiting the arrival of his siblings. In the meantime, Ton will prepare a "dump cake" to amaze and amuse. I'll be amazed if it turns out. They have a convection oven and weird looking cake mix. I think I'm out of element.

The weather is incredibly windy with short bursts of rain. It's weird how fast the weather changes. No plans for tomorrow other than I want to go into the city and soak up that A'dam atmosphere. No pictures, yet. The market was fun but it was too rainy for the camera.

Time is short....

2009-10-14T07:28:00.000-07:00

but the packing list is long. I leave tomorrow! So much not done! A last panicked gasp before heading out to catch the flight out of Charlotte Douglas. My list of things to do:

1. Pack. No, it's not done. Yes, I am usually organized. I decided to freak out and pack at the last minute like the rest of the world.

2. Deliver Allie to her sitters. Yes, I'm crying over my dog. Deal with it.

3. Pay phone bill and insurance before leaving. EEP.

4. But lottery ticket. I will win the powerball lottery on the fifteenth. I have it on high authority that it is my "lucky" day. On second thought, this is not first on the list.

For those that are interested, here's my itinerary:

October 15th:
USAirways express flight #2236
Leaving Charlotte at 2:05pm
Arriving Washington/Dulles 3:17pm

Lufthansa Flight 9057 (May also be referred to as UA946- United Air 946. It is a code share flight)
Leaving Washington/Dulles 5:20pm
Arriving on October 16th at Schipol 7:05am (1:05am EST)

November 5th:
Lufthansa Flight #9056 (May also be referred to as UA947- United Air 947. It is a code share flight)
Leaving Amsterdam at 12:20pm (6:20am EST)
Arriving Washinton/Dulles at 2:57 pm

USAirways Express Flight #7071
Leaving Washington/Dulles 5:20pm
Arriving Charlotte 6:53pm

Amsterdam. City of Dreams. 2009 Trip.

2009-08-25T06:52:00.001-07:00

I've got my tickets! We leave fly out of Charlotte on October 15th and will be back on November 5th. Three weeks in Amsterdam! I wasn't terribly excited until I bought the tickets. Now I can't wait! Going to Amsterdam always feels a bit like going home. But then when I'm there and deal with public transportation for three weeks, I'm ready to DRIVE MY CAR. A car without stick shift and traffic lanes that don't go anywhere. All the art and all the beauty make it worth it. Oh, and it's nice to see Ton's family. I guess I should throw that in, too. :-P

In all my excitement, I realized I had forgotten all about my pictures from last year's trip! I have started sorting them, finally. But it will take AGES to get them sorted and converted. But in the meantime, I leave you with the first batch.

Munttoren from Rembrandtplein

Afternoon at the Blauwbrug (Blue Bridge)

Flower market in Amstelveen

Fiddler in the Floor. Stadhuis Amsterdam.

The complete sets can be found here:
First Day. Amstelveen and the COBRA Museum

Second Day. Saturday Morning at Ton's old Football Clubhouse and later at Amsterdamsche Football Club to watch his old teammates. LOTS of football pictures here.

Muntplein, Rembrandtplein and Waterlooplein

Washington, D.C. -- A trip wrap-up

2009-06-07T18:24:00.000-07:00

I realized today that I haven’t updated about my vacation in Washington, DC! Ton and I spent eight days touring ~~our~~ my (he’s only a permanent resident not a citizen!) nation’s capital. It was fun but it was tiring. Driving was an absolute nightmare! I was thrilled to take the metro and not have to fool with it. The metro stop was at the end of the block by our hotel—so convenient!

Overall, DC seemed to lack heart and spirit to me. It felt like a place people work and people visit but not a place where people lived. (I should add the caveat that I came down with the flu my first night in DC and fought it the entire trip. That probably colored my perceptions.) Of course there were exceptions to this feeling, Chinatown, Woodley Park and Adams Morgan all felt very homey. But it was so easy to get overwhelmed by the history and the hype of the place that you would forget all of those places. I have to admit, I grew bored with the history and patriotic flag-waving of DC. The Korean War Memorial moved me to tears while the Vietnam Memorial didn’t have the impact that I thought it would. Arlington Cemetery felt sacred— Bobby Kennedy’s grave in particular moved me. It was so alone, so separate and also larger ignored by so many people who were touring that day. There were also three funerals while we were there. One was apparently of a fairly high-ranking person as he had a large honor detail and funeral cortege. Capitol Hill felt rather…slimy. So many staffers running about, trying to look confident and important. I didn’t even want to venture inside. We saved the Library of Congress tour for the last day—and wow. I was so overcome with the building that I never wanted to leave. What person who loves books, loves libraries, loves the very notion of an archives would ever WANT to leave? The building was so incredibly gorgeous that I felt my head would spin off from trying to look in all directions at once. I wanted to sit and absorb the feeling of that space—fill myself up with it.

But the best thing about DC, the most AMAZING thing was the art. Oh, my. To live in that place and have Vermeer at your fingertips, to have Picasso at your beck and call…Gah. I was wandering through the National Gallery and was so overwhelmed by it all that I could hardly breathe. I turned a corner and there before on the wall was Portrait of a Lady by Rogier van der Weyden. Much to Ton’s embarrassment I once again began to cry in an art gallery. I adore this painting. I wrote a paper on it for one of my art classes. I researched it in detail. And I had forgotten that this dear lady lives in DC now. What a joy to see it in person. She is exquisite. Simply masterful. And to see not one but three Vermeer! WOW. Unfortunately, the fourth one, “Woman holding a balance” was on loan to the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Still very, very impressive and I couldn’t be sad at not having seen it. We discovered a surprising gem, the Renwick Gallery. One afternoon we visited the White House and decided to walk further down the street. We happened upon a beautiful art deco building and noticed it was a gallery. We decided to stop in and thank goodness we did! What a treat. They were hosting an exhibition of work of Greene and Greene. I adore their work—anything in the craftsman style is right up my alley. The exhibition was breath-taking—more so because it was completely unexpected. (Let me add a sidenote here: We had pictures of the White House, the Renwick Gallery, the Korean War and Vietnam Memorials but they have disappeared from Ton’s harddrive! Evidently in moving files to another disk, he erased them. He has been soundly lashed for the oversight.)

