We've been doing things and going places recently and I've been behind. If you go to the blog and click on the links to albums, you will find three new ones once you get there. One is of our visit to Alkmaar where the cheese market is held every Friday morning from march to September. We attended the 2nd to last one of the season together, and I went back for the very last one the following Friday. Also, there are 2 albums from our holiday to Barcelona. One of sights and another of us and the sights.
Leaves are starting to fall from the trees, and the daytime highs are only in the mid to lower 60's. There hasn't been a lot of rain, and we haven't been under a deep, dull, blanket of gray cloud cover, so that's good. In fact the sun has been more active here than usual!
Some excitement at the apartment. The valves were recently changed on the four radiators upstairs, but there was a seal issue with one of them and water leaked between floors - right above our bedroom! As a matter-of-fact, Radhika noticed a different odor one night before bed (do NOT go there!), but I didn't sense it. However, in the morning I felt the air was really moist. I got a ladder and felt the ceiling - cold and damp! Texted the landlord, who had done the job himself, and told him there was a serious problem. Drained the system when he got here, but that still didn't keep water from spilling all over him after he opened a hole in our bedroom ceiling and undid the joint in the pipe! Problem was fixed, and for the next week we have this (un)cool contraption in the room sucking out all of the moisture. The hole will remain for another week or so, and then finally in October the hole will be patched and the entire ceiling repainted (covering the "memorials" on the ceiling where I squished several mosquitoes at 2 in the morning last summer).
Had another good Basic Workshop yesterday with an energetic group of photography enthusiasts. This one even has assignments that some are choosing to do and then I'll critique their results. I find it so enjoyable teaching people! Looking into taking my workshops to The Hague, as I have had several people come to Amsterdam for mine and say there's nothing like it there.
Nailing down next months trip to Munich (post-Oktoberfest) and then scheduling US for December 2 1/2 months from now.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Barcelona! The Forgotten Chapter
I don't know why. Perhaps I got lost in everything "good" concerning Barcelona? Still suffering from sunstroke? Who knows? But I left out some details about two not-so-pleasant incidents of our story from my earlier Barcelona post. They follow...
So...months ago, as we decide on where to go, everyone has the same basic opinions on Barcelona. Beautiful this, gorgeous that, nice this, tasty that - oh, but watch out for PICKPOCKETS! Our first few days we were sporting money belts, and we endorse them tremendously for use in may places. But, a brief word with each other one day before leaving the hotel room, and we decided we felt safe enough to go out sans money belts. Well, towards the end of the trip on a subway train back to the hotel around 11pm or so, we were in a crowded car. Not packed, but you could not move freely either. My back is to the door and I'm carrying my camera bag. R is on my right with her backpack. We had just gotten into these positions after getting on the train when this tall, smelly, stale-looking (use your imagination - you can "see" what a stale-looking person would look like on a subway!) man "bumps" into the older man in front of us who is sporting a fanny pack worn in front. I know, he should not be allowed out of his own home with one of those, but it's Europe and they love a lot of shit from the 80's. Just listen to their radio or watch their TV. You would think A-ha just released "Take On Me" and The "A" Team was in it's first run! I should be wearing my old OP cord shorts and puca lightning bolt chain. Any way, I digress. So, I see this "collision" in front of me and I'm thinking this doesn't look kosher. Next thing I know "Rough and Ready" Radhika grabs the phony drunks hand and knocks it away from the older gentleman. I am now in a semi-WTF mode, because my pea-sized brain is comprehending what "Eagle-Eye Annie" has already figured out. I finally grasp the situation and watch to make sure that the now known pickpocket does not retaliate towards the trains new security force of one. He slides away, and R tells the older guy to watch his stuff. He's either French (my guess) or Swiss (R's guess), as he and his older posse earlier bumped and pushed their way past us without a single "excuse me" or "pardon", and we noticed their langauge was not local. He checked his "pack" and his wallet was gone! Well they went into high gear, trying to take photos of the crook and chased him off the train. The doors close, and we noticed that several "shifty" looking people remained amongst the group of riders, tourists, and locals. Damn!! One got off, but was replaced by perhaps 4 to 6 others!! What a feeling it is to have what you KNOW to be criminals right in your sight, but you can't do anything about it. They made no eye contact with anyone. All they did (at least 3 men and one woman) was look at everyone's belongings! It was so obvious. I tried to warn the girl who was now in front of me, as her purse was being "eyeballed", but she was too preoccupied flapping her lips on her cell phone and with her friends. They made no attempt to disguise their intent. I was watching them so intently that I didn't notice one of them trying to distract me by pointing at something, hoping I would look in that direction. R told me about that later. What I did notice was my shorts moving (no, not a good time for one of "those" type of jokes), as I had velcro closures on all of my pockets. I smacked the guy on my left who was tugging at a closed pocket that contained my cell phone, and asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He didn't look at me or say a word. It was at this moment that Radhika said to get off the train as we were pulling into a station. Once off, I said this isn't even our stop. Well, it was - I just didn't notice because I was intently watching the wolves trying to get the sheep right before my eyes! Well, this was excitement of the variety we didn't need. It took R a full day and a half to regain her chill-buzz she had gained from all the red wine, cava, sunshine, and tapas she had absorbed.
