Monday, September 02, 2019

Amsterdam one last time

One last post from Amsterdam. Tomorrow, we travel home.

I've been good about fitting in Ocean updates, if sometimes in a hodgepodge fashion -- a paragraph in the morning, a sentence and a few photos in the afternoon, a final sack of stuff in the evening. But today, time is precious and, too, there aren't too many windows of opportunity, so I'll be frugal with text and concentrate on putting up the memories in images and even those will be perhaps less artfully presented. Still, you'll get an idea of our last day of adventuring in this water-logged city.

It is a day of perfect weather. Sunny, just a tiny bit cool, refreshing!

(morning view from bedroom window)


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Breakfast -- downstairs. Snowdrop discovers she loves hard boiled eggs, Sparrow finds a new love of aged Amsterdam cheese. Thinly sliced.


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And now we begin our very long walk, aided here and there by tram rides. Highlights? Well, a return to the Rembrandtplein...


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Crossing one of the older draw bridges...


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To the zoo! And what an expansive zoo it is. So many animals! Visitors are remarkably close to many of them. Is that a good thing? It certainly encourages personal responsibility.


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What?? Penguins again?!


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A rest...


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A slide...


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Outside again: lunch. At a pizza place.


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The walk resumes...


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And here, we hop on a tram to give us a few kilometers' break... (Sparrow's not quite done with his slice of pizza!)


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To Amstel Park, where Sparrow finally gets a little time to romp while Snowdrop climbs the various structures.


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(Happy guy...)


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And again we walk... Until the next tram ride.


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And no, it does not end there. Back at the hotel, Sparrow naps, my daughter and I pause for a drink in the "library" room.


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And we're all off again! Walking toward the harbor where we'll eat dinner. (Blue skies with us, all day long!)


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(Strong little legs!)


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Dinner at the Grand Cafe 1884...


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And from there, it's just a medium walk and a medium ride and then walk again to an ice cream shop. A neighborhood place. A couple stops by, a young mom and her four year old and their dog, and us...


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I'll end with the heroic travelers, chocolated up by ice cream, still with that sparkle in the eye and a ready enthusiasm for whatever comes next!


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Tomorrow -- Madison!