Julia on one of the many little trips back & forth.
Aunt Sara showing Benjamin what he would like like with a 70's style mustache.
Sue & Julia, bonding.
Eric and Mayu, entertaining.
Dec 31, 2006
Relaxin'
Relaxin' on Boxing Day.
Julia on one of the many little trips back & forth.
Aunt Sara showing Benjamin what he would like like with a 70's style mustache.
Sue & Julia, bonding.
Eric and Mayu, entertaining.
Julia on one of the many little trips back & forth.
Aunt Sara showing Benjamin what he would like like with a 70's style mustache.
Sue & Julia, bonding.
Eric and Mayu, entertaining.
Dec 30, 2006
Dec 25th
Another busy day.
Mornings are rough...
Roxy and Julia went for a walk, with Julia's new hat.
Evenings are rough too...
Rehab.
Pretty ladies.
Mornings are rough...
Roxy and Julia went for a walk, with Julia's new hat.
Evenings are rough too...
Rehab.
Pretty ladies.
Dec 29, 2006
Dec 24th
Dec 24th was a busy day, as usual.
We started out by joining some good friends for brunch.
Time flies these days, and it's amazing to remember how long it's been since we last saw each other. Guys, it's been too long - let's not wait that long this time!
Little Lily, minding her own business:
Emma, demonstrating a "bridge", with Scott watching.
Gabby, Carl and Eric.
Steve, looking a little like the Grinch, and Emma, looking a little scared.
Eric, future sports star.
The gang.
(back) Todd, Scott, Sarah, Gabby, Marie Anne, Lily and Carl.
(front) Steve, Eric, Roxi, Emma, Julia, Rick, and Julie.
Cutie Pies.
We then went over to the Trindades, for the family reunion.
Julia and Mariana, meeting for the first time.
Mariana, catching up with the niece and nephew.
Julia and Carlos.
We started out by joining some good friends for brunch.
Time flies these days, and it's amazing to remember how long it's been since we last saw each other. Guys, it's been too long - let's not wait that long this time!
Little Lily, minding her own business:
Emma, demonstrating a "bridge", with Scott watching.
Gabby, Carl and Eric.
Steve, looking a little like the Grinch, and Emma, looking a little scared.
Eric, future sports star.
The gang.
(back) Todd, Scott, Sarah, Gabby, Marie Anne, Lily and Carl.
(front) Steve, Eric, Roxi, Emma, Julia, Rick, and Julie.
Cutie Pies.
We then went over to the Trindades, for the family reunion.
Julia and Mariana, meeting for the first time.
Mariana, catching up with the niece and nephew.
Julia and Carlos.
Dec 28, 2006
Big Bath
A very enjoyable bath from last week.
(tomorrow, we'll post some pictures from the holidays in Montreal)
(tomorrow, we'll post some pictures from the holidays in Montreal)
Dec 24, 2006
Happy Holidays!
We're in Montreal for the holidays, so we won't be posting any pictures up here for the next few days.
Happy Holidays to all!
Happy Holidays to all!
Dec 22, 2006
Dec 21, 2006
The Trip: Day 7: Going Home
We didn't have much time, after our breakfast, to head out, before we had to catch the shuttle to the airport, so we just walked around the hotel, to the park and back.
This is typical of how Roxi and Julia spent the week. Julia would alternate between looking around to the sides, and sleeping.
Building at the end of Vondelpark.
We then returned to the hotel, shuttle - airplane - car and we're back home. Julia was great on the whole trip, and we all had a great time.
This is typical of how Roxi and Julia spent the week. Julia would alternate between looking around to the sides, and sleeping.
Building at the end of Vondelpark.
We then returned to the hotel, shuttle - airplane - car and we're back home. Julia was great on the whole trip, and we all had a great time.
Dec 20, 2006
The Trip: Day 6: Last Full Day
Our last full day in Amsterdam started with a lazy morning (this was a vacation, after all):
There was so much left to do, but little time. Since the weather was sunny, we decided to walk around town a little more. This is the Magna Plaza:
From the outside of the building, the corners of the upper floor were shaped like a glass box jutting out of the building, and it looked like a good place to get a picture of the streets below. Once inside, we found that this was the bathroom area. Ricardo asked the attendant (charging a few cents for the bathrooms) to go in (free) to take a picture, and he said yes. Right after the picture below was taken, a woman came out of one of the stalls and smiled. Turns out this was the women's bathroom - but neither the attendant or the woman seemed to care much.
(that's the Nieuwe Kerk across the street)
Back at the Dam Square: bag-piper and fan.
A brief walk-through the Historich Museum. The paintings are all of guardsmen, such as Rembrandt's Night Watch.
Mom and daughter taking a break at the van Gogh Museum.
The last supper in Amsterdam: a very nice Thai restaurant (life is good).
There was so much left to do, but little time. Since the weather was sunny, we decided to walk around town a little more. This is the Magna Plaza:
From the outside of the building, the corners of the upper floor were shaped like a glass box jutting out of the building, and it looked like a good place to get a picture of the streets below. Once inside, we found that this was the bathroom area. Ricardo asked the attendant (charging a few cents for the bathrooms) to go in (free) to take a picture, and he said yes. Right after the picture below was taken, a woman came out of one of the stalls and smiled. Turns out this was the women's bathroom - but neither the attendant or the woman seemed to care much.
(that's the Nieuwe Kerk across the street)
Back at the Dam Square: bag-piper and fan.
A brief walk-through the Historich Museum. The paintings are all of guardsmen, such as Rembrandt's Night Watch.
Mom and daughter taking a break at the van Gogh Museum.
The last supper in Amsterdam: a very nice Thai restaurant (life is good).
