Flew into Schipol. Trained into Central AMS. Hoofed it directly over to Bird Thai for dinner while we waited for Sugar to get home ... We couldn't wedge into the Snackbar, no room at all, but we were able to wait in line at the Restaurant across the street ... very encouraged by the number of Thais dining there.
Started off with 2 bowls of Tam Yum Gai ... we were unwilling to say it was better than the same at the Siam Orchid in PRG, but it was fantastic / different ... more tomatos and mushrooms, not quite as spicy, but full of Thai flavors, lime leaf, basil, lemon grass, et al.
Mrs had some sort of seafood salad ... great and too much ... we took half home with us ...
I had Paeneng Kai ... maybe the best of all time ... the biggest surprise was the lychee fruit ... AWESOME!
The next day we walked around with Sugar, saw these buildings on the way, hadn't noticed them before... they lean out, to make it easier to haul stuff up to the upper floor apartments . . . but these aren't even the tallest buildings on the block? Weird looking, anyway . . .
Mrs had a list: first we bought a brolly (couldn't bring one on the plane), a big black one sturdy enough for windy days; then we scoped out where we could get a swiffer (unknown and unavailable in PRG), to actually buy later so we didn't have to carry it around all day; then to a toy store to look for a portable scrabble in English (no luck); by an antique book store to look for Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut ... Mrs wanted to re-visit the story since she hadn't realized that V. was actually in Dresden during the bombing till I told her while we were in Dresden. The charming proprietor directed us upstairs to where the vonnegut would be "if its there" ... it was, plus Wampeters, Foma, & Karasses . . . we bought both, then went back down where Sugar was hunting according to her Iphone list -- what a dangerous development: if she goes into a bookstore she has at her fingertips a compleat list of the books on her wishlist, instead of my way, which is trying to remember and just browsing: so she got 8 books. This is her to-read shelf, now ... a depressively Herculean challenge ...
Then to PGC Hajenius for Cuban cigars... you can get Cubans in PRG, but the Dutch attention to details in maintenance of the walk-in humidor -- and the awesome selection -- makes this a better source ... first time in, I pointed to a shelf and asked "Are all these Cubans?" and the store manager said, "No." and waved his arm at the room, "These are ALL Cuban." ... 8^D ...
Then we went over to Di Bijenkorf department store, wandered around there for a while, long enough that we decided to eat there in the food court ... maybe because of this desert case on the ground floor
... just a nibble for lunch ... to leave room for dinner. A total madhouse, of course, but the food was much better than expected . . . no picture, but Mrs & I split a tuna salad sandwich with a hard-boiled egg on it.
So dinner that night for Restaurant Week was at Singl ... a prie fixe, 3 course dinner -- but we mostly got something different.
Starters included Cod Ceviche, Beef Carpaccio, and BlackBean Terrine.
Main course for Mrs & me was SeaBream on Ratatouille -- is it a coincidence this is the best picture we took all week? Maybe not: it was the best thing all week we ate . . . 8^) . . .
Sugar got a Vegetarian Burrito
Desserts were Apple Torts or Berries & Cream
a very fine place, very urbane...
Walking home, on the fringe of the Red Light District, we passed the Condomerie, y'know, like a chocolaterie, only, er, uh, condoms ... hm, I guess making safe sex fun is a noble calling but judging by the crowds of people outside the store looking in, they may have crossed the line . . . 8^D . . .
That night, Sugar played a couple of episodes of Extras with Ricky Gervais. What cringe-inducing laugh-riot. Life-changing . . . Are you having a laugh?
The next day we started off to a little coffee-shop for some petite dejeuner . . . around the corner from her apt, I had to photo this street-art ... again, in the category, I just post 'em, I don't explain 'em ...
so, a simple nosh: toasties, OJ, cappacino ... I mean you GOT to have a toastie in AMS! . . .
After brekky, we trekked past this statue of Spinoza, who knew?
His house in Rijksburg still stands and is open as a museum . . . his Estudio . . .hmmpf ... add that to your study of interesting book shelves!
then later, by this artificial forest . . .
We were on our way to the FOAM, a photography gallery. Kathy is so into photography this was a first choice . . . she hadn't been in a while . . . I have such mixed feelings about photography . . . that is it IS an undeniable skill, but does it rise to the level of Art? there is so much that is just poignant journalism or fashion porn . . .
most photography exhibits just seem so derivative to me . . .but I have come to believe "that all art is "found" art, but also that you have to be looking", so photography should be in that category . .. but . . . on and on, in a circle . . . so then went to see the Matisse Exhibit at the Hermitage Annex . . .that is, it's a major Art Museum, but it just has the leftovers from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg Russia . . . Wow . . . what an eye-popping exhibit . . . we gotta go to St Petersburg next summer . . . there was one place in the museum where we could overlook the first room where most of the major matisses were, and The Red Room was hanging on the wall opposite . . . it was so imposing and impossibly beautiful even from 20 meters away . . . it's huge, tho', 180 x 220 cm. . .