On to the important stuff-- we had wonderful food in DC! Never had a bad meal OR bad service and that’s saying something! Four meals in particular stand out. First was at a restaurant in the Woodley Park neighborhood—Mediterra. Serving Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food, it was simply wonderful! The baba ghanoush was TO DIE FOR! Another fantastic meal was had at La Tasca. I adore everything about tapas—the slow build of the meal, sharing good food, good wine and good times. And this place had incredible food! We also searched out Good Stuff, a burger joint that was opened by Top Chef contestant Spike Mendelsohn. And it was worth the journey! I had the Prez Obama burger—a burger topped with applewood bacon, Roquefort cheese and red onion marmalade and I also had a side order of Spike’s Village Fries—handcut fries topped with sea salt, cracked pepper, rosemary and thyme. Delish! Our final night, we ventured into Chinatown, the one spot in DC that I felt had true heart and character. We had a wonderful Chinese meal there one evening but on our last night we wanted something different. We found a tiny Indian restaurant and gave it a try. Wow. So glad we did! The service was incredible and the food was fantastic. Mehak was a perfect way to end our stay in DC.

I’m posting a few of my favorite pictures—they are in no way representative of everything we saw! These are simply the ones that stand out in my mind. I’ll post a link to the entire set at the end.

Lincoln Memorial at sunset

Mr. Lincoln

Metro Station—or the Senate Chamber from Star Wars. Or the pods from the Matrix???

World War II Memorial

Ton at the WWII Memorial—Look! North Carolina!

Gazing at the Library of Congress

Interior shot at the Library of Congress

Interior shot at the Library of Congress

Ton contemplating Giacomo Balla's Boccioini's Fist: Lines of Force II.

Sculpture contemplating Family of Saltimbanques, 1905 by Pablo Picasso. National Gallery of Art.

A view of Mondrian. National Gallery of Art.

An old married couple. National Zoo.

Mother and child. National Zoo.

Intruding. (I really felt like I was interrupting her private time with her baby.) National Zoo.

Jellyfish. National Zoo.

My beloved Komodo dragon. National Zoo.

Finally, the glasses that beg for a matching purse and hat.

If you want to see more, and let’s face it who wouldn’t, you can check out all of the rest on my Flickr page. Be warned, as usual, there are A LOT of pictures.

Wilmington, Your diamond sand was snowflakes...

2009-01-27T17:13:00.000-08:00

The MLK holiday weekend was hanging long and empty before us. Dutch and I decided (that can be read as I decided) that the opportunity of a long weekend away was not to be missed. I planned a lovely trip to Atlanta to see an exhibit at the High Museum that was on loan from the Louvre. They were also hosting an exhibit of the terra-cotta soliders from China. But Dutch would have none of that. The hotels too expensive!! The drive too long!! The food costs astronomical! And the museum entrance fees for TWO days had him positively screaming.

There was nothing left to do. I compromised. I know. I am shocked, too. But I did. Wilmington, it was. Neither of us had ever been and two friends recommended the area highly. Here was our tentative agenda:

Sunday morning-- Leave home by 6AM for a 4 1/2 hour drive to the coast. (Atlanta is only a little bit further. But who was counting? )

Sunday afternoon-- a stop at Wrightsville Beach and then a tour of the USS North Carolina. Dinner somewhere-- preferably overlooking the Intercoastal waterway.

Monday morning-- Airlie Gardens
Monday afternoon-- Spent at the beach or maybe Fort Fisher and a short ferry ride.
Monday evening-- Riverwalk and a nice dinner on the Cape Fear River

Tuesday morning-- Historic Downtown Wilmington Tour followed by coffee at Port City Java.

I'm nothing, if not organized. I like to plan. I don't know why I bother. You can roll that agenda up and smoke it! We left an hour late, which is no big deal. Dutch is usually later than that! We arrived in good time and drove straight to Wrightsville Beach. And as soon as my foot hit the sand at the base of Johnny Mercer pier, it began to rain. But it's the beach! It's a passing shower, nothing more! We laughed and watched the rain drops drizzle down as we walked along. Finally, we gave up. It was cold! IT was wet! So we headed out to The Bluewater Grille, a restaurant that received rave reviews AND it was on the Intercoastal Waterway. It was very busy and that is usually a great sign. The interior was gorgeous with heavily carved mouldings, a pressed tin ceiling and a polished wood bar. And the food? Meh. I had a shrimp po'boy with pasta salad. Dutch had the greek salad. I was NOT impressed. The shrimp were large but completely flavorless. The bread was NOT house made. IT was a limp roll. Very disappointing start. And the rain? It was falling harder by the minute. No USS North Carolina for us. We opted instead to do a bit of shopping at the Cotton Exchange-- a mall that is housed in the old cotton exchange building. It was quaint-- and mostly closed. That's right, evidently Wilmington shuts down for the season. Lovely. We finally gave up and went to check into the hotel. Where we promptly took a nap.

