to Amsterdam

How can it be hard to say goodbye to an ocean? Nothing more than a body of water, right? I do think though that there are two groups of people out there: those who live by the sea and those who do not. I belong to the latter category. My focus is on what grows in the earth, not what swims in the waters. And so it's been healthy to forget for a while about gardens and about growing things and to focus instead on cities (Paris) and now, in the last few days, on ocean waters.

These waters, reflecting the color of the sky, joining forces to create a beautiful tableau. (Sunrise...)





But now it's time to move away.

We're not exactly returning home yet. We're traveling back, but stopping first at a city -- Amsterdam.

I have a slight nostalgia toward that place. The Netherlands was the first foreign country that I visited alone. I was 18 and traveling from Poland, on my way to my au paire job in New York. I had no money. I had to borrow some from my uncle for travel expenses. And I had to stop in Amsterdam, because my flights demanded an overnight there. I had an older copy of "Europe on $5 a day" with me (this was from the 60s, so it theoretically was possible to travel on $5 a day, though I think the book was overly optimistic about keeping it pleasant and at the same time cheap) and I looked up the hotels listed there. One of them was the Ambassade. [It was the last time the hotel appeared in that book. For many years after, the authors would lament  -- "the hotel Ambassade has sadly departed from our listings, though we still like it and wish that it was a little bit cheaper." A wistful longing for the impossible: to keep that special little place affordable to even the most frugal traveler.]

In all the years I returned to Amsterdam with my own young family, we'd stay at the Ambassade. And it was always very proper, and very nice, if somewhat climbing in price above the (single digit) dollar a day level.

And so it is no surprise that today, we're heading for the Ambassade.

*   *   *

But first, a rush to clean up our AirBnB in Brittany, a quick trip to the bakery for breakfast treats (the kids keep me company!)...






For a last breakfast in our beachfront apartment...










... and then a cab ride to the Brest airport...


 



... from where a plane takes us to Paris...





... and then, from there to  Amsterdam.

It sounds so deceptively simple, doesn't it? Breakfast, good bye ocean, cab ride, one flight, next flight and boom! We're there. But as you know it's never linear with a young child. Snowdrop by now is easy to move through the travel steps. Sparrow is just one and therefore less predictable. There are the leaky diaper issues, the refusals to nap or even sit still. Hungry or, for no reason, not hungry at all, only to be hungry ten minutes later.  He's a sweet boy, if only people didn't keep strapping him to a seat for who knows how long. We all breathe a sigh of relief when he decides to close his eyes on the final leg of today's journey and snuggle into a lap, mommy's lap, and fall asleep.


*   *   *   

Amsterdam's temperatures are climbing again. This typically cooler city is going to be toasty tomorrow. How many waves of hot air are going to pass through Europe this year?

For now, things are pleasant. We arrive at our canal-facing hotel in the early evening to a delicate light of this northern city.

Snowdrop is sharing a room with me, while Sparrow is sleeping with his parents. Here's the view out my (more accurately, "our") window:






You can't see? Let's try again:






*   *   *


How  would I describe Amsterdam... Hmm... I used to think of it as being chock full of canals, great art, and as a cherry on top -- it has a fabulous orchestra. (As a young person, I loved classical music concerts.) These days, I think of it as a place for young people. The crowds, the relaxed vibe -- it seems to define the city. It never quite lost its place in the free spirit line up. Acceptance appears to come easy for the people here. You can't be surprised that gay marriage was first made legal in the Netherlands.

We have only a few minutes at the hotel. Snowdrop is radiant -- the canals enchant her. The lovely rooms overlooking them are storybook material! But we must head out for dinner. The kids have not been sleeping enough. And we have a dinner reservation to pay attention to.

We eat at Eatmosfera. It struck me that while the grownups were looking for something exciting and unusual, the kids surely are wanting something comforting and easy.  Snowdrop loves her pasta, Sparrow loves his pizza and us big guys revel in our carpaccios and fishes and who knows what else. Eatmosfera I think satisfies both.






(mutual adoration...)






It wasn't a short meal and toward the end, I'm thinking that the kids might enjoy a break from being on good behavior and so I take them out for a short stroll to the nearby Rembrandt monument. I think even Snowdrop is a bit young for a museum visit to see the great Dutch masters, so consider this her (and Sparrow's!) introduction to the golden age of Dutch art.






Fountains help set the mood.






We walk back to our rooms at our hotel tired but deeply satisfied. And of course, there is that last view onto the canal, in the evening light.






