Traveling gives me an opportunity to catch up with friends. And that is just what we did during our trip to Holland. Anne, Hans and I have known each other from our college days in Boston and are like family. Which is why a visit to Holland is always so special.
By the time Mark and I reached Amsterdam, Amy had been on her tour for three days. We were curious to meet up with her and find out whether she was enjoying her tour group. Anne and Hans drove us into Amsterdam to meet Amy. Happily, Amy was delighted with her fellow travelers and having an amazing time. The previous day she had spotted the perfect boot at a tiny disorganized boutique. The owner was too busy to look for the boot’s mate so she asked Amy to come back. Later that night, while wandering around Amsterdam, Amy found herself again at the boutique. The owner still hadn’t found the boot. So, when we arrived the following day to meet Amy, she wanted to take us to the boutique to buy the boots.
This would have been a simple enough task except Amy lacked the following information: the name and the address of the boutique. One of Amy’s travel friends had circled a spot on the Amsterdam map indicating the boutique’s location. Anne took off to run some errands while Mark, Hans and I went with Amy. After a 20 minute walk, using Hans’ knowledge of Amsterdam to read the map, we couldn’t find the boutique. So we walked, and walked, and walked. We covered a 10 block area in circles. As we walked we continued to learn more and more about the boutique and the boot. The boutique was downstairs. The owner had never located the second boot. We were in the district where there were literally hundreds of similar boutiques. After more than three hours of walking in circles, we finally gave up. Mark and I had a very unique tour of Amsterdam while Hans demonstrated the patience of a saint.
Click and clack
On our second day we caught up with another friend from my Boston days. John. Both John and Hans had come from Holland to Boston in the early 1980s to get their Master degrees. Mark and I hadn’t seen John since our honeymoon in New Zealand in 1988. It was wonderful to see John and catch up with his life. Anne and Hans had recently purchased a home and wanted to show it to us. So with John, Mark and I went with Anne and Hans to their new home. It is an impressive home fronting a canal with an enormous, beautifully landscaped yard. The house is spacious with large windows and high ceilings; however, the home also needs a lot of renovation.
So the following day Mark and I put our home improvement skills to work. Mark worked in the yard along with the automatic mower (see the picture). My task was to disassemble the dark brown snap and click floor panels that had been placed in much of the downstairs. Underneath we found a Termaline floor with marble pieces in the living and dining rooms, a brick floor in the media room and a patterned stone floor in the utility room. Anne and Hans have their work cut out for themselves but I have no doubt that the house will be a masterpiece when it is complete.
Divine Decadence
Best of all, is the great conversation, delicious food (yes, Amy—it was fabulous!) and tremendous affection we always enjoy when we visit Anne and Hans. As always they wow us with their hospitality and love.
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