Upon waking, with nothing better to do, we decided to eat again. This time trying a local diner that had been voted as the best burger and fries in Wilmington for seven years in a row-- PT's Grill. Wow. SOOOOOO glad we went! I had the PT original burger with fries and a side order of blue cheese dressing, , lemonade to drink . Dutch had a turkey sandwich with fries. Outstanding on both counts! It's a quirky place, where you fill out your own order ticket and hand it to the guy behind the counter. Then you watch them grill it up from your table-- high tables surrounded by wooden bar stools. The place was very busy and the only table left had a stool that was labeled, "RON". It was the only labeled stool in the place. Clearly for one of their regulars. It was also the stool that I was sitting on. Dutch was very nervous and kept commenting that he hoped Ron wasn't a big dude! He didn't want to fight for the stool. It was still raining when we left, so we called it a night. Nothing seemed appealing in that weather.

Monday dawned bright and beautiful. Dutch woke up gray and SICKly. Lovely. But he was a trooper and pushed on. Soo....Airlie Gardens was a go! We arrived early and were the first ones in the gate. The entire time we spent there, we only saw three other people. It was like having the place to ourselves. It was worth every penny of the $5 admission price. We chose to have a real lunch but instead snack on protein bars and rice crackers. Yes, we are party animals! We also decided to drive to Fort Fisher and also go the NC Aquarium there. Fort Fisher was closed. Well, the museum was. The beach is always open. It was quite lovely. There was a little thicket of trees that were so tightly woven that there was only a small hole to go in. Dutch had to check it out-- and of course I followed. It was like going into Fangorn Forest-- it felt dark and mysterious and the branches get pulling my hair. Luckily the trail out of the thicket was clearly marked and opened up rather quickly.

Then it was on to the aquarium! Which proved to be a BAD idea. It was FREE DAY!! Whee!!! A million people with their hordes of children. It was nice to escape to the relative quiet of the beach after that! And escape we did to the Kure Beach pier. Now, many of you know that I don't like the ocean. It terrifies me. And piers are the WORST. You're walking out over all that pounding water that wants nothing more than to undermine the pilings and pull the whole thing out to sea. I escaped the panic by taking pictures of birds. Lots and lots of pictures of birds. And then I became oddly fascinated by the way the sand billowed in the crashing waves. I understand by war photographers get into trouble-- things seem so calm and so removed when viewed through an lens.

Now, if you've been looking back at the agenda you know that Monday night was our fancy dinner on the Cape Fear River night. I have three restaurants in mind. George's on the Riverwalk, Elijah's on the Riverwalk and Circa 1922. The first restaurant on the walk is Elijah's. It was closed for remodelling. Lovely. Next? George's. Closed on Monday evenings. Circa 1922? Well, I THINK we found it on Front Street and if it WAS the place it was PACKED. Absolutely PACKED with people in much better dress than ours standing in front of it with drinks in hand. Oh, well. We finally gave in and went to Bonefish Grill, which is a chain but one that I love. I had the salmon with bacon, spinach and gorgonzola and Dutch had Chicken Marsala. I followed it with a macadamia nut brownie and ice cream. Life was good again.

Except it wasn't. Because the forecast was for snow on Tuesday. And we woke up to a cold rain and everything in Wilmington canceled due to the threat of bad weather. I thought we should forgo our historic downtown walk and head home before the snow struck. Over breakfast we decided to check the weather along I-40 before making a decision. This confirmed my worst fears-- we would be driving home in a frozen HELL. Raleigh already had at least an inch of snow on the ground and it was barreling towards the coast. That was it. We decided to head home immediately. BAD IDEA. REALLY BAD IDEA. I-40 was frozen solid from just outside of Duplin, NC all the way through to Chapel Hill, NC. I only skidded once but was so tense, I was almost in tears the entire time. (I only cried once and that was because Dutch yelled at me!!!! All his fault!!!!) We really should have stayed another day on the coast. Luckily the weather cleared outside of Chapel Hill and by the time we made Burlington, the roads were clear and dry. Dutch took over the driving at that point. A really cool side note: it was inauguration day. I heard Obama's speech on the radio and it felt rather like we were in a different time and place. Instead of seeing on television, or internet, I was hearing it, like my mother or my grandmother would have heard it in their time. It was like coming full circle, somehow. It felt oddly appropriate, very fitting for the message he delivered.

Anyway, that was our Wilmington trip. It didn't go quite as planned. We didn't do everything we wanted to do and many, many things were closed for the season. I wouldn't mind going back when Wilmington is at her best-- hosting ghost tours, trolley cars and open shops. I would like to see more of Historic Downtown Wilmington, which was so beautiful and filled with old Southern dignity and charm. But if I don't go, I won't be heartbroken. Wilmington seemed to lack the heart that draws me to Nags Head. It's a middle ground between the horrible hype that is Myrtle Beach and the charm that is the Outer Banks. If I had it to do over? I would have gone to Atlanta. :-P

You can see the photos on Flickr: Wilmington, NC January 19th, 2009

Oh, and the thing I regret most?? I never did get that coffee.

Oost, West, Thuis Best

2008-10-02T16:09:00.000-07:00

I'm home. We managed to get into Charlotte yesterday, a little after 4pm. It was a loooooooong flight home-- around 10 hours or so. Lots of turbulence made it even longer. I like turbulence but standing in the plane rather resembled surfing. Thank god that I developed some sense of balance due to standing on trams and trains or going to the bathroom on the plane would have been impossible!!!!