What child, what grownup would not be enchanted!


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Brittany beaches

In my view, Brittany has some of the prettiest beaches in Europe. Often hidden, or at least protected by slabs of rock, they emerge unexpectedly as you walk coastal trails. I remember thinking back in 2008 when I first came to the Finistere district and stayed for a week with Ed in the tiny village of Aber Wrac'h  (just 25 miles north of where we are now, but it would take you 45 mins or longer to get there, because the roads that cut through Brittany are narrow and impossible to follow), we hiked along the Channel coast and I would repeatedly say -- how can any beach be this lovely? (You can glance at some of the photos from that time in an Ocean post here.) Oh, they're not pristine -- you'll find the occasional washed up seaweed and there aren't always easy access roads to them, but they are my idea of what a small lip of sand should look like. On a sunny day, they never fail to make you smile.

Today, our last full day in Brittany, that glorious sunshine is with us! It's a day for the beach, for sure.

(Looking out, I see that the trucks are clearing the beach before us of seaweed...)





But first, breakfast. No more distant bakery -- the one underneath us is just fine. I add to my bakery shopping list several baguettes -- we have some cheese, we have some tomatoes. We'll picnic by the sea.


(breakfast plates)






(the kids, because the grownups aren't necessarily up for photos at this hour of the day...)











Ready!






We want to go to the "secret cove" we had discovered on our evening "adventure" our first day here. It looked so inviting! It does require an uphill walk and then a steep descent, but we're up for it!


(at the cove, a handful of grownups are taking maybe 8 or 10 kids out on a raft. The little guys can't be older than Snowdrop. They each have a paddle and they help push the boat along...)






The stairs help you get down to the beach part of the way, but the last bit of the descent requires a scramble over rocks and boulders.






Finally, we're on the lovely sands...






(while the group of kids paddles away, who knows where... we never see them again.)






Today, Snowdrop wants to hit the water. It's not without its challenges. The depth changes and even the gentle waves feel powerful as they sway a little body one way, then the other. Snowdrop starts out being audacious, but learns quickly to be more restrained. You don't mess with the ocean.






(on the retreat...)






As for Sparrow?  Well, he's fine with staying to the sidelines for a while...






But there is, I think, the realization that he can't fully participate in the funner activities. Swimming? Not yet. Sand castle building? Still not quite the age for it...






I take him for a little walk and we mess with taking selfies.






Climbing over a parent is amusing as well. For a while.






Lunchtime. It's a challenge to keep the sand out of the sandwich, but still, the baguettes taste so good by the sea!


(Finished off by a Breton cake...)






Young family photo!






We head home. Showers, rest, refresh.

While Sparrow naps, I take Snowdrop out for a promised last ride on the merry-go-round. What a disappointment! It has packed up and moved on. If ever you feel like summer has really slipped past you, it's when you see an empty space where the merry-go-round once stood. Snowdrop is crushed!

What can one offer to make up for it? Well, there happens to be a stand that's still selling freshly spun cotton candy...





Oh, the stickiness of it! The oozing sugar attracts yellow jackets (one gets trapped in the spun threads of sugar) and I'm somewhat relieved when the girl hands over the remains of the sugary mess. I promptly throw it away.

Gogs, what did you do?? I wasn't done yet! I just was taking a pause!

Oh dear. I tell her that maybe after a brief period of play (there  is a playground by the beach) we can get another, hoping that she'll forget.

In fact, she does get caught up in the swing...






... and in the climbing the ropes.






But she does not forget about the cotton candy.






(Back home again... )






In the evening, we return to Sans Souci for supper. The pizza-moules frites place across the street. Just because, it's close, the kids like the food and the grownups don't mind it either.


 


I'll end with that photo -- the two travelers, still happy, still willing to put up with the craziness of it all, just for the experience, the surprise, the joy of being in it together, with the whole family. Good times and tough times.

Tomorrow, we fly to Amsterdam.

Oceanopolis

Good morning to an ever changing Brittany sea and sky!






Oh, hello, Sparrow!





The gang is up!

*   *   *

There are many reasons to love Finistère, the western-most department of Brittany, France and to want to bring your children here. One of them surely has to be to visit Oceanopolis. Today -- a cloudy day with the promise of light showers in the afternoon is perfect for such a trip.

