Adventures with Jaap lives. I've had a super long hiatus from the blog. Life has been busy...our two weddings, the holidays, many gatherings with friends, a trip to Vienna, and now Carnaval. Time flies. So many things have happened and I've been too busy to keep up with it on the blog. The good news--I'm loving married life with Jaap! So Adventures with Jaap returns. But really...anybody out there reading this?
Here's a little bit more of our trip to New York this fall. Once stranded in NY thanks to Hurricane Sandy, we spent an extra week with Jaap's parents exploring the beautiful Hudson Valley. Here we are having fun seeing Storm King Art Center.
My friends and I watched Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris the night before we went to Paris. It totally set the tone for our trip. It gave us this exciting, romantic feeling before we even got there. We were inspired to visit the Rodin museum after watching the movie. Some of the scenes were filmed with The Thinker in Rodin's garden.
The Musée de Rodin was a little oasis in the middle of busy Paris. We arrived just 1.5 hours before closing time and enjoyed the quiet atmosphere exploring the grounds and Rodin's former place of residence. The museum houses a large collection of his work and his contemporaries. The house was beautiful, but seeing The Thinker in the garden was the best part.
Before heading back to our apartment in Montparnasse we enjoyed a late lunch with pasta salad and a huge glass of white wine. A nice quiet way to end our day of busy sightseeing
My week at work was very busy, so I was looking forward to all the fun things that were planned for the weekend. Jaap and I went to a Jazz Maastricht Masters concert at the Theater aan het Vrijthof on Friday night. Dianne Reeves was the headliner and she was amazing. The real deal. I got goosebumps. The opening act was a jazz trio with Italian pianist Enrico Pieranunzi. We weren't familiar with him, but we really enjoyed their set.
Maastricht Conservatorium
Dianne Reeves
Theater in the background aan het Vrijthof
Saturday afternoon was spent with shopping with my friend Angela, enjoying lunch at the Derlon Hotel, and sipping some glasses of rosé wine at a very "Maastricht" bar on their small hidden terrace. Spring is officially here and everyone is flocking outside to enjoy the sunshine.
The perfect ending to a classy weekend ended with a trip to TEFAF, THE European Fine Art Fair. TEFAF calls itself "the world's leading art and antiquities fair". With the exception of André Rieu concerts, TEFAF is the biggest thing that happens in Maastricht. TEFAF is where museum curators, art collectors, and millionaires from all over the world come to purchase art, antiques, jewelry, rare books and manuscripts, paintings, fine jewels, etc. Collections of sketches and paintings by Picasso, Renoir, Chagall, and Klimt. The list goes on and on. It makes you think...Who is buying this stuff? It's really incredible.
photo: Tefaf.com Exhibitor: Daphne Alazraki
Opera glasses anyone? photo: tefaf.com Exhibitor: Wartski
By far, my favorite exhibitor was Graff. An exhibitor that had two of their own private security guards protecting their cases of diamonds and fine jewels. Their pieces were incredible. Collections and sets of jewelry with incredibly huge white and canary diamonds, emeralds, and rubies. It was so beautiful. My friends and I stood in amazement gawking at a 100 carat pear shaped diamond for about 5 minutes. What a sight!
"When in Rome, do as Romans do." No problem. They certainly know how to live la dolce vita in Italy. Good wine, delicious food, friendly people and warm weather. I could live like this. But alas, we live in the Netherlands. Too bad. No just kidding. The Netherlands is great, but Italians have perfected living the good life.
Tiny elevator not appropriate for TALL Dutchmen
Jaap was attending an epilepsy conference in Rome for a few days, so we turned it into a week vacation and spent the last few days of our summer holiday in the Eternal City. What a great trip. Both of us have been to Rome before, so we were pretty relaxed about seeing the sites. We managed to see new things and also take a day trip to Tivoli, which my mother recommended to us. Thanks Mom!
We spent our first day at the Vatican visiting the basilica, museum, and of course the Sistine Chapel. The crowds were incredible. I can't believe how many people were at the Vatican. While eaves dropping in on an American tour guide talking to her patrons, I learned that the Sistine Chapel could eventually be closed due to a high volume of visitors each day. Apparently the noise contributes to deterioration of Michelangelo's ceiling. So folks, another reason to get to Rome... ASAP!
The Vatican
It was hot! Too hot for comfort, but it cooled down to a mild 89 degrees and we got used to it. I can't complain. I now know why there are tons of fountains all of the city. Romans need to cool off!
Here we are enjoying the views at Piazza Navona. A few days after we left, the fountain below was vandalized and now part of it is missing.
