Hotel de Palatijn Alkmaar

... taking a 'rondvaart'. Rondvaart literally translates as 'round trip' and in this country it is usually on a boat. The kids, naturally had a giggle at 'rondvaart', as you do. My favourite Dutch Name of the Day had to go to a bed shop which translates loosely as Bed-Experts. It is actually called 'Bedweters'. Would you buy a bed from them? I digress. Where was I? Oh yes, the boat trip. This lasted about 45 minutes and took us ...

... The Netherlands already had a nice and generous feel to it!! While in Amsterdam we visited the Heineken Experience (first of course), we visited the Anne Frank house (really cool), the Van Gogh Museum (just OK), and we did the Canal bus which is the same type of "hop on, hop off" tour bus like we have been doing but it was a boat that cruised through the cities many canals!! Very Fun ...

I am trying not to be offended at the people who seem to think I can't manage my three kids alone in the city. It's been implied often from well meaning relatives and Russ. Yesterday's lack of cash debacle aside, I think I am quite capable. And today I proved it. We had a great time. Elly seemed to be feeling better, so I decided to take them to the indoor playplace on the other side of the city. There is a ...

... and is still in the same studio. His lamps are beautiful. I had a nice visit with him and his family. I found a shop called Santa Jet. Mexico has come to Amsterdam. I showed St. Jet my jewelry and she bought two pairs of earrings, two necklaces and a big bracelet. Hey, I'm international. Tomorrow there is a big outdoor market almost in front of my house. After that........who knows?

... a huge English-style park complete with Alice in Wonderland rose garden, and browsed the racks of awesome vintage clothing stores. We also visited the Van Gogh Museum, though, to be honest, we weren't overly impressed by the relatively small collection. Of course, no trip to Amsterdam would be complete without a stop off in the ...

... so we went out for a drink with him in Leidseplein, followed by dinner at Gauchos where we had all you can eat ribs... yummo! 3 plates of ribs later, I was full and we called it a night. <Lang's Extended Version> We had watched a documentary sometime last year on the ABC about Rembrandt and were very impressed by his works and his 'business'. Basically the documentary was about how he had an art school and branded his student's art as his own and sold them ...

... Alkmaar, being Alkmaar, chose a market. Leiden got the university. And so the streets on Saturdays full of tourists and locals alike. It's a nightmare if you want to bike in the inner city, but the rows of stalls selling everything essentials--bolts of cloth, fresh fish, cheese, kitchen utensils, candies--are a photographer's delight. Just so long as you don't want to shop in  hurry. 

... It was crazy! While we were checking things out, we watched two other guys come in. We gave them our menu since we weren't going to order anything, we were just "looking". Anyway, the first guy orders a bag of pot and she hands him one with 4 grams in it (again, I think this is a lot of pot). The second guy buys a joint the size of my middle finger. They pay for their items and leave. Steve and I looked at each other and I thought, "Is this really happening?" If you ...

... venture since the fall of 2004, and Larry and I are both so crazy about Henk that we'd do damn near anything to assist him in whatever endeavor he might be trying to accomplish. Larry and I also happen to be friends with the people at all three coffeeshops under question, and after several complicated discussions of the issues and problems involved with Henk's project, the three of us decided that the best thing to do would be to try to complete the DVD ...

... rental with music controls on the steering wheel ... Mighty cootie fiyo!" ************************** Finally, here's a piece I wrote 10 years ago about St. Joseph's Night: ST. JOSEPH'S NIGHT IN NEW ORLEANS Out After Dark with the Wild Indians By John Sinclair The legendary Mardi Gras Indians of New Orleans can be seen in all their splendor on Fat Tuesday, the one day of the year they're allowed to run wild in the streets from dawn to dark. But ...