The Prado and beyond

Friday May 13, 2011                                        Day 317

We had breakfast at a little bakery/teashop a few blocks from our hotel, where Roger had a mini empanada and we each had a croissant stuffed with dulce leche. They were both quite good - Roger shared a bit of his empanadailla with me and I found it to be quite tasty - it was filled with spicy meat. My back was bothering me, so we returned to the hotel so that I could do back exercises before we went on to tackle the Prado.

The Prado contains art from about the 16^th century to the 19^th century. We saw lots of Valasquez paintings - they are proud of their native son. There were a number of Van Dykes and a large collection of Reubens works. Later works have all been moved to the Reina Sophia museum which we visited yesterday. The Prado really wore me out. It was probably the cumulative effect of two days in a row of museuming. 

At the Prado we saw several groups of students with their teachers. Often
the whole group had colored paint or chalk on their noses - even the teachers -
apparently so they could be identified with their group if they got separated.
It is unfortunate that this photo is so blurry, but you can see two children with blue noses.

Roger and I continued our interesting discussions about what constitutes art. I asked myself several times in the museum why these pieces are good art. I have determined that I like plebian art the best - that of the common man, by the common man, for the common man. I have only a limited appreciation for mythical and allegorical art, religious art, and the paintings of kings and queens and aristocracy. Give me a good Van Gogh any day.

Lunch was at an outdoor café across the street from the Prado, where we were serenaded by street musicians. I spent 20 Euros on a CD which was so bad that we later abandoned it when we left France! From there we retreated up the street to the subway and returned to our hotel, quite worn out. I napped for an hour or so while Roger read. This is an unusual turn of events for us - usually I read or work on the computer while Roger naps.

Our luncheon serenaders

Someone painted a "shadow" of this post on the sidewalk -
note that it does not match the post!!

We had dinner at an Italian restaurant, and it was quite good. We waited until almost 9:00 to even leave the hotel, and when we arrived shortly after the hour, they were seating patrons for dinner. Among my choices were a tomato soup with roquette sorbet, which was quite interesting. The combination of tomato soup with a scoop of slightly sweet, roquette-flavored ice cream, was unexpected, to say the least. As always in European restaurants, we had trouble getting our bill so we could pay and leave. Indeed, it took us 20 minutes from the time we finished our dessert and began looking for our waiter until we were able to walk out after paying the bill. Apparently most of the restaurants do not expect to turn their tables over in an evening, and the patrons kick back and take their time to enjoy their meals and each other’s company.

We did not get back to the hotel until after 11:00, and we stayed up only a little longer before dropping into bed. Unfortunately, the walls of room were too thin - at 4:00 a.m. we could still hear a couple of guys talking.

Queen Sofia Museum and other treats

Thursday May 12, 2011                                       Day 316

We breakfasted at a street café which served fresh-squeezed orange juice. It was good, but room temperature, so I approached the waitress and asked her for some ice, which she obligingly put into the juice. It was delicious.

Our first stop was the Queen Sofia Museum, where we saw some wonderful exhibits. There was Guernica, which was Picasso’s protest against the bombing of the town by the same name. We also saw several Dali paintings, which were mystical and enigmatic.

Joan Miro's Pájaro lunar, or Moon Parrot, in the garden outside the Museum

There was a temporary exhibit at the museum by a Japanese artist named Yayoi Kusama. Part of the exhibit was a wonderful magical mirror experience examining infinity, which consisted of a room filled with mirrors and small hanging lights of different colors. The lights blinked on and off via a computer control, and sometimes the viewer could see to infinity with red lights, sometimes with varicolored lights, sometimes with green or blue lights. It was quite fascinating and, along with her other works, gave rise to more discussion about what art is. There were her red monster tails in one room, which were truly a delight. Then there was the old suitcase onto which she fastened pasta and painted the entire work with gold paint; and the coat onto which she fastened plastic flowers and painted the whole thing a drab brown. Is this art? Why? Because the artist says it is? By the way, the exhibit indicated that the artist entered a mental institution several years ago and does most of her work from there.

See below for a close-up - hundreds of airmail stickers! Is this art??

Detail of picture above

After the museum, we ate a lunch of shrimp poorboys in street café. They were fried shrimp with the tails left on them, served on dry bread, totally naked. We would have enjoyed some mayonnaise or tomatoes or pickles with them.

