Date: Sunday April 24, 2016
Subject: Meeting the Group
Hi Katie, Liz, Dad, Jan & Sonja
Good news!
There are 3 single women on this trip including me, so my assumption has been that I will be sharing with one of them, possibly taking turns and switching during the trip so that each of us would have a chance to be on our own for a couple nights .... BUT both have decided that they would prefer their own room and have paid a bit extra to secure a single room ... and of course, the 3rd single person, me, who has not paid extra but will now get a single room for every night of the trip because there is no one left to share with!!
One other person is from Canada … all the way west on Vancouver Island; the others are all American, mostly from California, Colorado and Minnesota … and a smattering of other states. 25 members in the group. So far the group looks like it will be a comfortable mix; I am trying to figure out who the ones are that will always ask questions, or the ones that are the quiet ones or the ones who will want to wander off on their own; I guess that’s the teacher in me. A couple seem to be slower walkers but I am hoping that it is because of jet lag and that no one will have a problem keeping up. We walked up very narrow steps in a windmill. After the practice going up and down the very narrow steps at Sonja's, I had no problems.
Supper the first night was Indonesian with lots of sample foods to try … some a little spicy but more than enough foods that were less spicy and quite tasty. It was considered a “traditional rijsttafel’ dinner ... traditional in the sense that Holland ran the Dutch East India Company in the 1600s and 1700s, so Indonesian food has become part of Dutch heritage.
We were asked why we chose this trip ... I kind of got some unsure looks when I said I was looking for new ideas for art quilts. Anja is our guide and she has asked us to be paired with someone we don’t know as a “buddy” .... that way when we board buses or take tours, we will do a buddy check to confirm everyone has arrived. Our group has 25 people, so I am the “buddy” of two people from Washington state who were sitting near me. We are to meet early tomorrow morning to have a full day in Amsterdam.
Love Mom / Heather
Date: Tuesday April 26, 2016
Subject: Flowers
Hi Kate,
I just figured out how to download the pictures from my camera to my tablet. Meant to try that at home before I left …. but forgot. Next I am going to try and add an attachment from the picture file so hopefully a flower picture is attached to this.
Ok .. think I got this figured out.
Love Mom
PS … possible snow tomorrow; found some gloves at one of our stops; still on the lookout for a toque
Date: Tuesday April 26, 2016
Subject: Leaving Holland
Hi Kate, Liz, Dad, Jan & Sonja
We spent the morning at the Keukenhof Gardens with fields of tulips and pavilions full of flowers. We were 'dropped off' and told how long we had & then expected to wander and manage on our own. I like that since you can choose how fast or slow you want to look at things. I watched groups having to follow a leader with a flag all through the gardens … it would be hard to stop and take pictures of things you want to concentrate on if you always had to keep up with the group.
Darn. I hit the “send” button when I meant to add an attachment. Let’s try this again.
So another picture of flowers from the Keukenhof garden centre. It rained on and off while we were here; taking flower pictures was hit and miss unfortunately.
And a picture of the Indonesian meal we were served in Haarlem .… we had about 12 different types of meat and vegetable dishes to add to our rice; some were spicy, some sweet and lots with various peanut sauces.
The 3rd picture is of a windmill in Haarlem not far from where we stayed. The original was built in the 1600s but burnt down, I think in the 1950s and then rebuilt. The last picture is on a 'steeg' in Haarlem (a laneway). The buildings in Haarlem were much shorter than in Amsterdam. Our tour in Amsterdam on Day 2 was done mostly in the rain … Anja gave everyone a plastic rain poncho to start off our day. We got to see Anne Frank's house, a museum, the Rembrantplein (spelling??) and took a short cruise in the harbor and on the canals. Originally we were going to pass Sonja's house along the canal, but Anja decided to get off sooner so we wouldn't have to walk too far back in the rain in order to get to the train station.
Love Mom / Heather
"Meeting the Group"
Netherlands
Traditional rijsttafel
Keukenhof Gardens
Spring at Keukenhof Gardens
Haarlem windmill
Haarlem steeg
