Artis Zoo

Artis Zoo, Amsterdan:

I like the raccoons at the zoo, even though we have them in our backyards in California. I also like the 'fossa' because they bite, they are small and look like you can keep them in your house. -Sam

My favorite animals at the zoo today were the pygmy marmosets. I did not like the silk spiders because they were big and I don't like spiders. -Roan

Amy's favorite part of the day was her housekeeper Joyce make everything smell nice.. while the Furmanski's were gone. -Amy

Other moments in Amsterdam:

My favorite memories thus far are Ani and Roan making fondue with Amy!!! Ani and Amy having some girl time down by the dijk feeding the ducks. The wine. The kaas. All the cartoons that I'm used to seeing in English are now in Dutch. The cats. Amy's dinners. Henk's conversations and how he puts up with my weird sense of humor. The dryer vent. The way people in Holland are open to many topics such as Darwin and sexuality. Amy and Henk's cool espresso machine. -Monica

Teyler's Museum with Sam and Roan. Things I will miss about Amsterdam: Henk and Amy; cheese; Grolsch; the tram; girls in short skirts riding on bicycles. Window shopping in Central Amsterdam. All the bicycles. - Matt

**Thank you Amy and Henk for hosting us! We truly appreciate your thoughtfulness!! and tolerance for the "Furmanski Zoo"!!! We love you!

Beach day at Bloomendaal aan Zee

27 July 2009

Took the kids to Bloomendaal aan Zee yesterday (aka the beach). Henk and Amy rented a cabana on the beach where we were able to hang out, get some shade and food as well as play at the beach and the kids could dig in the sand. The North Sea wasn't as cold as we thought it might be so the kids all went for a swim. There were some waves and we saw surfers and kite surfers out. There are no "beach houses" in this part of Holland, only dunes and these seasonal restaurants. The restaurants are partially regular restaurants during the day and then at night they turn into discos. By the time we packed up and started to leave the party people started to filter in.

Amy and Henk introduced us to their friends Yvonne and Mark, they have two girls Mette and Emma. Ani was so happy to play with friends her age and despite the language barrier they were able to "sign" to each other. They had a great time and Ani wants to play with her friends again today. We visited with them at their amazing home in Osdorp, close to Henk and Amy's house, and enjoyed a wide variety of pizzas.

5 more days in Holland until we leave for Venice to meet the Reafsnyder Family.

Hamster-dam (Amsterdam)

Yes, Ani was a little disappointed at the apparent lack of cute fuzzy pets, but this quickly passed...

Just had a nice walk back from our visit to a windmill in nearby Sloten. Apparently, Sloten is where Rembrandt was born. We had a great tour by a retiree who really interacted with the kids and got them engaged into what the purpose of this windmill in particular is about. They got to try on some clogs and see how a windmill is used to move water from one level to another to keep land dry!

We are fortunate to be staying with an old Scripps College friend, Amy and her husband Henk. They are generously letting us stay with them at their home outside of central Amsterdam. It takes about 15 minutes by tram to get to central Amsterdam, so it’s very close and very convenient. We are spoiled by amazing dinners that Amy whips up accompanied by wonderful conversation. The kids are happy as they have some of the creature comforts such as a television and space to hang out and stretch their arms and legs. Ani has been enjoying feeding the ducks in the dike just off the terrace in Amy and Henk’s backyard. There are times when you can hear the cicadas sing along with a host of birds that I have never heard before. Everything is a lush green and the hydrangeas are blooming like mad, brilliant pinks and blue/violet. Last time I was in Holland it was early spring and cold as all heck! It’s nice to be here at this time with wonderful downpours of rain followed by warming sun.

We will be staying in Osdorp until August 1^st and have plenty of time to explore Holland. We have already visited Anne Frank Huis, Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Musuem. Other fieldtrips will be to Haarlem, Gouda, the “beach”, the Saturday market and back to Sloten to visit the local cheese farm mmmmmm…..

My favorite question from Roan came when we were looking at tourist T-shirts downtown, “Mom, why do they have marijuana leaves on so many of their shirts here?”

He opted to buy some Gouda cheese instead of a T-shirt.

we will always have Paris

I love our vacation and I like our hotel and I like going outside to play. I love the butterfly and they look beautiful and I love the sculpture of it. The butterfly is for Ms. Campbell because she likes butterflies. Ani

My favorite was the Mona Lisa and my other favorite is Liberty Leading the People about the French Revolution by the painter Gericault. Cold Play used it as their album cover. Roan

I really liked the paintings in the Louvre, especially all the ones on the ceilings. They must have been hard to paint and they are really detailed. Sam

Riding on the Metro (in Paris, not Berlin)

15 July 2009

We have been in Paris since the 12^th July. Since we arrived we have visited Notre Dame and showed the kids the flying buttresses, the gargoyle statues that sit on the exterior architecture, the beautiful stained glass windows inside, the small chapels inside. Of course their favorite part of this visit was getting to feed the birds out front, which is my fondest memory too of that day. Ani giggling as the birds landed on her hands to eat the bread and the three kids side by side, holding still, waiting for the little birds to land and trying to keep the pigeons from bullying their way in to steal the bread.

