Amsterdam Where the Past Meets the Present

Dec. 5, 2024

Amsterdam is a lot of things. It has a lot of history that can still be seen all over the city.

It’s the city where Anne Frank wrote her diary:

It’s the city where Rembrandt became a prominent portraitist:

It’s a city with its own dark past. After all, I t’s seen everything from the Spanish Inquisition to witch trials and Nazi occupation. Some of its buildings still signal these darker times.

For example, take the Spinhuis. This is a former women’s prison, which is now a University of Amsterdam women’s dorm. And, the building has a scene above the door showing a woman’s beating:

The city also turns 750 next year (October 27, 2025 to be exact). In celebration, the city of Amsterdam recently launched “Amsterdam Monster Factory” (amsterdammonsterfactory.com), which includes eight monsters that each represent a different value of the city. 

The monsters primarily live in virtual reality, which can be accessed via the Amsterdam Monster Factory App. So, you can see most of them, this is an image from the app:

But, we spent the afternoon trying to track the monsters down IRL. We found a few of them in stores and parks across the city.

We found Moki at the Amsterdam train station. He “represents Courage (one of the Xs on the city shield), and the open mindedness, tolerance and spirit of the city of Amsterdam.”

We caught up with Kiki and Kima in the I Amsterdam store. They “represent Compassion (another X on the city shield) for others and openness to help those in need.”

I found Gretel on a sign in Westerpark. She “represents Freedom of Expression, and Amsterdam as a city of no taboos –  a place where the entitlement to speak your mind is a fundamental right.”

And, Biggie was near by. He “represents the future of the open minded spirit of Amsterdam.”

From there, we jumped on a canal cruise to take in the Amsterdam Light Festival. This is the 13th edition, and the theme this year is “rituals.” (amsterdamlightfestival.com/en)

I didn’t fully understand this one (there were also several human figures swimming, sitting and running…), but I thought the artistry was amazing:

Another fun one were these tulip petals:

Anyway, this is the last email from this trip. We fly home tomorrow, and then it’s back to reality. Thank you for sharing our adventure with us.

All our love,

Tara (and Steve)

Opulence… I Own Everything

Dec. 3, 2024

Today was our big day in Paris. Through a series of unfortunate events (i.e., I wrote down the wrong day), I booked us on two back to back activities activities today. 

We started out the day at the Orsay Museum:

And, Steve was already spicy:

We saw new art next to old art. For example, Thomas Couture’s “The Romans During the Decadence” and a statue of a small child drawing it:

We saw paintings by Manet, Monet, Bazille, Tissot, Van Gogh, and many more, which were all great. “Whistler’s Mother” was even in residence, which was a nice surprise.

To give you a taste, here’s an excerpt from Frédéric Bazille’s “Réunion de Famille”:

And, Manet’s “Olympia”:

However, the one that stood out to me was Marie Bracquemond’s “Three Women with Parasols”:

Then we jetted off to the Palace of Versailles, where we walked the halls of kings and queens:

Our tour took us off the beaten path, so we got to see the opera:

(Spit out to Steve for these two photos:)

We also got to check out the chapel:

Being surrounded by that kind of opulence all afternoon has given me a few decorating ideals… (Think mirrors, metallic surfaces, and more chandeliers than you can shake a stick at!)

All in all it was a busy, but pretty great day.

All our love,

Tara and Steve

Parisian Christmas Markets

Dec. 2, 2024

Today we headed to La Défense Christmas Market, which is Paris’ largest Christmas Market and set under the Grande Arche de la Défense.

(After seeing Christmas Markets in Berlin and Vienna, I can honestly say that I’ve seen bigger. But, we still enjoyed ourselves. … Correction: If Brad asks – we had minimal fun.)

The vin chaud (mulled wine) probably helped:

There were chachkies to be had – everything from jewelry and tajines to olive wood cutting boards and miniature figurines: 

However, the bulk of the booths were selling food. There was every thing from cheese stalls and cured meats booths to vendors selling nougat or macarons:

However, our interest was the street food. I ended up with a doner kebab, and Steve ended up with tartiflette (a dish of potatoes, cheese and bacon):

The booth selling tartiflette also had raclette, which is melted cheese (of a wheel) and scrapped into a baguette:

The best part is that when the wheel of cheese is too small for raclettes – they cut it up and chuck it into the vat of tartiflette.

