It’s a small world…Special night out!
Sweet Restaurant that is so locally popular the tourist don’t get in! We scored! There’s a thumping base and the staff naturally count the beat with a swivel step, a snapping finger or an all out twist… Mark is certain the Dutch are tall because they need to keep their head above sea level… Ha ha More tonight on blog. But phone is D Y I N G And the couple next of us… Grew up on Black Beach road in West Falmouth… (Only in my life… would I go to Amsterdam on a random Tuesday and meet townies) I know you’re wondering… Yes Of course I gave Them My Business Card❤️👍
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With half of the Netherlands sitting a meter (3 feet) above sea level, and Amsterdam itself built on clay, the foundation of the city is a major feat of engineering!
That off size champion sweatshirt in Orange? Huh?I had the inside scoop.
My friends, Moira and Hal live in Amsterdam, so when I told them I’d be in country for Hal’s birthday 4/27 they reminded me that date is “Kings Day”! An exuberant Moira said “you must wear orange!” Leave it to Hal… he would share a birthday with the Dutch King! Mark found these off market-wrong sized Job lot sweatshirts for $10 a piece. I mean honestly, orange on Cape Cod means you’re a hunter, a life guard, or you’re working traffic duty on Route 151. So Mark purchased 2. But then I called Marcy… and suddenly there were 4 or maybe 5…. Then there were 7 and before long there were 14! I was scurrying to Job Lots on and off Cape to find the right sizes. I was a woman on a mission…. Sadly, I ended up special ordering the smaller sizes… What? The snowball effect… yet my embroidery queen appreciated a bigger order than only 4…. Denise has known me longer than most and she is the best embroiderer I know! But setting her machine for a batch smaller than 10 is just silly! So 14 folk received sweat shirts to celebrate the Dutch King! I will wear mine on Kings Day in Amsterdam! You will see me in the sea of Orange… however after this trip, I will walk the dogs during hunting season in this limited edition sweatshirt! I suspect some of my entrepreneurial friends will sell theirs on Kings Day for a premium … and this limited edition shirt will see many more Dutch celebrations! All because orange is the color, Mark found a terrific price at Job Lot, Sea Shore Embroidery gave me the long life love price on the logo! And Voila! Here you have our limited edition Kings Day Sweatshirts! #blessed We are at it again. This time back to Amsterdam for another crack at the Netherlands. The last time we were there we encounter driving sideways rain on our bikes. We are hoping for less water more tulips! We are meeting 20 of our friends and a few new friends for this bike trip!
While I am there I will meet with the Sotheby’s agent I’ve referred to my friend to list her Amsterdam home. Our wonderful friend Marcy has created an amazing tour while in Amsterdam. We will see Anne Franks home and the Keukenhof gardens! yet as I pack so much is going on… my life is blowing up as it always does right before I board a plane! Stay tuned! Leboat-Canada
I have to laugh at the name of this boat rental company only because I owned a Le Car Renault in college. Some of my readers will remember this story. It was a cool blue roller skate of a car with a soft roof… so I could open it like a sunroof. One night at Fitchburg State (in my day, it was FSC) some drunk college neighbors in the middle of the night lifted my Le Car and Rolled her down Myrtle Ave. My room mate Chuck helped me “right side up her”… in the morning two blocks from home. One of the doors would never open again…it was like driving a crushed soda can…. Then weeks later, I came home one afternoon after class and Chuck had taken white paint, crossed off “car” on both sides of the “Le Car” And wrote in “Dent”. So my senior year we drove around in “Le Dent”… often climbing in and out of the roof to access. A true clown car. I think of this now as I sign over a hefty security deposit on a floating luxury hotel for a week of touring the UNESCO world site, the Rideau Canal. We are not boaters. Can I repeat this? We love our friends who have boats… but we are not boaters. I wonder if “Le Dent”will look good on the side of this Horizon3 #31 and if our security will cover our lack of seaworthy experience! Stay tuned! We set out with the hotel pedal bikes on an afternoon adventure through the Killarney National Park. We are bicycle enthusiasts after all… we didn’t count on getting lost! we meandered the 25,000 acres enjoying the estate of the Muckross family who, in 1938, bequeathed the land as a National Park. It’s so very special. We intended to visit the palace, the gardens, the Abby and the Torc waterfall over an hour and half cycle… but we took a wrong turn. Sure we got to explore all those cool places but we found ourselves on deserted trails in the back woods with no cell/internet on bikes with rickety tires…thinking “this could be bad!”. We even lead some other tourists a stray because we were so confident we weren’t loss! I look at these photos and think… sure we look smiley happy but we were sopping wet from sweat and getting increasingly irritable! Ha ha We saw the whole park. We returned the bikes an hour and a half late. We figured if we never returned the bikes The hotel would send in help… but eventually I turned on “map my ride” and gps got us safely home with a story to tell after a shower and a Guinness!
