Loving where we live

Posted on by ghotiindustries

So much has happened, and continues to happen. Yet it’s all settling down and shuffling itself into a routine now. We both have local mobile numbers and Skype has been set up to keep in touch with those slightly further away.

Letters and postcards are being, and have been, sent to people we love, and with the abundance of beautiful cards available, will continue to be sent too! If you’re so inclined to return the gesture, leave me a message and I’ll email you our postal address! 😉

Himself heads off to the office each day, while I maintain house & home, and work at having merchandise in my store before it re-opens.

Things that continue to take my breath away and bring massive grins of disbelief to my face when I see them are the swans floating down the canals in the centre of town. Doing what swans do, just swanning around. Getting in the way of the boats.

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There are so many little alleys to explore, all with hidden secrets and gems to be discovered.

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So many times (to the frustration of Himself) we’ll be powering at speed down a street and I’ll stop and veer off to one side to get a closer look at a marionette,

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some intricate masks,

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or a shop where the entire theme is ROOD! (red) (I’ll take one of everything!!!)

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I could spend a lifetime exploring these streets. Everyday there is something new and different to find, explore, and experience.

Oh! And I’ve been knitting too! I’m finally on the edging of the shawl I began on Boxing Day back in Robinsons Bay!

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Just 44 more repeats to go!

Amsterdam City Map

Posted on by ghotiindustries

It was on our first day here while we were wandering around town, that the map I had carefully placed in my pocket, wasn’t there later when I went looking for it. Being me I had a couple of back ups, but that map was a particularly good one, and I had been studying it for a few months before we flew over, so I was attached to it. It was laminated, folded to a convenient size, had 3 different scales, and all the city streets listed. (handy!)

But it was time to acquire a new one. The paper one I’d ripped out of my Lonely Planet was beginning to show signs of wear and tear. There was another type of map which I had been looking at when I bought the laminated one, it looked remarkably cool hip and funky, so would therefore be neat to try out. It was the Crumpled City map.

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It is designed to be crumpled and shoved … wherever it fits really.

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My biggest problem with it was with the first instruction on the back of the box. Crumple before use.

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It spent a fair amount of time in my bag still folded. Crumpling a map really goes against the grain!

The problem with this is that it is a really LARGE map! So I had to crumple it to make it easier to wield.

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Turns out crumpling a map can be very therapeutic!

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Now it not only fits in its little bag, but it goes with Himself everywhere.

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Being that it is still a HUGE map though, I ordered myself another small laminated one for my hand bag! Having said that though, we are needing them less and less for finding our way around! Go us! Amsterdam just happens to be significantly smaller than Sydney! 😉

Tiptoeing through the Tulips!

Posted on by ghotiindustries

For our second big tourist attraction (the first was a canal boat tour) we decided to go all out and go somewhere with a high cliché factor. We went to a tulip festival at De Keukenhof.

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Now, I know we could have saved ourselves some money and gone to Floriade in Canberra, but you know, doing it this way we got to catch up with a friend we haven’t seen in a year! (G – next time we’ll be on time! I swear!) G won himself many brownie points by complimenting my new scarf too!

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There were tulips …

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Swans doing what swans do …

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Swans wondering what we do …

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Tulips …

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Art tormenting swans …

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Tulips …

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Bells that chimed “Oh Suzannah” …

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Tulips …

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A windmill … (I still need to see a working one)

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And tulips!

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It was an amazing day and a LOT of fun. Next year we may have to go a touch earlier in the season though, as some of the tulips were a little bit past their bloom life, but that just made the photography an interesting challenge!

Until next time, tot ziens!

The Bloemenmarkt

Posted on by ghotiindustries

I have so much fun wandering through the tightly packed floating flower market. Dense in population, produce, and kitschy touristy tripe. I get the same joy from it that I do when I go shopping for Christmas decorations.

So much blue and white pottery. And I haven’t even made it to Delft yet!

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Then there’s the vaguely creepy staring eyed dolls in traditional dress.

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Of course there’s tulips everywhere which weirds me out only because they are being sold as souvenirs. And of course, given where I’m from, I keep thinking, “but you’ll never get plant matter through the border!”

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The orchids are spectacular, and I can’t tell you how much I want to try growing some!

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And in living areas where space is at a premium, bonsai are the perfect answer.

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I love this mainly because it’s so weird and a carnivore.

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This wall just makes me want dozens of window boxes growing everything possible! Just think how much better my cooking will be when I have fresh herbs!

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And finally, when you don’t actually have garden space to put ornaments in, they make them in pot size! *squees!* I’ll be getting a flamingo *nods*

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Hope you all had a good ANZAC Day and remembered that we still have people out on the front lines. And I hope all our people out on the front lines are safe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Hitting the Streets

Posted on by ghotiindustries

With so much to see and do, and not much time before Himself needs to begin at the office, we decided to hit the ground running. Armed with a batch of brochures helpfully provided by the hotel we were staying in, we headed to breakfast.

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With the assistance and input of a local, we reached the conclusion that we need to see everything, just not necessarily all at once.

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So we headed off to wander the streets of Amsterdam and soak up our new environment.

The architecture is magnificent.

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We keep being blown away just by staring at the buildings.

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It’s so different from Australia and New Zealand.

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Did you know the front of the buildings leans inwards in order to move in furniture? The stairs inside are too narrow and steep. These are still in use today, we’ve watched them be used.

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Before street numbers, it was the different shapes of gables that identified your house.

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And it doesn’t really show up in the picture, but can you see how the side wall heading back from the front of this house is slanted and not at right angles? I can’t imagine trying to furnish a house of this shape! *grins*

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Houses built into the canal. I’m in love!!!

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I laughed out loud when I saw this house, and yet there are many like it. I honestly am not sure how some of these buildings are still standing they are so far from square! But they have been for centuries now, and it’s beautiful!

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I can’t wait to discover which one we’re going to live in!!!