It's the day of our departure. Our flight leaves at 8:25pm. It's about 5, and R wants to head to the airport early (as usual). I finish my mango and coconut ice cream cup (as usual) while she gets assistance from the front desk. Now in my first post, I conveyed that we made it to the hotel by taking a bus from the airport to Catalonia Plaza, and from there a subway train to a stop near the hotel. We could've followed that pattern, but figured the local at the hotel would know a better route. Yeah, you know what's coming. This AAA reject had us take 1 train to a stop, change to another train, and then go to the next stop where we should find the Renfre train that takes you to the airport. At the first transfer, we were both saying what a mistake it was not taking the reverse route back to the airport, because we were hoofiing it through the better part of these stations, up stairs, down stairs, and it was a pain in the ass! But, we finally find the Renfre ticket window, and all seems well. R tells the guy we want 2 tickets for the train to the airport, we ask what platform and he says 1. So we go to the platform, a train comes in, and we board. "Hmmm...not a lot of people with suitcases on this train." We pull into a station we're both familiar with, and I know it to be one that access the airport. Radhika sees people with luggage. We are on the upper level, and the thought to get off there doesn't occur with enough strength until later (hindsight, you know). So we're leaving the city and the view through the windows looks like the plain from "Dances With Wolves", and neither of us is confident we're on a train to the airport. It's well past 6 by now. I ask the gentlemen next to us if the train stops at the airport. You know the answer to that. So now it's a thought process of how to get back on track to the airport. They say the next stop is about 5 minutes away, so we grab our crap and guard the door so we can jump off when it stops. I talk to a guy with a suitcase on the platform who said he was in the same situation, he was put on the wrong train. He said we wern't far from the airport - maybe a 15 euro cab ride. We went into the station to find out in spite of a language barrier that the next train back to Barcelona came in several minutes. Back to the platform, but then I went back to see if we could get a taxi out front, as we were in a small town. The woman didn't fully understand me, but the street looked like it had a decent amount of traffic on it, so I went back and got R and we dashed to the street. It's past 7:15pm now. We walk a block up and do get a taxi and he says he'll take us. We're in the car headed to the airport. We arrive in 15 minutes, the fare was about 15 euros, but it's Saturday AND there's an extra charge to go to the airport. That bumps up the fare 10 more euros. BUT, we are there on time, get on the flight, catch the bus perfectly to Leidseplein, and are safe in our apartment back in dreary Hamstercram. But it's not that bad a place to come back to. So, as with most things in life, we dealt with the good and the bad on this holiday. Had some lessons learned too (like don't try to take something from R unless I want my arm dislocated). Good times.
