De Vlietlanden Medemblik

... our words, we subconsciously conflate geography and happiness. We speak of searching for happiness, of fi nding contentment, as if these were locations in an atlas, actual places that we could visit if only we had the proper map and the right navigational skills. Anyone who has taken a vacation to, say, some Caribbean island and had flash through their mind the uninvited thought "I could be happy here" knows what I mean. Lurking just behind the curtain is, of ...

... district, this time by daylight for some more laughs and relaxed through the afternoon. The night was our last official night as part of the Contiki tour so we headed out, did a river cruise after dinner and it was here that the party began. John had his very first space cake and just giggled for the rest of the night! After the cruise we went to a couple of clubs and our Contiki ended with a bang!

... with witlof and mashed potato, and an overly rich & heavy chocolate tart. So then it was a quick nip a few kms down the road to Bruges where I stayed at a buzzy hostel called the Bauhaus. Bruges, like Ghent, is a small city with a well-preserved centre and it's wonderful to walk around and soak in the atmosphere. I wrote an email to my son Michael patronisingly mentioning I was there and did he know where it was (expecting him not to know), and he wrote back saying he'd just ...

... through during the day before. Even in broad daylight there are semi-naked women in their little windows flaunting their wares. I was probably looking more than Matt was as I couldn't believe they don't bother keeping themselves in better shape. The most disgusting thing though was the two heavily-pregnant women we saw in one of the windows offering themselves up for sale. Quite vulgar really. Our plan for the afternoon had been to visit the Heineken experience, which ...

... there is a limit to Dutch tolerance. The FREE New Amsterdam walking tour started around 11 (there's another one at 1, everyday). I met the guide at the info center in front of the station. There were a lot of people, and when we walked over to the dam square, there were a total of 80+ people! Luckily there were 3 guides who took different routes, so we weren't a giant mob clouding the streets of the city. The tour was fairly ...

After enjoying the quiet, simple life of South America, I arrived in Europe fresh after a very pleasent flight in business class from Rio to Madrid. After hearing a few horror stories about Iberia from people in South America, I was pleasently surprised to discover that all I had to do was ask for a seat in business class in order to get a free upgrade! And boy, what a difference it makes! Anyway, Amsterdam is really a ...

... shopping in the Redback Tavern in London. But sifting amoung some of the 'ladies of the night's' clientelle, i could read the desperation, delight, and relief on some of their faces. 'There's someone for everyone' i guess. Coffee shops. Now here was something i did want to get involved in, just this once. "I'll have a slice of hash cake, a pure joint, and a bottle of cola thanks" I said, after explaining to the barman that i was a ...

As soon as I stepped out of the train station in Amsterdam, I knew I was someplace special. If there's one word I could use to describe this city, it's "alive". Maybe it's the way the canals are always in motion, certainly it's all the bicyclists and pedestrians, the numerous restaurants, cafes, and "coffee shops". I haven't run into a deserted street in this city yet, there's people everywhere you go, and lots of them. The city just seems to have a ...

... sneezed REALLY loudly while Jim was at the bar, and I looked over all amused and one of them pointed to the other. I laugh and say "Bless you!", to which they say, "Are you American? Our friend LOVES Americans." I say hi to their friend, they meet Jim, they invite us to their table to join them. They teach us this drinking game, something like "puuuuuut your fingers in the middle let your fingers ...

LOTS OF PICTURES! Today was a holiday in Holland. Nothing was open (not even a corner store!), so we weren't able to get any lactose-free milk for Natasha. Some of you might not know, but my little girl has a bit of lactose intollerance. The doctor says she should grow out of it when she gets older. Fortunately, a friend of Jaqueline and Benard's eldest son, Johan, has a baby who can't have lactose, so they sent over a litre of milk. Thank You! We went around 11am to see ...