Last of our 2024 Trip

It’s hard to believe it has been a year since we came back from our epic three week trip to the Netherlands, Spain, England, Scotland and Ireland.

This post is about our last days in Ireland. After this I’ll have to come up with some more fun travels to take so I can keep the travel segment of this blog going.

One of the first villages depicted at the heritage museum.

Day 24 of our trip was a move-on day. We headed to Straffan, Ireland, where your next Airbnb was. Along the way, we stopped at the Irish Heritage Museum. It was an outdoor museum where you moved from one scene to the next. It began with the first people of Ireland and continued until they gained their independence. There was also a falconry on site. Angie and Rietta both held a peregrine falcon. From there, we traveled on, arriving at Straffan late and settling in.

The next day, we drove to the Cliffs of Moher. The high cliffs and ragged rocks along the swirling sea were definitely breathtaking. We walked through an entrance in the side of the hill, wondering what could be inside, and discovered a large, underground, indoor museum. The interactive museum was extensive. It was set into the hill so it didn’t detract from the scenery. There were also shops built into the side of the hill.

On the way to the cliffs, we’d read signs to Bunratty Castle, and we saw it from the highway. On the way back to Straffan, we stopped there and had an excellent tour of the castle and the old town. There were houses set up as they would have been in medieval times, and some in the Victorian era. One lad in the Victorian era regaled us with tales of his heroics, his family, and life during that time period. He was entertaining.

On Day 26, we walked around Dublin. As we were walking to the Dublin Castle, we passed an alley across the street. I saw young people coming out of it, so I stared down the alley to see where they were coming from. I kept walking and walked into a three-foot-high orange traffic cone on the sidewalk.

At first, I couldn’t figure out what I’d walked into, and then I felt myself falling. I landed on my left hip and shoulder. Both my granddaughter behind me and my daughter in front of me tried to catch me, but it happened too fast. I was so embarrassed, I laughed and had tears. An Irish woman working for a construction company witnessed the incident and remarked that it was unfortunate they hadn’t captured it on video. LOL That’s how I started my tour of Dublin!

This is stairway is where the Irish Presidents are inaugurated.

The Dublin Castle and Government apartments were interesting. They weren’t giving tours of the medieval part of the Castle, but we were able to see the apartment areas. It has history, art, and heritage. I enjoyed it.

A beautiful hallway that is used for events.

Beautiful architecture and art in this sitting room.

Then we walked around Dublin, had lunch in an Irish Pub, and went to the wax museum. While the museum had a lot of Irish history, the admission price seemed a bit steep for what we saw. After that, we walked some more, crossing the Ha’Penny footbridge.

We ended the day with a stroll through Dublin Castle gardens and a sweet treat.

Day 27, we drove to the airport and flew home. Angie and Rietta were happy to head home, but I was game for more traveling. I’m hoping to go back and see a few other countries in the next few years.

Ireland

I’m picking back up with the trip I took last fall with my oldest daughter and a granddaughter. The third leg of our trip was in Ireland. After crossing from Scotland to Ireland by ferry, we rented a car. It was the first time we’d rented a car during the whole trip, but it was definitely worth it.

After being kind of stranded in Scotland without a means of transportation, it was a freedom to be able to drive ourselves where we wanted to go.

We spent the night in Belfast, Ireland and picked up the rental car the following morning. Since we were at the northern end of the island, we decided to hit one of the major sites. My daughter did a good job of staying on the left (wrong) side of the road. It took her a bit to get used to the difference.

We loaded into the car and headed to Giant’s Causeway on the north coast of Ireland. We took the walking tour and spent time in the gift shop. Then we returned to the car and drove what was supposed to be 4 1/2 hours but turned out to be more like 6. By the time we stopped for lunch and a few missed turns, we made it to our Airbnb in Bullycullen about 9 pm. We were all tired. After unloading and eating dinner, we went to bed.

The Giant’s Causeway features hexagonal pillars of rock formed from an ancient volcanic fissure eruption.

The next day, we headed out when we were rested and drove to Blarney Castle. We toured the castle and all decided we didn’t need to hang upside down and kiss a rock that millions of other people had kissed. Next, we sauntered around the beautiful gardens, lime house, ice house, caves, and towers. It was a wonderful afternoon of exploring.

The gap up there is where the kissing stone is.

Cave used to retreat from the Blarney Castle.

