Music With Mr. Mattei: Amsterdam

I’ve arrived here in the Amsterdam area! Flights from SF were fine, with a small layover in Zurich. John and Krijn picked me up at the airport and we headed to their beautiful home in the village of Beets. I arrived in the evening and it wasn’t until this morning that I got to see the area by daylight. It’s quite beautiful, very rural. As I’m looking out the kitchen window as I type this, there’s a lovely layer of fog over a vast green area. I think it will be great staying away from the hustle and bustle of the big city. It’s easier not to resist the urge to get up and go in the morning but to relax and enjoy a vacation. Oh, there are certainly things that are on the agenda to do!

John and Krijn’s place is really cool. A two-story cottage, very well furnished, very open etc. I slept wonderfully as I’m still trying to beat the “jet-lag”. This morning, we went out and did some chores and had brunch at a lovely restaurant called Brassa in a town called Beemster. Great food and great company.

Afterward, John and I took a rather lengthy train ride into Amsterdam and we walked around a little, and decided on getting tickets for river (canal?) trip to see the lights along the canal.

We got our tickets and I needed to find a stocking cap as for some reason, I couldn’t find the one I brought with and my head was cold and not getting any warmer, so I picked this up

We found a nice little restaurant for dinner where I had my second Bloddy Mary in my life. I blame Amy Costa for this new found (to me) cocktail. I think I’ve just been afraid of what tomato may actually taste like. LOL. It’s very yummy. Afterward, we got to our cruise destination, but were told the boat would be late. So, we went to a bar and had a drink and a conversation with a lovely gentleman from Glasgow.

The cruise was fun. Kinda dry and evidently not as many lights as the last time John took the cruise. Here are some pictures.