ANYWAY....sorry that I skipped out on the last few days of the trip. We stayed in Leiden and Dutch's sister didn't have wireless internet. The post I made from Leiden was done on a stolen connection-- hey, I didn't know it wasn't THEIR network!!!!! I did make it to the Hague to see Vermeer's "Girl with a Pearl Earring". Incredible. She commands so much attention. But I have to admit it was "The Goldfinch" by Carel Fabritius that captivated me completely. Dutch's sister also felt I should see the Hague's Municipal Museum. And she was right. It was gorgeous. The building was built by Berlage (Dutch's favorite architect and famed for his creation of the "Amsterdam School" of architecture design) and is a work of art in its own right. But inside the collection is modern but not in the pretentious, artsy way. Best of all were the works of Piet Mondrian. I definitely gained a new appreciation for his work. Like the Van Gogh museum, the works are laid out chronologically so that you can see the progression of the artist. The earlier works are darker and appeal to me a bit more but they're all great. Most surprising to me was the deterioration of the canvases, especially those painted later, in New York. They are frayed at the edges, with the paint "yellowing" a bit. Amazing that the works of Frans Hals and others from much earlier periods should survive in such grand condition. Oh, there was also a fantastic exhibit of the works of the father and son painters, Jozef and Isaac Israëls. It was in this exhibit that Dutch's sister and I kept walking into the rooms and moving towards the same painting. Evidently, she has the same exquisite taste that I have!! One piece in particular caught our eye-- "Amsterdam Girl". I've got a picture of it-- if I can finally get around to posting it.

Friday was the funeral. Cultural anthropologists sometimes say that to understand a culture, you need to understand their death rituals. I think that's probably true. The funeral was very short. We actually rode with the family as honored guests. It's most likely the only time I'll ever be in a stretch Mercedes limo! We left the funeral home and a man in top hat and full mourning garb walked in front of the limo. But he only walked about 100 yards before he got in the car carrying the coffin. He got out again when we arrived at the chapel and walked the last 100 yards or so. Weird. The family was ushered in, greeted the "guests" and then we filed into a room where the coffin was placed. The deceased brother spoke a few words. Carly Simon's "Coming Around Again" was played (it was her favorite). Finally, the family walked past the coffin and said their final farewell before the rest of the gathering did the same. Then everyone went out into the lobby and had coffee, tea, cake and cookies. It was rather like blah, blah, blah, let's eat! Not to say it wasn't somber-- it just felt so VERY different and very, very Dutch. Oh, and the family sends out death notices to all friends and family immediately following the death-- the day of or the day after at the latest. Who the HECK can think well enough to do that so soon after losing a loved one?? It also speaks to the practicality of the Dutch that they only bury their dead for 15 years. You can "renew" the grave for longer if you're willing to pay for it. But most people just allow their loved ones to be dug up and disposed of. It's not a matter of respect but a matter of space.

Enough on such gruesome matters-- time to move on!! Saturday, we went to Delft for a quick trip around a beautiful town. Dutch's mother was raised in Delft and he was excited to visit again after a number of years away. Dutch spoke fondly of time spent with his Opa, aunts, uncles and cousins and showed me where he played when he was young, as well as the place his mother grew up. I also made a pilgrimage there because of the town's connection to Vermeer. We went to OudeKerk and saw the original grave marker of Vermeer (his body was moved long, long ago to his mother-in-laws family crypt). We ventured to Nieuwe Kerk and saw the royal tomb of William of Orange, who was assassinated in Delft, and the marker for the entrance to the royal crypt for the "royals" of House of Orange-Nassau. I wanted to spend more time there, but we had to get back for a trip to Katwijk. That's right, we went to the beach!! Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!!! How many times have I used that word??? We had dinner at Key West, a restaurant right on the beach. (I had Schnitzel Key West-- chicken pounded very thin and lightly breaded, topped with warm brie and tomato.) We watched the sun go down over the North Sea before heading home for coffee, tea and cake.

Sunday we went with Dutch's sister's family to Panbos, near Katwijk but it's a completely different feel than the beach. It's a heavily wooded area that felt like being home, walking a trail on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Except that there's a tank wall built by the Germans-- a massive wall used as a line of defense against the allies that might try to land at Katwijk and come inland. It would have been a huge job to knock down this wall but the Dutch also keep these fortifications as a reminder. As I said before, it's these reminders that make the war and everything I've studied, real.

Monday, it was raining but that didn't stop us from returning to Haarlem for one last look around. We walked to St. Bavokerk to see the grave of another favorite painter of mine, Frans Hals. But I hadn't done my research (shocking, I know!!!) and we couldn't get close to it. We were only able to look through the locked gate of the chapel and see it. It's only opened on special occasions. Oh, well. What I hadn't anticipated was seeing one of the most beautiful pipe organs imaginable! It's said that this organ is one of the most beautiful in the world-- well, at least sound-wise. So beautiful in fact that Handel made a pilgrimage just to play on it. As did a young Mozart. I can't attest to the sound, no one was playing it for lowly tourists, but it is a work of art. After that trip, it was home again to pack and say final farewells before leaving on Tuesday.

Someday, I'll tell about our trip to Frankfurt and the odyssey of finding our hotel, but this post is already way too long! That's it. Except for the promised pictures. I'm working on those, too. Maybe tomorrow. Or Saturday. Or Sunday.

Right now, I just want to SLEEP.

Leiden.