Dec 19, 2006
The Trip: Day 5
By Day 5, we were getting used to the jet lag (except for Julia, who never seemed to be troubled by it).
This is the morning view from our (huge) hotel windows:
The Munttoren, from across the Singel.
Statues (including a dog!) at Rembrandtplein.
Man feeding pigeons near the Waag.
Lovely ladies, enjoying the afternoon sun in a cafe near Waterlooplein.
Finally, dinner at a Greek place near Leidseplein (decent tzaziki).
This is the morning view from our (huge) hotel windows:
The Munttoren, from across the Singel.
Statues (including a dog!) at Rembrandtplein.
Man feeding pigeons near the Waag.
Lovely ladies, enjoying the afternoon sun in a cafe near Waterlooplein.
Finally, dinner at a Greek place near Leidseplein (decent tzaziki).
Dec 18, 2006
The Trip: Day 4
On the Monday, our first full day in Amsterdam, we started by visiting the Anne Frank House. It is a small but very inspiring museum. Being in the same rooms as the Frank family (and other people) makes her story very real and powerful. Of course, she was only 1 in 6,000,000. We added a "leaf" in the Anne Frank tree for Julia.
Here are the ladies in the little cafe, at the exit of the House. The picture behind them is part of an exhibition of photographs taken of young girls of the same age as Anne Frank when she died at Bergen-Belsen (15 years old).
During our lunch break, at a cafe on Kalverstraat.
Then we went to the Rijksmuseum, home of many works of some great Dutch artists. Photos are permitted (without flash). Below is one of the paintings that we both very much liked. We looked for a print of it in the gift shop afterwards, but it was missing the texture of the real one, and was just so much better "in person". It is called "Jeremia lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem" (also called "The Prophet Jeremiah Mourning over the Destruction of Jerusalem" in some places), by Rembrandt. There were too many other impressive paintings to list here... even Julia was getting a little tired of it at the end.
Finally, dinner at Bojo, an Indonesian restaurant near Leidseplein (not too far from our hotel). A very nice place to eat, as long as you don't mind the smoke. We were lucky, and it wasn't too crowded or smoky at the time. We had a very pleasant meal.
Here are the ladies in the little cafe, at the exit of the House. The picture behind them is part of an exhibition of photographs taken of young girls of the same age as Anne Frank when she died at Bergen-Belsen (15 years old).
During our lunch break, at a cafe on Kalverstraat.
Then we went to the Rijksmuseum, home of many works of some great Dutch artists. Photos are permitted (without flash). Below is one of the paintings that we both very much liked. We looked for a print of it in the gift shop afterwards, but it was missing the texture of the real one, and was just so much better "in person". It is called "Jeremia lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem" (also called "The Prophet Jeremiah Mourning over the Destruction of Jerusalem" in some places), by Rembrandt. There were too many other impressive paintings to list here... even Julia was getting a little tired of it at the end.
Finally, dinner at Bojo, an Indonesian restaurant near Leidseplein (not too far from our hotel). A very nice place to eat, as long as you don't mind the smoke. We were lucky, and it wasn't too crowded or smoky at the time. We had a very pleasant meal.
Dec 17, 2006
The Trip: Day 3: Amsterdam
On Sunday morning, Mike drove us back to Amsterdam. This was Julia's second experience on the Autobahn, and she looked to have enjoyed cruising along at xxx km/hr.
Again, it was very nice of Mike to pick us up and drop us off two days later. This was a lot of driving for him, and it allowed us to avoid the busy weekend in Amsterdam, as well as to spend two very pleasant days in Germany and visit with the family. Thank you Mike!
After checking in at our hotel, we met up with Filip, Zoe and David, who now live in The Hague. We walked together around the hotel area, which is near Museumplein and Vondelpark.
Zoe, David and Filip, during a little break we took.
One of many buildings we saw on our little walk, somewhere on or near Overtoom. Note the "curtains".
After our friends left, we strolled around some more. This was one of the ring canals (not sure which one).
One note on the hotel, and on most of the restaurants that we ate at during our stay: lots of smokers. We did not see any "Non-Smoking" signs in restaurants, or elsewhere. Even our hotel smelled of (tobacco) smoke in the hallway, although the room was very clean and did not smell at all. One or two evenings we came back to the hotel and we could smell the smoke on our clothing, including Julia's. It wasn't a big deal, but for non-smokers it is a bit unpleasant. We were told that legislation is on the way to ensure some non-smoking areas in public places, which would have been very welcome. Maybe next time.
Again, it was very nice of Mike to pick us up and drop us off two days later. This was a lot of driving for him, and it allowed us to avoid the busy weekend in Amsterdam, as well as to spend two very pleasant days in Germany and visit with the family. Thank you Mike!
After checking in at our hotel, we met up with Filip, Zoe and David, who now live in The Hague. We walked together around the hotel area, which is near Museumplein and Vondelpark.
Zoe, David and Filip, during a little break we took.
One of many buildings we saw on our little walk, somewhere on or near Overtoom. Note the "curtains".
After our friends left, we strolled around some more. This was one of the ring canals (not sure which one).
One note on the hotel, and on most of the restaurants that we ate at during our stay: lots of smokers. We did not see any "Non-Smoking" signs in restaurants, or elsewhere. Even our hotel smelled of (tobacco) smoke in the hallway, although the room was very clean and did not smell at all. One or two evenings we came back to the hotel and we could smell the smoke on our clothing, including Julia's. It wasn't a big deal, but for non-smokers it is a bit unpleasant. We were told that legislation is on the way to ensure some non-smoking areas in public places, which would have been very welcome. Maybe next time.
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