06.21.06
Posted in Vacations and Trips at 9:14 pm by mathagat
An Eye Full of London
Matt and I began our first day in London with coffee! We finally found large coffees and we were so happy. It turns out that there is a Starbucks right on the corner across from the flat. So, after a very pleasant start to our day Matt and I headed straight for the London Eye. The weather was cool and clear so we thought it would be a great time to see the view of London from above –way above! The eye is 443 feet high and allows you to see 25 miles. The flight lasts 30 minutes. The experience was a treat; Matt and I had purchased a view guide and were able to use this to identify all of the major sights of London. I was even able to pick out Harrods from across the city – I guess that’s as close as I’ll get on this trip. Big Bend, Westminster Abby, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul’s cathedral, and St. James Park were some of our favorite sights.
After our sky-high view of the city Matt and I headed over to the Tower of London. The Tower of London is the ancient fortress founded by William the Conquer. Within the walls of the castle Anne Boleyn was executed. The tower, which is actually an entire fortress for the Royal family with the tower in the center, is a full day attraction. There is so much to see. Matt and I started with a tour of the medieval palace; the kings of England when in residence used this part of the Tower. After touring the palace Matt and I moved over to the White Tower, which is the oldest medieval building at the Tower of London. The tower now houses the Royal Armories’ collection, telling the story of the building, as well as of arms and armor at the towers. Touring this building took a large chunk of time – I only regretted that Matt did not have another male to talk war with. We ended our time at the Tower with a trip through the jewel house. During this tour we were able to see the Treasury where the Crown Jewels are held. The tour was nice but I was hoping for more information on each of the crowns. How much do they weigh? How often are they worn? How many carats? How many jewels? So many questions for the Royal family, I guess I’ll have to do some Internet research!
Matt and I realized we were starving after touring the Tower. We had missed lunch and set to find some traditional fish and chips. The Anchor restaurant, which is located on the south bank of the River Thames, had just what we were looking for. Matt and I sat outside on the terrace, admired the river and enjoyed our meal. It was the perfect close to our sight seeing day.
After returning to the flat we settled in to watch the Netherlands play Argentina in the world cup match. Hup Holland! We’re definitely rooting for the orange! Tomorrow we’ll gather up all our things and head back to the United States. Matt and I have had a wonderful honeymoon and start to our married life. We have managed to get our passport stamped twice and are looking forward to getting back. Thanks for following along in our journey. We’ll continue to post as we make the move to California and tour the West coast. Keep in touch we will blog often. Until Then!
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06.20.06
Posted in Vacations and Trips at 9:08 pm by mathagat
It was a bitter sweet morning for matt and I as we packed our bags and said good bye to Amsterdam and our home away from home the Hotel Torren. We set out for the airport and caught our flight for London. After a nice 45-minute flight Matt and I set food in the United Kingdom. It was such a nice sight to see everything in English again. We had terrific instructions from Ronny on how to catch the train to Victoria Station and grab a cab to the flat. Upon our arrival at the flat we were greeted with an apartment full of banners and confetti congratulating the newly weds. Ronny’s flat made had decorated every surface for us. It was such a warm welcome.
Matt and I were eager to see London so we set out on foot. Our first sight was the huge Ferris wheel – The London Eye. Our instinct was to jump on the Eye and get a great view of the city. But, unfortunately the line was much too long so we decided to keep walking. Down the street, over the River Thames Matt and I came upon the most gorgeous sight Big Bend and the parliament buildings. It was beautiful, never have I seen a more ornate building. There is so much detail in each inch of the exterior of the parliament buildings. It has to be such a treat to admire this building on a daily basis. The British parliament is still in session so tourists are not allowed in the building but I do hear that if you visit while they are on holiday the building is a must see. Matt and I have it on our list for our next trip to London. After admiring Big Bend Matt and I walked over to Westminster Abby. We admired the Abby from the outside for quite a while; there is gorgeous stain glass over the doors to the sanctuary. We did not have enough time to tour the inside but having the opportunity to see the outside was a great experience. Buckingham Palace was our next stop. Matt and I enjoyed walking around the palace gates and admiring the palace guards. It is hard to imagine that the royal family actually uses the palace. I would love to see the inside and perhaps share a spot of tea with the Queen – think she’d be willing??? We took the time to tour the Royal Mews, where we were able to admire all the lovely royal stagecoaches and tour the royal stables. The Royal Mews is responsible for all road travel arrangements for the Queen and members of the Royal Family. One of the stagecoaches was the Gold State Coach, which was has been used at every coronation since that of George IV in 1821! It was quite a glitzy ride. I wonder if they made one now they would make it in platinum? My favorite part of the tour was seeing that the Mews staff lives on sight –right at the palace! It is very much a family oriented business.