2008-09-25T00:09:00.000-07:00

Somber greetings from Leiden. We heard Tuesday morning that one of Dutch's friends passed away on Monday. Remember the old friends we spend Sunday with? It was a brother and sister that Dutch met long ago when he worked at IBM. Well, the sister died Monday morning of a stroke. She was fine when we were with her on Sunday, so this was a huge surprise. Yesterday we went to Weesp to spend some time with him before journeying on to Leiden to spend a few days here with Dutch's sister. Tomorrow, we'll go back to Weesp for the funeral. Very sad news. Dutch is quite shaken. Today, we're going to the Hague and I will finally, hopefully, get to see Vermeer's Girl with the Pearl Earring.

But some of the shine is gone. It's scary when things like this happen. It's hard not to internalize such a shock.

Whew. Busy, busy, busy!!

2008-09-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

How's it going??? I've been so busy, I've not had time to sit at a computer and write anything! The weekend went mostly as planned-- Friday night was dinner at a fantastic restaurant near the North Sea. I can't remember the name of the town...I'll have to ask Dutch (I probably couldn't spell it even if I did remember!) Saturday was "family day" and we watched the nephews play voetball (soccer!!!). The vader-in-law drove us to Leimuiden and showed us his birthplace and told us stories of the German occupation. It is strange to see the war from a different perspective-- it makes it very real when you hear that Dutch's grandfather was placed in an execution line up but managed to bluff his way out of it. It's a family history that I never thought I would experience. Saturday evening was spent in Zaandam with more friends of Dutch. They were super nice! And we had amazing tapas! Manchego cheese with pine nuts, walnuts and garlic oil, bread with aioli, chicken with chorizo, catfish renellos (roasted red pepper stuffed with catfish, bread crumbs and grated manchego) and eggplant stuffed with bread crumbs, tomato, cheese and egg, scrambled eggs with spanish ham, grilled pork tenderloin in an amazing light cream and wine sauce. All washed down and the best sangria in the world!!!!

Sunday was a bit of a change-- we still saw one of Dutch's best buddies but we didn't go to Muiden. We went instead to Arnhem to the Open Air Museum. It's quite a nice place, big by Dutch standards, where you can see many historic monuments that have been moved there from all over the Netherlands. Its rather like seeing a microcosm of the country! There's windmills from all over, as well as a cheese factory, a brewery, a working farm, city gates, tram stations, and bridges. A little bit of everything, all gathered within an easy walk. We ended the day by having dinner at a bar in "Naarden. Naarden is gorgeous! It's tiny, quaint, and very old. It is also a VERY expensive place to live. But at any rate, I had a really good chicken sate with a strange potato salad (indescribable but okay, really) and what was labeled a "salad" but looked more like chopped coleslaw except made with lettuce and cucumbers. Very strange, indeed. The bar was loud, but gezellig . The football game was on and it was an important match-- Ajax vs. Feyenoord. It was a "must win" game for both, or so I'm told. I believe they tied-- if you're interested (which I wasn't).

Today, Dutch and I parted ways. He went to Helmond (hey Buffy fans-- he went to the Hellmouth!!) and I went into Amsterdam with Mum-in-law. We went to see the new exhibit of Caspar David Friedrich at the Hermitage Amsterdam. German romantic landscape paintings-- very nice! We then walked through the Jewish quarter to Rembrandt House. Beautiful etchings-- I never saw Rembrandt like this before! The etchings are better than the paintings! Impressive!! After that, we went to The Jewish Historical Museum. It was quite moving and very beautiful. After a brief lunch of brie cheese, tomatoes and basil on fresh rolls, we ventured to the Van Gogh Museum. I forget how much I LIKE Van Gogh until I see it in person. The books and reprints do not do him justice. His work is textural-- you really need to see it in person to appreciate the beauty.

Now, I'm having a glass of wine and then some Lumpia with the in-laws.

Then, I just might collapse.

All this fun is very tiring. Yes, yes, I know cry you a river. :-P

waves

2008-09-19T00:14:00.000-07:00

I've given up on posting pictures. The in-law's network is bouncing like a well-endowed go-go dancer and drops the uploads. Very frustrating!!!! On top of that, I've been so busy I've not had a lot of time to even think about writing it all down! We spent Monday in Amsterdam, shopping (I bought Lush products! Wheee!) and Tuesday was the Stedlijk (City) Museum. It's a modern art museum and they were having an exhibition of digital photography. It was, in a single word, horrible. If that was artistic vision, I would eat my shoes. I want art that inspires me, that moves me in some emotional sense. The only emotion I felt was anger that a man got paid to take a photo of a drunken 20-something man pissing on a chair. It wasn't even a Rietveld chair-- just a normal, average chair. UGH. The best part of Tuesday was definitely going into Amsterdam's new, gorgeous library! Seven floors of amazing architecture, beautiful modern art installations, and gorgeously laid-out shelving and seating. The top floor is a cafe with a terrace that looks out over the harbor and gives an amazing view of the city. We had lunch in the cafe to enjoy the view! I have pictures that you will see someday. I hope. *sigh*

Wednesday was spent in Haarlem. I loved this town, built around an old city square. The feeling here is timeless. We could have been walking down the street in the 14th century or modern day. It exudes the feeling of the ages. We went to the Frans Hals Museum and I finally saw my St. Adrian Civic Guard painting that I've been longing to see. Hals work is truly inspiring and perfect. He remains one of my all-time favorites.