So...months ago, as we decide on where to go, everyone has the same basic opinions on Barcelona. Beautiful this, gorgeous that, nice this, tasty that - oh, but watch out for PICKPOCKETS! Our first few days we were sporting money belts, and we endorse them tremendously for use in may places. But, a brief word with each other one day before leaving the hotel room, and we decided we felt safe enough to go out sans money belts. Well, towards the end of the trip on a subway train back to the hotel around 11pm or so, we were in a crowded car. Not packed, but you could not move freely either. My back is to the door and I'm carrying my camera bag. R is on my right with her backpack. We had just gotten into these positions after getting on the train when this tall, smelly, stale-looking (use your imagination - you can "see" what a stale-looking person would look like on a subway!) man "bumps" into the older man in front of us who is sporting a fanny pack worn in front. I know, he should not be allowed out of his own home with one of those, but it's Europe and they love a lot of shit from the 80's. Just listen to their radio or watch their TV. You would think A-ha just released "Take On Me" and The "A" Team was in it's first run! I should be wearing my old OP cord shorts and puca lightning bolt chain. Any way, I digress. So, I see this "collision" in front of me and I'm thinking this doesn't look kosher. Next thing I know "Rough and Ready" Radhika grabs the phony drunks hand and knocks it away from the older gentleman. I am now in a semi-WTF mode, because my pea-sized brain is comprehending what "Eagle-Eye Annie" has already figured out. I finally grasp the situation and watch to make sure that the now known pickpocket does not retaliate towards the trains new security force of one. He slides away, and R tells the older guy to watch his stuff. He's either French (my guess) or Swiss (R's guess), as he and his older posse earlier bumped and pushed their way past us without a single "excuse me" or "pardon", and we noticed their langauge was not local. He checked his "pack" and his wallet was gone! Well they went into high gear, trying to take photos of the crook and chased him off the train. The doors close, and we noticed that several "shifty" looking people remained amongst the group of riders, tourists, and locals. Damn!! One got off, but was replaced by perhaps 4 to 6 others!! What a feeling it is to have what you KNOW to be criminals right in your sight, but you can't do anything about it. They made no eye contact with anyone. All they did (at least 3 men and one woman) was look at everyone's belongings! It was so obvious. I tried to warn the girl who was now in front of me, as her purse was being "eyeballed", but she was too preoccupied flapping her lips on her cell phone and with her friends. They made no attempt to disguise their intent. I was watching them so intently that I didn't notice one of them trying to distract me by pointing at something, hoping I would look in that direction. R told me about that later. What I did notice was my shorts moving (no, not a good time for one of "those" type of jokes), as I had velcro closures on all of my pockets. I smacked the guy on my left who was tugging at a closed pocket that contained my cell phone, and asked him what the hell he thought he was doing. He didn't look at me or say a word. It was at this moment that Radhika said to get off the train as we were pulling into a station. Once off, I said this isn't even our stop. Well, it was - I just didn't notice because I was intently watching the wolves trying to get the sheep right before my eyes! Well, this was excitement of the variety we didn't need. It took R a full day and a half to regain her chill-buzz she had gained from all the red wine, cava, sunshine, and tapas she had absorbed.
It's the day of our departure. Our flight leaves at 8:25pm. It's about 5, and R wants to head to the airport early (as usual). I finish my mango and coconut ice cream cup (as usual) while she gets assistance from the front desk. Now in my first post, I conveyed that we made it to the hotel by taking a bus from the airport to Catalonia Plaza, and from there a subway train to a stop near the hotel. We could've followed that pattern, but figured the local at the hotel would know a better route. Yeah, you know what's coming. This AAA reject had us take 1 train to a stop, change to another train, and then go to the next stop where we should find the Renfre train that takes you to the airport. At the first transfer, we were both saying what a mistake it was not taking the reverse route back to the airport, because we were hoofiing it through the better part of these stations, up stairs, down stairs, and it was a pain in the ass! But, we finally find the Renfre ticket window, and all seems well. R tells the guy we want 2 tickets for the train to the airport, we ask what platform and he says 1. So we go to the platform, a train comes in, and we board. "Hmmm...not a lot of people with suitcases on this train." We pull into a station we're both familiar with, and I know it to be one that access the airport. Radhika sees people with luggage. We are on the upper level, and the thought to get off there doesn't occur with enough strength until later (hindsight, you know). So we're leaving the city and the view through the windows looks like the plain from "Dances With Wolves", and neither of us is confident we're on a train to the airport. It's well past 6 by now. I ask the gentlemen next to us if the train stops at the airport. You know the answer to that. So now it's a thought process of how to get back on track to the airport. They say the next stop is about 5 minutes away, so we grab our crap and guard the door so we can jump off when it stops. I talk to a guy with a suitcase on the platform who said he was in the same situation, he was put on the wrong train. He said we wern't far from the airport - maybe a 15 euro cab ride. We went into the station to find out in spite of a language barrier that the next train back to Barcelona came in several minutes. Back to the platform, but then I went back to see if we could get a taxi out front, as we were in a small town. The woman didn't fully understand me, but the street looked like it had a decent amount of traffic on it, so I went back and got R and we dashed to the street. It's past 7:15pm now. We walk a block up and do get a taxi and he says he'll take us. We're in the car headed to the airport. We arrive in 15 minutes, the fare was about 15 euros, but it's Saturday AND there's an extra charge to go to the airport. That bumps up the fare 10 more euros. BUT, we are there on time, get on the flight, catch the bus perfectly to Leidseplein, and are safe in our apartment back in dreary Hamstercram. But it's not that bad a place to come back to. So, as with most things in life, we dealt with the good and the bad on this holiday. Had some lessons learned too (like don't try to take something from R unless I want my arm dislocated). Good times.
Barcelona!