After touring the Mews we toured the Queens gallery. The gallery consisted of all the paintings and furniture that has been collected by Queen Elizabeth and other Royalty. In addition to enjoying the beautiful paintings and amazing furniture we enjoyed seeing some of the royal jewels. Talk about diamonds! Bling Bling! The Queens diamond Diadem from 1820 was on display. I couldn’t help but wonder how many carats. Do you think they’d let me try it on???
After our walking tour of London we headed back to the flat in order to get ready for dinner. Matt and I had made plans to have dinner with one of Ronny’s colleges. We met Piet-Hein and Giovana right outside the Shell tower and took a cab to a restaurant near the Tower Bridge, right on the south bank of the River Thames. We were so honored to spend the evening with this lovely couple. We enjoyed a wonderful Italian mean and terrific conversation. Piet-Hein and Giovana have lived in London for over a year and served as terrific tour guides for the evening. They even presented Matt and I with a wonderful coffee table book of London so that we would be able to remember our trip. I can’t wait to get settled in Cali so that we can put the book on our coffee table. After dinner we walked from the restaurant along the bank of the river. This provided an amazing view of the Tower Bridge at night. The bridge consists of two towers, which stand on each side of the drawbridge. The Tower Bridge leads over the river to the Tower of London.
After a wonderful start to our London experience Matt and I said goodnight to our evening hosts and returned to the flat. Tomorrow will be our only full day in London – we’re hoping to make the most of it. Until Then!
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06.19.06
Posted in Vacations and Trips at 4:06 pm by mathagat
Today was our last day in Amsterdam. Matt and I enjoyed a nice leisurely day. Our day did not begin until after 12:00 after not returning back in from Bruges until 2:30AM we chose to sleep in a little after our busy day. After we woke we set out to find lunch. We scored with the spot we found. Matt and I had both brought our books and enjoyed spending time in the café reading and eating. It was a terrific start to our day. We sat inside this quaint Dutch restaurant admiring the dark wood walls and stain glass windows.
After lunch we returned to the hotel Toren. I enjoyed spending time sitting on the bench by the canal just outside our hotel reading our books. It was a cool day but the warm sun and the sound of the canal boats whizzing by were a terrific background to my reading. I even enjoyed a lazy Monday afternoon nap while Matt worked on our photos.
I had a major sweet tooth by dinnertime and talked Matt into heading out for some sweet pancakes. It was amazing! My favorite dish by far I enjoyed an apple, cinnamon, and whipped cream pancake that was out of this world. Clearly a dessert but absolutely delicious. And Matt fell in love with the idea of pear ice cream. He had a vanilla ice cream Sunday with pear, almonds and chocolate sauce. We decided that we would have to use our new ice cream maker to try out or own pear ice cream recipe.
Now we are coming down off our sugar highs and getting ready to head to London. We leave early in the morning to see the Queen. So, in the words of Joey from Friends – LONDON BABY!!! Until then.
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Posted in Vacations and Trips at 11:10 am by mathagat
See more of Bruge – start at the yellow train toward the bottom of the thumbnails
Burges really was beautiful! Matt and I started our day with a quest for a large coffee. We hadn’t gotten to bed until late the night before and started our day early. It’s funny, here they only have very small coffee, no Starbucks or IHOP endless coffee. As we walked to the train station we stopped at every shop looking for the biggest cup of coffee we could find. Unfortunately we did not find anything bigger than a small, so we settled for it and boarded the train. The ride to Bruges was nice and peaceful. I managed to sleep through the first hour and half. Matt’s shoulder was the perfect pillow while he enjoyed the scenery and taking pictures. We had to switch trains in Antwerp, a small town just inside the Belgium border. The train station was beautiful but we only had 3 minutes to switch trains, not much time to look around.
We arrived in Bruges and set out on our sightseeing mission. Of course I had made a list of all the sights we wanted to see and things we wanted to do. How could we not have an itinerary??? Our first stop right in the center of town was the market square. In the square is the bell tower, which has stood over the square since 1300. It was an amazing sight to see and we enjoyed the music of the bells every 15 minutes. Matt and I debated climbing the 350 steps to the top of the tower for some great pics but decided that we might really regret the decision about step number 200. After admiring the bell tower we set out to find the Basilica of the Holy Blood. The church was built in 1150 by a crusader to house the drops of Christ’s blood he brought back from Jerusalem. The church was beautiful with elaborate paintings and alters. Matt took the opportunity to touch the relic. It is housed in a clear crystal tube and is closely watched by an attendant – notice the chain held cautiously. Matt did not have any life changing revelations from touching the relic but we did enjoy the peacefulness and beauty that the church offered.