Obviously, we have to go back, so I can get a raclette. I’ll let you know how it works out.

All our love,

Tara (and Steve)

Paris – We Know Where the Bones are Buried

Dec. 1, 2024

We started our day at the Eiffel Tower:

From there, we made our way along the Seine past the Musée d’Orsay (a train station turned impressionist / post-impressionist museum):

And, the Louvre:

On our way to the Paris Catacombs:

The Paris Catacombs are part of a much larger network of limestone mines located under the city. The mines operated for centuries before a major sinkhole in 1774 opened up to devour houses, carts and people. This (and several others) lead to creation of Inspection générale des carrières (IGC) (a special group of architects responsible for the inspection, maintenance and repair of the mines).

In 1785, the city’s retired mines were the solution to another problem – over crowded public graveyards, which were gassing out residents. 

The bones of over six million Parisians are now in the catacombs:

The bulk of the bones were moved to the catacombs from various city graveyards, which allowed the bones to be thoughtfully placed and organized. Some bones were used to line walls, whereas others created archways and pillars. Regardless of where the bones were placed, many took on a decorative feel:

After the catacombs, we were ready to get above ground and off our feet. After all, there’s always tomorrow…

All our love,

Tara (and Steve)

Trading the Heat of Africa for the Cool of Europe

Nov. 30, 2024

Hello everyone,

Hopefully, you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

While you were digging into a turkey, we were wrapping up the Morocco leg of our trip. Yesterday, we made the move back to Paris.

Or, to put it another way – we traded this view:

For this one:

As intense as Marrakech was, Essaouira was wonderfully laid back. 

For example, take people passing you on the street. In Marrakech – you had to keep an ear out for motorcycles tearing through the narrow passageways, because they wouldn’t stop as they came within an inch or two of you. Whereas in Essaouira – we rarely saw motorcycles, but if a bicyclist had to pass you around a corner, they’d apologize.

Another example were the street vendors. In Marrakech, walking through the souk or the square at night felt like a gauntlet. Storekeepers and food vendors would block your path in an effort to drive you into their stall. However, in Essaouira, maybe one in five vendors would look up from their phone to acknowledge you. There would be an occasional hard sell, but then I’d ask for a ridiculous transaction (e.g., to sell me a $12 scarf for $4) and then we’d be on our merry way.

We noticed that Essaouira had a European vibe to its streets, which makes sense. (The Medina was designed by European engineers.)

However, there is a distinctly Moroccan flare, even to the street art:

And, the city’s blue fishing boats… These small, but mighty ships feed everyone from locals to tourists, and seagulls to cats:

Now that we’re back in Paris:

We had to say goodbye to Brad and Sarah last night:

While it’s been a busy weekend, we’re excited to explore Paris for a few days.

All our love,

Tara (and Steve)

Cats Have Taken Over Essaouira

Nov. 28, 2024

Quick warning – if you don’t like cats, you probably shouldn’t go to Essaouira. Also, you might as well skip the below message.

It doesn’t matter where you are or what time of day it is, cats are out and about in Essaouira. 

Locals put out kibble for some of the cats. However, other cats scrounge for scraps by sticking to the food stalls or lingering near the fishing docks. For the most part, the cats of Essaouira appear to be in decent shape. 

Generally, cats like to stick to their own territory, and they’re really bad at sharing. Keeping this in mind, it was easy to see where individual cats had taken up residence. And, since nothing is free in this country, I saw cats with many different jobs throughout the Medina.

For example, some are shop keepers:

Others are the layabout artistic types:

Then there are the child soldiers at the Sqala of the Kasbah:

And, fishmongers in the harbor:

There are rug makers:

More shopkeepers:

Hotel porters (on break):

Cafe proprietors:

Bike messengers:

Even more shopkeepers:

And, then your run of the mill hooligans:

That’s only a small sample of the cats we’ve seen today, so imagine what else these furry little guys do in this town.

