Springtime Guest

We were blessed to have my mother come all the way to England to spend two weeks with us!
The weather cooperated nicely.
We had a wonderful time exploring Oxford, Bourton-on-the-Water, Paris and Windsor.

We explored the Oxford shops. Here we are on busy Cornmarket Street in city centre.

The buses are convenient as long as you are not in a hurry.

We spent one afternoon in the Cotswolds exploring the quaint village of Bourton-on-the-Water. 

We had a pub lunch next to the water then strolled the length of the village on the river-side footpath.

Of course, Matthew had to try out the water. One of the newer bridges was built in 1776.

Our three day trip to Paris started with a coach ride on the Oxford Tube . Fortunately, the bus stops within walking distance of our flat. Here, Matthew and Mom are in a London black cab en route to St. Pancras rail station.

The Eurostar is the best method of travel.
We booked our four seats in a club section so we had a small table between us.
We talked, looked at the scenery, ate, and rested (as demonstrated above).

Another cab ride, except this time in Paris.
The French city traffic was much more frenetic than in polite London.

Our hotel was only a short walk away from  the  Arc de Triumphe.
Matthew was a good driver through all of the uneven pavement along Champs Elysees.

The hotel staff recommended a nearby street for its many restaurants.
We found an Italian restaurant with a friendly staff.
Our waiter told us that his name was Sam, just like Uncle Sam.

What a beautiful street! We must have made 4-5 trips up and down  the Avenue.

I read online that the best way to avoid the queues at the Eiffel Tower is to arrive at opening time. A short cab ride delivered us to find only a short line. An employee saw Mom's wheelchair and escorted us directly to the ticket counter and then the elevator! What favor.

Matthew and I wanted to ride to the highest level so we left Mom and Lori on level 2 and  rode straight to the top with no waiting! Palais de Chaillot is in the background.

The view from the opposite side is of Champ de Mars.

Mom enjoyed the view from the second deck. We walked all of the way around.
The Arc de Triumphe and River Seine are in the background.

After a few hours in Tour Eiffel, we boarded the Hop-on-Hop-off tour bus to see more of the city.

We left the bus at the Opera and found a cafe that specialized in Portuguese cuisine. (https://plus.google.com/103377901977746730623/about?gl=uk&hl=en)
We then stopped in the Fragonard perfume shop and visited the Galeries Lafayette.
(https://plus.google.com/101163626684261900334/about?gl=uk&hl=en)

On our last morning, before heading to the rail station, we took a boat tour up the River Seine. It was a little warm in the sun but we had lovely views of many tourist sites along the way.

We passed under this bridge covered in locks. I read that lovers attach a lock and throw the key into the river as symbol of their everlasting love. The locks come back as fast as the city removes them.

On our last outing before Mom returned home, we visited the town of Windsor  and shopped in the shadow of the castle. The flag indicates that Queen Elizabeth is home.
We did not see her even though we would have enjoyed a cup of tea.

The buildings are old and full of character. The castle was built by William the Conqueror and was used by King John, King Henry VIII, and many other monarchs. 

Queen Victoria is bidding farewell to Mom.
We enjoyed the two weeks together and now look forward to new adventures in Wisconsin together 

Amsterdam at Tulip Time

 In late April, we spent a long weekend in Amsterdam. We wanted to see the city and tulips in bloom but did not want to experience the craziness of Queen's Day, which was also King Willem's coronation day. The plan worked. We had minimal crowds and pleasant weather.

 

We booked a room at Swissotel Amsterdam next to Dam Square, a short walk from the
central rail station. Our room was on the first floor (2nd floor US) on the back of the
hotel.  We had restaurants immediately outside our window and the nightlife was loud
on two of the nights.

We had read about Dutch style fries and passed this place on our
walk from the rail station. Holland's No. 1 Fries? We must try some.

  

We were offered many choices of sauce but opted for the
traditional white sauce.

We spent time each day exploring on foot.
Rings of canals divide the neighborhoods.
The waterways and narrow houses are charming.

Parking space is minimal and mostly along the canal edge.
Bikes are locked up everywhere!

On the fourth canal from our hotel, we found Anne Frank's house,
where Anne and her family hid from the Nazis for two years.
It is now a museum.

 I am glad that we booked our tickets online. We walked past the long queue of people waiting and entered through another door to be welcomed without any wait at all. I was unable to take any photos inside but you can take a virtual tour here - http://www.annefrank.org/

This old Citroen seemed to be posed just for photographers
like Matthew. As he was taking pictures of the car, a young
woman strolled out of a cafe and gave him a funny look as
she drove away

In Dam Square is a monument to the people
who gave their lives in WWII.

The royal palace is on other side of the square. The royals
do not live here. The building is used for state events.
You may have seen it during King Willem's coronation ceremony.

We strolled through many shopping areas. Souvenir shops
with wooden shoes were common sights.

This shop even had shoes that we could try on.

 On day 2, we took a coach trip to Keukenhof Gardens (http://www.keukenhof.nl/) situated in the midst of acres and acres of flower fields and not far from Schiphol Airport.

Flowers...

flowers...

Lori, with flowers...

flowers...

flowers...

and us, with flowers.

More flowers...

flowers...

flowers...

  

Fields of flowers...

Water and flowers...

The tulips were beautiful.

There were buildings with flower displays, too.

Matthew came prepared to take his own flower photos, too.

There is a working windmill on the property.

We climbed up to inspect the inner workings and spinning blades.

After all of the walking, we were hungry and looked for a local treat.
We found these stroopwafels and purchased three. They are
filled with caramel and quite tasty.

After a light shower, the flowers seemed even more fresh and alive.

Much of Keukenhof is very park-like.

Most of the buildings in Amsterdam are wonky (crooked) because
they are built on wooden pilings that have been rotting through
the years. I think that the buildings are just holding each other up.

These leaning buildings are next to the boat dock from where...

...our evening pizza cruise departed.

The tour took us through the canals while the captain narrated.
We stopped and had pizza delivered to our boat. This was
a nice way to see the city.

Dam Square is quiet in the mornings. The palace is stately.

We got brave a rented bikes, after all, Amsterdam has more bikes
than cars. We rode to a local park. The park was peaceful but
the ride through the streets was stressful, even though there are
plenty of bike lanes. On the journey back to Damrak, I almost rode
into the back of a van when the driver opened the door right in
front of me.

We found a cheese shop on Dam Square.

The employees were in traditional garb and very friendly.

One even let Matthew try on some shoes.

  

On our last morning, we went for a carriage ride.

The neighborhoods closest to city centre were posh.
The houses on the outer canals were less posh.
Look at the very narrow white house behind the red car!
People live on the many houseboats, too.

Our horse responded to voice commands in English.
He didn't like getting stopped by traffic.

We also visited the tulip market where one can buy bulbs
and seeds of all types. We were advised by our Keukenhof
tour guide to wait until autumn to order. Fall is when the
bulbs are freshly harvested.

Many of the buildings have lifting hooks on
the top front. These were used to lift
large goods up through the windows.
The stairs in these narrow buildings
were narrow and steep.

Is the brown building leaning backwards or are
the white buildings leaning forward?

Lori and Matthew approach the rail station for the short ride back to
Schiphol and then a 45 minute flight back to London Luton.