After the Basilica we worked our way through the small streets of Bruges. Bruges is famous for it’s lace and chocolate. Along the way to our next stop we enjoyed browsing in both of these stores. There was some amazing lacework in many of these shops I loved looking at all the delicate handkerchiefs, infant dresses and tablecloths. I wanted so badly to buy new dresses for our nieces, Emma and Morgan. They would have looked like little Belgian princesses. But we refrained. Sorry girls. After all the shopping and walking I had developed a sweet tooth. Just breathing the air in one of the chocolate shops must be at least 1,000 calories. It is the chocoholics dream. So, I talked Matt into stopping for a piece of chocolate. I enjoyed a milk chocolate piece with caramel on the inside while Matt savored a whip cream and liquor filled piece. They were both very good. After the sugar rush we were set to visit our next site.
The Church of our Lady is the home of the only Michelangelo statue to leave Italy. The Madonna and Child is housed in this gothic church. The church must have the highest ceilings of any church I have ever been it and the most beautifully ornate carved wooden pulpit. Matt and I are plan to study into the history of our faith and the Catholic Church to gain a better understanding of the importance of each saint whose statues were placed so prominently around the church. Unfortunately none of the signs in this church were in English so we had a little trouble understanding the importance of each work.
After the church it was time for dinner. Matt and I had skipped lunch so that we could enjoy a wonderful Belgian dinner but we couldn’t eat before a trip by the famous Dumon Chocolate shop. The tiny chocolate shop is run by a very nice old woman who works with her who children to sell the smoothest and creamiest chocolate in all of Burges (perhaps we should introduce her to Paula Dean). There was quite a line to even enter the Dumon store but the experience was worth the waits. It was fun to listen to Madame Dumon interact with each of her visitors. She had to know exactly where her chocolates were going and what each buyer intended to do with them. She was pleased to hear that mine were coming to Texas. I also bought Matt and surprise of chocolate covered cherries. He ate one last night and said they were heavenly.
Finding a place to eat dinner in such a small town after all the shops have closed is not an easy feat. Matt and I spent quite a bit of time walking about trying to determine which Flemish restaurant we wanted to enjoy. Finally we chose a great restaurant right off the main square, which served three course meals at amazing prices. Since we had skipped lunch we were both hungry enough to eat a horse or rabbit, as Matt did! Yep that’s right, Matt enjoyed the traditional Flemish meal of stewed rabbit. Matt said it tasted like chicken. But it was a sight to see this poor little rabbit stewed up and on Matt’s plate. I was happy to stick to my chicken and frites (fries – everything comes with fries in Bruges).
After such a busy day Matt and I set off in search of the train station in hopes of finding our way home. After three train transfers we were finally back in good ole Amsterdam. It was a beautiful day in a wonderful city. Matt and I both agree that it is one of our favorite cities so far. Tomorrow is a lazy day – we’re going to catch up on rest, smoke some marijuana and prepare for our trip to London. Ok, just kidding about the marijuana! Until then…
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06.17.06
Posted in Vacations and Trips at 1:29 pm by mathagat
Waterlooplein Flea Market
After a semi-leisurely morning Matt and I set out towards Southeast Amsterdam, the home of the flower market, Waterlooplein flea market and Rembrandt’s house. On our way we stopped at a café for a terrific lunch. Matt had a wonderful sandwich of pastrami, white cabbage and horseradish sauce – it was amazing. I had an omelet with smoked salmon – aren’t you guys proud??? Me and fish! – I’m working on it. Matt and I once again enjoyed splitting our meal so that we could enjoy the best of both worlds. After lunch we walked through one of the shopping malls of Amsterdam – Magna Plaza. This is very much like an American shopping mall, many American brands at European prices. The Magna Plaza was originally the city’s post office, it is quite a beautiful building – nothing like the old Deerbrook.
After lunch we made our way past the flower market, again, and found the Waterlooplein flea market. The Waterlooplein has tons of cheap clothes, hippie stuff, old records, knickknacks and junk! Matt and I enjoyed walking up and down the rows and laughed at how many American items there were for sale. We could have bought our own Wendy’s hamburger t-shirt right here in Amsterdam!!! After the flea market we made our way around the corner to glance at the house where Rembrandt lived. We didn’t have the urge to pay the fee for the museum but it was nice to see the house from the outside.
