I got a haircut today for $22 then stopped at BlueZone, a quality coffee shop but food was so so. Ambience and staff were stellar.
Still cold but sun's out. Me too. Short wet walk. I stopped at the newly opened cafe that had been closed for vacation. Had a Hamburg...first in 3 months. I waited for the rain to subside then continued into the village. Most seemed closed and few people were out in the rain. I bar I had not noticed before seemed to be doing a nice business so I stopped in for two small glasses of beer. People at the bar and seated at tables were chatting away and laughing. No food anywhere execept bar snacks, Bitterballen, Chicken Nuggets, and one other processed food to fry. I decided to return home.
A Ginger Beer Bar? Closed. "The Fier" was a neighborhood gathering place to be social. I liked it. A couple of men stepped outside in the rain for a smoke. I remember doing that in Attica on one of my last visits, except it was a bitter cold blizzard white out. Worst addiction and damage to myself from smoking cigarettes all those 40 years. That was 20 years ago and feel healthier than I did then.Today, the sun is out and me too. Off to Haarlem to get train schedules for my Rotterdam trip tomorrow and to the Van Gogh exhibition in Otterlo. Enjoyed walking the streets of Haarlem. Fun Day.
Nice Ceasar Salad with Chicken
The Chocolate Machine at Pierres
Looks like double/triple exposure...reflection. Love FLAMBOYANT . Not a normal name for a restaurant.
Imagine how many cars that would be 50?
Halloween Decorations...very understated in Holland and nice!
Nice $180 pillow...?
Best Hot Chocolate ever!
I pass by every afternoon and the place is packed...just 12 sandwiches but very creative, flavorful and cheap...around $8. This is Chicken wrapped in Arugula with Pesto and Avocado.Today I am off for dinner with Monti, my friend who plays baseball in Arizona in the fall leagues. He is 65, head of his "older player team". He is the oldest with the ages from 25-35 and has been doing it since I met him almost 15+ years ago. He practices 5 days a week and will be in Phoenix next week for a week or two. I got no photos of us or food? We talked a lot and had a great Indian dinner.
ROTTERDAM RDAM
I made some soup Chicken Vegetable Soup today and shopped. Today was Market Day so I decided to bypass the supermarket and bought 8 Avacados for 3E, 1 Kilo of Blueberries for 8E, and 12 Tangerines for 4E. Returned home and finished my book "Theo of Golden" that Marjorie gave me my last trip to Az. Excellent read.
I am visiting Amsterdam to have dinner with Sanna Kok, Jeannette's daughter. Jeannette passed away a couple years ago. Sanna met me at the tram stop near her home. We walked to "COOK" the restaurant choice we picked. The weather was still OK with the sunshine fading, we enjoyed catching up since last we met. A glass of wine then we opted to go inside after we ordered. Sanna, a Vegetarian, ordered a couple of appetizers for her meal and I the Bonita Fresh Fish special. The place was full, the service was excellent and the food was outstanding. I mentioned the storage for one suitcase for my 14 day trip to Malta was almost $2oo so Sanna agreed to store it for me at her apartment. We will meet the day before I depart, a week from now, then I can return and get a good nights rest before getting up early and heading for the train then the bus to the airport for my Malta Airlines flight. 
Cherries, Nuts and Cheese
Mushroom Pate
Bonita with Veggies
Many bathrooms in Holland are shared. I used the bathroom and noted Tappons free for those in need. We had Xpresso and Limoncello and departed after a wonderful evening!Today was overcast and rainy so I decided to try Hippy Fish, a restaurant by the water, for lunch. I walked quite a bit until I encountered some buildings by the shore and none past that. I got there but no Hippy Fish...Nuis instead. It looked inviting and I was cold and hungry. I had a nice salad with Katsu Chicken then left to take photos of the Sea before I headed back up to the village.
Excellent
Birdie joined me.
Yes, not Bad eh!
Hot and Cold water faucets made with Nuis Wine Bottles.
No way they are going swimming I said... Wrong!
Beats benches to sit and gaze at the Sea
Notice the Green,Red and White bricks...on the top is Black with and Emblem of 3 fishes. I've seen that everywhere. Zandvoort is a fishing village or used to be.
Today I wanted something sweet so stopped in Leonies Belguim Chocolate store and bought one Cannoli with Peanut butter and Chocolate, then went next door for a Flat White cafe to go with it.
The 3 Fishes Emblem on the Museum I visited
I had also had Dutch Sushi for a lunch Snack on the way to the market to find some real Greek Yogurt.
While enjoying my Flat White, I noticed the building with the cross and above it , the same 3 fish emblem.
Leonies was busy so I waited. Leon discounted me one Euro for my Cannoli so it cost 2 instead of 3 Euro....nice man.
After my shopping and nice snack, stopped into a museum for an eclectic collection of some one's imaginative creations, a talented Potter's assorted ceramic works, then a history of Zandvoort with old photos.
