WoW Summer Vacation is OVER....

and and and it's officially back to school tomorrow with meetings and getting the clinic set up and and and....

Hope everyone is well and happy....hopefully we will have something fun to BLOG about sometime soon.....

Home again early Tuesday morning

We are home in Houston again. We sat on the tarmac in Newark for 5+ hours on Monday evening due to storms in the flight path, so we got into Houston after midnight. Ray still picked us up and got us home safely.
As we crawl out from under the mess, we will post more pictures later. We enjoyed the last few days in Haarlem with Paula, including a performance of Bellini's Il Pirata reset in modern times. We continued to eat well and drink good beer and other potent libations well into Sunday evening, and then sister Jose took us to the airport for a final goodbye Monday morning.

Too slow for the previous post

A 250-kg giant tortoise. I don't know about the breeding program for this cutie, as we didn't see any others around.
And here is one of Amsterdam's bridges over one of its canals.

The picture on the right is a re-created windmill in the heart of Haarlem. The old one burned down, and this one is being repaired, but we had a great tour of the inner workings by a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide. They have displays inside showing all the inventions that resulted from windmill technology over the centuries. This one was used for grinding tobacco & corn as well as the special cement they use to line the canals.
The picture on the left shows one of the steam-powered pumps they used to empty Haarlem Lake when it was threatening to overwhelm Amsterdam and surrounding towns in the early 1800's. Schipol Airport now lies where 6 meters of water used to stand! Again, a great guide with a vast knowledge of engineering showed us around and explained the technologies. Thanks to brother Jim for suggesting this tour.

Too slow for the previous post

A 250-kg giant tortoise. I don't know about the breeding program for this cutie, as we didn't see any others around.
And here is one of Amsterdam's bridges over one of its canals.

This was the cutest animal at the Artis Zoo in Amsterdam, a few-weeks-old giraffe. It's a beautiful old zoo, with only a few of each animal, but it's been involved in breeding rare & endangered species for decades. We got to see a great show as they fed the California sea lions.
The zoo was one stop on the canal tour of Amsterdam. We apparently got on on the wrong side of the boat, as two of the captains/guides didn't say much or explain where we were going or even follow the route on the map, and one of them even hit a bridge! The middle guide of the three was very entertaining but we were only with him for a few minutes before we got to the zoo. He had the honor of piloting one of the boats carrying the Dutch football team through the canals after they returned from South Africa.
We had dinner overlooking one of the canals and all the people on the street.

OFF to Amsterdam again today

Gonna take in a canal tour and the ZOO..... more info and pictures comin' soon. It's a bit cloudy and cool here today with a forecast of more rain.....hope we don't melt!

Angers Chateau

We finally found a chateau that was open at Angers; others were closed either for holiday or for repairs. When we got into this chateau, we found out that the royal quarters had been destroyed by a fire in early 2009, but the place was still fascinating. Here you see us on top of the Mill Tower (yes, there was a windmill up there sometime in the past), with a 40-meter drop to the moat below! That's why Chris is standing in the MIDDLE of the top.
Some of the buildings were destroyed by an explosion in a Nazi munitions dump, and they were replaced by a modern building housing the most amazing weaving we've ever seen. It is the Apocalypse Tapestry, woven in the 1370's, showing scenes from St. John. It was originally 140 meters long and 12 meters tall (!), with intricate detail on each and every panel. The displayed pieces survived for over 600 years, even though there was never a good place to show them in the past. They were hung in the local cathedral at times, outdoors sometimes, and used at a royal wedding. At some point, they went out of favor so they were not cared for. Parts were cut off and used as door matts and rags! Still, 104 meters have been found and are now on display under controlled conditions. It was simply breathtaking to walk into this long room and see it for the first time.

At Chartres Cathedral

Here we are in front of the cathedral in Chartres, France. There is a labyrinth in the center of the floor; you can see Katie kneeling in its meditative center. We tried to find Versailles, but failed to do so since our driver could not fathom France's system of road signs. So we decided to head out to the Loire Valley and Chartres was the first stop.
We reached the Cathedral by climbing up a series of winding streets and pathways, passing picturesque ancient houses and shops. After touring the inside of this beautiful old church, which also has a silk weaving (the Veil of the Virgin) traced to 5th-century Constantinople, we had lunch at the Welcome Pub, trying yet another local brew and their selection of meats and salad.
It was still hot, but not as bad as Paris. Next stop, les chateaux!