All our love,

Tara (Steve, Sarah and Brad)

The Rich Tapestry of Marrakesh

Nov. 26, 2024

Today is our last full day in Marrakesh, so we spent the day simmering in the city’s rich history by visiting everything from the Majorelle Gardens to the Saadian Tombs and the Bahia Palace. 

Starting with the gardens. The Majorelle Gardens were originally built by French painter Jacques Majorelle in the 1920s.  Designer Yves Saint Laurent and his partner, Pierre Berge, bought it in 1980. 

The gardens includes everything from cacti and bamboo, to banana trees, water lilies and giant agaves: 

As you can imagine, the property is littered with waterways, wandering paths, gazebos and terracotta pots (i.e., tripping hazards for someone like me). Luckily, these adorable lights greet visitors at almost every turn:

To really pull the look together – buildings, fountains and pots throughout the gardens have been painted an intense cobalt blue. The color is Trademarked “Majorelle Blue” if you’re in the market:

After drinking in the tranquil beauty of the Majorelle Gardens, we headed across town to the Saadian Tombs. 

The tombs were originally designed in the late 16th century by Sultan Ahmad al-Mansur (the third ruler of the Saadian dynasty) to serve as the grand mausoleum for his ancestors (and to show off his wealth and power). However, the entrance to the tombs was sealed in the early 18th central by Sultan Moulay Ismail in the hopes of erasing the Saadian dynasty legacy.

Apparently, it worked. 

The tombs were rediscovered in 1917 during the French Protectorate in pretty good condition, and the French authorities took steps to preserve, restore the tombs, and open them to the public:

From the tombs, we headed over to the Bahia Palace, which was originally built in the 1860s by Si Moussa, the grand vizier of the Sultan (think head minister), as a personal residence. Moussa‘s son, Ba Ahmed (also a grand vizier), expanded and “beautified” the property in the late 1890s. After Ahmed’s death, Bahia Palace became a royal residence.

The palace is decked out with everything from marquetry and zellij (tile work) to impressively intricate ceilings:

From there we headed back to our raid for a siesta. If you’d like to experience a little of what the city’s like, Steve made a video of the last five minutes of our walk:

https://gopro.com/v/8GwZVJ86NlZBL

All our love,

Tara (Steve, Sarah and Brad)

Essaouira – The Relaxed Pace we Didn’t Realize we Wanted or Needed

Nov. 27, 2024

In Marrakesh, we heard about how you can’t judge a riad (or anywhere else) by its door. (And, good luck trying to judge it another way, because there generally aren’t exterior windows either.) Basically, people don’t want their house to be flashy on the outside, because they don’t want to be disrespectful to people who have less resources or may be homeless. 

It’s an interesting point to consider, but it really hit home today when we made the move to Essaouira.

Essaouira is a beach town about 2.5 hours drive west of Marrakesh, which is a late 18th century fortified (walled) town that was designated by UNESCO as a world heritage site in 2001.

We expected Essaouira to be more laidback than Marrakesh, which it is:

We assumed that Essaouria would have the same Moroccan charm as Marrakech, which it has in spades:

We had seen the Airbnb photos, so we hand an idea of what to expect behind the door to our riad:

But, we were still pleasantly surprised:

And, when we saw the view, we decided to extend our stay:

We’re not sure how we’ll fill the next two days, but we’re looking forward to exploring Essaouira and discovering another surprise or two along the way.

All our love,

Tara (Steve, Sarah and Brad)

Marrakesh is Full of Snake Charmers, Cats and Tajines

Nov. 25, 2024

The good news is that we made it to Marrakesh, and are having a wonderful time thus far. The bad news is that we haven’t avoided any of the scams locals run on the tourists.

It started as soon as we walked out of the airport to the taxi stand. Someone grabbed our bags to “help” walk us to a taxi (for a tip). It happened again when we got out of the taxi. A porter grabbed our bags to walk us to where we were staying (for a tip). Then there was a very insistent bicyclist on our way to dinner, who said he was from the hotel (he wasn’t) and decided to walk us to the restaurant because “it was on his way home” (it wasn’t). We said “No, thank you” repeatedly, but he still got upset when he didn’t get a tip. 