Day 23 of our trip we explored close to where we were staying. A brochure at the house talked about the oldest lighthouse in the world. We set our GPS for Hooks Head, less than half an hour from where we were staying in Bullycullane. The wind picked up as we drove to the peninsula. The tour guide was excellent! So much history and storytelling combined that we were enthralled. My granddaughter thought it was great and wished she’d recorded the monologue.

She was also the only one who could answer one of the tour guide’s questions about the man who had the lighthouse built. The wind was so strong that when we stepped out of the lighthouse, we were held in place by the wind, barely able to take a step. The history of the lighthouse goes back to a monk who believed a light needed to be lit at all hours of the day and night to keep ships safe. He first built bonfires on the rocky peninsula. Later, a stone conical tower was built with a fire basket on top. The monks carried buckets of coal up the four levels to keep the fire lit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Later a better lighthouse was built.

From there, we went to Wexford and shopped. Each of us purchased at least one piece of clothing. Then we had a delightful dinner at a bar and Bistro.

I’ll continue our Ireland stay in the next Travel installment.

Steens Mountain SE Oregon

We did our nearly yearly trip up on the Steens to see the wildflowers a week ago. There had been so much snow up on the mountain that the roads didn’t open until a couple weeks ago. We like to go for my birthday at the end of June, but the roads had just opened and we were busy. Lucky for us, the wildflowers didn’t disappoint.

There is a small waterfall in the background.

The left photo is at the edge of Kiger Gorge. The photo is farther up the road.

Steens Mountain summit is in the background.

I thought these orange-yellow almost succulents were interesting in this photo. As you can see there were still patches of snow everywhere.

This is the same type of plant as the orange and yellow plant in the lower photo.

We also saw the wild horses in their usual spot near a watering hole. Some were even in the water.

The next trip we make will most likely be with grandkids to swim in Fish Lake then we will most likely make the fall trip to see the colorful aspen leaves.

Last Days in Scotland

This was the day that we walked the most. Leaving Kilbryde Castle where we were staying, we headed to Doune Castle in Doune, Scotland. We left around 9 am to give ourselves enough time to get to the castle by our 11:00 ticket time. We made the four miles with 30 minutes to spare.

As we entered the castle they gave us devices that recited the information at each stage of the castle. It was fun learning about the history, seeing where the food was prepared, where they slept, and entertained.

The hole in the corner of this area was for smoke. It was a spit for cooking large animals and hanging large pots to cook.

This was a doorway out of the kitchen area in to the prep area.

This was the hole for a toilet. The grate is over it to keep people from tossing trash. They did say that when a prisoner of war was held in the castle, he escaped by going out toilet hole.

This was the basket that held the wood to keep the guests warm during a banquet. It sits in the middle of the banquet hall.

The banquet hall. I can’t remember how many people they said it could accommodate. but it was large.

Looking out one of the windows toward the courtyard. It was pretty and a large area.

This was the fireplace in the family’s main room above the banquet hall.

This was where the Lord would hear grievances and proclaim laws.

It was a fun tour. Afterwards, we found the business district of the town and a quaint cafe called Buttercup. We had a wonderful lunch. I had creamed mushroom, sweet potato, tarragonsoup with loaded fries (which we all ate). Even though I was full, I couldn’t pass up the gingerbread cake. It was delicious!

With overflowing stomachs, we headed back to where we were staying. On the way, we passed by a playground and Angie decided to take a ride on a small zip line.

We walked slowly back to Kilbryde Castle, enjoying the sunshine and pretty scenes. When we arrived, I looked at my Fitbit and we had walked 9 miles.

The next day, we stayed at the castle being lazy. Midday, Angie and I took a stroll around the paths in the gardens and down by the river. I took a lot of photos of flowers still in bloom and the changing leaves. In the afternoon, we played cards and I packed for the next leg of our vacation.

Old rock steps down to the river.

We woke at 5 am, and the taxi arrived at 6 to take us to the bus station in Sterling. We had less than an hour bus ride to Glasgow and then a two-hour bus ride to Cairnryan to walk onto the Ferry. The Ferry ride took about two hours. We purchased a chicken wrap, ate the rest of the chips we brought with us, and then found a room with bench seats and the movie Super Mario Bros playing.

When we landed in Belfast, Ireland, we discovered the hotel we’d reserved was 30 minutes away. The taxi driver was full of good information. We spent the evening changing up some of our sightseeing due to the places the taxi driver told us. Then we watched some TV and went to bed.

