from Madrid to Amsterdam

How on earth does Amsterdam fit into a Spring Break trip that was to be all about Spain? It's simple, really. The airfare I picked (the lowest available) routed us on the return through Amsterdam airport. That lit a huge spark for me: we would be passing through Amsterdam on nearly the last day of March? That has to be the most incredible piece of luck, from a gardener's perspective! What person who grows flowers doesn't long to visit the Netherlands in the very few weeks of tulip blossoms? So, couldn't we break up our trip, for an overnight in Amsterdam?

The airline agreed. 

Initially it was really going to be just an overnight. Fly in, see tulips, next day fly out. But as the weather turned on us in Spain, I thought it would be far more enjoyable and less stressful to cut out a night in Granada in favor of an extra night in Amsterdam. Because, what if there were flight delays? And, too, I have learned that spacing big ticket attractions, with some quiet time at the front end, pays great dividends for the both of us. She's happy, I'm relaxed.

It took many emails and phone calls, but I managed The Big Switch and so here we are, waking up today in Madrid, eating breakfast at Los Duques, on the porch, just like on our first morning here...

Then, saying good bye to all those Velazquez prints... and to the bunny rabbit...

And catching an early afternoon flight to Amsterdam.

Amsterdam. Snowdrop was here with her family (and me!) back when she was 4. She remembers very little of course. Me -- I'm pretty sentimental about the city, as it was a stopover on my first solo journey outside my home country. I was just 18 and I was traveling from Poland to New York to work as an au pair for the summer. And I paused in Amsterdam. 

I over-nighted then at the Ambassade Hotel. It was very simple and very cheap then. Listed in Frommer's Europe on $5 a Day. (The book was a bit of a cheat since you really could not do much of anything at those rock bottom prices, but the target audience -- the frugal traveler -- was spot on: me.) It's none of those things now. Like the Baume, it did an overhaul, realizing that its location is so good that it can draw the fussy travelers to it easily. It's now a four star establishment and it is absolutely delightful.

To be back here with my grandchild (after that trip to be a nanny to a girl pretty close to Snowdrop's age) has to be some kind of closure to a circle of life, no?

(here, a room with a view is an utter dream...)

Were I alone, I'd probably just sit by the window for half the day.

 

 

But not at the tail end of March.  First of all, it's a grandchild's birthday. I'm determined to at least send out a birthday video. Can a video convey a hug? So much love? My most heartfelt wishes? I can only hope...

Then, too, look at the trees outside the window: spring has completely exploded in Amsterdam. This is not the time to stay indoors, especially since the promised showers (so typical here in March!) are holding off.

We go for a walk. To Vondel Park. Just long enough to enjoy the beauty of the season.

(as we step out onto the Herengracht Canal, she has a flash of recollection: I remember this!..)

(at the park: in bloom...)

(floating tulips??)

Dinner? At the nearby Herengracht Restaurant, which sort of has a little of this, a little of that. Honestly, it reminds me of an eatery you'd find back home. I start us off with "cheese souffles" which I tell Snowdrop are a little like fried cheese curds.

On a typical day, she might have frowned on these, but she never really did eat lunch. Bread and butter on the plane and an apple in the room. That's all. Suddenly, Dutch cheese souffles taste ... good enough!

For a main course? I take the salmon, she goes with "fish and chips." Again, devoured out of hunger!

We walk back.  Amsterdam always looks so lovely in the evening. Even more so in the evening in full blown spring.

In our room again, with a big exhale. Tomorrow -- the gardens.