Netherlands

(Kimberly: we thought of you CONSTANTLY while here! And sorry for such a long post...I promised you I wouldn't do this, and look at me. The rest of them will be brief, promise!)

Hello! We're in between a quick trip change over. I think it may be a challenge adjusting back to the schedule at home...anyway, this past week we decided to split up a bit. Michael stayed in London with my mom (Nanny) and his Uncle Mark. He had lots of time to play soldiers, play in the park, play music, play chess and gobble up big tasty breakfasts at the local pub and 99 Flake ice-cream cones (that's soft serve vanilla dairy creamy ice-cream with a Cadbury's 99 Flake candy bar stuck in the side, DELICIOUS!); while Anna and I headed for Amsterdam. What a treat to be just the two traveling girls for a few days! In consideration of our tight travel budget, and in the interest of trying to be the most fuel efficient, we decided to take the night bus from London (11 hours) instead of the 40 minute plane journey. That experience was worth the trip alone: we had two polar opposite bus drivers, the first outbound being sweet, gentle, calm, kind, young, humorous and a very good driver, and the second inbound being gruff, rude, loud, mean, scary and a horribly bouncy driver. The first man was so wonderful that Anna, and she was especially taken with his devout, but quiet prayers as we all cleared passport control at Dover, suggested we leave the present on his seat that we had brought from London for friends we were visiting in the Netherlands. The second driver, on the other hand, caused me to write a letter of complaint to the company. You would not believe the swearing and cursing we heard!

Other interesting aspects of the bus trip, besides comparison of personality types, was the trip on the channel tunnel one way and the ferry the other - Anna had fun hanging out with the teenagers on the buses in front of us in the Chunnel. Sleeping was tough, and we are super thankful my mom provided blankets for us as we ran out the door. The best parts, though, were the long conversations Anna and I had for the hours we were sitting next to each other. Some really powerful and interesting sharing, and I grew to love and appreciate my daughter at yet new levels and depth. Ok, that may seem like quite a lot of blog space to a couple of bus trips, but getting on at 7pm and off at 6 am provides quite a significant experience - bus rides to Amsterdam and back one never forgets.

We arrived in Amsterdam at 5:45 am - two hours early, and much earlier than the trams start or any cafe/tourist office is open. So we found a map of the city on a wall (since I hadn't brought one, traveling kinda blind on this trip, but it's the Netherlands, how hard could it be?!), and we saw that the Anne Frank house wasn't going to be that far of a walk. Our friend had suggested that we go there first as it gets very crowded, and we were traveling with one small bag, so off we went. Amsterdam is usually a pretty place, but early Saturday morning while the litter is still being picked up from Friday night it's really not so attractive. I was hoping we'd run into some sort of early opening cafe, or maybe even a McDonalds?!, but no luck. We needed somewhere to eat, rest for a couple of hours and eat. I realized that Anna needed to go to the toilet, so I spied down a small canal street what looked like an awning to a small hotel. We went in and I tried to look as presentable as possible (not easy after 11 hours on a bus, wearing clothes that probably won't even make it home...) and asked if we could pay to join their buffet for hotel guests. I expected them to say 'yes', but at a cost...to my surprise they said 'yes' and charged a ridiculously small fee for a HUGE buffet. Perfect! And we were just one canal and a bridge to the museum.

Despite getting to the Anne Frank House thirty minutes before it opened, there was a long line forming. They wouldn't let our luggage in, so I left Anna in line while I raced back to the station to deposit the small bag - ugh! But, on the way, as I was running through the Dam Square I noticed the big fancy hotel, half the distance back to the train station. Again, I made myself as presentable as possible - this time with a little more effort because this was a fancy place, and asked if I could leave my luggage with the concierge. Yeah! Saved myself a long run and 20 minutes! And it was free! Anna was just about to enter the museum when I returned, huffing and puffing, and I managed to regain some composure before entering this truly remarkable museum.