St Brigid Holy sight! I knelt and scooped some holy water…I got dirty but I’ve got holy knees to prove it!
I circled her statue 5 times saying prayers as instructed. It took a good bit of time and by the 4th time round I was running low on prayers… so know you are ALL covered by St Brigid She is patroness of many things, including poetry, learning, healing, protection, blacksmithing, livestock and dairy production. The saint shares her name with a Celtic goddess. Brigid's feast day is 1 February! Brigid is celebrated for her generosity to the poor. In her case, most of the miracles associated with her relate to healing and household tasks usually attributed to women. Nell, will you bless my water when I’m home? Tim the butcher (72 years of age) comes in around noon having worked on the sheep since 6:30 am, he tips his hat and says to Dennis the Bar Man at Laurels on Main Street Killarney, “when does happy hour start, Dennis?
Dennis replies “the minute you walk back out the door happy hour begins!” they have a good ‘crack’ (laugh) then Tim sits next to us. He opens up his paper and says to Dennis “give me a blonde in a black dress, now would you man?” We are curious. Dennis plops a Guinness down in front of the butcher Tim. He looks up from under his specs and says to us “she’s the only gurl I can handle at my age as he takes a long draw on his beer!” we smile. We hit the jackpot for bar neighbors! Oh the stories! What fun! Intuitive. That’s John. He’s an empath of sorts. He feels things deeply. John was our “trap and pony” driver. He and his horse “Boots” took 3 of us up the winding 7.5 mile single file road through the Gap of Dunloe.
it’s a slow go. John jumped off the carriage and walked 3 of the miles ..,then Fran, then Mark… less weight meant less strain on this magnificent beast working so hard to navigate the hairpin turns. it was spiritual. Imagine being a “trap” guide? You have signed on for a 2 hour walk /ride with 3 perfect strangers and you’d better have something to say. john was not at a loss. He shared about his life in the Black Valley. He shares how in his life time he’s seen the population go from hundreds to 40 people. He’s renovated his grandparents home and found a century old “smokers chimney” in the walls. He suspects it was for smoking fish and chicken. It’s now a closet feature in his daughters room. he talked about Electricity coming to the black valley in 1976 and the school closed recently due to lack of children. It’s not an easy life-The Black Valley yet it is an easy life. his daughters (both) are athletes. Competitive athletes. One daughter is living in Chicago playing soccer. She made him proud the last time they spoke. She said “Da, I’m beginning to understand your manner of sarcasm”… he said what do you mean? “Well someone asked if I spoke German because Ma is German. And I said of course I do… “. So the man asked so your Da must speak German to? And I said, hell no, my father hasn’t spoken to my mother in years…”. John laughed with pride … even if it’s not true… his daughter made people laugh… he raises horses, sheep and sheep dogs. He and Mark shared stories of dog training and farm life. john..,.he gave up tourism for 3 years and then his brother called him back into service. He only does two days a week. If you’re lucky enough to have John for a 7 .5 mile pony and trap -then you’re lucky enough Dux. Donald, but call him Dux. Born in 1989 this 5th generation boat man is a prophet.
A man raised in nature with the heart of a steward and the soul of a countryman. He adores his country, his county, his fiberglass boat…he is a conservationist. DUX spoke of his father with deep pride. Dad was the last generation to row 12 tourists on these waters over 3 hours… Dux appreciates his motor. Dux sports tattoos and piercings and has a laugh that lights up all of us. He loves to travel and therefore reveres we on the boat as kindred spirits. he shared stories of invasive rhododendrons, a massive fire that ruined the mountains ecology, and the introduction of eagles back into the National park. He spoke of lock down and his “walk about”. He passed his phone around to share photos of his discoveries. When asked how did you climb that mountain … “the legs can do it , the head gets in the way”! “it’s true”, he said “the trouble is always in your head.” a prophet. |
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