The next post will be about Ireland.

Scotland – Kilbryde Castle and Dunblane

We started our trip to Scotland with a nice stroll to the train station. The ride took us to Paddington Station in London. We hailed a cab to get us to King’s Cross Station for our leg of the trip to Stirling, Scotland. With only 30 minutes to get to the next train, we thought the cab would be faster than us trying to find our way around the tube station.

Traffic was horrible!

Those people you see running through train stations and airports…that was us. We arrived at the train station with 8 minutes before our train left. And the trains don’t wait. They pull up only minutes before they leave. At the ticket turntable, Angie’s ticket wasn’t working, however, the attendant buzzed her through. It was my turn. I was fumbling trying to find the right ticket. He buzzed me through. Rietta hurried behind me, and he buzzed her through. Angie took off running toward the platform. I was running behind her with a backpack and my rolling suitcase. I know I had to look like a lumbering ox, but I kept my legs pumping even when they didn’t want to. I kept her in sight, and right as she boarded the train, Rietta darted around me. She hopped on the train, reached down and grabbed my bag, then grabbed my arm and helped me and my tired legs get up the steps onto the train.

After we found our seats and calmed down, we enjoyed the 5-hour ride to Stirling. We read, played cards, and watched the scenery.

At Stirling, we hopped in a cab and gave him the name of the place where we were staying. Kilbryde Castle, Dunblane. What I hadn’t realized was how isolated the castle was. The information said it was a short walk to places of interest.

Once the cab left, we realized it wasn’t. And our phones wouldn’t work to order takeout. I managed to get hold of the Airbnb host. She brought us bread, cheese, butter, eggs, and spaghetti. That was enough to get us through the night and breakfast. We were staying in the servants’ quarters.

The next day we started off walking around the Kilbryde Castle garden.

After seeing all the varieties of flowers and the wonderful trails, we set off for the town of Dunblane on foot.

Our phone said it was about 3 miles. At the halfway point, we discovered a lovely coffee stand. We stopped for hot chocolate and chai lattes.

After watching the people with dogs walking out toward the road, we followed them and found the trail to Dublane that ran alongside the highway.

In town, we encountered many large stately homes before crossing a bridge and coming to the town center. We found Leighton Library first. Angie stuck her head around a little door in the side of a building and discovered information about an expansion program for the oldest purpose-built private library in Scotland. It was built with money from Robert Leighton, Bishop of Dunblane 1661-1670, with money he requested to be used to build something to house his collection of books. There are around 4500 books printed in 15 languages in the library. He wanted the books to be housed in Dunblane and used by the clergy.

The feel of the leather covers, the multitude of sizes, and the variety of pages is something to behold for any lover of books. The woman at the library was full of wonderful information and said she would take out any book we wanted to look at, but I was so in awe of the sight that I didn’t want to bother the books. I couldn’t believe she said we could come back and get one to take with us to read and bring back before we left. It astounded me that they were so willing to share such a treasure.

From the library we toured Dunblane Cathedral. It was small but beautiful with carved pews and woodwork and modest stained glass windows. At the cathedral we were told the museum was a good place to learn the history of the town and took a turn through the rooms.

After the museum, we walked into a couple of stores and ended up getting lunch at the Riverside Cafe. I had a tasty sandwich of baked chicken thigh, tomato, mozzarella cheese, a nice sauce, fries, and a salad. We were all stuffed when we finished eating. And to our surprise, the cafe allowed dogs to come in with the owners. The dogs were on leashes and sat at the feet of their owners while they dined. Although Rietta said she spotted a lab, trying to snare a fry from a neighboring table when its master wasn’t looking.

This was written on the wall of the cafe.

Our next stop was to try and find a bus to see if it would take us back to the castle. We couldn’t find one and went to the grocery store instead for provisions for our stay at the castle. After seeing our groceries were taking all three bags we’d brought with us and being tired from all our trekking, we decided to call a taxi to take us to the castle. Again, my phone wouldn’t work even though I’d purchased the extra coverage. I asked the information desk at the store if they could call a taxi for us. We were told it would be about 10 minutes and where to wait. A taxi pulled into the parking lot, and we all walked toward him when he parked. He told us he wasn’t there to pick us up, that someone else was coming. So we went back and waited.