We did a lot on our second day: Ancient forum, Colosseum, and a drive by of the Spanish Steps and Fontana di Trevi. The last time Jaap and I both visited Rome the Ancient Forum was free, but now you have to pay to enter. On the plus side, it includes entrance to the Colosseum.
I have the same picture from my first visit to Rome in 2001. :)
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And after a long and hot day of walking and sightseeing, we enjoyed some relaxation at an outdoor café. It was in the Trastevere district, where our hotel was located. We stopped by this café several times that week for food, drinks, and nice long conversations. This is how I like to vacation.
The second half of our Amsterdam vacation started with a canal boat tour. It's a great way to see the city from a different perspective and learn more about the history of Amsterdam. We could not have asked for better weather. I think our few days in Amsterdam was the longest time, since living in the Netherlands, that I haven't had to use my umbrella. Score!
Our canal tour took us to famous sites like the Skinny Bridge and the Seven Bridges. The majority of our boat tour was spent on Herengracht, Keizergracht, and parts of Prinsengracht. (Grachten meaning canals in English). This is where all the wealthy merchants lived during Amsterdam's Golden Age.
The Skinny Bridge
Riding through these canals was my favorite part of the tour because we learned more about the typical 17th century Dutch architecture that everyone associates with Amsterdam. This style of gabled roof top architecture was popular in the 17th century. I could stare at these roof tops all day. The city is so pretty.
Seven Bridges
After our boat tour we had lunch at De Bakkers Winkel. I went to this restaurant in Utrecht with my former Dutch teacher Mari. It's delicious. I highly recommend it for anyone visiting Amsterdam. Very simple, but yummy. We finished our meal with a raisin scone topped with some clotted cream and their homemade jams and spreads. I topped mine with some lemon curd (that I ended up buying afterwards). Holy LEKKER!!!
Next stop: Het Rembrandhuis. Since visiting Anne Frank was practically impossible on Easter weekend we thought Rembrandt would be an interesting alternative. Well to be honest, I thought it would be an interesting alternative. Jaap could go on living life without ever entering another museum. I, on the other hand, could visit every museum possible. We have had to blend our two different travel styles and compromise. Jaap has instituted the 'only one museum a day rule', which I have come to embrace. I'm actually enjoying spending less time in museums and more time outside, exploring the city itself. And for the record, we only visited two museums in Amsterdam. :)
I have to admit. I was very impressed by Rembrandt's digs. The house is very large and gives you a good glimpse of what his life was like during this time period. Rembrandt moved to the house at the height of his popularity in 1639, right before he was commissioned to paint The Night Watch. The house was expensive and by the 1650s he could no longer afford it and had to move. However, many of his masterpieces were painted here in his large studio, as well as famous etchings in his printing room. Some of his pupils lived and painted in the upstairs portion of the house as well.
Jaap exploring Rembrandt's kitchen
One room of the house (that I don't have a picture of) was where he kept his collector's items and rare objects. He collected hides, shells, exotic stuffed animals, as well as pottery, art, and weapons from all over the world. One of the museum guides said that they have a detailed record of his belongings because when he filed for bankruptcy the city of Amsterdam drafted a list of his works and antiquities that were eventually sold to repay his debts. If only he knew how much his paintings are worth today!
Rembrandt's large painting studio
Jaap was thrilled to be there.
Here are some pictures of our afternoon stroll.
A quick stop at the Bloemen Markt.
Tulips, tulips, and more tulips! They're everywhere. This is to be expected though, we're in Holland after all. Vondelpark was great. Amsterdam's own mini-Central Park. We lazily strolled around, ate some ice cream, and sat on a park bench for a long time enjoying each other's company. Jaap fell asleep in my lap and enjoyed a little cat nap. He's so cute! It was one of my favorite parts of the day.
On our way back towards Amsterdam Centraal we stopped to listen to a jazz trio playing outside. They were pretty good and there was an outdoor café right where we were standing, so we sat down and enjoyed a few drinks before heading off to dinner in Chinatown. It felt like one of those perfect 'New York moments' when you just love the city and the company you're with so much you don't want it to end. This was even better because we were in Amsterdam! The sun was setting, the weather was warm, I was with Jaap listening to quality jazz, and enjoying a nice witte wijn. Could things get any better?
Here's a little clip of the jazz trio playing one of my favorite jazz standards, St. Thomas. I apologize for the sound, you can't really hear the bass player that well. On another note: Please tip your street musicians when listening to good music!
We ended our trip with a little stroll through the red light district. It still amazes me a country that legalizes pot smoking in coffeshops and prostitution still functions well, and in most cases better than other places in the western world. That's how cool Dutch people all. But seriously, after visiting Amsterdam and learning more about Dutch culture, I continue to fall more in love with this country.
