From pedaling to Paris!

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us!” – Oscar Ntuli

We are staying very close to Jardin des Plantes – colorful garden, lined with museums.
We particularly liked these blue morning glories.
One of our goals on this day was to see this lovely pathway. Promenade Planteé – a 2.5 mile walkway, much of it high above the streets on a former railway viaduct. Built in 1993 – The 1st of it’s kind in the world. NYC has their “High Line” completed in 2014.
I found this to be fascinating – do you see the “statues” at the top of this building? They are representative of Michelangelo’s Slaves (Enslaves) – there will be a test later.
But see the misshapen triangles cut out of his back? This enables some light to get through to the balconies the figures surround.
Pére Lachaise Cemetery is a must see. Enclosed by a massive wall and lined with 5,000 trees – peaceful and car free. Opened in 1804, 100 acres, “population” 70,000 – tightly crammed together.
Many famous people reside here, such as Gioacchino Rossini (1792 – 1868) who composed the William Tell Overture a.k.a. the Lone Ranger theme.
Frederic Chopin (1810 – 1849). A muse sorrows atop the tomb, and a carved relief of Chopin in profile captures the delicate features of this young artist. The 21 year old Polish pianist arrived in Paris, fell in love with the city, and never returned to his homeland. Hmmm, easy to imagine 😊
A cartoonist for the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Tignous was one of 12 people assassinated by terrorists at the magazine’s office in January 2015.
Jim Morrison (1943 – 1971) Perhaps the most visited tomb in the cemetery belongs to this American rock star — lead singer for the Doors, named for the “Doors of Perception” they aimed to open. In the wee hours of July 3, he died in his bathtub at age 27, officially of a heart attack, but likely from an overdose. Jim’s friends approached Pére Lachaise Cemetery about burying the famous rock star there, per his wishes. The director refused to admit him, until they mentioned that Jim was a writer. “A writer?” he said, and found a spot.
Oscar Wilde (1854 – 1900) The writer and martyr to the gay community is mourned by “outcast men” (as the inscription on his tombstone reads).

Gouda, Netherlands (I’ve heard the Dutch say “hoe da”, “who da”, “how da” and, I swear -“ yoda”)

“People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

Gouda is celebrating 750 years as a town!
Their town hall is in the center of the square, built in the 16th century.
Complete with it’s very own glockenspiel.
Typical street scene.
Love this old Dutch building but you may be surprised by what’s on the first floor…
Yup, a little disturbing to me!
We’re staying in a very beautiful, old château and we’ve been storing our bikes overnight in the chapel.
And FINALLY we have good bikes. This is our last town in the Netherlands and we obtained bikes that have a few gears (3) and hand brakes. We have been pedaling bikes for the last week or so that simply did not coast. Either we constantly rotated our wheels or the bike stops. It’s so nice to have comfortable rides!
While riding through the countryside of Gouda I spotted this piece of “art” – no wait, I spotted a man hanging up clothes – no wait, I spotted a chicken helping with the laundry. You can be the judge as to what first caught my attention.
Very pretty scenery in every direction. Our heads swiveling back and forth as we ride along. So much to see – so much beauty.
Sigh – so serene.
So stuff happens when you’re riding rented bikes – while going along the polders Murph had a flat tire. (I know Casey, we DO have a lot of tire problems.) We were about 10 miles from Gouda and along comes another guardian angel – John! After attempting to pump up the tire we realized it was a valve problem. So, the guys loaded the bike into John’s car and he drove me back to the rental shop. Meanwhile, Murph rode my bike back. Once we were all together John said tot ziens (goodbye) and a bike exchange was made. Murph and I headed back out for another enjoyable afternoon. Once again we realize that people everywhere are pretty much the same – very lovely and anxious to lend a hand!
Can’t get enough of these pastoral views.
Art imitating life!

And picturesque towns to visit.

We think maybe all the water in the farmer’s fields make it even more beautiful.
Well, look what we found out in the middle of nowhere! Think we should support the locals?
But, of course!
The end of a lovely day.

Oooooo Utrecht!

