#3062 The Trip: travel journal show and tell

my August wee calendar

Happy August, friends! 

I'm fixing to head back to California for a bit, so rather than jump back into descriptions of The Trip, I thought I'd share photos of a few pages from the travel journal that I am creating. It is a mix of photos I took, stickers, postcards, a little bit of my art, and some thoughts I had about things I saw. It's kind of interesting that I am exactly at the same narration spot both here and in the travel journal. With that said, here are six pages to show you what I've got going on there.

I painted the pages to kind of resemble the stained glass in the Sagrada Familia. I did not draw the beautiful image on the left side; that is a postcard. I'm sure you already gathered that. These pages turned out just about exactly how I wanted them to. Fun fact, I did these pages while we were in Spain. That isn't true for the rest of these examples.

This page is a sticker rendition of how we spent our first day in Rome when we arrived in the city. I painted the lines and circles and added splashes to make the background interesting. I was delighted to have stickers of everything! LOL

This page has some wee sketches from our day at the Colosseum and Roman Forum. 

These three magnificent sketches are from the day in Vatican City. I especially like my rendition of the Swiss Guard. I used colored pencils.

Here are a couple of pages from the Borghese Galleries. The postcards are the big cards and my photos are the little wallet-sized cards. 

These final two pages are kind of a round-up of Rome. I sketched that little thing on the left in my zine while we were having drinks one evening. I found having the zine was easier to carry around and pull out of my bag when we had a break. I would record some micro-memories as we went along, and I've been cutting apart the pages to include in the travel journal as I need or want. 

Creating the travel journal has been lots of fun. I did all the Rome pages while I was watching the World Cup matches when we got back home. There is quite a bit left to do, and I am looking forward to getting back to it when I return from visiting Mama and Lizzie. 

Talk to you soon!

xo

#2990 pdin 9 - vacation memories day 14 Amsterdam (Thursday 18 Sept)

A quick follow up to yesterday's post: I am feeling a lot better today. The amount of sleep I got was a lot. I was in bed by 8 pm and woke up around 5:30 am. I'm happy to say that I have been up and moving around all day. My body feels better, not as achy. I've been a little dizzy, but mostly okay. Whew. That was rough.

Now on to the good stuff!

ussie with Sunflowers

This was our last full day of vacation. The plan for the day was to visit the Van Gogh Museum, stop in bookstores, go on a dark history tour, and pack.

After breakfast in the hotel, Lizzie guided us to the Van Gogh Museum which was about a 30 minute walk from the hotel. Of course it was raining, so most of my view was from under my quickly deteriorating black umbrella. It was a nice walk, though, as I was getting used to walking in the rain, looking our for bikes, and enjoying the ambience of Amsterdam.

We purchased our tickets well in advance and had a timed entry, so we were able to skip the long line and go right in. The museum is modern with lots of natural light in the common areas - not where the art is, of course. The first thing you see is a three story screen with changing photos of Van Gogh's paintings, and on another wall, a few of his quotes. I loved this one:

inside the Van Gogh Museum

The museum is beautifully laid out on three levels. The first level is his early work when he was developing his style. The most famous painting on this level is probably The Potato Eaters...

The Potato Eaters

...but I like his self-portraits better. Since he didn't have much money, he painted self-portraits as a way to develop his skill and style. 

Self-Portrait with Straw Hat

On the second floor of the museum, the star of the show is undoubtedly Sunflowers.

Sunflowers

Seeing this painting in real life brought me to tears. I could have slithered to the floor and cried ugly tears. Why? I guess when I see something like a painting like this, something that I've seen a hundred times in books or on the interwebs, something that is just a fact, a given, something that is so common you might overlook it and take it for granted, to see it in person is a little overwhelming, I guess. I felt the same way looking at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, especially the first time. I got teary-eyed seeing the dome of St. Peter's Basilica and Angkor Wat. Maybe it's that young Sandy would have never imagined that she would have the chance to see these things in real life. I believe that part of the emotion from Sunflowers is the story of Vincent Van Gogh himself: the remarkable self-taught talent, the mental illness, the tragic end. Through all of that, he painted this simple, glorious work. The colors are so vibrant and the imperfections make it perfect, and I loved it a lot.

Also, did you know that Van Gogh actually painted seven versions of Sunflowers? Five of them are in museums around the world. One was lost in World War II, and another is owned by a private collector. 

On the third floor, you can see Irises.

Irises

This one is so beautiful, too. I love the dark flowers and the simple vase. The background color is so wonderful. I like his use of yellows. Here, the yellow background emphasizes the dark blue flowers. I was reading that the flowers were originally purple, but time has faded them to this dark blue.

The final painting on the third floor is Almond Blossom.