Thursday was spent in Utrecht. An odd city, with half the city being ultra-modern and the other half being very old. It was here though, that we found our favorite museum, Utrecht Centraal Museum. They seem to have the best of everything, beautifully displayed. Some painters I wasn't familiar with, but fell in love with immediately as well as a large collection of Rietveld furniture and house plans. This museum administers the Rietveld Schroder house which we wanted to tour but couldn't get tickets! As it was, we just enjoyed the things on display. Then we went into Amsterdam for a late supper of Falafel and Belgian fries, and wandered through the red light district. It's in the old part of town and it's a lovely walk (in more ways than one! *winks*)

Today, we're off to the Rijksmuseum and tonight is dinner with an old friend of Dutch. We're eating somewhere near the beach! Tomorrow, it's off to Leiden to see Dutch's nephews play football and then dinner out with another old friend (tapas! Whee!). Sunday, we're spending the day with yet another old friend in Muiden-- visiting Muiderslot and the old city defense posts. After that?? I have no idea. There's always SOMETHING going on!

Tot Ziens!

Tragedy.

2008-09-16T01:24:00.001-07:00

The trip has taken a turn for the worse.

There are no mergpijpjes. That's right. We can't find them. The pastry shops??? None. The Albert Heijn?? Nope. Well, we did find the little ones, but they aren't as good. We found a few of the bigger ones in single packages by a different company at the gas station up the street but they sucked.

WHERE OH WHERE ARE MY MERGPIPJS?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

An update of the last two days...

2008-09-15T00:16:00.000-07:00

Goedemorgen! Slaap goed?

Saturday was a day spent on the football pitch. The rain cleared while we were visiting Ton's old soccer club. We found out that his old team was playing at "Aufsay". I had no idea what Aufsay was. In fact, I spent a good thirty minutes trying to figure it out on the tram. I looked at the maps and still didn't see anything. Unfortunately, Dutch didn't know WHERE "Aufsay" was either-- that's not right. He DID know but he forgot. Color me surprised. *eyeroll* A two mile walk later, we come upon the Amsterdam Football Club, aka AFC. Ah. That makes more sense than Aufsay. Anyway, we watched his old team play and he disappeared into the locker room with them at half time. While this fuels many fantasies, I can't say there was a team mate worth fantasizing about!! :-P

After departing the pitch, we went into Amsterdam proper and wandered around Waterlooplein, to Rembrandtplein and the Muntplein. Muntplein is the location of the Munttoren (Mint Tower), definitely a city landmark. It's a gorgeous area to wander through and we took lots of pictures. I'm converting them now but uploading takes longer than expected. I'll try to post a few tonight or tomorrow. We also visited the flower bulb market and it's beautiful! Did you know they sell cannabis starter kits? Isn't that coolness?!? They also sell cannabis lollipops.

Our dinner that night was at an absolutely lovely little Indian restaurant that overlooked Muntplein. We walked up these narrow little stairs into a tiny little place with a beautiful view. The food was excellent! I had chicken tikka marsalla and Dutch had chicken Tandoori. The tea was delightful-- real woodbark and berries steeped in steaming water. It was amazing, really. The naan bread was to DIE for.

After dinner, we wandered back to Dutch's old neighborhood, which was a bit nostalgic and bittersweet. His downstairs neighbors, who were very old, had apparently passed on and there was no one there he knew. But it was so lovely to be in the place that I fell in love with on my last trip, and hear the tram driver call the stop for "Javaplein". The #14 will probably remain my favorite tram ride, ever.

Sunday was a "family" day! Dutch's sisters and their families descended on him and swept him away. I went with his mother into the city to see my first ballet. The National Ballet company was performing a tribute to their great dancer and choreographer, Rudi van Dantzig. The performance was vignettes from his famous ballets. It was amazing! It was such a wonderful treat to see it! And the building is absolutely glorious, with a wonderful view of Waterlooplein, the Blue Bridge, the "Skinny" Bridge and the canals. You can see the building here. After the show, we returned and had "chinese take-out" (which is a misnomer-- I had Sate Kip met Nasi. That's chicken satay with lightly fried rice for the uninitiated and Dutch had Roti. Both are not chinese!)

Today, we're back to the city for a canal cruise and more wandering. I'll sign off now and catch you soon! Tot Ziens!

Finally...

2008-09-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

Pictures! But don't get excited. The pictures are from the plane, and our "grounding" in Charlotte. You can see the pictures here.

Tot Ziens!

Goedemorgen!

2008-09-13T02:03:00.000-07:00

*waves* Greetings from Amstelveen! Sorry that I've not made it around to posting before now but I was out most of the day yesterday and had no internet connection when I returned. We spent most of the day out and about, the morning was spent at the COBRA Museum here in Amstelveen and the afternoon was spent wandering around Amsterdam, in the rain (bleugh), before we landed at the Amsterdam Historic Museum. I have a few pictures of the COBRA Museum (for those of you who don't know what COBRA is-- it's an art movement whose name is derived from the french terms for Copenhagen, Brussels and Amsterdam, the origins of the movement.) I didn't get the camera out in Amsterdam, the rain was just too hard to risk it. I'll try to post the pictures soon, but my connection isn't as stable as I had hoped and the upload is taking a bit of time.

Today, we're heading to the football club, or we were. It's still raining here and I don't believe there will be football! So, it might be another rainy day in Amsterdam, but inside the museums, we wont' know the difference. More tomorrow! Hopefully, with pictures!!

Oh, the flight was rough, by the way. We were held on the ground for an hour and then there was a lot of turbulence. It didn't bother me, it just made it difficult to sleep. Oh, and the three screaming German children in the middle aisle made it even harder. *eyeroll* Their mother slept through most of it though. The train ride from Frankfurt to Amsterdam was easy and comfortable, though it became a bit long, too. Especially after it was held up because of Passport Patrol coming onto the train and checking everyone's papers. But it is so fantastic to be here, that I won't complain a bit.

Next week at this time...