Oceanopolis is a center for the study of sea life. Located in the city of Brest, it has, among countless other things, three beautifully designed pavilions showing off polar aquatic life, tropical sea life and finally the bounty of sea creatures living off the coast of Brittany. If you want to sell it to your kids, just tell them that at Oceanopolis, you will see up close and personal Europe's largest colony of penguins. But of course, there's so much more: it has 77 giant aquariums, 10,000 animals, it has films, photos and so much information so artfully presented that you could spend a week there and still not take in all of it.

We have tickets. We have booked a cab (we would need to take two separate buses and waste lots of time were we to use public transport; by cab, it's a mere 30 minute ride). We're enthused.

But first, there's breakfast. I ask if we are up for a switch to the lesser "beach bakery" downstairs, just to save time. The better bakery is a good 20 minute walk each way. The crowd heartily approves the change.

And guess what? The lesser bakery has excellent baguettes and some pretty fine morning pastries! True, their croissants aren't up to a Parisian standard, but everything else is quite excellent. I have to think that the French just love to state their own personal bread preferences. Indeed, our cab driver, upon learning where we were staying, proclaimed with some enthusiasm -- ah! right next to that good bakery!






(preparing breakfast plates...)






(Sparrow does not discriminate: he likes all croissants...)






(a mouthful!)






("okay, I'm ready for this ocean-whatever!")






(speaking of oceans and children -- a never ending story unfolds outside before us all the time as kids, young and old, come for their aquatic lessons at the nautical sports center just outside...)






("I'm ready too! Gogs, can I steal one or two or three of your secret cheese twists?")





Cab's here! We're off.


*   *   *

Brittany conjures up for me the sea. It's touched by it to the south, to the west, to the north. Fisheries abound. But it would be incorrect to view it as solely an oceanic province. The belly of this region is agriculturally significant. You see that the minute you leave the coast.

(from the cab window...)





Agriculture here is all about livestock farming and vegetable and cereal growing. Indeed, Brittany is the leading vegetable producer in France (green beans, artichokes, shallots, potatoes, tomatoes). And the butter! Ed always said that if he could pack it in a suitcase, he'd bring it back home.


*   *   *

But let's get on with our visit to Oceanopolis.  First thing's first: the penguins!

(Snowdrop has been a penguin fan since she was a one year old. Penguin was one of her first words. True, it sounded sort of like "bis," but we all knew what she meant!)






(just a handful of the little guys for you!)






(one took a dive to check things out by the window... nice of him!)






(Still more at the polar pavilion...)






Sparrow at this point is a little restless. The stroller ride has too many pauses. It's too dark for good people watching. So we take turns taking him for short strolls. Here, the three other members of the young family are mesmerized by the bearded seals.






(oh, the colors of the sea anemone!)






(do fish smile?)






(shark tank! the kids watch divers attempt to net one, presumably for medical reasons...)






There are countless fascinating species of fish!






And now Sparrow is beginning to enjoy watching them as well...






Hey, who's watching who here??






Say hello to the fish, Sparrow!






And now for a change of venue: the rain forest, with pools of such unusual fish...





Snowdrop is charged! She is endlessly excited by every new exhibit. She doesn't walk, she runs from one spot to the next.


Sparrow, however, is hungry. Okay pal, time for a little walk with grandma.






One more pavilion (sea creatures of Brittany) and I dare say, we cover it quickly.

(jellyfish!)






Okay okay okay! Time for lunch. This is easy. Cafeteria food here is so very good: baguettes cut onto sandwiches, restocked every few minutes. Crepes, if you want something sweet at the end.






Or a good old chocolate chip cookie!





*   *   *


On the trip home, the cab driver asks us where we're from. The U.S.? Where in the U.S.? I say the usual -- Wisconsin, north of Chicago.
Ah, Chicago! Al Capone! That's how we know Chicago.

Labels die hard...

He puts on Elvis Presley music and talks admiringly of a hotel and spa, recently opened along the coast in Le Conquet.
You can eat so well there! And have a drink on the rooftop terrace, overlooking the sea! It's fabulous!

I have to smile at his incredible pride of locality! But my eyes dart back to the green fields of rural Brittany and the grazing cows, delivering that famous milk that has a whiff of ocean air in it.





*   *   *

We eat dinner at Sans Souci again: it's the local eatery just across the street from us. Last time we devoured their pizzas. Today, some of us go back to the moules-frites. (Others still devour their pizzas.) These are our last Brittany days. I have to keep that briny taste of seafood in my memory!


("where's the food??")






(ahhh... pizza!)





*   *   * 

The ever changing light in Brittany! Clouds, drizzle, misty skies, sunshine. All in one day.

This evening? Take a look outside our window:





Pure gold.