After lunch, we went to the Royal Botanical Gardens, which were truly splendid. 

We had a mediocre dinner at tea shop, mostly because we wanted to eat early. It was the first time since I came to Europe that I have had iceburg lettuce. I do not think it exists in France. Thank you, France!!!

When we went out this morning, Roger put our computers into the room safe, using the same combination he always uses. When we got back, we were unable to open the safe. He tried again and again, and even used an alternate combination, thinking perhaps he had used that one instead. No luck. We finally had to call the desk, who sent up a maintenance man to override our combination and get the safe open.

Madrid

Wednesday May 11, 2011                             Day 315

We took an early train this morning for Barcelona, and after a short layover there, traveled on to Madrid. There was a movie on the Barcelona-to-Madrid leg, but it was in French, with French subtitles, so we forwent it in favor of sleep. We passed through the plain in Spain about which Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle sang.

A field of poppies on that Plain in Spain

We arrived in Madrid without incident and located the correct subway line to get us to our hotel. The subway car was very crowded, but we managed to squeeze in nevertheless. After one stop, when the crowding had eased just a bit, a young man moved between me and the door, placing himself so that he was facing me. He had his jacket draped casually over his arm so that it covered his hand. I became aware that it felt as if he was feeling along my purse. I backed away and turned so that my purse was against Roger. After two more stops, we got off. I shared with Roger that I was not certain, but I believed the guy was trying to pick my purse. Roger said that the guy had stood by him and he thought the guy was feeling along his pocket. He said he put his hand down alongside his pocket, and that is when the guy moved away, then selected me as his next target. Welcome to Madrid. I wore my purse turned inward in most of the rest of Madrid, so that the zippers and the openings of the purse were next to my body rather than facing outward. 

At about 7:30, we went out to find dinner. We were surprised to learn that Madrid does not open for evening dining until 9:00! We returned to our hotel room and spent some time on the computer, then shortly before 9:00, we set out again. Our goal was a restaurant not far from our hotel which offers live piano and opera music. When we arrived, we were asked if we had reservations. When we said no, we were next asked for our address. We told the hostess that we were staying at a hotel down the street, and she made a note, then took us to a table. We were not able to determine why she asked for our address.  

I resent that they bring us bread, as is the case in many U.S. restaurants, but then they charge extra for the bread. There is not even the opportunity to refuse it. They just plop it on the table and add 3€to the bill. It is not that would we refuse the bread if we knew we would be charged for it separately, but I just feel it is a backdoor way to get a little more money out of our pockets. 

Our starter came, and we ate it pretty quickly - we were tired and hungry after our travels. Our waiter then approached us and told us that the program of opera singing started at 10:00, and gave us the option of dragging out the meal so we could hear the program, or bringing out the food more quickly. We chose the latter, with some astonishment and slight disapproval from her. She could not believe we would not stay for the program! We did get to hear the first opera piece by a young lady with a fine voice, and some pop tunes played by the pianist. Neither of us cares particularly for opera, however, and were not persuaded to stay and enjoy the entire program. We did share a whole bottle of wine - unusual for us. We had to stagger back to the hotel, which was fortunately on the same street as the restaurant.

Hair cut for Roger

Tuesday May 10, 2011                              Day 314

Market day again. Roger got a haircut today - it was rather a drastic shearing, and Roger suggested that the barber was getting revenge for bin Laden’s death.

I am not sure whether this is a didgeriedoo or something else, but it was intriguing.
I paid my 2 Euros and snapped some photos.

These two mannequins were in the window of a hair salon. Interesting, to say the least!

Innovative use of a clothes dryer vent!!

Celeste again

Monday May 9, 2011                               Day 313
I am getting around better with my injured knee - mostly it is stiff.

In the evening, Celeste came to call again. We kept her for a good half hour or more before Mara came to collect here. She is a sweet cat, just about a year old. 

Roger spent part of the day getting our travel arrangements in line for our next trip. This one will be to Spain – Madrid and Barcelona. We leave on Wednesday.

Happy Mother's Day

Sunday May 8, 2011                                Day 312

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there! We celebrated by going for a walk around the historic city center, then buying artisanal ice cream in the middle of the afternoon. I had a delightful flavor called cactus lime and Roger got salted caramel. 

