Amsterdam here we come again

It's been a full year since we last went to our pied de terre at the Singel.
Last year the weather was georgeous for three long months all during our stay there. So let's hope for the unlikely repeat of this weather pattern. It is a cold sunny March morning in Norfolk and the water outside my window is dark blue absorbing the sunlight greedily. The boats tied to our pier are basking, reflecting the bright sun rays as if they want to send every one of them back to their owner. Portsmouth accross the water winks its sharp contours towards me and a push boat lazily brings three tethered 100ft barges to their new destination.
Why would I ever want to leave this place. And still Amsterdam beckons on this serene morning with promises of city noise and canal traffic, the everlasting ringing of bicycle bells and the first burgeoning buds of the Gunera on the back porch. There lingers a restlessness in both Sandee's and my heart, that constantly want us to turn the next corner to satisfy our curiosity of what may startle our souls and make our hearts skip a beat, as we almost instantaneously blurt out the same "see that?".
Retirement is for us a period of blessings and truly a golden period in our lives. And Amsterdam reflects our hustle and bustle sides, whereas Norfolk brings solitude and peace and friends and culinary adventures, which we create in our fabulous kitchen. The world is our oyster and between both homes we have still so much to do and to see, allowing all our senses to absorb all we experience minute by minute and day by day. This blog allows you to follow our boring lives, accentuating those special moments that we wish to jot down so we may never forget.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Most Luxurious Safari we ever took (Thank you Barbara)

Image
There are times in our lives that happenstance - a question during dinner - brought us a vacation we never had and may never have again. (Although Sandee does refer to it often when I start a new project) We asked our friend Barbara during that now very memorable dinner what her dream vacation would be and she answered: a “luxurious” safari “first class” and organized by Erik, to which Erik replied: Barbara, you realize that that would cost us twice what you would pay. To which her answer was: And??? Well for you readers here follows, mostly in the form of pictures, the story of that safari in June on 2022. As mentioned not much text and more nature and animal pictures with explanatory text.  Thus here follows the itinerary we had: Flight from Amsterdam to Johannesburg. Limousine from Joburg Airport to our hotel in Pretoria (2night stay). Limo to Rovos Railwaystation in Pretoria. 4 Night train trip with excursions and Tuxedo dinners on board to Victoria Falls, a  1 night stay in hotel
Read more

Scotland: The Highlander Caledonian Canal Barge Trip

Image
(The Gang on their first Night together) This is the part of our Scotland trip that Sandee truly enjoyed and  wants me to consider as a template for future trips.  The Highlander barge has 4 cabins and thus we were traveling with 6 other passengers. Two Westcoast sisters with their husbands: Ed and Ellen and Phil and Sally often travel together  and then there was a couple: Al and Lauren, celebrating an umpteenth wedding day.              (Sailing can be a cool affair) (Our floating hotel) We will describe the day to day program, we were chauffeured to. Of course each day we enjoyed breakfast and lunch and drinks and dinners together. We started in Inverness and six nights later we reached Banavie,  a harbor area near Ft William, from where we were transported back to our cars in Inverness. (Annemarie prepping the luncheon table) (Chef Mike explaining his secrets: working in small galleys) Life on a barge is a relaxed way of seeing this part of the world with cabins being refreshed eac
Read more

Scotland Highlands, brooding and full of lore

Image
(Typical Highland picture of castle ruins and a few visitors) There is a Scottish saying, that Scotland has two seasons, June and winter. We visited the highlands in September for a month and found the weather added mystique to the lonesome places we visited. We were prepared for cold weather and infrequent rain, but the low clouds hovering over mountain ranges and driving through areas where 1.9 person lived within a square mile on roads that were narrow and winding, added a sense of forlornness to the trip.  (Our commodore suite for the overnight ferry to New Castle UK) (IJmuiden our departure Harbor not too far from Amsterdam)  Let’s start at the beginning: Sept 5, a taxi dropped us off in the Dutch harbor of IJmuiden, where we boarded the ferry to Newcastle upon Tyne, an overnight affair in a spacious cabin with reservations for dinner away from the buffet elsewhere, where most passengers seem to flock. Next morning we found our car rental agency downtown and started our first day
Read more