Grocery shopping at the Monoprix and cooking dinners in our apartment helps to keep expenses down. Playing at the little park at the Tuileries and eating chocolate crepes,or in Sam’s case he prefers le crepe avec le beurre et sucre. It is very crowded here and at times exhausting trying to walk amongst the crowds, but we have time and are not in a hurry. The lines for le Tour Eiffel were intense, we attempted to go back earlier in the day finding it was quicker for Matt and the boys to climb the stairs.

We were treated to Bastille Day festivities on the 14^th July. The area all around the Tuileries and the Place de Concorde were closed down for their military parade and an exciting exhibit of the air force flying over the Louvre. Night time was capped with all of us sitting on the grass near the Louvre with a bottle of wine and a couple of beers with a spectacular firework display around the Eiffel Tour.

The boys had a visit to the Catacombs and Ani and I are chilling in the apartment, a nice day off for us. Took the Batobus to the Jardin des Plantes to see the Natural History Museum.

We traveled to Mont St. Michel which took a day as our time in Paris is narrowing. It was blustery with a rare hail storm for this time of year. I was hoping to have as magnificent a visit as Peggy did but alas it was a more medieval experience.

Pilgrimages to finish up before we leave are to visit the Louvre, Roan wants to see the Mona Lisa; Les Puces market and a visit to Sacre Coeur.

With the expertise of our friends Amy and Henk we will be traveling from Paris to Amsterdam on Monday to stay with them for a week. We are so appreciative of all the help we have received from strangers and friends especially.

12 July 2009 “Sitting in the Eurostar Station, have a ticket for my destination…..mmmm..mm”

12 July 2009

“Sitting in the Eurostar Station, have a ticket for my destination…..mmmm..mm”

Left Ely and Bury St. Edmunds this morning. Kye drove us to the train station

and we caught a train to London’s King’s Cross/St.

Pancras Station where we caught the Eurostar. We are currently on the train and have yet to “submerge” and

the kids are anticipating that moment very much. I’m sure it won’t be as thrilling as one

imagines but the thought of traveling underwater is strange. Roan’s biggest concern is what will happen

if the chunnel breaks… hadn’t quite thought about that myself, but now that he mentions it…???

It’s been a lovely week visiting the UK. Thoughts of figuring out the Underground, teaching the kids how to hop on and off the Tube; how to hold on to the rail while on the tube if there wasn’t a seat available. Riding the train to Bath and staying in Bradford-on-Avon; riding the train to Salisbury and having it work out perfectly to take a ride to Stonehenge (we thought of

our last visit the the Neuwalder/Abele’s fondly!); another train ride to visit Kye and a trek to Cambridge for some punting (we had a brillant puntsman? Tom who navigated the crowded water way like a pro) ; Matt learning how to drive in the UK (scary! luckily he is dyslexic) and

eating a “chain” pub for the third and last time! The pub was great and the meals and drink were very inexpensive, so with the kids it was a good deal for all of us. We fondly refer to it as the “Winchester”, for those of you who may have seem Shaun of the Dead. Every time we were trying to figure out where to eat Sam would say, “ look it’s Winchester’s! Let’s eat at Winchester’s…” and we did. My favorite night was Curry night… although that Chicken Vindaloo kicked my a**! And I love spicy food! Makes me curious about how hot the Indian food can get.

It was a very quick trip and we did a lot in a short time. The UK was a great first stop for us as

it got us through jet lag in a country that was relatively easy to navigate. We found that everyone was generous with helping us out, either by helping us get through the queues quickly with children in tow or helping us figure out which train or hotel to stay in.

Now on our way to France. We want to get to Paris for Bastille Day on 14 July. Sam and I watched a whole show dedicated to the foods that Marie Antoinette ate before her beheading and about the French

Revolution. Since we missed 4^th of July back home, this may make up for it in some way… we are hoping for some fireworks!

This coming week will be more relaxing as we stay in Paris the entire time without much moving around. We will take the kids to the

“tourist pilgrimages” of course, but we hope to spend time playing in the parks and generally milling about.

We ended up dumping a bunch of gear out of our bags and shipping it home (Hannah…. A package will be arriving in the next month we hope!) No one is homesick yet. I think realizing we won’t be back for a long time helps and we just look forward to the time we are spending together exploring and although we have been to some of these spots before, with the kids it’s like seeing it all for the first time again.