“Jobs fill your pocket. Adventures fill your soul.” Jaimie Lyn Beatty

On our bike ride out to Breukelen we saw gorgeous pear orchards. When the Dutch settled New Amsterdam (New York City) they named part of it Brooklyn.
Family fun!
Just like home – a flea market.
When you only pack carry on luggage the temptation to buy things is just about non existent.
The “end of summer” block party.
When I took this pic I thought the house boat looked scary but now it just looks quirky!
That evening this was the restaurant we decided on.
Chose an aassortment of dishes to share. We were not disappointed. So good!
In the town center of Utrecht many of the retail shops are on the street level, in old mansions. And down below, along the canal, is where many restaurants are located. Boats float by the candlelit scene.
Sunday morning the town felt entirely different. Quiet and serene.
At first I thought this was a sculpture, but in reality it was created by nature.
There’s some fun art around the city – like this flying saucer perched on a building.
Or this teapot atop a parking structure.
This long colourful (nod to Nathan & Alison) building is where our hotel was located.
Being a golfer, Murph just had to step off the long hallway on the way to our room – 146 yards – a 6 iron for him. (a nod to Roy, John, Casey, Brittany, Dan, Laurie and anyone else out there that “get” this) More like a driver for me 😊

Utrecht (ooo trekt)

Always say yes to new adventures

I found this draw bridge fascinating, in that, instead of one side lifting up on an angle, the road lifts straight up. We saw a rather low boat go under it and they barely had to lift the bridge at all. Seems more efficient.
Lots of trains go in and out of Utrecht every hour, every day.
So it was understandable that sometimes we had to go over the tracks!
All that heavy lifting makes a person hungry so we shared a cone of frites. Soooo good 😊
I especially liked the flowers at their bustling market.
When we went out for dinner that evening we passed the train station again. Very vibrant & pretty!
Chose a Turkish place for dinner.
Patiently waiting for our dinner.
A vegetarian tagine over saffron rice for me – really worth the time it took to prepare.

The restaurants with their lights along the canal reflect such a beautiful ambience at night.

Utrecht – pretty and gritty

We left the quiet, small villages to come to this bustling city of buses, bikes & over a half a million people.
So, we packed up this morning and walked to the train station where we hopped a train to Utrecht. Got to our hotel around 11 am and our room won’t be ready until around 3. We find the bike rental and obtain some pretty crappy bikes. Very tall, very heavy and no gears. But hey, they have hand brakes! My lovely partner has a saying “it’s always cooler on your bike” – he has said it for years. While riding along on this 90° day, sure enough – it feels like it could be 89°

I have to admit we did see some cool things – like these White Storks
And these pretty rooftops
And this picturesque windmill

And some thought provoking graffiti. So all in all a very good day! ☺️

Nuthin’ but Netherlands

“Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.”

Pretty as a picture.
If you live on a canal, you pretty much have to have a boat!
Even the smallest of homes.
Delivering fruits & veggies in the neighborhood.
I would be helplessly lost without this guy (figuratively & literally). Every night he maps out our route for the next day.
This was such a beautiful path – except when bikers were coming toward us – then it felt like a game of chicken. I wanted to close my eyes when they got close but thought better of that!
GOATS!!! (It’s a private joke, you know who you are) 😊
For all of my fellow yogis – I miss y’all 🙏🏻

Quintessential Holland

After arriving in Weesp we biked along the canal.
Windmills everywhere – and we never get tired of seeing them.
While biking through the countryside we spotted these two little girls grooming horses. They’d brought a small plastic case with them, which contained various brushes. Quite focused on the job at hand and VERY cute!
Typical bike path
After all the biking, dipping our feet in the lake felt great,
and a gelato didn’t hurt either!
Riding through town I spotted this laid back kitty.
Back “home” and on our way to dinner.

From prison cell #233

Just to satisfy everyone’s curiosity:

Our room is approximately 21’ x 21’ – so pretty luxurious.
We think we’re in a wing where the guards resided(?). Where the cells were, every other door has a room number. So we’re guessing each hotel room is comprised of 2 cells. The building was a prison from 1884 to 2012 and the hotel opened in 2021 so they took several years to renovate.

Biking the countryside

“Traveling beyond your vicinity is crucial to gain the exposure to the world at large” – Oscar Ntuli

While biking through the country side we realized our bike tires were a bit low. As we pulled into a town, I spotted this giant cabbage.
While I was taking the pic a local came up to me and said, “You both should be in the photo!”
He then asked if we’d been in the museum and began to explain the “unique facade”. Turns out that hundreds of years ago this entire area was comprised of 15,000 islands and each island was a small vegetable farm. On market day people came by boat to bargain for their food. The facade is an aerial representation of this area prior to the channels being filled in.
We exchanged pleasantries and asked Johann where we might find a bike shop. He started to tell us where to go and then he said “Or, I live just over there. Follow me and I’ll use my pump.” We talked about parenthood and politics and then said our good byes.
As we headed out of town we spotted this field of cabbage, bordered by beautiful wildflowers!

A quick word of advise from my fellow photographer, Murph – “It’s way better to view these photos on a computer or tablet rather than your phone!”