Almond Blossom

What I loved the most about this one is the story behind it. Vincent had a brother, Theo, who was his best friend. When Theo and his wife, Jo, had a baby, Vincent gave them this painting as a gift. Isn't that blue background breathtaking? The child was named Vincent Willem, and it was Vincent Willem who founded this remarkable museum. 

There were so many other paintings that made me stop in my tracks and sigh with pleasure. I was going to post some, but I got to six and decided that could be a post for another day. I do have 21 more posts to write in November!

After we explored all three floors of the museum, we went back for another look at Sunflowers. I scooched my way right up to the front to get a full on pic of the painting. I didn't cry on the second look. I was too busy smiling. 

We ended our hours in the museum - I don't even know how long we were in there! - by doing some serious power shopping in the gift shops. No regrets. I love everything I bought. Thinking back, if there was one thing I wish I had purchased, it was a book called Life According the Vincent: 150 Inspiring Quotes. (BTW it is available on the museum website, and Christmas is coming!)

Dazzled and stunned,  we stood outside the museum for a few minutes deciding our course of action. We decided to wander back to the hotel, taking a different route. It was our hope we would find a cafe where we could have some lunch and find some shops so I could get a t-shirt for T.  We accomplished both of those things, and as a bonus, we got to walk through a bit of Vondelpark, a lovely green space.

Vondelpark

Here are some photos I took of Amsterdam that day as we wandered:

Rijksmuseum - the National Museum of the Netherlands

another charming street

I think I could live in this house

classic! iconic!

a cute area right behind our hotel with a giant bookstore

We did stop in bookstores - nearly all that we passed by, I think. Most of the time we didn't buy anything. When we did buy something, it was postcards and/or magnets. I liked going into the bookstores. There were always lots of people in them, and I guess it made me feel happy to know that people still read actual books. 

In the evening we took a dark history tour. Amsterdam does have some serious dark history. We were the only guests on the tour, and our guide was a bit twitchy. She kept touching the ends of her hair and rubbing her mouth, nose, and eyes and she kind of made me uncomfortable. She seemed surprised when we weren't interested in going through the Red Light District. As it was, we were on the outskirts of it, and that was enough for me. I saw plenty.

When we got back to the hotel, we got a few beers in the lounge and spent some time tipsy packing, which may be the best way to do it, honestly. 

Sadly, my umbrella did not survive the trip. She stayed in Amsterdam.

RIP umbrella

So that's it! The next day we went to the airport and spent our waiting time in the KLM Lounge; that felt really nice. The flight was fine, and then we were back in SLC. Lizzie stayed over Friday and Saturday and went back to LA on Sunday. I was back to work on Monday, and just like that, eight months of waiting and two weeks of traveling through Central Europe were done. I loved every minute, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. So. Fun.

I hoped you enjoyed reading through the vacation memories as much as I enjoyed reliving them through writing and posting the photos. Where to next? I'm not sure, but I'll come up with something!

#2986 pdin 5 - vacation memories - day 13 Amsterdam (17 Sept)

still smiling in soggy Amsterdam

 In the previous vacation memories post, I told you we went to bed at 8 PM because a driver was coming to take us to the airport at 3:15 AM. It sucks to wake up at 2:00 AM when you are on vacation, but if you have to, you do it. 

We arrived in Amsterdam in the morning and a driver was waiting for us at the airport. In fact, he kind of chased us around until he caught up with us. We were slightly off our game because of the early hours, so I was thankful the guy took such good care of us. Our other initial contacts with drivers had been iffy on this trip, so Amsterdam guy was great. 

Our hotel, the Hotel Estherea,  was in a very nice location on the Singel canal. Of course, since we arrived so early our room was not ready, and probably not even vacant yet. No worries, though. The staff stored our luggage and invited us to have a coffee while we planned our activity for the morning. 

I'll be straight up with you: I loved this hotel. It was so over-the-top and I totally loved it all! It was pretty.

having a coffee under a chandelier

living the dream

Lizzie had tickets booked for the Dutch Resistance Museum, so she prepared a map and off we went. It was gray and rainy that morning. It was really more of a persistent drizzle. I wasn't cold and I wasn't really wet, but I felt damp. My umbrella was still keeping me dry, but it was looking a little the worse for wear. I was hopeful it would last the rest of the trip.

My initial impression of Amsterdam was that it was not as clean as the other cities I'd visited on this trip. I saw more garbage in the streets and against the buildings. In a certain part of the city, the smell of pot is very strong. I was a little put off by the rain and I was kind of tired. There were people riding bikes everywhere and you do NOT want to walk in the bike lane. You will get yelled at and a little bell will be rung aggressively. However...I was happy to be in Amsterdam. I liked what I was wearing. My shoes were waterproof and comfortable. My umbrella kept my head dry, and I was walking around a cool city with my sister on my way to a museum, so I really couldn't complain!