The guidebook at the museum suggests it takes about 60 minutes to tour the house, but we took two and half hours...it was that good. Anna had just finished reading the diary this spring, and knew about everything we walked by and could touch. Everybody needs to visit this moving exhibit: it describes one of the most monstrous of human events, and more powerfully the endless depth of human courage, kindness and generosity, and insightfulness that Anne and her father embodied. At the end, Harvard University had put together an interactive exhibit on current world affairs and human rights that we consider inalienable (speech, assembly, religion, privacy, etc.), and the dilemmas we face when one group's rights infringe on another's. Tough questions, difficult answers. I couldn't get Anna out of there.

We walked from there to the Van Gogh museum, winding our way through the canals, now all bustling with people, bikes, trams, cars. We were very fortunate here for there was a special exhibit on Van Gogh's personal challenge to paint the night sky, to capture the brilliance and imagination of the stars. In addition to all the wonderful and beautiful paintings this museum always has on display (the sunflowers, bedrooms, wheat fields), Starry Night was also here, loaned from the MOMA in New York City! And so many other amazing paintings from all over the world, brought together just this summer. Not just Van Gogh, but Renoir, Cezanne, Gauguin, too!

We had to whip through here though, so it was kind of a blur of brilliant swirls of color, because we were meeting our dear friends in the Leidseplein Square. Our neighbors from when we lived in Tokyo have moved back to the Netherlands and were so generous to drive in from their village to spend the day with us in Amsterdam and take us back to their house for the weekend. Peter and Sophie have had a baby sister born in the four years since we have seen them, and Naomi was a huge hit with Anna, and vice versa. Sophie and Peter do not speak much English anymore, and so that was a bit of a challenge for the kids, but not being able to verbally communicate didn't bother little Sophie at all! It was great fun to walk through the canal streets with the Blomjous' and they took us to the little secret square, Bagihnhof, that you enter through what looks like the front door of house, but when you go through you enter this sweet, beautiful square that has been there for hundreds and hundreds of years. It was the haven of devout Catholic women, even after the protestant church took over in the city. We followed this with a canal boat tour, on which poor Anna slept off and on through - she was such a trooper and kept looking up to see some interesting 17th century building or statue or bridge when I elbowed her hard enough.

On the way back to Velp, our friends' village just a few kilometres from the German border to the east, we stopped in another small village, Loren, for dinner - the Dutch way: small pancakes called poffertjes. I have never tasted anything like these: the alchemy that these were put together with defies anything I've ever tried. An unbelievable combination of flour and eggs, butter and sugar, I couldn't get enough, and they were just small enough to keep popping in my mouth! Even with washing them down with big glasses of milk, it was not the healthiest dinner, but without a doubt the most delicious I've ever had. And the whole restaurant we were in was set up in the village park temporarily for the summer; hard wood floors, curtains, cast iron stoves and chandeliers, everything!

When we arrived in Velp we took an evening walk around the beautiful neighborhood, complete with thatched houses, streams and bridges, a pond, ducks, neighbors strolling out too, and had a fun late night catching up the past few years. We reminisced about life in Tokyo, all the things we miss, and managed to skype with Bill so all four of us could be 'together' again. The next day the glorious weather held for yet another day, and I was teasing Erik how Holland is like a grown up Disneyland where the houses are adorable and the sun is always shining. Jolanda and Erik took us too the national open air museum in Arnhem. I think this is the world's best and most interesting museum, and it didn't hurt that this weekend was blessed with sun, sun, sun!

Since the 1920's, buildings from all over the country have been moved to the constantly growing museum as examples of rural, village and city life in the Netherlands over the past few hundred years. There is something here for everybody, no matter their age or interests. Anna drew water from a well, carried it over her shoulder, did archery, learned about early 20th century health care, windmills, and the Dutch predilection for collections. The playgrounds were awesome (poor Michael missed out!) and the food great. We went home exhausted, but Erik still had the energy to take me out on a driving tour of the local national park, and up a hill! A big tall hill in the Netherlands, full of heather, overlooking Germany! What a pretty surprise.