The Potter started her hobby when she was 50 years old. She wrapped the clay creation in tin foil then puts it in the Kiln.
I still had a sweet tooth and had been wanting to try Clever's Ice Cream Shop. They have about 8 different creations and each one has 3-6 different ingrediants to go with your tastes. Of course they have Ice Cream Cones too.
Each creation,has a menu with preferred different ingrediations.
Mine was Vanilla with Tart Fresh Cherries, some Carmel, Chocolate, accompanied by Whipped Cream,and a White Chocolate Candy. I added the Flat White Coffee.
I returned home with my Greek Yogurt then later that evening went to De Meerpaal Seafood Restaurant for Salmon Dinner and a "Seafood Parfait" appetizer with Smoked Salmon, Dutch Eel, Dutch little flavorful Shrimp, and a Shrimp Croquete. The plate had Ceramic Shellfish as decoration...
Ferrari parked out front...never did check the menu prices.
Another table was served a Plate warmer, then replaced the plates with a pot of Steamed Mussels. Never saw a plate warmer at a table before.
A very nice meal, good but not as Special as I expected with such a beautiful Restaurant and a nice full menu. No fresh fish specials of the day like 4 or 5 that Taylor's had everyday. I know most of the seafood now comes from farms and not the selection or the quality of wild caught. The ocean has become hot, ascidic, polluted, and dececrated. Climate Crisis will be the end of what we know as Earth.
Sunday morning! Another cold and wet day but I'm becoming used to it and carrying an umbrella wherever I go. I didn't go out My kitchen has a Chandelier...another whimsical Dutch thing.
I have never been to a Skin Shop...at least not like this.
Notice the brick sidewalks but also the brick roads that the Trams , buses, bikes, and cars use.
The streets are such a pleasure to stroll down! Flowers. herbs, plants, and trees...but stay off the bike paths or be very careful.
Follow the red brick road....
I want to eat in all of these unique looking restaurants with such "real" good food.
Why are these photos different? One with Zoom, One without.
I recognized the Chef getting off his bike after shopping. I made a reservation with him for tomorrow. He leaves his bike with his stuff, no problem. Restaurants and businesses leave everything outside all night. Rainy nights they cover the stuff or pull in under an awning. Not all of them but no one seems to worry about theft.
An Art store with all the outside covered with painted art.
No Golden Arches at this McDonalds...beautiful building.
A Non-Alcohol Liqour Store....World of Nix
I lived next door to that Cat for a month last year and did the same thing...Loved watching people go by.
Candy, Chocolate, Pastries, Cakes and Ice Cream are popular.
Favorite Creperie around the corner...and down the alley.
This is a really odd name for a clothing store? Japanese?
Returned to Nolitas...2 pizzas in one month!
I love a Toy Store
 |
| A nice Old Folks home...wish I had a place like this when the time comes. |
Windows decorated with Dead Dried Flowers and Herbs.
Must have been a Nunnery
I want to eat in all these restaurants and check out all the unique shops I pass.
Today I visited "Martha's" Greek Restaurant after spending most of the day trying to get to the Kueller-Muller Van Gogh Exhibit in Otterlo. By 2 pm I was still a long way off so reversed course and returned to Haarlem where I saw a notice for the train museum. Then I went to Zandvoort for dinner.
This is a 10 ft tall bike! I saw it at the bus station where I also saw my bus drive away without me, so I came home.
Chicken in a Creme and Cheese Sauce.
Wednesday I took a trip to Amsterdam for a bit. I had lunch at an old favorite, Wok "Away" except they have increased to 10 times the size and moved across the street but with the same cooked to order Wok food that is quality and fresh.
Famous Art Deco Theater, recently cut back in size and now gives Art Deco tours of the theater. Very special place.
Amsterdam's premiere Phallic Symbol.
Haarlem's waiting room at the train station.
I saw this ad for the Train Museum...so decided to visit tomorrow before dinner at BastinJan's.
I left early and went right to Haarlem's Train Museum. Had a fantastic dinner later that afternoon. Busy fun day.
Nice Stopper or center of the Shade...love to see it lit?
Nice Bouquet...for who?
Open bathroom with Men and Women sharing the sinks and mirrors but seperate stalls.
Not used to late night hours...and have no need. Dad used to say : "If your out after Midnight...you are up to NO GOOD. He should know, but everything changed when he met my mother! He was right and I found out the hard way.
Well, I didn't give up on the Van Gogh exhibit and bought another ticket for Friday. Up at 6:30 am and at the train station for the 7:20 am to Amsterdam Central.