Alicia called this afternoon, and while I was on the phone with her, I got a call-waiting beep which I am sure was either Shelli or Eric. I ignored it - in all our eight months at this apartment, we have never gotten two calls at one time until today. As a result of my ignoring the call, I did not get to speak to Shelli for Mother’s Day, because she did not call back.

Later we went out to a creperie for dinner, where we had savory crepes for our meal and sweet crepes for dessert. Delicious!

Saturday May 7, 2011                      Day 311

I woke this morning stiff and sore in both hips and my right knee. Bummer! I am going to have to do a lot of stretching and walking in the next few days. I am sure I will be limping for a couple of those days.

Despite my stiff joints, we went to the Market today, and I felt that the walk was good for my knee. Cherries are coming into season here - yum! As is often the case, we saw Anne and paused to speak to her for a few moments.

As we were returning to the apartment, I heard someone on the street call my name. I turned and looked and it was our downstairs neighbor, Mara. She introduced us to her daughter, Alexandria, who is probably about the age of my daughters. Mara said she had just returned from a 5-day walking pilgrimage to Spain. She looked quite fit and a bit tanned and said she had a really good walk. She recommended it to us. She said she would like me to see her patchwork, and I agreed to come down to her apartment. In exchange, I shall show off some of my paintings. At about 4:00, she knocked on my door and asked me down to tea. I picked up my portfolio and carried it down with me. She began by showing me a beautiful quilt in pinks and violets - rather small - more the size of a baby quilt. She plans to hang it on a wall and we discussed which one. She had some cute pieces she had done using applique for animals, then she hand-quilted around the animals - very cute.

I had met her cat Celeste another time, and Celeste made herself comfortable with me. She is a young cat, although no longer a kitten. She played with us and frolicked around the apartment the entire time of my visit.

After we looked at her handiwork, we sat down for tea and I pulled out my artwork. We talked a bit more then I departed.

Roger came home from chess and we were both sitting around when I heard a “meow.” I got up and opened the door and Celeste entered and made herself at home, checking out the nooks and crannies of our apartment. A few moments later, I heard someone coming up the stairs, and I was sure it would be Mara. I opened the door and invited her in. I had to coax Celeste out from under our bed and Mara took her back home. I told Mara we would be happy to keep her some time while Mara was at work.

A view of a pond at the botanical gardens near our apartment

The end is coming!

Friday May 6, 2011             Day 310

I started out my day rather badly - I fell down the stairs. They are narrow and rather slippery and I went upstairs stocking-footed. As I came down, I apparently stepped too far out on a step and my foot slipped. I only fell about 4 steps - didn’t bump my head. Roger was standing quite near the stairs and was able to help keep me from sliding or falling all the way down. I ripped my left pinkie open, wrenched my left hip and my right knee and generally banged myself up. Sigh. This happened just before we were planning to leave the apartment, so we delayed that by half an hour while I collected myself and put a bandage on the pinkie.

Yesterday when Roger returned from chess, there was a notice on the interior door of our building telling us that the building tenants should pick up their badges from the building manager by May 13. So this morning after hitting up the grocery store, we stopped into the real estate management office which manages our building. We entered and I told them in French that we live at 13 boulevard du Jeu de Paume and that we were here for our badges. The clerk checked something in the computer, and another clerk said something about “Stephenson,” who is our landlord., and I replied “oui.” The first clerk then pulled out two small electronic tags, noted the numbers on them - #14 and #15 - and handed them over to us. We thanked them and left. The amazing thing is that we conducted the entire conversation in French, but even more amazing, they did not ask us our names or for any ID. Hm - isn’t that secure!

The upshot of it all is that they are changing our lock from an old-fashioned key-in-the-door to an electronic swipe system, and these “badges” are our electronic keys. We will be gone to Spain on the 13^th, and will not return until the 18^th. I hope there are no glitches in the system and that we can get in when we return!