And onto the next day, and another one full of sunshine. Almost felt like I was home, except for all the vibrant flowers and greenery and brightly painted benches and bicycles. Anna and I walked with Jolanda to take Sophie and Peter to school, and then with Naomi to her preschool.Naomi held Anna's hand the whole way. They are such sweet children, it was sad to say goodbye, but hopefully it won't be for such a long time this time. Jolanda hoisted two bikes out of the garage and sent Anna and I off on a bike tour of the village, and I showed Anna many of the places the Erik had driven me to (minus going up the hill...) We went by the castle, the post office, the pretty houses with their flagpoles, swings and thatched rooves. Upon returning we went with Jolanda then to the shops for some pastries and the newspapers I was bringing back for my Dutch speaking brother - a meager 'thank you' for taking care of Michael for the weekend. After indulging in some rich coffee and apple pastry, we were off to see a little of the city of Arnhem before catching the train back to Amsterdam. Arnhem is a busy city with everything a city should have: lots of shops, big and small, many cafes, fountains for little children to play in on a hot day, an interesting medieval cathedral sporting a spire that looks oddly art deco (waaaaaaay ahead of their time up here in the Netherlands), and a thriving arts community that supports many galleries, fashion houses and theatre. Just walking around for an hour or so we got quite a taste of its vibrancy. Also, I broke down and purchased really colorful panniers for my bike back at home because I had become so enchanted by all the colorful bikes around me here.

Jolanda helped us get on the train bound for Amsterdam. We had some last minute shopping to do here; I wanted to find a Dutch creche (nativity set) to add to my collection from around the world (53 and growing!) and Anna wanted to try some more of the automatic food dispenser machines at Febo that we had on our first day for lunch. Very yummy veal and potato croquettes pop right out of the window, hot and steamy. We found ourselves with a final few hours to relax in the Leidseplain having a sandwich and a drink before heading back to the bus station for that looooong ride back to London.

France

Ok, a little bit of travel fatigue coming on now, kinda would like to take a quick week's vacation from our vacation back home in Los Altos.....But, sipping a cafe au lait in a leafy Parisien square in the late afternoon and catching the sun's setting walking across Waterloo Bridge with London outlined in the twilight a few hours later can't really be beat, so we continue to enjoy all of this while we can. We are more than half way through our trip, 11 weeks gone and only 7 more to go. I'm dreading this wonderful time being over, yet will definitely be happy to be home when that time comes. And I can hardly moan about the last four days spent in Paris.

We crossed London with Bill last Monday on the Tube, and left him to continue on to Heathrow while we stopped off at St. Pancras station to catch the Eurostar train to Paris. Just over two hours later we were walking out of the Gare de Nord heading for our little two star hotel. After taking turns using the tiny, ancient lift up to the 5th floor of the narrow building, we frowned a bit at the small double bed we were going to share for three days, but delighted as we took the the four steps across the room to see the view of the Sacre Cour and Eiffel Tower from our balcony if we just leaned out enough at just the right angle. We dumped our bags and rushed out to catch a bus that took us past the Arch de Triumphe to the Eiffel Tower. We joined all the tourists snapping away trying to catch the symbol of Paris from every possible angle, and the sun was setting - so pretty. Then we walked across the Seine to go all the way up to the top, and we got caught in a downpour. That fast, the rain just poured down. On the downside we were DRENCHED, on the upside the the only place to take cover was a crepe kiosk so we were wet but licking our fingers. And the quick rain shower chased away all the lesser tourists so the crowd was minimal jostling around on the small platforms of the tower's various levels. Despite the frigid wind and our damp clothes I made the kids stay up at the top till the twinkling lights of Paris appeared: I was not going to go through all that and pay the exorbitant fee to get to the top of the Eiffel Tower and miss that romantic view, even if it was with two whiny kids. The most amazing thing about the tower? - there is a toilet on the top level. I made the kids go to the bathroom, and stay a good long time so they could keep warm in order to hear them whine a little less. It seemed to work, and no emergencey potty breaks needed while we took the late night metro back to our hotel.

