Whirlwind of Visitors

Man! We had a stretch there of several weeks where we had people coming in and out of Amsterdam. They've been gone now for about a week, so I can get caught up now on what's been going on. Got a real good story to tell that just ended today, but let me touch on all of the visitors that blew through.
First, Barbara came through in early August for a few days on her way to a cruise that she was taking from Copenhagen. Barbara had never been to Amsterdam before, so we walked around the city a little, hitting the touristy spots. We went to Brugge, Belgium and she really enjoyed that (who doesn't really, other than Colin Farrell's character in the movie?). There were a few days between Barbara leaving for her cruise and Radhika's Mom, sister Dolly, and Dolly's husband John (JK) arrival from NY. They went through the usual adjustment period with the 6 hour difference and then were good to go... more or less! This is Dolly and John's 2nd visit to Amsterdam in 4 months, and we are hard pressed to ever get out of the apartment before noon during their visits! But that is the nature of their vacations here, so we're "good to go" when they are! We saw "Mama Mia" because Dolly loves Abba and saw the Broadway show but not the movie yet. They liked it. We returned to Brugge again, because this was Mom's first visit and she has never visited. We all climbed the tower this time, squeezing past the others in the narrow, twisting stairwell like you find in your average Amsterdam apartment building. We ate outside at cafes, walked the streets, went in shops, bought chocolates... the usual Brugge itinerary. Mom, Dolly, and JK went to the Rijk's Museum, and one day we drove to The Hague, as we hadn't even checked that city out since arriving last year. It's definitely worth a repeat visit. One story ends with us getting 2 cool outdoor chairs for our rooftop terrace. We were all walking back to the apartment after yet another great dinner one evening, and the sidewalks had scattered piles of "stuff" that had been formed by resident's for the refuse pick up the next day. JK and I noticed what looked like 2 wooden outdoor chairs on top of a pile. After 30 seconds of inspection, we could find nothing wrong with them so we carried them back. The next day I removed the cloth seating and back from the wooden frame, tossed them in the washer, and they came out looking like new! The next time we need some furniture, we've decided to just hit the streets the night before trash collection. One man's trash IS another man's treasure (or garden terrace chair!). I have noticed that resident's do toss out a lot of stuff that normally Americans would find at a yard or garage sale. There appears to be no Goodwill, Salvation Army, or any other similar organization here. I'm told things of this nature are handled exactly how our situation occurred. In the Netherlands, the low-income family sector is much smaller then it is in the US due to the amount of government assistance. Anyway, one of the most enjoyable things we did was go to a local pub that has a live band playing near Leidseplein. Mom hit the sack, but the 4 of us went out for some drinks and music. The band was quite good, and it happened to be the night where it's an "open mic" situation. Several people came up before different numbers and joined in. There were 2 guitarists who came up for different numbers, and a saxaphonist. We were telling John he should go up to do something with them. He eventually did go up and did the number "Flip, Flop, Fly" by the Blues Brothers. It rocked, and the guys in the band and the crowd really enjoyed it!
So after Radhika's family scoots back to NY, her marathon coach and boyfriend come in for a couple of days before they take part in a triathlon in nearby Almere. Also, at the same time, Barbara comes back from her cruise and spends 2 1/2 days here before she heads back to the US. We go to an area just outside Amsterdam where there are farms to see the "rural" side of Holland, she tours the Ann Frank House, and shops for souvenirs for her friends back home. The apartment was now empty, with the slight possibility that Consuela and Trung (the afore mentioned marathon coach and her boyfriend) might stay a night or 2 after their triathlon and visit to Belgium. But they headed back to the states straight away, and thus ended our own "guest marathon". Now it's back to the normal craziness involving us and the local cast of characters. More on that later.