Movin' on Up

This has been a quiet week. Upon our return from Morocco we moved, by prior agreement to an apartment one flight up. This apartment is much more modern & does not have the funky character & charm of the one downstairs. It has a full sized refrigerator and a dishwasher. It also has a washer & dryer that work & work well! This was essential as all of our things smelled like smoke from the fireplace in Morocco.
The view from our window remains the same, overlooking the beautiful canal with the heron & boats in the foreground. Toward the street we see cars, bicycles & the trolley going by. Now, a new sight as the leaves on the trees are beginning to open. You can almost watch the spring colors popping up all over. There is a saucer magnolia (at least that’s what I think it is) around the corner from us. Didn’t know that’s what it was until one day I saw the flowers beginning to open. Beautiful! There is some kind of fair going on across the street & behind some apartments. For the last few days we’ve seen one of the rides, day & night, popping up over the building.
The week has gone by quickly with not a lot of activity. We spent Tuesday getting ourselves situated in the new apartment, doing laundry, grocery shopping.

The modern kitchen - complete with dishwasher & full sized refrigerator!

The bathroom even has a tub, along with the washer & dryer

Bedroom

Living room

Wednesday we didn’t venture out until late in the afternoon. The wind was very strong all day. Too strong to rain, we were told. We braved the elements (fortunately it wasn’t that cold….in the high 40’s) & went to the market. That was the big excitement for the day!

Thursday we took off for Delft. It is about an hour away by train. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague. Famous to being the home of Delft pottery ceramics, mostly blue and white hand painted pieces. There are stores that sell everything from very expensive original ceramics to souvenir shops selling the same items at a fraction of the cost.
In the main square, a market was in progress. We wandered through seeing everything from clothing to food. For lunch we found a restaurant with a good variety on the menu including panokoken. We opted to try the puffy miniature pancakes called poofertjes for dessert. They were delicious!

Wandering back through the market, we found a bargain we couldn’t resist. A duffel bag to add to the luggage we’ll be bringing

back home. Back to Amsterdam & the apartment by late afternoon.
Friday we walked out to street level & did something we had not done previously. We turned left! I had actually turned left once or twice but only to go the half block or so to the flower stand.
This adventure took us to Haarlemerstraat. The usual variety of bakeries, markets, restaurants & an Etos that I could not resist. Etos is a drug store and for whatever reason, every time we pass one, I feel the need to stop in for something. This time it was for shampoo & a new make up bag. The one I had with me smells like, you guessed it, smoke.

We made a circle, walking through the Dam Square & stopped at the Albert Heijn Food Plaza. Compared to the small neighborhood markets we’ve been shopping at in the Jordaan, this was like Central Market! The only problem, we were about a half hour from ‘home’ and did not really want to carry that much. I purchased a few ‘essentials’ and then stopped again at another market closer to the apartment. Dinner at home Friday night. Allan, the building manager popped by as we were finishing dinner. He stayed & had some stew….apparently enjoyed it as he asked for my recipe!

Saturday we wandered down to the open market to buy some bread. Stopped for milk on the way back & that was it for the day. We made brunch, read books, caught up on e-mails & even took a nap! It was a great lazy day!

As we wrap up our trip, there is so much to reflect on. We have met some really nice people. We have seen so much. Amsterdam is truly a lovely, comfortable city to spend an extended period of time.

The city of Berlin was so interesting. Such a contradiction to so much of Europe. It is so bright, shiny & new but with the ruins of the cathedral in the middle of the city – I am certainly glad we visited it.

The frenetic pace of Rome left me almost breathless. What an incredible place. The history, the buildings were almost too much to comprehend. I look forward to spending more time in the future in Italy.

And finally Morocco - what an experience. I don’t want to repeat what we’ve already written about. Suffice to say, it was unlike anything I have ever seen or done. A unique experience that almost defies description. And of course the added benefit of seeing and visiting with Kareem who helped make it an amazing adventure.

We have been fortunate to have so many visitors. Six weeks is a long time to be gone. To have a little bit of home every few weeks has just been wonderful. Thank you Frank, Jill, Ryan, Sean for taking the time to come visit us. We loved having you here.