The next day were up early to catch the train to Vernon, and from there rented bicycles to take us through the village and countryside to Monet's home at Giverny. This was my dream, has been for years, and I was determined to make it out there. I apologized to Anna and Michael ahead of time for humoring me in this excursion, but to my joy they were overjoyed with Monet's home and gardens. We stayed much longer than I expected and had a delicious lunch in the village on the way back to catch our train. Back in Paris we had enough time to take an early evening walk around Montemarte, starting with the climb to the Sacre Cour. There was so much to take in: the high school students from at least six different countries, the musicians, the view, the kitsch sellers, the drunks, the beggers, the lovers, the Basilica itself. Michael insisted we had to get some bread and meat and have a picnic on the lawn that cascades down the hill. It turned out to be a great idea, and while there we remembered it was Harlowe's birthday so we phoned her and sang a rousing, loud rendition of 'Happy Birthday' that stopped all activity around us and we looked up to realize that one of the big high school groups (from Holland maybe?) was gawking at us screaming down the phone to Harlowe. Anna turned bright red, nothing like an embarrassed twelved year old!

After this late night I really had to drag the children out of bed for the busiest day of all: Ile de Cite, Notre Dame, Saint Chapelle, Louvre, Tulieries, Orangerie (all walking...), and then we went to meet our dear friends and one of Anna's best buddies from Cambridge, Elois and his family. Marine (Elois' mom and one of my best buddies from when we lived in Cambridge) took us to an amazing phenonomen of French playgrounds where the kids can climb all over the trees in a huge forest. After snapping on a climbing belt and taking a quick 10 minute lesson, Anna, Elois and Michael were off climbing ladders, zooming on ziplines, walking across wires and bridges between the trees - maybe 20 or more feet up in the air. Why can't we have playgrounds like this in the United States? There was so much freedom, confidence, trust, responsibility. exhileration for these children! Back at the Massoulie's home all of the children became absorbed in the worldwide child's virtual playground of Wii, followed by a wonderful dinner with their family, and we helped celebrate daughter Brun's 9th birthday. I had an especially great time enjoying delicious wine and catching up with Laurent and Marine.

I had to let everyone sleep in the next morning, we had been going and going straight on for days now. We had our morning croissants and took a leisurely walk to Gustave Moreau's house and gallery where we all learned a lot about Symbolism and this interesting painter's life. One of those small, little-known Paris museums that is an absolute gem. Anna had had enough of art museums by the time we left there, though, so we embarrassedly skipped the Musee d' Orsay and Anna chose to go to the Gallery of Decorative Arts instead. Michael and I waited patiently while Anna spent longer in there than I've ever know her to walk around a museum - definitely up her alley, all those design elements!

On our way to catch the train back to London, we stopped at a cafe for one last coffee and croque monsieur. Michael had to get a chocolate croissant again because they were 'so fluffy, every bite flakes in your mouth!" Bill had told him to try the crepes and chocolate croissants and he now believes Bill has the inside information on all the best food in the world.

Michael goes to my mom's and brother's in London today for a week's stay, while Anna and I head to Amsterdam in a few hours by bus and ferry. We're experiencing every form of travel to the continent, except perhaps for swimming or air ballooning!

Spain

We're back from Spain, and while that country will always impress and provide loads of enjoyable experiences, the best part of the last 7 days has been seeing Harlowe. Before we flew to Zaragoza we were joined by Bill and had a really fun few days in Upminster and Cambridge playing with him and showing him our favorite places. We had a game of freeze tag in Upminster Park and Bill taught Michael how to punt on the River Cam - always a good skill to develop! We were amazed he could maneuver the heavy, long pole and simultaneously not slip off the punt and into the river, all the time avoiding the other boats full of tourists.

After seeing Harlowe at the airport, and meeting her Spanish parents (Carlos and Sol) and her sister (Irene) the highlights included Harlowe's tour of Zaragoza, three days hiking in the Pyrenees, visiting medieval castles and towns, a trip to Pamplona, lots of shopping for Spanish fashions and lots and lots of delicious food tasting. Oh, and the whole thing started off early Sunday morning with Bill, Harlowe, Carlos and I running the Zaragoza 5K, raising money for water projects in Africa.