Well, we brought summer (in Amsterdam) to a close with style...by going to BARCELONA!! Today it's below 60f / 15c degrees, the sky is a uniform middle gray, it's windy and wet - typical fall weather for Hamstercram. What's a little soothing is that it's not much better right now in Barcelona - 63f and rain. But for our visit just last week the average was 86f / 30c and sunshine every day! So now that you have the weather report, let's go into our 8 day experience en Espana!
Of course we would encounter extremely strong winds and some rain thrown in on our trip to the airport on Friday evening. We got to the bus stop at Leidseplein before the worst of it dropped from the sky. The KLM flight was fast (a little over 2 hours) and the service was fantastic considering how much flying really blows these days. We were seated in opposing aisle seats (still don't recall picking those). Radhika had her handbag under the seat in front of her with her hair clip on one of the straps. A dutch fellow and his female companion were seated next to her, and during the flight she had to stand in the aisle so he could pass to go to the bathroom. He stepped on her bag, and her clip "crunched" under his foot. He noticed the obvious feeling and sound of stepping on and breaking something, lifted his foot, and went on about his business with no acknowledgement of the incident. I expressed that I felt she should show him the broken pieces, but I was informed it was a cheap clip and not worth mentioning. So, I agreed to not say anything - and man was it hard!!!! And try as I might to remember to collect my tripod from the garment closet located at the door of the plane on the way off the plane in Barcelona, it was Radhika and a flight attendant who did! Right before touchdown I said to myself "Get your tripod on the way out." What a dufus!! And R just loves to point out these things to me! Damn!!
So, we're on the bus from the airport to the city, and we reach Catalonia Plaza where we'll take the metro to the stop near our hotel. As I rise from the seat my wallet stealthily falls to the floor. Radhika is behind me and alerts me to it. Now I am in serious trouble!! I'll save you the grizzly details. I was on a severe "dufus" streak and needed to be watched carefully so I didn't give away my passport and ATM card with a thankyou note consisting of my pin code to the first person who said "Hola!" to me. Luckily we made it to our hotel and I conducted no more giveaways!
A good nights sleep and out of the hotel at the crack of noon the next day! Well, almost...it was a little after 11am. I like to start early, but R prefers a "measured" approach to mornings on holiday. So I end up going out on my own sometimes and come back to the hotel or meet up with R later. But today, we stroll to the ramblas, passing the cathedral which is mostly caged in by scaffolding and a material cover. Can't tell you how many places we have been where major sights are unrecognizable due to surface maintenance (acid rain!) being undertaken. Down the ramblas past street performers and stores to the beach area past The Chris Columbus monument. Funny how they still credit him with "discovering" America! And there's a plaque where he stands before a kneeling native who is kissing his hand. Perhaps because 'ol Chris decided not to kill the guy or cut off his hands as he did to so many others? Pushing past and continuing east, we ended up at the large mall at the harbor. Nice, but hitting malls is not how I like to spend time on holidays. But we explored a little, as R was looking for a pair of Birkenstocks for her sensitive feeties. We walked along the waterfront north finally coming upon beaches. They looked really nice and I was looking forward to a little chill time on them in the coming days. And we did - officially 2 days were spent wholly or partly lazing in the sun and swimming in the cool water. Radhika got 2 massages from the asian ladies who ply the beach with the men selling "cerveza, agua, coke" like hotdog vendors at a ball game. I got one, myself. 30-40 minutes for 10 euros can't be beat! And I'm pretty used to topless beaches now, not like when I was 19 and stumbled across my first one in Ft. Lauderdale. I don't remember, but another "dufus" moment for me, I'm sure. I do recall my friend Tony and I "trying" to be cool as we walked through, then noticed the beach had been taken over by guys laying on towels together. Guess you can say it was a day of firsts for 2 "dufus's" from a small beach town up the coast!
Sightseeing - of course we saw Sagrada Familia, and stupidly paid 11 euros to go inside and witness a construction site. Unless you want to go up the tower for the view, and there are other vantage points to see the city, I would strongly suggest passing up the interior because there's nothing to see. We went to the Picasso Museum, which focuses on his early development. Pretty cool. Many of the parks and plazas were visited, not to mention the many wide streets and narrow passages that offered great buildings and cool little slices of Catalan life. For us, the coolest thing was our visit to La Pedrera. Such a great building way ahead of its time. The Olympic Village was pretty cool too. We took a day trip out to Montserrat, and must say we were disappointed. The monastery is really old, but it's been rebuilt over the centuries that it looks almost contemporary. The surrounding countryside was not all that impressive to us, therefore this is something we wouldn't recommend to others, either. But all-in-all, plenty to see and do for those that want to, or you can just relax and de-stress if that's what you're looking for. A place very high on our list of visiting again! Pictures coming soon!