Here are photos from our walk that morning:

strolling through a pretty neighborhood

classic

it really looks like this!

Dutch Resistance Museum entrance

walked through a little park with houseboats in the canal

Lizzie is s sassy stroller

adorable!

I loved the canal houses. All of them are different and they are all sort of leaning since the whole city is built on a swamp. It's a charming place.

A quick thought on the Dutch Resistance Museum. We chose to see it instead of going to the Anne Frank House. Since our time in the city was limited, we had to make some tough choices. The DRM was one of the most unique museums I have ever been through. The layout and presentation was phenomenal. The audio tour is so very well done - I was very engaged with the museum. It was an interesting way to learn about the history of the Netherlands in World War II. Highly recommend.

After the museum, it was time for lunch and we found a cute pub that looked inviting. I had a really tasty cheeseburger, and Lizzie had a big Dutch meatball with mustard and bread. We shared an order of fries with mayo, of course, and had a beer. It was great. 

lunch is served!

Side note, there were was a group of fathers and their children at a table near us. The kids got bored, as kids do, so they went exploring and ended up at the bar. You mostly don't see this scene in Utah.

kids checking out 16 taps at the bar

On our way back to the hotel, we walked through an area with shops. I remember we went into a bookstore, as we do, and when we crossed the street I smelled a gorgeous smell. Not pot; waffles, specifically, stroopwafels. Since it was on my list of food to try, I had to do it. The woman in the shop was so nice and explained exactly what the treat was all about. You can buy them already made or get a hot, fresh one, which is what we did. I had the classic, two thin crispy waffle wafers with a layer of hot caramel in between. Lizzie had the same with the added pizzazz having one side dipped in chocolate. I liked it a lot.

what a face

Fun fact - it's not easy to eat a hot caramel-y stroopwafel, balance your umbrella, and in Lizzie's case, her phone, and walk at the same time. 

We got to the hotel to check out our room and rest for a bit. Our room wasn't big, but it was cute and comfy. Apparently each room in the hotel is decorated differently. Ours had kind of a jungle theme.

yes, I am delighted with this room and this hotel

It felt good to relax for a little while and just be off our feet. Our fun wasn't over yet, though, because that evening we went on a canal cruise. We gathered up our rain gear once again and headed out. We walked to the dock - it wasn't too far from the hotel, and I was expecting one of those big canal cruise boats, but our boat was quite small. It did have a covering over the seating area and plastic sheeting for windows, so we were dry. We were also the only passengers. Two young men were our hosts; one was the skipper and the other was the tour guide. They were adorable, and we enjoyed talking to them about our travels and learning about Amsterdam. We couldn't see much because it was raining and we were in a small boat, but it was fun and we learned some stuff.

our own private tour

I was starting to get into the Amsterdam groove by now. I think at first I was kinda bummed that I wasn't still in Prague but Amsterdam grew on me.  A couple of pics of the city at night:

they call these the dancing houses because they are leaning into each other

look at that spire in the background

Claude Monet painted that spire from the window on the 2nd floor

Fun fact: the master Impressionist painter Claude Monet spent time in Amsterdam and stayed in the building in the photo above. At that time, in the 1870s, he had a lovely view of the the Zuiderkerk and painted it in each season. 

Another fun fact: over 15,000 bikes per year get lost in the canals.

On our way back to the hotel, we were taking an ussie, and a young woman stopped and offered to take our photo. Always let a Gen Z take your photo. They do a good job and make you giggle while it's happening.

good times!

Back at the hotel, we decided to go to the lounge for a snack before bed. We had fries with mayo and some bitterballen because the cute guide on our canal tour told us we had to try it. They are like a croqueta in Spain, but made with kind of a thickened stew meat. You dunk them in a bit of mustard, and yeah, they are good. We washed it down with Heineken, and it was all very Dutch.

bitterballen with the Dutch flag, fries, and Heineken

One more day of vacation to tell you about. I'm planning to write that post on Sunday. I am five for five on my daily November posts. I hope you'll come back tomorrow when I'll be writing about three things.

xo

#2983 pdin 2 - vacation memories day 12 - Prague (16 Sept)

at St. Vitus Cathedral // ussie by Lizzie

It's our last day in Prague and we need to see lots of stuff! The plan was to explore the west side of the Vltava River, including Prague Castle and parts of the Mala Strana (Lesser Town). We got an early start because the hotel would not have water from 7:30 am to around 7:00 pm, so we wanted to get out and about before the water was shut off.

Why was the water being shut off, you may be asking? The City of Prague was doing some work on the waterlines in the area. The hotel assured us they would provide bottled water for drinking as well as buckets of water for flushing and washing. Oy. We just decided to spend most of the day out and about.