A taxi pulled up to the bus stop and waved us over. On our way to the castle, the driver told us about a walk similar to what we’d taken that day that would deliver us to the Doune Castle. We decided to see it the next day. We also set up for the taxi to pick us up at 6 am on the day we left to get us to the bus station in Stirling to catch our ride to Caryn and the ferry across to Ireland for the last leg of our trip.

…next post Doune Castle

London and Bath

Day twelve we left Santander, Spain for London, England. After the flight, we took the bus to the Tube station. The Tube trip was not something I’d like to do again. I like a bubble around me and I found out you can’t keep that bubble intact in a large city. There were too many people and maybe one out of 10 spoke with an English accent. We checked in to our hotel and discovered we were in a basement room.

After checking in we took a hop-on hop-off bus around London to see all the historical places we’d heard of or seen in books or movies. The ride would have been boring if the guide hadn’t been entertaining. My granddaughter thought he was funny. Which he was. He’d call out to people walking on the street and make comments about how people were dressed as well as tell the history of buildings and areas.

After the bus ride, we returned to our basement hotel room. It was an experience.

The next day was interesting! We took our time getting up, eating breakfast in the hotel, and slowly made our way to the bus depot, purchasing snacks for our lunch on the bus ride to Bath. We arrived at the station and saw a bus leaving for Bath half and hour before our scheduled bus and thought it was our bus. It turned out it wasn’t. We spent another 2 hours in the bus station waiting for our bus as it was running late.

We spotted tables and chairs and thought it was a communal eating area. We pulled out the food we’d purchased and had it half eaten when we were told we couldn’t eat food that hadn’t been purchased from the store next to the tables. Picking up our food, we moved to the seats in the waiting area.

The bus to Bath finally arrived. We waited and waited and they finally loaded us. The bus went around the block with a buzzer going off and the driver took us back to the station. They unloaded us and our luggage as they waited for another bus to arrive. When that bus showed up we were loaded and not 15 minutes into the ride, I received a message from Airbnb that the place I’d rented had damage from a storm and the roof fell in. Lucky for us Airbnb reached out when they heard of the cancellation and gave me some options of places that were similar in price to the one I’d booked. I picked one and they accepted us. It turned out the place I picked was quiet and closer to the area where we planned to explore.

Bath

Our first day in Bath, we started with a tour of the Roman Baths. The history was interesting going back to 600. The change of countrymen and religions through the ages intrigued me. learning how so many buildings were built on top of the others fascinated me. Also, they came to excavate the original ruins of the baths. It is a unique historical site.

After the tour we had a British lunch of fish and chips. It was good!

After the meal, we strolled through the shops until time for the free walking tour around town which is sponsored by the Mayor of Bath. They split the group down the middle so I ended up in a group by myself and the girls were together.

The tour took us to all the major historical places with a running dialog from our guide. I liked the fact the architect and major industrialists used a theme throughout the building of the town. Being separated from the girls let my mind wander and not worry whether they were having a good time or needed something. During this walk we were soaked. I thought I’d brought a raincoat with me but my shoulders and back were soaked and my pants were wet. The paper sack I’d been carrying the things I’d purchased in, disintegrated during the walk and I had to tuck my purse under my jacket even though it wasn’t protecting all of me. I placed the small items I’d purchased in my purse and shoved the shirt I bought up under the shirt I was wearing and tucked the bottom into my pants so it wouldn’t fall out. I look odd with lumps all over my torso but I kept my purchases moderately dry.

The wet courtyard where we started and finished.

Because of the rain, we hadn’t taken all the photos we wanted, so the next day we walked to the buildings we’d learned about the day before and took photos. As we walked and talked, we realized the two guides told different versions of the history.

This was the Crescent where dignitaries stayed when they were in Bath for the Season.

After re-walking the tour route, we checked in at the Therme Spa to see if there was a chance I could get a massage and the girls wanted to go in the water. We were able to book a time in the afternoon. From there I went to a store and purchased a good raincoat. I didn’t want to be wet again on the trip.

We made it into the Bath Abbey in time to take a tour. Again, it was interesting to hear all the history about the Abbey. In Europe their history goes back so much farther than United States history. It’s kind of mind boggling. From the Abbey, we strolled across the street and had a traditional hand pie for lunch.

