It's Nice To Be Remembered...

 

Back in May I was in Amsterdam.  This

was the view from my apartment.

 

 

Of course, I had to visit the textile market

while I was there.

 

 

That is where I bought these beautiful

fabrics. I only bought a few meters of fabric

since it was my first stop and I didn't know

what else I would find.  As it turns out that

was the only fabric I bought that day.  I

didn't have enough to make a large quilt. 

 

 

My brother was visiting Amsterdam today and

since it's Monday there is a textile market, so

I gave him swatches and a description and told

him to buy me some more fabric.

This is the funny part ~ he was telling the man

that this was for his sister who is a quilt designer

 from America who had bought some in May and

 the guy said he remembered me! 

 

 

Now I'll have to figure out what I

will do with this fabric.  As I looked

back at photos from my trip today, I

found a few photos of quilt inspiration.

Wouldn't this be a great quilt?

 

 

This one too,  love the colors!

Neat to Eat: Poffertjes

 

 

Poffertjes are a Dutch mini, puffy pancake.

They resemble an American Silver Dollar

pancake except they are rounder due to the

pans they are made in.

 

 

I first saw poffertjes at the Delft Café in

Schipol Airport in Amsterdam while on

a layover.

 

 

I considered ordering them but then

thought traveling 7 hours at 30,000

feet with a belly full of dough may not

be my best choice.

 

 

On a beautiful Spring day at the Openluchtmuseum

in Arnhem in the Netherlands I came upon this stand

and since I would be walking for hours that day, I

couldn't pass up the chance to try them.

 

 

This building used to be a traveling

building that would be set up in Epe

every summer to serve the wealthy

patrons.  I love the curtains on the

booths.  There are also interesting

murals on the walls.

 

 

Since it was such a lovely day, we sat

outside to enjoy the views.  The poffertjes

were delicious!  We had ours in the traditional

style, with butter and powdered sugar.  You can

also have them with jam, chocolate or a Danish

liqueur.  At our hotel in Arnhem and our B&B

in Amsterdam we had them with breakfast.

When I asked the chef at our B&B if I could come

into the kitchen to see how they were made he

told me it was a secret.  The next day the owner

told me they came frozen ~ I guess that was the

secret!  They were still delicious...

 

 

 

 

 

Neat to Eat ~ Stroopwafels

 

We are a Stroopwafel lovin' household.

Long before any of us had been to the

Netherlands we were all hooked on them.

And no one more so than Brennan, any

time we make a Trader Joe's run, he always

requests them.

 

 

On my first visit to Amsterdam I saw

this guy selling stroopwafels at the

Albert Cuyp Market.

 

 

Why didn't I try one of the chocolate

dipped ones?  I'm never hungry when

I come upon these great things...

 

 

Stroopwafels are two very thin waffles

with a syrupy caramel sandwiched

between them.  The best way to eat

them is to place the large ones on top

of a cup of a hot beverage.  This melts

the caramel and makes one waffle soft

while the other is still crisp.  Num!

 

 

When I was in Amsterdam a few weeks

ago I noticed many cute little stroopwafel

shops.  When I was in the big supermarket

behind the palace, I noticed a group of Asian

girls filling their baskets with these little bags

of the mini stroopwafels.  I guessed they were

buying them as gifts to take home.  So, I brought

a bag home for Brennan.

 

 

 

 

Outside My Window ~ Amsterdam

We had an absolutely beautiful apartment in

Amsterdam.  Since we had spent Saturday at

the Open Air Museum in Arnhem, then got up

early on Sunday and had a Murphy's Law

morning of track problems which meant a long

journey and hopping on and off 8 different trains

with luggage, then we toured the largest garden

in the world at Keukenhof.  By the time we made

it back to Amsterdam we were exhausted.

We stopped off at the grocery store and bought

some appetizers and something for dinner. 

This is often part of our travel plan.  We like

to travel, and that gets expensive so we rent

apartments that are often the same price as 

a hotel room.  And in expensive cities, like

Amsterdam, we eat some meals at our

home away from home.

Here is a video I made of the apartment.

Our apartment looks out on the 

lovely Singel Canal.

During dinner we admired the neighboring

buildings.  We especially loved this one with

the red awnings.  And check out that great

car ~ what kind is that?

People were out in boats enjoying

the canals and fabulous weather.

In the middle of our peaceful evening we

heard this.  It looks like a demonstration

but actually it is a celebration for their

soccer team.

This does look quite frightening though.

After dark we took a stroll

through our neighborhood.

Then headed home for some much

needed rest.

 

 

Keukenhof Gardens

Keukenhof is a grand display garden located

about an hour outside of Amsterdam in Lisse. 

It is called the largest flower garden in the world.

It is an elaborate display of one of the things

the Dutch are known for ~ tulips.

The tulip fields in the countryside are

beyond belief.  The color stretches as

far as the eye can see.

The gardens are open for about 2

months every year, during tulip time.

Keukenhof plants about 7 million 

bulbs for the display gardens.

In the 2 month period that it is open

Keukenhof hosts 800,00 visitors.

The Van Gogh Museum

Vincent

The thing I wanted to do

above all others in Amsterdam

was to visit the Van Gogh museum.

We all decided it was worth it to

skip lunch to fit this into our schedule.

I wish they would only

take me as I am.

    ~ Vincent

It took me a long time to

fall in love with Vincent.

When I was young, I loved

the beauty of Monet, Manet

and Renoir.  I thought Vincent's

work was too chaotic, too severe.

Then, I matured, as an artist and

a person and I fell head over heels

with the brilliance of his work.

I put my heart and my

soul into my work and have

lost my mind in the process.

     ~ Vincent

Almond Blossoms was painted as

a present for his nephew Vincent.

I feel there is nothing more

truly artistic than to love people.

     ~ Vincent

I find it a bit sad the

THE Van Gogh Museum

has so few of his major

works.  I realize this is

a money issue but would

love to see some  of his

masterpieces come here.

Happiness...it lies in the joy

of achievement, in the thrill

of creative effort.

   ~ Vincent

Of The Bedroom, Vincent

said, "the colour has to do

the job here."  He also

considered Black & White

as the 4th pair of

complementary colours.

I agree.

I dream of painting and

then I paint my dream.

    ~ Vincent

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkvLq0TYiwI

I am sterdam

Amsterdam was one of

those places I always figured

I'd get to one day, it just wasn't

at the top of the list of my must-sees.

What was I thinking?

This place is great!  I guess I

always heard about the red

light district and the relaxed

drug laws and thought of it as

a bit seedy.  Not so.  This is a

beautiful city filled with canals

rippling out from the city center.

There are beautiful buildings

everywhere you look.

It has lovely tree shaded streets.

And if you grow tired

of looking at all the beauty

on the land, you can find

more on the canals.

 

This is a city mad for its

flowers, so be sure to stop and

notice all the beautiful plantings.

The canal houses are quite

narrow with either steep

staircases or spiral stairs.

They can't get furniture up

these stairs so they are pulled

up from the street and taken 

in through large upper windows.

This is the church around

the corner from the building

Anne Frank lived in when they

went into hiding.  They were not

allowed to go near the windows

but they could hear the sound

of the church bells though

they could never see it.

Lovely Amsterdam ~ I

can't wait to return.