Of course we would encounter extremely strong winds and some rain thrown in on our trip to the airport on Friday evening. We got to the bus stop at Leidseplein before the worst of it dropped from the sky. The KLM flight was fast (a little over 2 hours) and the service was fantastic considering how much flying really blows these days. We were seated in opposing aisle seats (still don't recall picking those). Radhika had her handbag under the seat in front of her with her hair clip on one of the straps. A dutch fellow and his female companion were seated next to her, and during the flight she had to stand in the aisle so he could pass to go to the bathroom. He stepped on her bag, and her clip "crunched" under his foot. He noticed the obvious feeling and sound of stepping on and breaking something, lifted his foot, and went on about his business with no acknowledgement of the incident. I expressed that I felt she should show him the broken pieces, but I was informed it was a cheap clip and not worth mentioning. So, I agreed to not say anything - and man was it hard!!!! And try as I might to remember to collect my tripod from the garment closet located at the door of the plane on the way off the plane in Barcelona, it was Radhika and a flight attendant who did! Right before touchdown I said to myself "Get your tripod on the way out." What a dufus!! And R just loves to point out these things to me! Damn!!
So, we're on the bus from the airport to the city, and we reach Catalonia Plaza where we'll take the metro to the stop near our hotel. As I rise from the seat my wallet stealthily falls to the floor. Radhika is behind me and alerts me to it. Now I am in serious trouble!! I'll save you the grizzly details. I was on a severe "dufus" streak and needed to be watched carefully so I didn't give away my passport and ATM card with a thankyou note consisting of my pin code to the first person who said "Hola!" to me. Luckily we made it to our hotel and I conducted no more giveaways!
A good nights sleep and out of the hotel at the crack of noon the next day! Well, almost...it was a little after 11am. I like to start early, but R prefers a "measured" approach to mornings on holiday. So I end up going out on my own sometimes and come back to the hotel or meet up with R later. But today, we stroll to the ramblas, passing the cathedral which is mostly caged in by scaffolding and a material cover. Can't tell you how many places we have been where major sights are unrecognizable due to surface maintenance (acid rain!) being undertaken. Down the ramblas past street performers and stores to the beach area past The Chris Columbus monument. Funny how they still credit him with "discovering" America! And there's a plaque where he stands before a kneeling native who is kissing his hand. Perhaps because 'ol Chris decided not to kill the guy or cut off his hands as he did to so many others? Pushing past and continuing east, we ended up at the large mall at the harbor. Nice, but hitting malls is not how I like to spend time on holidays. But we explored a little, as R was looking for a pair of Birkenstocks for her sensitive feeties. We walked along the waterfront north finally coming upon beaches. They looked really nice and I was looking forward to a little chill time on them in the coming days. And we did - officially 2 days were spent wholly or partly lazing in the sun and swimming in the cool water. Radhika got 2 massages from the asian ladies who ply the beach with the men selling "cerveza, agua, coke" like hotdog vendors at a ball game. I got one, myself. 30-40 minutes for 10 euros can't be beat! And I'm pretty used to topless beaches now, not like when I was 19 and stumbled across my first one in Ft. Lauderdale. I don't remember, but another "dufus" moment for me, I'm sure. I do recall my friend Tony and I "trying" to be cool as we walked through, then noticed the beach had been taken over by guys laying on towels together. Guess you can say it was a day of firsts for 2 "dufus's" from a small beach town up the coast!
Sightseeing - of course we saw Sagrada Familia, and stupidly paid 11 euros to go inside and witness a construction site. Unless you want to go up the tower for the view, and there are other vantage points to see the city, I would strongly suggest passing up the interior because there's nothing to see. We went to the Picasso Museum, which focuses on his early development. Pretty cool. Many of the parks and plazas were visited, not to mention the many wide streets and narrow passages that offered great buildings and cool little slices of Catalan life. For us, the coolest thing was our visit to La Pedrera. Such a great building way ahead of its time. The Olympic Village was pretty cool too. We took a day trip out to Montserrat, and must say we were disappointed. The monastery is really old, but it's been rebuilt over the centuries that it looks almost contemporary. The surrounding countryside was not all that impressive to us, therefore this is something we wouldn't recommend to others, either. But all-in-all, plenty to see and do for those that want to, or you can just relax and de-stress if that's what you're looking for. A place very high on our list of visiting again! Pictures coming soon!
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