The day before on the tour, my guide had pointed out a bridge that was made to look like a continuation of the street with business along it so people wouldn’t know they were leaving one part of town and going to another, or so my guide said. We headed to that bridge after we ate.

The bridge made to look like a street when you walk across it.

Back at the spa, the girls went off to enjoy the rooftop pool and other amenities while I had a massage. When I came out of my massage, they were waiting for me to show me all the fun things they discovered and take me to the rooftop pool. It was a fun relaxing afternoon. From the spa, we went to the train station to check in and get our tickets for the next day. We timed ourselves walking back to where we were staying so we knew when we’d need to set out for the train in the morning. The next day we were headed to Scotland.

Santander, Spain

We arrived in Santander and my niece, Izzy picked us up from the airport. We drove to her house and settled in.

The next day another niece, Emmy and her daughter Loreto drove us to the beach at Somo. The day wasn’t warm enough to strip down, but we enjoyed walking along the beach with a few other beachgoers and surfers.

We saw an old capsized boat out in the surf and watched a few boats go by. On the other side of the bay sat Santander.

I was fascinated by the tractors driving on the beach using a rock picker to pick up trash.

After an hour or so on the beach, we loaded back up and drove to Santander.

We walked the promenade, saw an old church and abbey, then strolled around the town.

This carousel was in the middle of a small park along the waterfront.

We had lunch at a restaurant inside an old marketplace. In the front of the restaurant, they had this case of tapas.

My niece ordered croquetas (a bechamel sauce with ham rolled in crumbs and fried) for us to try. They were delicious.

I thought I’d ordered a salad with tomatoes and ham. It turned out to be a plate full of sliced tomatoes with tuna and pickled onions. It was delicious but it was a while before I could eat another tomato!

After walking through two more plazas, we headed to the car and drove to a mall. It was Izzy’s birthday and we wanted to purchase a birthday gift for her. She had mentioned she was down on wine glasses from people breaking them at barbeques and dinners, so we purchased some for her gift.

I noticed two National Police standing outside of a store in the mall. They were intimidating. Later when I told my niece and her husband, they said something must have been happening for there to have been to National Police in the mall. I’m glad we made our purchase and left!

We ended the day with a nice meal and visit with my niece and her family.

The next day Izzy and her husband took us to a couple of older villages around Santander. The first village had cobbled streets and small stores full of souvenirs.

We watched a bride arrive for a traditional wedding at the church. Bagpipes played as the bride and groom stood facing the church with their families and friends all around them. I was surprised to hear bagpipes but my niece’s husband told us that the northern part of Spain has a Celtic heritage from the people arriving from the Atlantic Ocean down from the United Kingdom. That was interesting to learn.

We walked the streets waiting for a magic show to start in the village square. My niece’s daughters were enthralled with the performance. While they watched the show, Angie, Rietta, and I walked through a free museum that had centuries-old tools, and photos from the time the first camera captured images to now.

Looking down on the square from the museum.

From there we drove to another village with a traditional restaurant. We had fried calamari, croquetas, and blood sausage (it was made with rice, onions and spices and fried). Then we had bean soup. It’s a soup with white beans, kale, bacon chunks, and spices. It was very good!

After lunch, we went to Comillas. Here we did a tour of the Sobrellano Palace. It was built for the Marquise of Comillas, Antonio Lopez Lopez. From there we spotted a house designed for one of the Marquise’s friends by architect Antoni Gaudi who built the church we saw in Barcelona.

It was an explosion of sunflower tile; greens and yellows. The outside made me smile. The inside wasn’t as fantastic as the outside. It was inviting and a place I wouldn’t mind living. The rooms weren’t large but they all had great views and plenty of light. The conservatory wasn’t huge either.

Eating in Spain took some getting used to. There is only a small breakfast of tea, coffee, or hot chocolate with toast, a sweet roll, or cookies. About the time we would normally eat lunch there is a snack of coffee, tea, or milk with a Spanish omelet or bread. Lunch is around 2 pm and around the time of our dinner time they have a light snack then eat dinner at 8pm. We had the hardest time with the 8 pm dinner. It wasn’t large but it was later than I eat. I have dinner at 6 and don’t eat anything else until morning.

On the last day in Santander, we drove to a high hill to take in the vistas around the area. The tree-covered hills (they call mountains) were a gorgeous green and even though it was a day with fog or mist, it was beautiful. From this vantage point we could see Santander and all the villages we’d walked through, even where my niece lived. It was chilly at the top and we had hot chocolate as we chatted.