The prospective tenants called this morning and made an appointment to come by at 2:00. Roger left a little early to go to chess as he didn’t want to have to deal with trying to get away for chess if they came early. They did not - they arrived right at 2:00 and trudged up the three flights of stairs. I opened our door as I heard them on the stairs - there are two doors on our landing and I wanted them to know which was ours. They were a couple about our age - the guy looked older. He is a professor of Jewish studies and genocide studies - not sure where, but in Israel, I suppose. I gave them a brief tour of the apartment and they seemed happy with it overall except for the street noise. Unfortunately there is a lot in the main living area of the apartment. There is construction ongoing out on the street, and constant traffic. There are double-glazed windows which shut out a lot of noise, but in the summer, it will be necessary to have the windows open, as there is no air conditioning in the flat. I don’t know if they will take it or not.

Unfortunately, right in the middle of their visit, the phone rang, and it was Alicia! Regrettably, I had to tell her I could not talk right now. Why did she have to pick this time to call – one of the few times in our whole stay here that I could not take the time to talk!

By the time evening rolled around, my knee was quite sore and stiff. I took a hot bath and that seemed to help a bit. I will need to get out and walk tomorrow to start working some of the stiffness out. Some modern-day prophets have declared that the world is going to end on May 21. Perhaps they are right - two baths in one week, three in 10 days! Surely the world will end soon!

Another painting

Thursday May 5, 2011              Day 309

Happy Cinco de Mayo. Roger suggests that the French probably do not celebrate this as a holiday, since it is celebrated in Mexico as a victory over the French back in the 1860s. Hmmm.

I finished another painting. This one I am quite pleased with. I think it is one of my best paintings yet.

See my blog entry of Sunday, May 1, for the photo from which I worked.

Computer ordering glitches

Wednesday May 4, 2011               Day 308

We went for an hour walk this morning. While we were moving through the Peyrou, we saw a gentleman doing some killer ab work – he raised his hands, put one foot onto a bench, then steadily and gracefully brought the other leg up, paused, and lowered it to the ground. He repeated this several times, then switched to the other leg. I hurt just watching him.

Roger tried out a sundial at the Peyrou.
Although you cannot tell it here, it was off by two hours.

Here is a view of St. Anne's Church through the Peyrou fence.

We bought salmon and asparagus at the grocery store and had that for supper. Roger is getting more tolerant of asparagus, but I don’t think he will ever come to love it. 

We Skyped with Shelli and Brennan in the evening. Shelli got an interesting call from Dell earlier in the day. She described it as a little dance between two people, neither of whom wanted to reveal too much information. The Dell representative wanted to know why someone in France with a Texas address was ordering a computer to be sent to Atlanta. Shelli on the other hand, didn’t know I had ordered the computer, so she was running blind, not wanting to reveal too much and yet wanting to help the woman out. Apparently she did a good enough job, because later in the day we got the confirmation from Dell.

I told Alicia I was ordering the computer, because I needed her agreement to bring it, and also because I needed to verify where to have the computer shipped. There have been a number of instances of packages disappearing off of neighborhood porches in the area around Alicia’s and Peter’s house, and she told us some time ago that if we wanted to deliver a package, to have it sent to Peter’s work address, which I did not have. But I didn’t bother to tell Shelli, simply because I did not think of it as a high-priority need-to-know item for her. Thanks, Shelli, for stumbling through that for me.

New Computer

Tuesday May 3, 2011  Day 307

I finally ordered a new computer today. I have been increasingly frustrated with the limitations of this computer I like having lots of windows open and multi-tasking both on and off the web, and this computer gets slower and slower as I open more things. Even with only the internet open, however, it runs at about 75% of capacity, which does not allow for much else to be open. I decided to upgrade and have Alicia and Peter bring it to me when they come.

My African violet has bloomed. I guess I should move it out of the half-milk-bottle pot I fixed for it and give it a bit more dignified residence.

What nationality are Jews???

Monday May 2, 2011                                                                                             Day 306

Shelli texted us at about 5:30 a.m. to say that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Later I saw pictures on Yahoo of dancing in the streets in Washington D.C.

Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr., said

I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

This is a philosophy I could not agree with more. I do not rejoice in the death of Bin Laden. There are plenty waiting to take his place. 

Today was apartment cleaning day again - not sure why that rolls around so often, but it does. Our landlord has asked that we allow some prospective tenants in to see the apartment on Thursday. Roger asked him whether they are Americans, and his response was “No, they are Jews.” Somehow I never thought of Jewish as a nationality.

Happy Birthday to Daddy

Sunday May 1, 2011                                                                                               Day 305

Happy Birthday to Daddy, who turns 92 today! I called him to wish him a happy birthday and he seemed pretty upbeat about his new living quarters.