In Zaragoza we walked all over, along the River Ebro, through the Plaza de Pilar and into the famous Basilica. The city was full of classical musicians playing in the streets and we stopped to listen to Vivaldi's 4 Seasons. We saw posters of what looked an awful lot like Barack Obama advertising furniture.....lucky for some Spanish model who now has many job opportunities! We also saw loads and loads of identical red bikes lined up everywhere, and Harlowe explained that the city provides these to cut down on traffic and bicycle theft. Every night a truck drives around to redistribute them, a very clever system.

When Harlowe had to return to school on Monday we drove a few hours north into the Pyrenees and found ourselves in Castejon de Sos, a sweet little town in the Hidden Valley just a few kilometres from the French border. We walked and played and enjoyed the incredible views and friendly people. Bill went on a hike with Carlos and his friend Jose Ramon, one of 200 people who still speak Patues, an ancient dialect of the region. Jose Ramon is a farmer in the valley and Bill learned so much about the natural and human history of the area. On the way back to Zaragoza we saw field after field of endless red poppies, and stopped at the thousand year old castle of Loarre, supposedly the best preserved Romanesque fortress in Europe.

We took Harlowe out of school one day to spend the day with the whole family in Pamplona. We walked the narrow roads of the running of the bulls, but didn't see any fortunately - except for Michael who obliged us by pretending so Harlowe and I could feel the energy of the summer's Fiesta de San Fermin and the Running of the Bulls. We walked through lots of history here, from the Gothic cathedral, to the city's walls built to withstand the Moors and later Napolean, and all the way to the bars of Hemingway.

We all tried new foods, but we were especially proud of Anna who discovered she loves mussels! Good thing we were running and hiking a lot because it balanced somewhat the huge amounts of tapas, wine, churros con chocolate, Serrano ham, etc. etc. we enjoyed each day. Harlowe took us to her favorite kebab place and Anna, Michael and I were delighted to taste the Spanish version of this Turkish dish we had come to love. Back in Zaragoza Harlowe welcomed Anna to her school for a morning, and Anna loved this; she got to feel very teenager-y and meet many of Harlowe's friends. They went out to get a morning croissant together on a break from classes. Very different from 6th grade at Santa Rita!

During our time here Harlowe continually amazed us with her maturity and expertise in speaking and undertanding Spanish - she goes quickly and uses that cute Spanish accent with the 'th'. Bill and I have been a little worried about her, and not so sure we were the most responsible parents sending her off to some big European city for 6 months. Next week she turns 16, and we definitely have nothing to worry about; she is a lovely, friendly, confident, educated and thoughtful young woman (well, maybe still a little worrying....parents' pregorative I guess). In very large part this growth in Harlowe is due to her Spanish family welcoming her so wholeheartedly into their home and hearts and taking such good care of her. Thank you Sol, Carlos and Irene!!



This has been a glorious week full of new places, new family, and of course the warmth of being surrounded with the energy and love of the five of us being together again. Seeing the joy of Harlowe, Anna and Michael rush into each other's arms at the Zaragoza airport and hearing the laughter all week from all of us playing together has been wonderful, but I've also been reminded of where and when I'm happiest: in those quiet early morning hours just after the sun's rise, as the house (or hotel room) slowly wakes up and Bill and I can just lay cuddling and chatting, getting ready for our day. This is my favorite place, and I've missed it. Now Bill is flying back to California and we're off to Paris; Anna, Michael and Harlowe will miss Daddy and I will miss my Honey till we're all together again at the end of June.