We returned home and my niece sent us off with her husband while she prepared the Sunday meal we would share with her sister and her family. Oscar took us to a neighboring village that has a natural zoo, I guess you would call it. The animals are all in large fields with high fences to keep them in and people out. You can purchase a ticket to ride a tram over the fields and see the animals. But Oscar knew a road that took us up alongside the fence to see the elephants. The elephant looked red because it had been dusting with the red soil in the area.

We visited with the elephant and took photos before we joined him at a small café for rabats- it’s a two in the afternoon snack of calamari and a drink.

We returned to the house to find Emmy and her family had arrived. We all sat down to a meal of roasted chicken and potatoes (white and sweet), a pasta salad, bread, and olives. The food was delicious. Dessert was zucchini bread and a traditional Spanish dessert her oldest daughter loves. I can’t remember the name of it and I forgot to write it down while on the trip.

Late in the evening, we went to Lierganes where we had churros and chocolate before walking around the town and listening to a live band.

The next day we boarded a plane early in the day headed for London, England. Where we would spend a night and take the train to Bath.

Barcelona Spain

Day seven of our trip we rose at 3:30 am and Janneke and Cor took us to the airport. Our flight to Barcelona, Spain left at 6 am. We arrived in Barcelona around 9 am and boarded an airport shuttle bus to get us to the main terminal. At the terminal, we looked for where we would fly out the next day on our way to Santander. Once we felt confident and figured out what time we’d need to arrive at the airport, we took a bus to the hotel.

We were lucky enough to check in early. We deposited our bags and found the closest hop on hop off bus to see the city sights.

At one of the squares we hopped off and ate at the Hard Rock Café. The food was good and it had outdoor seating. We watched the buses filled with tourists like us go by as well as many pedestrians and cars.

We hopped on a different color line bus to see another part of the city. This bus took us to the Sabrado Familia church. The building was an oddity to say the least. The architect Antoni Gaudi designed the church. It has so many things happening it is almost a train wreck but then you also see the beauty in the lines and his genius in pulling it all together.

We hopped back on the bus and got off at the Poble Espanyol. It was like walking into a castle only the streets were lined with small shops that depicted various places on the Iberian Peninsula in the 17 and 1800’s.

One lane had colorful umbrellas hanging over the cobblestone street. As we were touring the area it started raining. We popped into a shop to wait the rain out and had a nice conversation with the woman who worked there. The rain let up and moved on, taking a stroll through the museum of modern art.

Leaving the art museum the rain had let up so we ventured up to the Monastery of Saint Miguel.

The rain started up as we began our walk down to our hotel. We were soaked by the time we were halfway back to where we’d planned to eat. We sat in a restaurant in a large mall, soaked and our hair stringy as we ate.

After hot showers, we ended the day happy to be able to sleep in the next day before our afternoon flight to Santander. We rehashed the things we saw and what we each liked the best from our wonderful day of discovering Barcelona.

Ryjks Museum, Anna Frank House, and Volendam

Cousin Wanda picked us up for a day in Amsterdam. She dropped us off near the Rijks Museum and we walked across the park in front of the beautiful building that houses the museum. I enjoy looking at art, it jogs my creative side and makes me come up with stories to go with pieces that catch my eye.

The museum was huge with lots of great art and collections to wander through. My 16-year-old granddaughter wanted to know why they always painted the women half-dressed in the old paintings. I couldn’t give her a definite answer because I’m not sure, but she was happy that they looked like real people and not models.

I enjoyed many of the landscapes, especially those by Johan H. Weissenbruch. We grabbed a snack in an out-of-the-way alcove before meeting with Wanda outside the museum.

From here we walked through Amsterdam to the Anna Frank House.

We stopped at a few shops along the way. Rietta went into a Lego store looking for a gift for her brother who likes Legos and then into a rubber duck store so she could get her brother’s girlfriend a rubber duck dressed in a Dutch outfit.

The Anna Frank House is now surrounded by a large glass building. First, you get a headset that when you enter a room either starts playing information that pertains to what you are looking at or you can punch in the number that is placed on the wall to start the dialog. All the information was interesting and kept my attention.

After you go through the information leading up to the war the self-guided tour takes you through the house where Anna and her family hid. Photos weren’t allowed.