745 departure
Train.. Adam 815Train..Utrecht 930
Bus..Ede 1015
Bus..Otterlo 11
Bus..KMuseum 1130
Bus..Otterlo 2
Bus..Ede 230
Bus. Utrecht 3
Train..Adam 415
Train..Haarlem 5
Bus ...Zandvoort 5:15.... all for 2.5 hours at the museum. If it was sunny, I would have spent more time outside in the Sculpture Gardens and the Park.
Two Picasso's Paintings...Top/Bottom
This is the beginning of the scheduled time for the Van Gogh exhibit. So popular they only allow so many people on a schedule for the day. I think they allowed too many. Had to get in line to see each painting...well not each but many.
One of his many Self Portraits...wonder what he saw in each?
This was the last painting I photographed. I didn't get ALL but maybe 70%.
The top of this "Mushroom" rotates around.
Double Deck Bus...I got top front but no windshield wipers.
Notice the bike paths on both sides of the road. The canal runs along side of the road too. The right side is for the buses, but blocked because they were triming the trees overhead. This bus took me to the Utrecht train station with 24 platforms! I got the train to Amsterdam...then transfered to the Haarlem train. This was Friday and the roads were packed with traffic and the train with over 9 cars with double decks were packed. Standing room only in between the rows of seats, at the entrance/exits, on the stairs and when we arrived in Haarlem they announced a problem with the train and everyone in all 9 cars had to exit and wait for another train. Never saw it that busy. I was taking the bus to Zandvoort with little wait. The bus station is in the center of town so I went right to my Thai Restaurant for a Curry Dish. I only had a left over Salmon and Cucumber sandwich around 10 am for breakfast...that is ALL I had all day..and that was a left over from the day before. Long tiring rainy, cold , windy day.
Today I did more packing and the landlord stopped by to offer me a ride to the airport Monday morning. Turns out he works there so it was very convienient. For the money I paid to rent this place I should have a chauffer. I did appreciate it.
I returned to the Thai restaurant for another Curry dish...so good. Sunday I have to take my suitcase to Amsterdam where Sanna will store it at her home and save me around $200 for 15 days at the airport storage.
Fish Cakes...and Shrimp Curry dish.
The Zandvoort Emblem of 3 fishes is on all the lamp Posts too. Zandvoort is Branded! Amsterdam's "Brand" is XXXX
Boxer, practicing at the Basketball court but NO Opponent. He was in a Championship match with himself.
Maybe I'll buy one of these apartments. Around 330,000 Euro. I could come in the warm weather and maybe rent it the rest of the time if I can find someone like me to endure cold weather.Off to Amsterdam. I bought a ticket on line to get to Amsterdam where I could add euros to my train pass. When I went to activate it at the terminal, the ticket checker did not register my ticket, but since I had a copy to show the conductor if necessary, I got on the train and off at Amsterdam, but I had to go through the turnstyle with my train card only and don't have enough to trip the turn style so I can not leave the train station. I went to a KIOSK manager in search of a ticket counter. She left the Kiosk and went out into the plaza to direct me to the style and then used her card to get it open. I then added $50 in cash at the ticket station. Whew that was close.
Now I took the TRam to Admiral stop and found an open place with good food so ordered a small vegetarian salad with Humus, Avocado, Pickled Cabbage, Pumpkin seeds, etc. I texted Sanna and she came to the restaurant, told me to finish my meal and she would put my suitcase in her apartment and return.
It is so nice to see and visit with Sanna. We had a nice lunch at Cooks, where we had our dinner last week. I had a Wild Mushrooms in Vol-e-Vent pastry with light creme/wine sauce? Good. Sanna had the xpresso and I a coffee. Very nice visit. We walked to the TRAM stop and she waited with me.
I switched to the train to Zandvoort and was on my way in 2 minutes.
Home now and all packed, time for a shower and early bed.
Big day tomorrow. I will send this post with 100 photos now.
Enjoy...see you in Malta.
Wasted Day. I wanted to see the Van Gogh exhibit but getting there was a problem:
Please Help? I bought a ticket yesterday but leaving from Zandvoort I was late so took the bus that was leaving for Amsterdam but it ended at Bus station not train. I took a tram to the closest train station and took a train to Central Station. I was told to go to track 4b to catch train to Ede but did not see it listed on departing or next train. I looked up schedules but decided to go to Arnhem instead. (another option). I got the train and arrived . I found bus 108 and the driver said it would be another 15 minutes but he was done and left. He told me I had to catch it at the departure terminal a short distance. I waited then saw the new driver get in the bus and drove away to the hyway and was gone. I saw the bus schedule posted but no bus 108 listed so had no idea when it would be back. It was almost two o'clock so I took the train back to Zandvoort and called it quits. Can I use the ticket another day? I had a scheduled time for the Van Gogh but I was an hour plus late getting out of the house and had not even got to the roundabout to catch bus 106 to the Museum. Thank you
Reply.."You have to go to Ticketmaster and find out...they handle that. Their reply: NO.
~2.jpg)
