Amsterdam

There is such a difference in living in a great city, verses just visiting a great city.  We are living in Amsterdam and loving it.  Our home is in the Jordaan neighborhood, around the corner from the Ann Franke House, a typical skinny, tall, slightly leaning forward building with fabulous large windows.

 5 levels, lots of tiny, circular stairs in the most perfect neighborhood.  

Meanwhile, our hosts are in our house, enjoying the Northwest.  

We are sleeping late, going to the markets, not rushing to sights, biking all over this crazy for bikes city.  We are living in it.  Amsterdam is a mixture of Paris, Venice, Rome and London.  It's international, intellectual, tolerant, fun, beautiful and generally has a wonderful vibrant energy. It helps that it has been sunny and warm and everyone is outside enjoying the 'terrace season.'

  The canals are filled with boats and people having cocktail parties on their little skiffs while putting through the water.  

It's just lovely.....

Our first days we got the feel of the place by biking around.  There are SOOO many bikes and bikers here.  Beautiful women in heels and shorts skirts, young mothers with their infants in the front pack, senior citizens - everyone is on a bike and not a helmet in sight. The boys ride around like old pros.  I have no confidence in any of the other riders, who dart in and out like it's nothing.  Consequently, I'm cautious, slow and I wear my bike helmet!  I'm telling you, between the bikes, the scooters (who can ride in the bike lane), the cars AND the thousands of tourists you really have to be careful.  But amazingly it works and flows on a daily basis. I'm just dying to talk to an ER doc, though, and see what the rate of accidents is.  We have seen so many close calls.   

We've been to the Van Gogh museum - amazing collection, done a city tour - good for getting oriented and history, been to The Hague (Den Hague) to visit my friend Allison and her hubby from SF and high school - lovely to see them and get the expat perspective, and boys went to NEMO - which is like OMSI.  

Yesterday, we drove to the Hoge National Park to see the Kroller-Muller Museum.  World class museum set in a giant park, 2nd largest collection of

VanGoghs and a sculpture garden that is OUT of this world.  

No tourists - just natives - so it doesn't feel crowded or cheesy. The juxtiposition of art and nature in the garden is breathtaking AND they give you bikes to ride around the park in.  

Something for everyone.  It has to be one of my top 5 museum experiences anywhere - ever.  Great day!

Bill and I have enjoyed the night life  ..... boys are happy to be left at home and we go out to dinner, to a terrace, to walk around and to just hang.  

Bill enjoys an ipa.