The Anna Frank Museum is a reminder to always be watchful for those who wish to take over or treat others as less than human. It doesn’t matter their religion, race, or culture, every person is a human being.

We finished our day by going to an Italian Restaurant. There is something about foreign food in foreign countries that makes other cultures’ food not taste the same. Angie, Rietta, and I all commented on it after having Chinese and Italian food in Holland. Neither one tasted the same as what you get in America. I don’t know if it’s because the country you are in puts their own cultural spin on the foods or what.

I couldn’t get over the bicycles stacked everywhere. This was a parking area for them.

No matter what food we ate we enjoyed most of it and were thankful to be able to make this trip.

The following day Janneke and Cor took us to Volendam. It’s an old fishing village that is now a tourist attraction. We walked along the streets and shops, purchasing mementos and taking in the sites.

We had lunch at the Flying Dutchman Restaurant.

Waling around we saw sailing ships and fishing boats. Angie encounter this stoic woman of the sea and took up a pose next to her.

Rietta, Angie, and I dressed up in historical Volendam clothing and had our photo taken.

The day was fun and we learned more about Dutch culture.

Afterward, we took boxes with the souvenirs we’d purchased and Rietta’s 52 bags of hagelslag (real chocolate sprinkles) to the post office.

It was less expensive for my daughter to have Rietta purchase and ship the hagelslag than for her to buy it in the United States. I’m sure her kids were happy to see that box arrive!

That was the end of our visit to Holland. we had a wonderful time and it was fun connecting with my husband’s family again after not seeing them for awhile.

Merry Christmas or Holiday that you celebrate this time of year!

Boating in Amsterdam

The fourth day of our trip, Janneke’s brother Bert picked us up with his boat in the canal behind her house. We saw beautiful homes along the way. Lots of bike riders and joggers were on the paths and roads alongside the canals. Teams of rowers were practicing on the canals as well.

Houseboats of all shapes and sizes lined the water on the way to Amsterdam and as we entered the city. Some were gorgeous and others could have used some help. Most of them had large windows and the houses looked like ones you would see in a magazine. So pristine and well decorated. Some even had small gardens on their docks or roofs.

In Amsterdam, there were more houseboats to view a as well as the old, tall, narrow buildings. In all our travels around Spain, England, Scotland, and Ireland, Holland was the only place were we saw the tall narrow buildings. We spotted one building dated in the 1500s and more in the sixteen and seventeen hundreds.

The streets and bridges were filled with bicycles. Either ones that people were riding or ones that were parked. I think there were more bikes than cars. People sat along the canals enjoying a beverage or food at the restaurants.

The canals were narrow in some spots in the city. Because it was a weekend there were lots of people enjoying an outing on the canals. Several times I thought Bert would run into the back of another boat or get too close to one passing by. He would just grin and act as if he meant to get that close but I’m still not sure if he really could handle the boat that well or if we were just lucky.

Once we left the narrow canals and moved out into a large more open area with cruise ships, barges, fancy hotels and buildings along the edges of the waterway, we saw a large sailing vessel that would have been used in the 1800s.

We also saw a large building with swings on top of it. The contraption would load people on the swings on the rooftop, then tip out over the edge of the building swinging the people back and forth. That wasn’t something anyone in the boat wanted to do!

There were still so many flowers in bloom during our visit that the streets were a flurry of color. The flowers in planters along the bridges over the canals, in pots on balconies as well as the colorful buildings, modes of transportation, and people made every scene look like a painting.

After the boat ride, we drove to Nes aan de Amstel and climbed the church tower. The stairs weren’t too bad but the last part of the climb was straight up a metal ladder. There was one spot where the climb was through a tight spot. My fuzzy jacket caught on the old wood of the wall and for a moment I thought I was going to be stuck halfway up the ladder.

At the top were beautiful scenes of the countryside. Angie made it up and was glad she’d kept her fear in check as we looked out over the fields.

Rietta saw the tight space and the straight-up ladder and couldn’t quell her fear of heights, so she waited for us at the bottom of the ladder.

We ended the day with dinner at Tante Marie’s house. She ordered Chinese food and we had ice cream for dessert. Another fun day with family.

	patyjag on Always Moving Forward
	dianamcc on Always Moving Forward
	patyjag on Last of our 2024 Trip
	Sharon Marchisello on Last of our 2024 Trip
	patyjag on Sweet Deal Coming

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