2008-09-03T18:38:00.000-07:00

I'll be reporting from Amstelveen! Well, actually I'll be in bed because it will be almost 4am. I'm terribly excited! I can't stop talking about it. There have been a few bumps in the road this week-- tracking down a new coat for Dutch after he decided his old coat might be too ratty and a brief run-in with an old friend needing car parts brought in for his Mustang-- all very minor! All that matters is...we're going to Europe! Wheee!!

To tide you over, here are a few of the pictures from my first visit. Not the greatest resolution, but at least there is a taste of what's to come! You can find them here.

Oh, oh!!!! I have to report that the pictures on this trip will be taken with my brand-spanking-new Canon 40D! That's right! My beautiful and perfect husband (note that he's only and beautiful and perfect when he's giving me things?!?!?!?) gave me a digital SLR camera (that I've been lusting after for ages) for my birthday. It's fantastic and I love it! I can't wait to show you the results!

Obsessive??? Moi???

2008-08-28T17:11:00.000-07:00

A friend has pointed out that I'm not being very fair to Dutch and I should show him some "love" on this blog. True enough. I have spent quite a bit of time pointing out his faults. Just because he doesn't have the attention to detail that I do doesn't mean he's wrong. It just means he's unorganized. Not everyone is meant to be orderly and neat. Not everyone has the discipline and dedication for fine detail. It doesn't mean I'm crazy, right?? I mean, who doesn't research a trip and find out all the information they can before booking a flight? Who doesn't research airports to find out who maintains the best schedule adherence? What is wrong with wanting to know, down to the last minute, how and when things will happen? So far, I have my packing lists started and update them regularly. I've already purchased by extra "supplies", i.e. new saline, toothpaste, extra contact lenses, makeup, medication...ya know, the usual. That's not bad, right?? After all, it's less than two weeks away. I've done a packing "dry" run of the beautiful new carry-on bag (yes, I know it's a fishing gear bag. I like it. Hush.). I've studied the TSA rules for carry-on items. I've made copies of all important documents and registered with the embassy in the Netherlands so that if a war breaks out in Amsterdam I'll be rescued! I still have to report to the credit card company that I'll be using the cards in Europe, but that's a last minute thing. I've been tracking the US Airways flights via a very cool website called Flight Aware (www.flightaware.com) To be honest, since the day I booked the flight I've been maintaining an Excel spreadsheet of scheduled flight times and actual departures. It figures out the average amount of time that these flights run over/under. It's absolutely fascinating! It's going to be so helpful! I'm gathering very valuable information that I can use to...well, to....*wilts*

ALL RIGHT!! I can't actually USE this information for any reason. It's wasted time and effort. But it's pretty! SEE??

Stop laughing. It's not nice to make fun of the mentally ill.

Three WEEKS.

2008-08-20T10:27:00.000-07:00

That's right. We're entering the countdown phase! Three weeks from this very moment, I'll be in Charlotte Douglas Airport so excited I won't be able to stand myself! Who am I kidding? I almost can't stand it right now! My last entry, left everyone hanging-- did we get tickets? Did we not? Of course we did! We are flying out of Charlotte on September 10 on US Airways flight 704, departing at 4:30pm and arriving in Frankfurt, Germany on the morning of September 11th (7:00am). I would have preferred NOT to fly USAir but the price was great and it's a direct flight. No changing plans.

We've also procured train tickets! We'll be taking the ICE train from Frankfurt to Amsterdam. It's going to make for a long day, but we both figured we would enjoy the train trip much more than changing planes and chancing connections.

We're all set! Now, I just have to buy clothes. And shoes. And STUFF. Oh, and figure out how I'm going to pack it all. Don't worry about that though. I'm a compulsive list maker. I'll be ready. And so will Dutch. Even if he is crazy from my obsessive planning. *nods*

The tale of ticket madness continues...

2008-08-07T19:10:00.000-07:00

Upon rising the next day, leaving my husband sleeping the peaceful sleep of innocents, I think that perhaps I over-reacted. My compulsion to check all the facts might have led me to make these flights out to be much worse than they actually were. I have been accused of melodrama before, maybe that’s all that this was—simply self-created drama.

I drive to work, get the day started and I sit down with my coffee, content in the knowledge that I have tickets on a great airline. Upon checking my email, I find I now have confirmations! Excitedly, I read. Yes, flying out of Charlotte, September 10th. Check. Flying into JFK. Check. One and a half hour layover. Check. Flying out of Newark. Check. Wait a minute!!!!! NEWARK!??!?!!? NEW JERSEY!?!!?!? ACROSS THE FREAKING RIVER???!?!?! There is no way anyone could make that connection! I was going to lose a day of mergpijpje madness! This could NOT be! I call Dutch. He created this mess and by GOD he wasn’t going to sleep through my panic. What does he do? He blows me off, he dismisses me. ME. The beloved thorn in his side. He says it will be fine and he doesn’t understand my panic. I immediately write Lufthansa begging to cancel the reservation. Dusseldorf was bad enough but into JFK out of Newark?? That’s impossible. For hours, everyone at work is treated to my tale, told of the horrors of my husband and our impossible flight. My friends get a panicked email that encourages them to sympathize with my plight. It is not a need for attention that drives me send these emails but the need to find validation that I have joined the most noble and long-suffering group of women who suffer from SSS, Stupid Spouse Syndrome. I refresh my email every few minutes. Nothing. Jiminy Cricket was singing “When you wish upon a star”. That’s it. I’m going home and sharpening the knives. It will all be fine, baby. Just go to sleep.

