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Amsterdam with Shawn and Rosette
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The first time we visited Amsterdam was in 2004. And though it was truly beautiful and exactly how I had imagined it in my mind, I wasn´t completely taken with it like so many of our friends. I found the people to be a little rude and cold, and honestly too expensive.
But this time would be a little different. We were hesitant to return since our first taste had not met up with the preset expectations, but it was our only opportunity to meet up with our friends Shawn and Rosette while they were visiting here from California. So of course we went! And I am so glad we did. Our opinion of Amsterdam completely changed. Shawn and Rosette had rented an apartment there for the week, and invited us to join them on their last weekend there. The apartment was big enough to sleep all of us comfortably. Plus, it was located on the Noordermarkt. This is a plaza where they hold daily markets. Saturdays and Mondays were a flea market. Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursdays were the farmers market. Wednesday and Friday was a Bio and Flower market. We found a lot of interesting items (the best wigs for only 10€!) as well as delicious food to cook and pack on our day trips. We also had a great little cafe below us that had delicious cappuccinos! We couldn´t have asked for a better location. Shawn and Rosette picked a primo spot...
We had glorious weather while we there. It was warm for end of October, close to 70 degrees and the trees were all changing into their autumn color. The canals were littered with golds and reds. It was warm enough to go without a jacket during the day, just a light sweater and maybe a scarf for the neck. I think part of what really made our trip was letting Shawn talk us into renting bikes. Amsterdam is a completely different city by bike, and so much more fun. The canals streets are perfect for bike riders. You can get everywhere so fast (as long as you don´t get lost!) plus it allows you to explore back streets and side streets that you might have otherwise missed. We found parks, museums, cafes, stores and of course a whole lot of Dutch Apple Pie. We ate so much we dubbed ourselves the Dutch Apple Pie bike gang! My favorite part was biking at night under the stars, when the streets were empty. There is nothing like it.
On one of the last days, Rosette and I explored our neighborhood on foot. The houses were all of these very tall and thin variety. But what was most interesting were the little gardens that were created from "found" items. Old cane chairs missing the seat, strange shoes or aluminum buckets or milk cans, just about anything that normally would be dubbed junk were turned into something alive and beautiful. Everyday we were there, brought a new experience or a new discovery. We laughed a lot and of course rode our bikes until my backside was sore, but that didn´t stop me from getting on the next day, nor does it stop from me looking forward to our next trip to Amsterdam...
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