Sean's Visit

Friday morning we discovered Kalverstraat & Spui Centrum. We had briefly walked through this area when Ryan was here. The reason for our visit this time was to find bookstores. I was almost at the end of my final book and getting desperate. I was assured I could find anything I wanted at these stores. There were several stores to choose from, including the 3 story American Book Center. I saw Waterstone’s Book Center first & happily picked out several books. Wandering further into the area we found yet another Friday street market. This one, in the book store area was filled with stalls of books & pictures. Very cool. We didn’t have long to stay but it would definitely be worth a trip back at some point in the future. Looked like lots of neat children’s books to add to my collection!

Sean arrived mid afternoon. Shortly after we were back at the apartment, the rain arrived. And the wind. We read the winds were somewhere around 50mph overnight. At one point, one of our windows blew in (they open in) because it was not locked correctly. With it, rain & wind. It was a struggle to close it against the elements.

Saturday morning did not look too promising, weather wise. We headed out in tremendous wind to show Sean the sites. First stop, breakfast at Sara’s Pancakes. Then back out into the wind & cold. We stayed out about 3 hours but that was plenty. We did the usual walking tour of the canals, the Dam Square, the Red Light District & a few shops before giving up. On the way home we stopped by the Saturday street fair. There were not as many people out & a lot less vendors than normal. None of the booths had covers on them – too windy. We bought some focaccia bread to have with dinner & headed back. A few minutes after we were back, Sean gave up entirely & was dozing.

I headed out again to the grocery store for dinner ingredients. When I got back, Allen, the apartment manager from upstairs (around Sean’s age) was here visiting. His visit turned into dinner for the 4 of us. Late Saturday night, he & Sean went out to some of the local bars. I happily went to bed, around 1:00 a.m.

Sunday did not start early for any of us. Once we got up & going we walked toward the Leidseplein for the canal boat ride. We have been on this so many times, we could probably commandeer the boat & give the tour ourselves. But the canals are so important to Holland & the buildings you see are so beautiful that it’s a nice ride. The driver was very good. He did not leave the pre recorded commentary going as most of them do, preferring to add his own running comments. He was funny and added some facts that we had not heard previously. When he wasn’t speaking, he played a variety of music. From the canal boat to the Vlaamse Frites stand for the next obligatory stop on the tour. From there, we made our way back to the apartment & a very late dinner.



Nancy & Sean, Zaanse Schans, NL


Monday morning we headed out fairly early. The wind was strong, rain showers were threatening. As we headed out, both rain & ice pellets greeted us. We ran for the bus to Central Station.

By the time we got there it was windy & cold but the rain had stopped. Our destination on Monday was Zaanse Schans, a neighborhood about 20 minutes away by train. It has windmills, little wooden houses, shops, stores & a couple of restaurants. All set on the water with pretty gardens & fields that have goats & sheep. We wandered around the village & then stopped at the pannekoek restaurant for some breakfast. Savory cheese & bacon pancakes for Sean. Apple cinnamon for Bob & I. They tasted good but even better, we warmed up & were out of the wind!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaanse_Schans

After our fill of Zaanse Schans we headed back to Amsterdam Central & walked toward the Jordaan to the Delft shop. It closed at 6:00 & Sean wanted to get there before it closed. We walked back to Museumplein to visit the Van Gogh museum. We had not been there before & I enjoyed learning more about the artist and seeing some of his work.


Sean, enjoying Vlaamse Frites with mayo!

Another stop at Vlaamse Frites for a late afternoon snack & we were done for the day.
As we made our way back to the apartment, the light was perfect for some photo ops. Sean & Bob stopped to take their share.







We all agreed that we had walked a LOT on Monday! Back to the apartment for dinner, another visit from Allen & before we knew it, the evening had passed & it was 11:00 p.m.
We left the apartment before 5:00 a.m. on Monday to make the 5:30 a.m. train to Schiphol. Sean’s plane left for London Gatwick at 7:00 a.m. Fortunately, it was not raining when we walked to Central Station. Buses don’t even run that early & that had been a concern. Sean got checked in without incident & headed off. We loved having him here, the visit passed way too quickly. Our last visitor on this trip. Sean’s visit & our visit to Morocco were so far away a month ago when we got here. Now, this trip is winding down.


Aalsmeer Bloemenveiling



From the airport, we made our way (without incident this time….see blog re: Frank & Jill’s visit) to Aalsmeer.

We have been numerous times but the sheer enormity of the warehouse space & the number of flowers everywhere is just incredible. I never tire of visiting here. After leaving Aalsmeer, the next stop was Luchtvaart Hobby Shop for Bob. This is a hobby shop that I actually discovered for him several years ago as we were driving by it. He had just a few minutes in the shop before we had to catch our bus back to Central Station. From Central Station we headed to the apartment, doing a few errands on the way.


After straightening up the apartment & catching up on e-mail, nothing sounded better to me than a nap. The rain increased again in the afternoon, perfect time to read my book….uh, sleep. Bob went out & picked up dinner for us & by the time he got back, it was snowing. Nothing stuck but it was beautiful to watch the big white flakes come down in the late afternoon light.

This flowering tree is outside the window of our apartment. It & several like it span the bedroom & kitchen windows. When we arrived, a month ago, they were barely beginning to bud. Now, the flowers are all beginning to disappear as the leaves unfurl.

A few errands today as we prepare to make our way to Morocco & Kareem early tomorrow morning. This trip is winding down very quickly!