After spending time in Southeast Amsterdam we made our way back towards the more central part of town while passing the Amsterdam opera house, the Nieuwmarket square and the Waag building. The Waag building was part of the main gate of the city’s eastern wall. It has quite a history including being an operating theater for med students where they could see a body dissected. Now it is a café – hummm just something about eating a sandwich where I know bodies were previously dissected! You be the judge but I’m going to eat elsewhere.
There were tons of tourists and locals out today which created very crowded streets. It was fun to see all the people who passed the time by cruising the canals on their boats. Matt and I have agreed that on our next visit to Amsterdam we’ll consider renting a boat for the day, what fun that would be! Our time in Amsterdam is coming to a close. We have Sunday and Monday left and then we’re on to London. Tomorrow we’ll make the trip to Brugge – finally! I can’t wait to taste the waffles and chocolate and to see the beautiful churches and lace. Until then!
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06.16.06
Posted in Vacations and Trips at 5:29 pm by mathagat
Draw Bridge
A Day in Delft
Matt and I changed our minds. We decided to go to Delft instead of Bruges yesterday due to the weather and the time. So, we set out with a leisurely walk to the train station, with stops along the way searching for coffee and juice and happened to find the breakfast of Matt’s dreams. He and I split a bagel of sour cream, salmon, and chives. It was delicious!!! Matt was very happy after such a great find.
After breakfast we arrived at the train station, bought tickets for Delft and got ready for the wonderful day ahead. Before we could board the train I had to use the water closet (restroom) and learned it was going to cost me .50 euros! I couldn’t believe that they were going to charge me for the toilet! I then learned that they will charge anywhere from .30 – 1.00 euro for a trip to the toilet!!! Who ever heard of such a thing??? One thing I have learned about Amsterdam is use the bathroom when you find one that’s free!
The train ride to Delft was wonderfully relaxing. I even took a nap on Matt’s shoulder while he took pictures of the amazing street art for Tom. We passed a traditional Dutch style windmill – that was a fun treat. The town of Delft was a terrific little town. We spent the first part of our trip looking for the tourism office – we needed a map! After passing the office several times we finally found it. Luckily there was a lot to see so we didn’t mind walking in circles. There were many markets set up in the town square. One was a flower market – my favorite. I wish a flower market would move in on our street in Cali, I would be in heaven!!! While in Delft we enjoyed seeing the old and new churches – what town in Europe doesn’t have an old and new church. Why don’t they get original like Delft UMC???? Matt had a great time taking photos of the picturesque town. He’s really loving his Nikon D70s. After a fun lunch and some fries with mayonnaise Matt and I set off for the walk to the Koninklijke Porceleyne Fles or for us Americans the Royal Delft porcelain factory. Here we learned how the famous Dutch blue porcelain is made. It was amazing to watch the whole entire process and to see an artist painting one of the pieces. Matt and I spent time ohhing and ahhing over the beautiful works they had in the showroom but unfortunately we are not rich enough to purchase my favorites! Maybe later in life. After the Delft factory we were ready to catch the train back to Amsterdam. It had been a great day but we were getting a little cold, damp and tired from all the rain and walking. Funny though how a bit of rain doesn’t even phase you when your in such an amazing place.
After coming back and warming up Matt and I got back out to find dinner. We enjoyed a terrific Thai meal in the neighborhood at “the best Thai restaurant in Amsterdamâ€. It has been a long day and our bellies are full. That means it is time for bed. Tomorrow we plan to have a leisurely day in Amsterdam. Perhaps we’ll make it to the flower market!!!! Maybe we’ll go every day! Until then.
A Lazy Day
Today Matt and I relaxed! We didn’t even get up until 11:00!!! That’s a late morning for me. We started off walking towards the museum district. We stopped for lunch in Leidseplein square, a bustling are with theaters, restaurants and cafes. We had some wonderful pancakes – which we learned are more like crepes – with ham and pineapple, and on the safe side, a club sandwich with chips. If we’re unsure about food, we usually get one thing that’s a bit crazy and one that’s safe and then just share both with each other.From there we walked to the Heineken brewery for the Heineken Experience. Wow! This was fun. We strongly recommend this be something that anyone who is here does. Especially when you take in to account the cost. For 10 euro, you take a very aesthetically pleasing, technologically advanced, informative tour with loads of interactive stuff. This tour made for some great pictures. It also came with 3 beer tokens each and a token for a free gift. Definitely a highlight of the trip thus far.We headed from Heineken back to the hotel by way of the flower market. There were some really beautiful tulips (of course!) and roses for really cheap. At some point, I’m going to let Matt buy me some flowers, but up till now, I’ve just wanted to smell them and not have to carry them around. I’m sure we’ll have some tulips for the room sometime before we move on.