England #3

Hello from London.....still. We've been continuing to have a great time in England. Our friend Michelle and her son (who so generously have invited us to use their home here as our home in England) have returned from their big two month trip abroad, and Michael and Anna have had so much fun playing with them. Spring is definitely a treat this year in England, the flowers and blossoms popping up everywhere have been amazing, and each morning the air is delicious as I've gone on my early runs through the local parks. Every time Anna walks outside she takes a big whiff and sighs, "the air just always smells so good in England." And the butter, milk and bread taste different, the chocolate is creamy, and the grass is always greener.... We went on a lovely picnic in the old Essex village of South Weald to go see the forest full of bluebells, those ephemeral joys of spring. Michael climbed every tree imaginable, while I tried to pull my heart from my throat seeing him up at dizzying heights.

We have had quite a lot of fun with cousins: one night we attended my cousin's daughter's surprise 30th birthday party with a full disco. It took Anna awhile, but she eventually really let loose on the dance floor and Michael surprised us by actually enjoying being twirled around by my cousin and me while the lights flashed all over the room. Later in the evening, when the moonless sky was good and dark, they joined all the other children out on the cricket pitch (we were at a sports club) playing 40-40 till late hours, running and screaming with exhilaration for hours. It was hard to drag them away from this new game they had learned. The next day found us with my other cousins in Kent for a delicious barbecue on a gloriously sunny day. I chatted happily with my cousin, uncle and aunt, while Anna and Michael jumped on the trampoline with Jasmine and Olivia.

Many of you may know that for months I've had a small challenge with sleeping through the night; I was hoping that the time change of being overseas would knock it out, but no luck. While in England I thought I'd give acupuncture a go. It is a very respected adjunct to western standard techniques here, and actually used in the NHS as prescribed medical treatment. I can't say it's solved everything and that I'm sleeping like a baby (whatever that has ever meant!), but I do think it's shifting things a bit. At the least it's rather interesting to get poked by 30 or so needles every few days!

Also while we've been continuing to engage in the community around us in Upminster (out on the very furthest eastern edge of London), Michael and Anna were invited to share their music with the local pre-school. Last week they spent about 45 minutes playing for 20 4 year olds, talking to them about their instruments, how they practice, how long they've been playing, and letting the young students try out playing the harp and guitar a bit. It was very cute to see the younger children all wide-eyed, and so heart-warming to watch Anna and Michael share so patiently and enthusiastically their love for their music. Michael was very shy at first, but really warmed up as he showed each little one how to strum his guitar.

Our trips into central London have taken us to: museums like Dr. Samuel Johnson's house, where under great duress, but also great obedience, Anna and Michael humored me by dressing up in the wardrobe of period clothes they provided- (Johnson compiled the first respected dictionary of the English language in the 18th century. Some of it is very funny, and shows the feelings of his time: 'Oats, a grain which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland is used to support people.'), the theater (Anna chose 'Romeo and Juliet' at the Shakespearean Globe Theater, while Michael chose 'The Lion King'; it was nice to spend some time alone with each of them and to chat about the performances), back to the Tate Gallery because Anna can never get enough of that place, onto the old buses on which you can hop on the back still - only two routes left and we know them now! and even bowling in a 1950's style alley built into the basement of a 1700's house near the British Museum!

And, of course, we had to get back to our favorite place of all: Cambridge. We had a lovely Bank Holiday Monday (in honor of May Day the Friday before) enjoying a roast lamb dinner (read lunch for all you non-English out there) and spending the day with our friends the Raffs. After such a big, delicious meal we went for a long walk around the nearby college, and returned from the hour out in the crisp air to lots of tea and toast with Marmite - a new taste for Anna!

On the frustrating side of things, my old computer was on its last legs and the Apple store here wanted at least £200 to fix it! Poor Anna has her harp cd caught in there still. However, with the help of Michelle's academic discount I am now the proud owner of a new Mac Book, and it even has a camera so when we Skype with friends and family they can actually see us too! (my computer was oooold!)

Tonight excitement is mounting around here because tomorrow Daddy arrives! Bill will be with us for 11 days, and we are all going to Spain to visit Harlowe and meet her Spanish family. We haven't seen her since mid-January so we can't wait to all be one whole family in the same time zone again, at least for a little while. And I think our eldest daughter may need some reigning in a bit....