Today we were going to take the tram and the bus out to a wildlife sanctuary which I explored last fall with Elisabeth. But we got to the tram stop and there were no trams running. Nor, we realized, were there any buses. Apparently May 1 is a big labor holiday in France and much of the rest of the world.

Instead, we walked to the botanical gardens near our apartment and enjoyed the plants and flowers there.

Note the turtle in the water

Watch for this one later!

We ended walking through the Peyrou and got this photo of St. Anne's Church

To market, to market to buy some more flowers

Saturday April 30, 2011                                                                                         Day 304

The market today was even fuller than usual - there was a boules tournament going on, with coverage by a local radio station whose DJ served as announcer. Boules appears to be akin to horseshoes, except that they use metal balls about the size of a baseball. They begin by throwing a much smaller wooden ball into the ring and that becomes the goal. The players try to throw their boules as close to the goal as possible, hoping to knock out someone else in the process.

We bought some flowers for the flower boxes - dahlias, petunias, marigolds.

My sciatic nerve has been bothering me seriously today. I stretched it out a couple of times which only seemed to help some. After dinner I took a warm bath - a real rarity for me! That seemed to help a bit as well, as did the further stretching afterward. I am truly beginning to feel like an old lady!

I started another painting today - I got the wash done and will start the main coat tomorrow. If I were working in oils, I think this could be a fantastic painting. Who knows how it will turn out in acrylics.

Paris in the springtime??

Friday April 29, 2011                                                                                             Day 303

Apparently a big wedding took place today. We did not turn on the television, but Roger reads Yahoo news, both French and U.S., it got a couple of mentions into Facebook, and even crept into Evony, my online game. Jon Stewart said, It is “the kind of historic event that only happens once in a generation – the storybook marriage between an anachronistic fascination with the descendants of some very lucky German hemophiliacs and ubiquitous 21st century media hypercoverage.” Indeed.

I finished another painting today. I titled it “I Love Paris in the Springtime, but it is actually a picture of a tree in bloom against St. Roch church near our apartment.

More paintings

Thursday April 28, 2011                                                                                         Day 302

Today I ache all over from yesterday’s exercises. But I gritted my teeth and got through the whole series this morning. Ugh! I spent the entire rest of the day limping from sore muscles.

Afterward, we went out for a bit - to the halle to buy some meat for dinner, to the ATM for some money, and to a book/video store for some cheap CDs. We splurged and bought five for 20 eurocents each. I also sprang for a portfolio - deciding it was time that I stopped using an x-ray bag to store my paintings in.

My new portfolio for my paintings

 Roger got rained out at chess and came home early. He called to remind me to bring the clothes in from the line, and his timing was perfect - the laundry was dry and it was just barely starting to spit.

I finished the watercolor. I am not pleased - it did not turn out as I planned it. I should probably plan on taking some watercolor lessons if I intend to continue in that medium. The painting is nice, I suppose, but then, I am my own harshest critic by a long shot.

Exercises - ugh!

Wednesday April 27, 2011                                                                                     Day 301

We finally went to the grocery store, three days after returning from vacation. We were hurting for a couple of things - peanut butter, tea and lunch meat primarily. On the way to the store, we stopped to check out one of the booths which are set up almost every day along the edge of the Comédie. Roger had been eying a ring there, and we checked out the jewelry booth more thoroughly. In the end, he bought a ring with another ring built into it - one which has a chessboard pattern on an inner ring which spins.

Roger has been doing exercises for a month or more now, and I have not bothered to join him. I decided to this morning, doing a 12-minute aerobic workout from an internet site, and hated every minute of it. Indeed, I did not even complete it. My computer started acting up - I did the warm-up and the first series of exercises, but when it came time to do the second set, I couldn’t see what they were because my computer refused to cooperate. By the time I got it to display again, I had half cooled down, but I forged on for a bit. Then the timer wouldn’t display, so I threw a hissy fit and quit about halfway through. Any excuse not to exercise!!!

