The continuing story …

In today’s exciting episode, we find our Heros under a mound of boxes and ex-packing material. In order to make this post a little more interesting, we will bring you instead some photos from around Amsterdam.

The first in our selection is a vivid depiction of just how they retrieve the masses of bicycles stolen every day, from the bottom of the canals. It’s a spectator sport.

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In an era when property tax was based on how much street frontage you had, everyone wanted the narrowest property possible! I think I’ve found a contender for narrowest house! Yes, that door in the middle has it’s own street number, it isn’t a part of the properties on either side.

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Amsterdam has some of the most wonderful street art I’ve seen, and I am hoping to fill an entire post for you. In the mean time, here’s one I spotted as I was giving a friend the grand tour of our fair city last week.

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As I stated above, we have been unpacking and settling in. For us this includes the purchase of a new cat post for the fur-kids to enjoy. They have really been missing this in the past few months. We got a new one in the post last week and then spent a fun hour putting it up.

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It was obvious that they’d missed having something to climb, as they were all over it and “helping” us build it, as the post was being put together!

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We have had a few backyards since moving over here, but now I’d like to show you where we’ve settled. A good mix of town and country!

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Being us, we are still in the process of identifying which of the local cafes has the best coffee and service. The one we were in today is a top contender! Their Croque Monsieur was delicious!

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Hopefully by next post I’ll be set up enough to have gone on an adventure which I can tell you all about! See you all soon!

Tourist Season

Now that we have begun to get our bearings and this beautiful adopted city is feeling more and more like home, we’ve had some guests come to visit! Showing them around has been a real experience!

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We took them on a canal cruise. The same canal cruise that we went on on our first weekend. It was an entirely different experience now that we actually knew where we were going, knew the buldings we were looking at from walking past them every day, and have a better idea of the city.

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This is a copy of a bridge in Fance, and is decorated in slave ships.

This is a place in the canal where you can look through seven bridges all at once. Though you have to be on the water to truly see the spectacle.

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This is a replica of a floating restaurant in China. Though theirs seats 2500, and ours only seats 700. You can see the city Bibliotheek in the background 🙂

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Being tourists, we then headed off to the Bloemenmarkt. I love that place so much, and showing it off is fun too!

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The number of bulbs is awe inspiring. All those sleeping little bulbs, just waiting to wake up and burst forth all that colour!

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As we wandered around, we realised something was on at the palace, though we didn’t figure out what. Though the spectacle of the roads being closed down to let the motorcade through was an experience!

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Finally on Sunday we headed up through the Red Light District. Now you’re not allowed to take photos of the girls in the windows, and I’ve seen people try, and the girls will just draw the curtains on you. I appreciate the fact that the girls are accorded respect, and there is a statue next to the Oude Kerk (that a lot of windows circle) that reminds tourists to respect the girls too.

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As our guests come back next weekend, I now have to think of a whole new set of adventures for them! Any suggestions?

Shopping

I have been checking out some of the local shops, as I am want to do, and discovering that I could spend an awful lot of money here, and need a residence ten times what we’re looking at living in!

We shall begin with de negen straatjes, the nine little streets. These are located on the West side of the Dam. And check it out!

One for Nita.

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One for Naomi.

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One for the fun.

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And one for me!

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Then, just as you find ducklings in the canal and think it can’t get any better …

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you see that the canal is full of floating Nemos!

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Damn I love this city!

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I may have to go back and buy this little girl. She looks so lonely!

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The Last Few Days

Let’s step back in time to last Tuesday. The movers arrived, packed everything, and took it all away.

Wednesday in the rain, we began early and shoved everything left over into a skip to head to the dump. Then we had final inspection of the property (passed with flying colours!). Then we completed final errands in town, and met up with our ride to the airport.

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Quality time was spent, and goodbyes said.

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Then began the first leg of the flight. 14 hours to Dubai.

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After a lay over of … I forget how many hours, enough to get through security and find a wifi hotspot, we got on the next leg of the journey. 7 hours to Amsterdam. This flight was going to have some turbulence so they headed us over Iran, Turkey, and Poland.

Then there we were.

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It’s kind of reassuring to know that tourist souvenirs are the same the world over.

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In a taxi we headed to our hotel where we would reside for an indeterminate amount of time.

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Stashing our bags and determined not to be done in by jet lag we went out for a walk and found our first canal!

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We discovered quite quickly the need to be constantly aware of your surroundings, as the highly prevalent bikes move at speed and can be unforgiving!

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Then I found the floating Bloemenmarkt. After having read so much about it, I was in heaven!

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There is so much to see and do, and suddenly all I want to do is have a garden! I guess I’ll need a house, and at least some window boxes first …

Stay tuned for our next exciting episode!