Well, what would become the standard during this visit... we were able to leave the house no earlier then 12 noon. I forgot we were dealing with retiree's in their early to mid 40's! The only thing missing is the "blue plate" dinner special at 3pm. But, we made the drive up to Brugge on a very pleasant day. First time this year that the thermometers "smashed" through the 60 degree barrier!!! Of course some in the car nodded off to sleep here and there, but their identities will remain draped in secrecy to hide their shame. Radhika sat in the back, talking with her sister, which did a fine job of keeping the "backseat" driving down to almost non-existant. We parked the car in one of the many underground garages in the city around 2:30pm, and proceeded to walk around this gem of a city in Belgium that is probably overlooked and unknown to most Americans who come to Europe. We did the touristy things... took a horse and buggy ride, bought Belgian chocolates, took a boat tour down the canals, sat at several outdoor cafes drinking and people watching, and had a nice dinner. This was our 2nd time there, going once before with Dimple back in February. Obviously the weather was much more pleasant now, therefore there were many more people. We left around 10pm, with another round of "auto-napping" for some, getting back to the apartment in Amsterdam around 12:30am. We pretty much went to sleep soon after, as Dolly and John had a full day of sightseeing ahead of them on Monday.
Of course, Monday started around noon for everyone with the exception of Radhika, who had to go to work. John and Dolly made it out of the house (you guessed it!) around noon, to go to the Rijks Museum. It's less then a 5 minute walk from the house, so it is very convenient. I was still feeling a little ill, so I decided to stay and rest to hopefully get back to 100%. Of the many things that were uttered by John while they were here, "I'm on vacation." was the early favorite when Dolly would bust his chops concerning whatever it was he was doing or saying that got a reaction from her. Those two are quite the comedy team. After the museum, they took a 2 hour boat tour on the canals of Amsterdam. The weather was absolutely perfect to be outside. It's the first time I had the windows open at the apartment. They came back around 5:30 or so, and Radhika came home from work not long after. We went to dinner at the Nepalese restaurant near our apartment around Leidseplein. R and I really like the place, this being our 3rd time there. Dolly seemed to rub our server (who recognized Radhika and me) the wrong way, and he threw a little verbal smackdown on her (only a warm-up however, to what she would experience in a few days at the tulip farm). Things settled down eventually, although Dolly is now banned from eating in any Nepalese or Tibetan restaurants throughout the world. We walked to Dam Square, again enjoying the night air and checking out different areas of the city. We got back to the apartment pretty late, watching a little TV and then calling it a night.
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