At 5:18pm EST, my husband is granted a stay of execution. Lufthansa sends me the following letter:

Dear Ms. Married to a Dutchman who Doesn’t Listen,

Thank you for contacting the Lufthansa Internet Service Center.

Currently the reservation that was made online is not ticketed and will not be until 27Jun08. So if you wish to cancel and re-try your online purchase you may and any agent at our reservations office may assist with schedules, fares and finding flights that best fit your travel needs. Currently the reservation that is on hold requires a connection between two airports (La Guardia, and Newark airport) which may not be suitable or comfortable for all passengers. Again, you may contact our reservations office and they will be able to cancel that reservation so you may either re-try your request online or our agent can give assistance. If you experience any online difficulties, you may contact our online support Desk at 1-866-583 8932 on Monday to Friday between 10am to 6pm Eastern Time.

We look forward to serving you online and in flight. Thank you for choosing Lufthansa.

I cancel the flight. I laugh gleefully. I have a celebratory drink. It is over.

Now, I get to start all over.

Coming up...finally getting tickets. The right tickets. With no help from my husband. Thank the maker.

Trip Planning 101. Or how to win friends and kill your husband.

2008-07-31T19:51:00.000-07:00

A woman has to face reality and realize that there are things she will have deal with in her life. One is wrinkles, two, bloating and that not quite fresh feeling, and three, if you’re married, your spouse will screw things up and you’ll have to fix it. I’m old enough to realize the first in inevitable, the second is bearable and the third?? I just may kill him before our trip is over.

Why, Nicole? What has brought you to the harrowing intersection of homicide and self-inflicted bite wounds?? I’m glad you asked.

The Dutch boy and I are planning a trip to the Netherlands. He wants to go home, to see family and friends. My needs are more simple and direct. I want to go so that I can eat my weight in marzipan and mergpijpjes. As is always the case, it fell to me to book tickets for this excursion into pastry paradise. For months I perused the pages of various sites, hunting down the best price. I study airport reports and statistics to determine who had more cancellations, which airline had the worst delays, misdirected luggage and customer complaints. I researched every aspect of air travel, immersing my self in the exotic world of trip planning. At last, I came to the conclusion, I had to buy direct from the airline for the best chance to avoid being bumped. Fifty dollars more or less wouldn’t matter but a lost day would mean less mergpijpjes. To keep this story short and interesting, I will tell you that I settled on Lufthansa airlines. Instead of changing planes in Philadelphia, New York, or O’Hare, we would fly non-stop from Charlotte to Germany. Oh, the pleasure of an uninterrupted nine hours in a metal cylinder with nothing but air, ocean and occasional stray bird and migrating fish beneath you! But I digress. Dutch, feeling the need to get involved, decided to follow up on the tip I had uncovered that sometimes a person can call an airline and the representative could get a better rate, or uncover a better flight. Unfortunately, not so with Lufthansa and the very nice young woman directed him to the website for the best fares. I tried to book the tickets on Lufthansa via their website. No dice! Site wouldn’t work. I tried twice and got bumped out both times. So, Dutch decided to be helpful and call them yet again! Helpful twice, in one night! It’s a record! Hooray!! Maybe this marriage thing isn’t overrated! Unfortunately, Dutch may have been willing to help, but Lufthansa wasn’t. The only flights available through the telephone representative were much more expensive and he couldn’t find the flight we wanted, even when I gave him the flight numbers and times. The rep did, however, offer us the number of Tech Support to help figure out our website woes. Dutifully, Dutch hung up the phone and called Tech Support. Which was closed. Yes. That’s exactly what I thought, too.

So, our magical mystery trip was off to a rollicking start! At this rate, we would be strapping ourselves to an oil barrel retrofitted with a homemade guidance system consisting of a rigged up TomTom, a Rand Mcnally atlas and sharpie marker, all carried by a couple of hundred crows tied on with curling ribbon. It is at this point in my story, we reach the point that leaves me at that fateful intersection I mentioned earlier. Dutch decided that I should NEVER be this upset over anything and he takes over. He heads to his PC and types www.lufthansa.com. He selects our trip dates. He selects leaving from Charlotte. He selects the first airport in Germany that he sees. I am standing behind him repeating, in an unending litany filled with mild panic, “Do NOT book a flight flying out of, or into, O’Hare or JFK! Watch the connection times! Allow time for delays! There are always delays!!” He gleefully continues punching keys, ignoring my ever- growing urgent pleas. He clicks the first flight he sees that looks reasonable to him. As he is entering our seat selections and flight information, I ask him, begging, “Where exactly are we going to fly to?” He waves me away saying, “It doesn’t matter! We’re going to Europe! It will be fine. It’s always fine!” I’m spitting and sputtering, pleading for him to NOT book me into a connection or return through O’Hare or JFK. He clicks away like a mad, clicking thing. And….the site accepts his reservation. Just like that. We’re going to Germany. Not to Munich. Not to Frankfurt. But to Dusseldorf. Not by direct flight but with layovers. The outbound flight has an hour and a half layover at JFK. And the return flight, a two- hour layover at O’Hare.

Now, gentle reader, I ask you, who would NOT be willing to commit murder under such a circumstance? Who would not stand behind their husband and scream like a banshee before stomping into the bathroom and locking the door, only to unlock it and come flying out again, spitting the vilest of epithets? Yes, I can see gentle reader that you understand my plight.

But time, Xanax and tequila can calm down the most restless of souls and I finally drift off to sleep, his apologizes and assurances ringing my ears, allowing myself to be lulled into thinking that this may, indeed work out. After all, we’re going to Europe!

Or, are we?? There’s more to this tale, but that will come tomorrow.