The name of the exhibit was Mattisse to Malevich (the second of which we had never seen, but apparently he was doing Rothko before Rothko . . . this painting, Black Square was the end of the show . . . just as it is apparently supposed to be the end of Art . . . 8^D . . .
So, next we found the shopping district, and Sugar saw a pair of shoes in the window she had to try on ...
this is the way she looked going to work Monday in her new shoes ... this is great but I would have liked to have gotten a picture of her riding her bike to work that way!
Dinner this night was on a boat. The Supperclub it's called. There were two levels to the dining area. The lower level, that was done all up in white leather, and the upper level, that was done up all in black leather -- nothing but huge couches with trays for tables . . . we had to kick off our shoes and clamber over the backrest of the giant couch to take our seat, oriental style, you could call it. There wasnt quite enough room to stretch out, but you could flex your legs ever once in a while if you needed to.
First course was a little salmon tartar salad. Nuthin wrong wid dat.
Then there was an optional soup, mushroom, very nice ... Sugar assured me that tho' it was served in a Cup o' Soup mug, it was not Cup o'soup.
the main was an ok, but nuthin-to-write-home-about ... doh! ...
Dessert was ice cream and a merringue fleur floating in cold cherry soup
sorry, the Dresden Carousel Restaurant's cold cherry soup with sour cream ice cream was better.
So, between the 2nd & 3rd course, this guy started walking in and around the diners sprawled all over these massive couches . . . I guess in AMS it's haut humore to have a transvestite bank robber handing out prizes, but it was a little nervy to us . . .
He gave the guy next t o me a pack of used playing cards. I got nuthin'. Mrs got this newspaper clipping . . .
Get it? Stoned in Amsterdam?
The next morning sugar went to work and we fiddled about. We walked along a street we had been on before . . . where I had seen this sign
and this street art . . . if the dang workers would close the doors I could get a better (wider) shot, but they seemed indifferent to my & culture's needs:
We we went over to the Van Gogh Museum to relive some favorites . . . we saw Potato Eaters, Sunflowers, Irises, et al, but our favorite was the Yellow House...
After the museum we wanted some split Peas soup from Moedders, which comes highly recommended. NOTE: Not Open On Monday. . . which was a terrible disappointment to us, because on the map it didn't look so far, but actually, walking, along the footpath shared with bicyclists was not a stroll, but rather a series of dashes from cover to cover, to the irritable ting-ting warnings of the cyclists speeding by. At one wide spot in the path, I saw this droll bust.
and at some point, just high up on a wall on the street, of some ancient meaning, perhaps?
but from Moedders we took the first tram that was headed back to the CBD, we got off near the Central Station and walked sorta back toward the Bird . . . I think for 2c we would have squeezed in to the Bird Snack Bar by force and eaten there, but we were passing some hotel that had Split Pea on the menu right there on the street so we ducked in there, instead.
hmmm. cold bacon on french bread to go with it. Well, it was excellent.
Then we found a deli and stocked up for a picnic on the train and went back to Sugar's to pack up for the trip home to PRG . . . I smoked a cuban and drank some armagnac . . . out of proper sequence vis a' vis dinner, y'know, but when you're travelling Continentally, one must make do with what one must make do . . . if you know what I mean . . . but then quelle surprise' . . . kathy showed up with a Sushi Delivery . . . 8^D . . .
being from PRG we are agog at the cultural advancement of a society that provides Sushi Delivery.
We were thrilled by the train ride . . . not that there was any excitement . . . only that it was as roomy & clean & cordial & easy as we could have hoped.
The conductor/conceierge genially made us comfortable in our private (for 2) compartment (not DeLux) we popped in the thumb drive with our episodes of Extras and drank beer & champagne catered by our c/c . . . I hoped we did not disturb our fellow passengers with our cackling and hooting at the uncomfortable hilarity of Ricky Gervais. After a couple of episodes we even broke out our picnic lunch from the deli and snacked and watch the rest.
After the last of the wine & tv shows, Mrs went to sleep and I climbed up into m own berth to read for awhile -- Vonnegut's Wampeters, Foma, & Granfalloons -- I'd forgotten how fundamental to my weltanshauung not only Vonnegut, but this particular book was.
Arrived PRG 1 hour late . . . NBG.
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