An evening on the streets of Paris

We spent the day touring Paris on the double-decker bus. We saw all the important buildings and monuments, just as we did in London & in Copenhagen. We know that we need to spend at least a month in each city.
We had dinner at Montparnasse 1900, a beautiful old restaurant with friendly service and great food and wine. We had to go inside for the cheese & dessert courses because it never cooled down; we enjoyed watching the people on the street, but the air conditioning was a necessity that evening.

Back in Holland again.....

PARIS.....Chartres...... Loire Valley.....decided to forgo Germany because it was just too too HOT.....so we headed for Normandy instead..... promise to download some pictures tomorrow.....Had a great time albeit quite sweaty.....not used to this kind of heat sans A/C...... hold tight and be on the lookout....pictures forthcoming!!!

Here is our first attempt at pictures....this was taken in Copenhagen on the canal tour. So far we have taken 2 with another coming in Amsterdam when we return!

The fireworks have started

the NETHERLANDS WoN!!! Happy Dutchies... and ORANGE everywhere....

Ride bike.....crash into barbed wire!!!

Hello ya'll while the rest of the country is watching the "football" game and shooting off fire crackers I shall write a word or two.... didn't get the pictures loaded yet huh???....

We had a quiet day here at Chez Paula....got our plans and reservations made for time in France and Germany....thanks Jim for the suggestions....

It's sunny today and COOLER....so I decided to try to navigate the DUTCHIE way and ride a bike for the first time in about 20 yrs.... My knee did well but I got a terrible cramp in my right foot....caught my shoe in the pedal and fell over just like the lil guy back in "Laff In" days....but fell into BARBED WIRE....come to Holland and try to fight barbed wire...what's wrong with this picture???? Anyway I am ok.... a bit scratched up and sure I will be SORE in many places tomorrow...we will see if I can ride to town.....

Made it to the Ocean....stopped for a bitter lemon, and some frites and some espresso for Paula and a BEER for Chris.... then got home and had a Chez Paula yummmmmy supper of lamb chops....French style zuccini..
bread butter and fresh radishes....and of course red wine.... We brought her some Amarula from the duty free shoppe in Copenhagen.

Will try again tomorrow to take the time to post pictures.....keep following please and COMMENT....

Hello again from Haarlem, Netherlands we have returned and were not eaten by the Vikings....

Greetings and happy 5th of July everyone. We made it back to Haarlem today after an all night train ride with Scandi dancer friends, Ingrid, Zenon, Kathy, Jim & Melinda. We enjoyed Denmark more than words can express..... We saw some spectacular sights and met some of the most loving people ever!!! We were treated like Royalty! Copenhagen is a beautiful city....we toured it by boat on canal....we ate and drank and ate and drank and danced.... The performance @ Tivoli Gardens went well and was fun....we sat at the outside bar & I had to try a Danish Margarita and it was good....only they had no lime and the cherry in it was different. We saw so many sights and had a hostess that was GREAT.....After Copenhagen it was off to little villages near Horsens. We were hosted by Ulla on a tiny island....she is an artist....a WEAVER....there are wild pheasants running the islands with other birds and the huge HARES....we were treated to a hayride around the island 1 kilometer X 3 kilometers.....Chris had a real difficult time with the hay they were making....his allergies got the best of him. We climbed the second highest peak in Denmark ( and wouldn't you know it I forgot my brace on the island and due to the ferry I went without ) I was plied with coffee and cookies on the summit and we made it.....many beautiful pictures to share..... Sat we left for Rebild the only National Park in Denmark where they have an annual 4th of July celebration.... We met the American Ambassador to Denmark from the USA....other dancers....and danced on floors & grass from HELL....if you hear that people thought we were drunk we did too cause it was like dancing on a moving SHIP.... I was fun though and BEAUTIFUL.... I shall post more later or tomorrow....we have yet another DUTCHIE birthday party to attend tonight. AND THEN we must decide to WHERE we shall venture next. Is good to be back at Paula's.....Hope this finds everyone well and happy and enjoying the holiday!

Katie & Chris

Gotta say bye bye from Haarlem.....

Leavin'on a jet plane tomorrow morning early for DENMARK and dancin' dancin' dancin' and if we have access to a computer we will be blogging more..... Had a great birthday celebration with Paula....heard a lot of Dutch being spoken....and my brain is tired trying to figure any words out.....it's a tuff language for my pea brain!!!

Hopefully we'll be back on later.... everyone take care.....enjoy where you are and what you are doing and be thankful.....