We topped off the day with a picnic style dinner on the bed here in the hotel room. Some crackers with gouda cheese, fresh tomatoes from the market, olives and garlic, some sort of meat that tasted a lot like gourmet bologna and a wonderful Sicilian shiraz made for a romantic and delicious (and inexpensive) meal. Oh yeah, we also had leftover Thai food from last night and pancakes from lunch today to add in to the mix. Yummy!
Till next post, we’re out…g-nite!
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06.14.06
Posted in Vacations and Trips at 11:42 pm by mathagat
Park with Rijksmuseum in Background.
Hooray for our first full day of European fun! We started our day with coffee on the go as we walked the canals and streets of Amsterdam to the Rijks museum. The museum highlights the Dutch Masters – Vermeer, Steen, and Rembrandt to name a few.
This year Rembrandt celebrates his 400th birthday so it’s all about Rembrandt right now. Matt and I both noted that the portrait of the Prophet Jeremiah was our favorite painting. There was a large special exhibit of The Night Watchmen set up as well. It was very interesting to hear the history of Rembrandt’s painting.
After the Rijks Matt and I enjoyed a snack lunch on a park bench while listening to a wonderful street saxophone performer. While eating we noticed the Coster Diamond Center – a must for this newly married lady. We had to register our names when we walked in the door – I got to be Lindsey Hopkins on paper!!! At the end of the “tour†we had the opportunity to shop though their diamond store. I tired to convince Matt to get me earrings to match my other bling – it was tax-free after all, but I lost that battle.
Following the diamonds we went to the amazingly wonderful Vincent Van Gogh Museum. This was a great flashback through our childhood. Matt and I were able to see works of art that we had only seen in prints. Matt and I both loved Branches of an Almond Tree in Blossom – it was just beautiful! We had to get a print of it for ourselves.
After all of our museum fun we were due for our fist real meal of the day. Since it was raining and we were both starving we settled on noodles from Wok to Walk followed by Australian Waffle ice cream. Blue Bell has nothing on this Australian ice cream. They serve the ice cream next to a waffle and cover it with the toping of your choice. Delicious!!!!
Our final stop of the busy day was Anne Frank’s house. This was a very moving experiencing. They wouldn’t allow us to take pictures but let me just say that the books with pictures of their small space do not do it justice. This sight is must see
It has been another wonderful day. Tomorrow we’re heading out of Amsterdam to the picturesque town of Brugge about a two hour train ride from here, so check back for an update on a great new town. We can’t wait to share! 
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Posted in Vacations and Trips at 1:21 am by mathagat
Dinner at Cinema Paradiso
We had a terrific evening last night. It was our first official day in Amsterdam so we focused on learning the town. The city is beautiful, I was amazed by the number of people who drive their boats around the canals just like they were cars. I could definitely enjoy the “boaters life” Amsterdam has to offer. Dad, old Yellow would look like a new boat here – you should consider moving east – really east.
We managed to fit in a little sight seeing before it got too dark, along with a wonderful dinner. Matt and I began our sight seeing time with portions of the Amsterdam City Walk. We saw Dam Square, the national monument, the Royal Palace, a few churches and ventured into the risqué Red Light District. I am looking forward to our adventures today.
Here are some new photos from yesterday evening. If you click on the photo or the link below it, it takes you to the Honeymoon photo set on Flickr. There you can click through the photos, the newest ones are added after the photos from the previous posts. Read the description of the photos for a narration of the trip.
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06.13.06
Posted in Vacations and Trips at 7:44 am by mathagat
View From the Window
We’ve made it! We are in Amsterdam now and what a trip it was getting over here. Man, flying business class is plush! Those lounges were great to hang out in and the flights were even better. Forget coach, I don’t know if I could go back to that now!
Hotel Toren is awesome! They had some champagne for us when we arrived, and the room is very nice. Lindsey is taking a little nap right now. I’m about to wake her and we are going to head out for an early dinner. I think we’ll go visit the Red Light District tonight. Don’t expect to see any photos from that experience! We’ ve heard from everybody that they’re strict on the no photos policy. Can’t imagine why…
Click on the photo or the link below it for a few photos from the trip over here. We’ll post more in the coming days. Cheers!
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06.11.06
Posted in Family Events, Miscellaneous at 9:16 pm by mathagat
Our Wedding Weekend
Click the photo or the text link for a few photos from our wedding weekend. It really was like a fairytale.
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