Today things got a little exciting when Brad decided to follow the music to a snake charmer. Well, we found the snakes:

And, before we knew it – the snake charmers had plopped snakes on Brad and Steve (for a cash donation):

There’s a video of Steve’s experience, but here’s a taste of his discomfort:

And, next thing I know – I’m getting suckered in, too:

It was an entertaining couple of minutes. Complete with a snake blessing for good wishes and good luck for mothers, children, etc. But, it happened fast…

Speaking of the locals, one thing I can say is that I haven’t given into my desire to pet all the city’s cats:

And, some of these little guys are making it really hard not to pet them:

Luckily, there’s plenty going on to distract me from my would be fur friends. For example, today we had a tour of a local souk (market):

And, a cooking class:

We made several things, including a tajine (with eggs and meatballs), spiced chicken, and a dessert (made from grated cucumber, freshly squeezed orange juice, and a little cinnamon and sugar):

Yesterday, we had a delicious dinner at Dar Yacout (the oldest house in Marrakesh that is now an amazing restaurant). Shout out to Steve for these photos:

There will probably be more tomorrow. Until then…

All our love,

Tara (Steve, Sarah and Brad)

What Not to do at Gare du Nord (or How we Almost Became Marks or Why You Shouldn’t Trust Overly Helpful People)

Nov. 23, 2024

We’re fine, and nothing ended up happening, but that was likely due to our travel schedule. But, we did experience someone who, as Steve put it, was “very nice, in an almost creepy way.”

I have a long history of getting lost on the Paris metro. It happened when I was here in undergrad, and overwhelmed by all of the train lines, stops, people, etc. It all worked out, but not without the help of a very nice kiosk worker.

Fast forward 24 years, and Steve had a plan to get us from the Gare du Nord train station to our hotel in the 18th arrondissement via metro. Steve was great about navigating us around Amsterdam (and many other cities on other trips), so I had no doubts about his ability to direct us. However, we were having a hard time getting started.

Steve’s directions wanted us to take the 4 train to the 2, but we saw signs for both the 2 and 4 trains at Gare du Nord. We were torn about which train to take, and we hadn’t even purchased our tickets yet.

As we were in line to purchase tickets, a very helpful man in the next line became overly interested in our troubles. Our would be helper didn’t speak English, snd Steve was working hard to use his French to devise a plan.

Our helper walked us from our original ticket line to another ticket machine around the corner that was closer to the train that we’d eventually want to jump on. Then he stood in line with us to buy tickets.

He asked us several questions to better understand how long we would be in town, presumably to help advise us on what tickets to purchase. We were clear about only needing a single ride ticket, which is when he became overly interested in a woman and her teenaged son who were having issues with the ticket vending machine.

This is when it crossed the line from helpful to creepy.

Our good samaritan swooped in to help this other woman. First she was having issues selecting her preferred language, so he took over and drove the transaction in French. He asked her about the length of their stay, and determined they would need a five day pass. Then she had issues using the credit card saved to her smartphone. “Luckily,” he was there with his card to complete the purchase. 

From there, he followed her and we were left to buy our tickets.

When all was said and done, I couldn’t shake the feeling that this was all part of a scam. Once we were settled in to the hotel, I did a little research. 

Reddit suggests the scam probably played out a little something like this:

He got the woman to scan in with her ticket and then asked her to reimburse him (in cash). (We already know she wanted a five day pass, and he probably said he got the more expensive all zones passes. So, she’s looking at €114.25 (€76.25 for her ticket and €38 for her son’s).) She pays the train station helper, and he disappears. She’ll discover that all she has are two single use tickets valued at €2.15 each, and has been scammed out of over €100.

Hopefully, this isn’t how the woman’s evening played out. (It probably was.) And, she got to her hotel without further incident. (Seriously, I hope he didn’t take her to an ATM for the cash reimbursement…) 

Well, the lesson I learned today is to be wary of overly helpful people. 

Scams aside, our evening was pretty uneventful. We grabbed dinner, and went for a walk. We found ourselves in front of Moulin Rouge, so this happened:

All our love,

Tara (and Steve)