Katie and Chris

Greetings from Haarlem, Netherlands part two

what??? no pictures???? The time here just zips by.... YES JB we did make it to that fabulous lil know restaurant last eve for dinner to celebrate with Paula for her birthday....and YUMMMM We enjoyed Steak, duck breast, salmon baked in oven in butter and garlic and the BEST was pan fried SOLE......

Brunched in the garden de Paula.... and now must get more Euros....help with the party prep and ready our bags to take off for Denmark tomorrow....and then the dancing will begin.. not sure how much blog time we will get there...... I shall try to post some pictures a bit later....

Hope everyone is well and happy..... the weather here is absolutely GORGEOUS....warm and sunny.....with flowers, scattered clouds....cool breezes....cobblestones to walk on ( ouch says my knee) almost heaven..... laters....

Greetings from Haarlem, Netherlands

Howdy ya'll... finally back on the computer to fill in a few blanks, maybe.... We visited Amsterdam today after returning the rental car... The Van Gogh Museum has changed a bit in 25 years for me, but was FABULOUS! Chris totally agrees... his words are intriguing, interesting and BEAUTIFUL.... breakfasted at bro Jim's fave place Luxembourg Cafe....huge breakfast and no Heineken!!! Lunched at Small Talk the ham and cheese and bread are wonderful here....Yesterday we DROVE to Brugges, Belgium. There's a long story here....the Dutch highways can only be described as poorly marked and pooooof you are off the highway and in the middle of a little town and and and...
Brugges was beautiful, but very crowded. The day was nothing like the Belgium of my memories from the 70's it was SUNNY and warm. We had yummmy salads with smoked salmon for lunch and tasty brews.....
Tomorrow we will be around the house preparing for Paula's birthday so we hope to figure out how to down load some pictures for you....until then we hope you are all well and happy.... Katie and Chris

WoW Have toured London & are now in Netherlands

Greetings everyone.... we are having such a good good time & this is our first chance at a computer.....We had a fabulous 3 days in London....good lodging and FOOD and a true adventure on a tour bus that just kept circling and circling and then we noticed a BIG fire and the driver could not get us back over the bridge....alas we jumped out and found our way back thru the TUBE.....Will fill in more details later.... Had a great train ride to Haarlem, Netherlands at B&B Paula....check out John Bermont's book HOW TO EUROPE WEBSITE www.enjoy-europe.com to see pictures of the actual place we are now.....it's a fabulous online book too with so much information for the beginning traveler and those who fancy themselves "seasoned".... by the way John Bermont's real name is Jim Broad ah ha Chris's brother!!! Today is Tuesday not Belgium but Holland
and we rented a car and visited 4 cities.... Alkmaar, the capitol of CHEESE, AND a museum of beer making ( but it was closed ) Hoorn, a beautiful seaport with a semi circular tower, Island of Marken...tough to describe in words here....beautiful!!! and finally dinner on the beach of the North Sea @ Zandvoort..... Maybe a sand fort??? We will try to understand downloading of pictures and publish some soon. Tomorrow we head out early for BELGIUM......Heading to Brugges and lace making then back to the town of Delft.....Hope everyone reading this is well and happy and enjoying your summer as much as we are.....Talk about the longest day, which was yesterday.....sun up bright and early about 4:30 AM and didn't set til 10:30 PM... I bet our day was longer than yours!!! Ciao Katie and Chris

We are practicing working with pictures....and WoW we never expected to completely fill the page with our picture.....we'll keep on practicing! We are ready and will leave the house around noon and fly over the pond around 4 PM.... First stop LONDON.....

Greetings all.... tis Tuesday.... I have my costume all washed up and packed....and put in alot of the clothes I want to take and Chris and I weighed it.....doin' OK @ 37 lb.... Whew..... still tying up looooooose ends like talking to the constable for vacation WATCH our home will be watched not only by neighbors who don't work but the LAW........ etc etc and actually starting to get excited....folks to see....birds to farm out.....Talked to friends in Finland and they will be flying over the pond this way as we head that.....oh well.... maybe next trip we will get to see them....
Wish us luck....as we pack and try to remember what we may be forgetting.....and to think friend Luiiiiiiiza is WALKING a pilgrimage with a pack that weighed in under 10 lbs.....Go WEEEEZER!!!! Until later.....

DancinginDenmark

Greetings ya'll this will be a new endeavor in many ways for both of us.... Chris and me.... the travels and the blogging....we are OFF on Thurs and hopefully we will figure out how to write stuff and put in pictures too....