I wanted to have a traditional Czech breakfast of a kolach and coffee, and luckily there was a kolacherie not far from the hotel. A kolach can be sweet or savory. Lizzie and I each had a sweet and a savory. Here's a pic of mine:

kolaches

The kolcach on the left is nutella with lemon curd, and on the right is ham and cheese. The bread is slightly sweet and chewy. I thought they were both delicious. After breakfast, we walked back through the square and stopped in a cool academic bookstore where I bought a blank notebook, which I call my TBW books (to be written), and postcards. We passed by this magnificent and ginormous statue in Old Town Square:

Jan Hus Monument in Old Town Square

The walk to the castle didn't take long, probably about 20 minutes, at least to get to the steps going up to the castle.. The steps were long and pretty steep; it was about three quarters of a mile uphill. We had to stop a few times along the way, and we were not the only ones stopping to catch our breath. Here's a pic of the stairs from the top:

the stairs to Prague Castle

It is free to enter the castle grounds, but there is a fee if you want to walk on the Golden Mile (the medieval shopping street), the Old Royal Palace, and the cathedral. We chose not to pay and just wander at our leisure. You can also schedule tours, which we had for Monday, but the tour was cancelled as I explained in a previous post. There was still something going on at the castle because the police were checking underneath vehicles, and there was quite a few police and military personnel on site. 

The castle is a grouping of individual palaces where the noblemen lived, the main palace, and the cathedral. Prague Castle is enormous. Most of the individual palaces are now museums, but there is still official business done at the Old Royal Palace. In the middle of it all is St. Vitus Cathedral which is incredible. We stared at it for a long time.

the back of St. Vitus Cathedral

the side of St. Vitus Cathedral

front of St. Vitus Cathedral

If/when I get back to Prague, I'm going in there!

Here is a pano of the Old Royal Palace. There appears to be some squinching of Lizzie's hair on the right.

Old Royal Palace

We wandered around the grounds looking for the gardens. We found sort of a canyon with paths, but we couldn't quite figure out how to get down there, then we decided maybe we didn't want to have to work our way back up, and there were other things we wanted to see, so we kept moving. 

We stopped to have a beverage at Cafe Sternberk in Sternberg Palace - no, I didn't spell those incorrectly, they are different - then we went into a small sculpture garden where we felt we had to pose like a couple of the statues:

There were also cardboard cutouts of knights in a gift shop, and we had to put our faces in those:

the knight was tall, and I am short

Lizzie's hair wouldn't fit in the helmet

We left the castle and wandered around looking at whatever we could see. There weren't as many tourists outside of the castle, and the old streets were quiet. The farther we got from the castle, the emptier the streets were.

the Archbishop's residence with St. Vitus in the background

a quiet street in the castle district

We made our way over to Strahov Monastery. We considered going into the library there, but decided to go to the pirovar (brewery) instead for a bite to eat and a beer, of course. The beer was excellent.

cheers!

After this snack, Lizzie and I decided to make our way down the hill to see a few more things that were on our list for the day. What I can tell you is that no matter how you choose to get up to Prague Castle, it is uphill. I think I'm glad we got all our climbing over with in the straight shot up the stairs. Coming down through the charming streets was a delight. 

Prague!

so pretty!

I'm a sucker for a flower shop

There were a couple of gardens Lizzie had researched that we wanted to see. One of them was hosting a private event, so we couldn't go in there. Guess we'll save that for next time. The Vrtba Garden was open and we paid a small fee to enter. It was small, and so beautifully designed and maintained.

From Vrtba Garden, it wasn't far to the Lennon Wall, so we figured we'd better see it. It wasn't pleasing to me at all. I'm sure at one point, it was cool, but now it's just a mess.

Lennon Wall

 

However, just down the street, you can see this:

the water goblin Kabourek watches over Devil's Stream

A fun fact I learned walking around the Mala Strana is that the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda took his last name from a Czech poet, Jan Neruda. We passed by the Hotel Neruda and I wondered if Pablo Neruda had spent time in Prague. He did visit the city, but didn't stay long, I don't think. Cool name, though. I think I might like to stay in this hotel. I really liked this side of the city.

We went back across the Charles Bridge, admiring both sides of the river and the beautiful bridge itself.

on the Charles Bridge looking at the west side of Prague

another pic of Prague from the Charles Bridge

By the time we made it back to the hotel, I had logged over 19,000 steps, just over eight miles. I was beat! It was good that we tired ourselves out, though, because we decided to get to bed around 8pm in order to be able to meet our driver at 3 am for our ride to the airport to catch our flight to Amsterdam at 6 am. We had a quick dinner at the restaurant near the hotel, watched the crowds gather for the Astronomical Clock "show" then went upstairs to bed.

pooped out in Prague

The next vacation memories post will be about Amsterdam! I plan to write about it on Wednesday.

See you tomorrow!

PS pdin stands for Posting Daily in November :D