I painted again this afternoon - starting on a watercolor and on an acrylic as well. I was unable to finish either one, as it was my evening to cook. I usually start painting in the afternoon, and quit when Roger gets home from chess, which is anywhere between 6:00 and 7:30, depending upon the weather and the light. It stays light here until 8:30 or so, and I may begin to rearrange my days so that I can paint after dinner as well. We can probably bump up dinner an hour or so on some days, and when I cook, I can continue to paint while Roger cleans up.

By mid-afternoon, I realized that my thighs ache from the exercises I did this morning.

We Skyped with Brennan and Shelli this evening. Brennan is starting to move around a lot and to respond to lots of stimuli. He is such a cute little boy.

Buying flowers

Tuesday April 26, 2011                                                                                          Day 300

Market day. We bought some lasagna for dinner, along with some squash, peppers, onions and tomatoes for creole squash. We ran into Susan from AWG while we were buying flowers and chatted briefly with her. There were some beautiful amaryllis flowers for sale, most of them with multiple flowers on one stem. I bought a pink and a red. This was the same vendor who sold us the daffodils a few weeks ago, and he lovingly, almost tenderly, wrapped them up in paper, added a few extra detail flowers, and stapled a sprig of something to the edge of the paper. Before he wrapped them, he asked me if they were a gift. The wrapping was exquisite - I wonder what he would have done had it been a gift!

I dropped into the pharmacie for a weigh-in after lunch. Then I walked to the hair salon and got a perm. It was the longest one I have ever had - more than three hours. In the middle of it, the hairdresser paused and put color on another lady’s hair, then returned to mine. When I left, the lady had had color on her hair for over an hour without a rinse! 

Today I discovered that there are buds on one of my African violets. Nice!

Roger’s hat got a couple of spots on it on our travels, so I hand-washed it today. It is rare that I hand-wash much of anything, so I hope he feels privileged.

Weather here and there

Monday April 25, 2011                                                                                          Day 299
Roger went out for a baguette this morning, only to discover almost all the shops closed, including bakeries. Apparently the day after Easter is a holiday in France. He finally found one open and bought some 6-grain bread - not quite as tasty as a grain baguette from the local bakery, but good nevertheless. The apartment was in dire need of cleaning, so we set to that after breakfast. I am still catching up on laundry from our guests and travel.

Roger was not sure there would be chess since this is a holiday, but he left shortly after 2:00 with his chess set. Around 3:30, it began to thunder and shortly after 4:00 he called to say he was on his way home. Almost immediately after he called, it began to rain here, and hail as well. I think this is the first thunder I have heard since coming to France, and I know it is the first hail I have seen.

Hail in our tulip box

Alicia called this evening to say that they almost didn’t get out of Massachusetts and back to Atlanta. They were at a small airport in Massachusetts and were waiting for the turnaround plane from Atlanta to Massachusetts. When they arrived at the airport, there was an announcement that the flight would be delayed because the plane had not left Atlanta yet. This was announced several times before the plane finally made it in, they boarded and left for Atlanta. Alicia said she got to bed around 3:00 a.m.

I called Daddy to talk to him one more time before he leaves for a retirement center in Lubbock. Jimmy answered the phone and I spoke to him for several minutes before talking to Daddy. Daddy seems mostly resigned to the move, but not particularly happy. It is the end of his independence.

Some swallows have begun building a ndes right outside our bathroom window. I don't know if you can see it here, but it is the slight protrusion from the brown beam. I am reminded of the swallows who built a nest above the porch light at Daddy's house and returned year after year.

Returning home

Sunday April 24, 2011                                                                                            Day 298

Happy Easter to my readers.

Here is how one rider decorated her bicycle for Easter

Because it was Easter Sunday, there were not many places open for breakfast. We finally located a bakery and purchased not only breakfast, but lunch as well. There was fresh-squeezed orange juice which was quite delicious, although it would have been even better cold. We ate our breakfast alongside a canal, then returned to the hotel to pack. The train station was a very short walk away, and we arrived with plenty of time to spare. The trip to Paris was uneventful, but the metro transfer from Gare du Nord to Gare de l’Est left us panting slightly, as there was not as much time between train trips as we had heading north. On the train from Paris to Montpellier, we were entertained by a little girl about age 9 who engaged in various tactics to amuse herself including reading over Roger’s shoulder.

Some of our breakfast choices the last day. No carbs or calories here!

Impressions of Amsterdam:

Bicycles everywhere!

Canals lined with houseboats

Much more English spoken here than in France