Age 40...Accepted...Embraced...Celebrated....

Okay.....as most of you know...had a little difficulty turning 40.......

We had this grand 3-year plan that I was going to turn 40 in Italy and Piddle was going to turn 60!

Well.......as was our luck...or whatever...we had to return to the States...and some say that I may have turned 40 while I was there....however I refused to acknowledge this special occasion until I returned to Italy.....

Today....I acknowledged it! This is such a beautiful city.....that I think I have found a place to celebrate!

We will actually be celebrating all year in Italy...but this was truly the moment that I allowed myself to feel it! And I'm telling you 'younger' friends of mine......it feels pretty good!

Just a quick note as usual: If you are reading this from the top down...don't....this was my last post for Amsterdam....go down to the bottom and read your way up on the post titles....and as always...you can click on the picture to enlarge it....there are some beautiful places in this city.....

Before and After our Transformation

Okay...a little background....

In Amsterdam...everyone has a bicycle and everyone has a hat.....we noticed this right off....

This first picture is of us on the very first day we arrived.....

So.... we set about transforming ourselves into a bit more of a local and not a so much a tourist....

shopped shopped shopped...in all the little markets....every day....

Had great fun......

And finally you can see our finished product....

We felt very Amsterdam-'y'

May I Take Your Order?

Okay....Tell me....What the Hell would you order? Go ahead...click on the picture of the menu to enlarge it....recognize anything? Maybe a few words here and there right?

Well....this is about all we saw....but I can tell you that we didn't have one bad experience....maybe it was luck...or maybe they just have excellent food in Amsterdam...

I did discover mint tea while I was here....I know I know....maybe I should have discovered it before now in my life...I am 40 after all.....but I did discover it and absolutely love it....I have planted some mint in my herb garden at The Poggiolo....can't wait to drink my own mint tea!

I'll make you some when you get here!

Ah...and finally..The Red Light District

Okay...it's not as scary as you were thinking right?

Well...of course we visited during the day...wasn't sure I wanted to be there at night...so we braved it during the day....
You see the little red lights outside the buildings...well at night these glow red of course ...hence the name "Red Light District"....
It is open all day and night....day time...wasn't very busy....mostly tourists I think wanting to see the infamous Red Light District....
But we can say we were here!

What About Bob

Seems everywhere we went...they were talking about Bob......these are just a couple of pictures that I took....I usually didn't think about taking a picture....

Bob is very famous here..... :)

The truck says something like: "Our Bob Drives Already Your Empty Bottles"....of course this is loosely translated...I just put it into my translator and this is what popped out....what it actually means is anyone's guess......

I'm guessing Bob is the guy who picks up your recyclable bottles? ???????????

City of Bicycles

Bicycles are a way of life here.....I have about 47 thousand pictures...but once again...Piddle wouldn't let me post them all.......but I have put a few of the best ones depicting the atmosphere....

You know how we have "2-car families" in the States...well here most families have at least 2 bikes....

You don't see too many vehicles....not a lot of places to park...streets are very narrow....and just busy busy busy...parking for vehicles in the city is about $5 an hour to park.....

We loved sitting and just watching all walks of life whiz by on their bikes...businessmen, moms with kids, grandmas...you name it....we saw it......

We LOVED it!

Rembrandt, Van Gogh and a Little Culture

Although I am more fond of Van Gogh....most of these pictures are around the Rembrandt Corner....no matter where we went...we usually migrated back to this corner...it was our favorite for people watching, culture, history...bicycles...and everything else it seemed......

You'll also see the museum behind us....in Amsterdam there is a Van Gogh and a Rembrandt Museum as well as many others.....

You see the artist painting on the bridge...you see this kind of stuff all over the city...there is definitely a huge eclectic population here...... we loved it!!!!

Everywhere we went....there was culture................