After we went to bed last night we listened to the rain on the
skylight all night. We chose to delay our departure due to the
inclement weather and instead Joy and Mary chose to update our blogs
and photo logs! We so enjoyed our leisurely morning. Jeff, our
accountant worked on our finances as he is keeping up with who owes
whom. At noon we strolled to the van Gogh and Rijks museums which
are located close to each other. The line was way too long at the
van Gogh so we sat on a picnic table in the park where Mary and Joy
shared a chicken salad sandwich which was delicious and cheap. David
had a hot dog and Jeff continued to fast just for the day…not sure
why. David is a member of the Rijks through his bank, so we were
able to get in the fast lane and go to the head of the line paying
only 11 euros for all four of us when normally it would have cost us
11 each. It was Joy and Jeff’s first time and they really loved
it…especially the Rembrandts. It was pretty awesome to see the huge
“Night Watch” canvas. Of interest was the special exhibit of
Johannes Vermeer on loan for three months from the National Gallery
of Art in Washington DC. David then took us on a two hour walking
tour of the canal district, with cobble streets, bicycles, and trams
going every which way. The canals and the architecture of the
brownstones with their magnificent gables were explained expertly by
our own tour guide, David. Fascinating!

At the Western Church which is where the kings are crowned we were
intrigued by the Homomonument…three marble triangles. One of the
marble points dips into the Princes Canal…lovely.

Around the corner is the Anne Frank House where Jeff and Joy took the
tour. It was an unforgettable experience to see where 8 people lived
for 3 ½ years in that tiny space. Mary and David enjoyed sitting by
the canal watching the pleasure boats drift by.

The today’s disaster struck (we are hoping this will be our last)…Joy
tripped over a cobblestone coming out of the Anne Frank house and
fell flat on her face. Her knees are banged up again but it has not
slowed her down any. Sorry Jeff did not get the perfect photo.

We took the tram home as the afternoon rains came. This time Joy and
Jeff had umbrellas and by the time we got home, it was over. For
dinner we walked around the corner to Sardegna’s … a neighborhood
Italian restaurant. We celebrated the eve of Jeff’s birthday with
crepes complete with ice cream and figs for dessert following pizza
and ravioli. The Day boys presented us with Mother’s Day cards…they
sort of got their Sunday’s mixed up…but we loved being thought of in
that special way. Returning home we packed for our 14 day sojourn.
We motor to Berlin tomorrow.