Amsterdam: Kickin' It

While waiting on the Wilco show, Jill did some homework in the local Amsterdam weekly - so today we headed out for some smaller art exhibits more or less without a plan.

We visited the Stedelijk Museum and saw a very thought-provoking and interesting exhibit by Paul Chan, an American artist. His show, 7 Lights - actually only featured six installations. Later, we found a book on this exhibit which was interesting to look at and read. Each exhibit was essentially a movie shown on the floor of the room, with objects 'falling' into the screen. The most riveting was a recreation of what it would've been like to be inside the World Trade Center on the top floors after the September 11 attacks. You stand before the window and see debris falling, and occasionally, a person falls past the window - in one part, two people fall, holding hands. Along the walls were studies of the shapes he used in the films. Though it doesn't sound particularly uplifting, good art doesn't always make you feel good - but rather, it makes you think. This did the job - we were both glad to have experienced it.

From there, we walked on and enjoyed a particularly nice day weather-wise. We headed to the newer portion of Amsterdam, saw the Waterlooplein market, visited some bookstores, had our requisite coffee, strolled past the Bloemenmarkt, etc. and then headed back to the B&B for a siesta before dinner. Tonight, we had the Indonesian Rijsteffal - something I didn't do last time and have regretted ever since. We took our host's recommendation and had a fantastic meal to celebrate our last night in Amsterdam!














Random shots of Amsterdam; some of hte Paul Chan exhibit...and me, looking annoyed but not: rather, it was me squinting into the sun!

Amsterdam Museums & Wilco Show!

Today was a ton of fun - I will not lie, weather makes a big difference while touring! We got up, walked around a bit and then hit the Rijksmuseum for a look at the Dutch masters - primarily Rembrandt. From there, the next stop was the Van Gogh Museum for a look at the most comprehensive collection of Van Gogh's work in one place. Both were fun and a nice contrast to one another.

We ate something here and there, and then went by the Paradiso, the venue hosting the Wilco show we came to Amsterdam (primarily) to see. We both love Wilco, as most everyone knows, and when we got to the venue, we decided to line up since we were ready for a rest anyhow. I went off and got some Falafel sandwiches to go, and we waited until the doors opened...and got front row center against the stage!! It was a standing show, as the band prefers, and so we were right there. Jill had a goal of getting an autographed setlist, and I wanted to meet the band - front row was a bonus. We did get some great shots, Jill especially (she is much smarter with a camera than I am...)

The show was great, and indeed, we did get a copy of the setlist. Outside after the show, there were a small group of people waiting so we joined them...mostly Americans. It paid off! We got to meet Jeff Tweedy, got autographs & photos to boot! He was so cool and quite sweet actually - very genuine. It's a risk, in my mind, to meet your heroes - they become real people and can be disappointing (can't we all?); but in this case, he was exactly as I'd hoped. He chatted us up, was interested and engaged, and seemed happy to be there, just like us :) It's rare you get to personally thank a musician for the art he makes - we took the opportunity!

















The museums; some shots around Amsterdam; and the Wilco show!

Edinburgh ---> Amsterdam!

We were definitely done with Edinburgh...it just wasn't as exciting as we'd hoped. That said, we agreed that it was a great starting off point: Slow, easy, and we could nap and adjust to the time change without feeling like we were missing critical sights/experiences. We certainly had fun - Glasgow, oddly enough, was the highlight from our perspective - and if we were to go again, we'd stay there for sure.

Our last day started out a little rough...I had a horrible cold and took Tylenol PM and set the alarm incorrectly. We woke up at 10:30 a.m. (!!!) and had to be out of our B&B ASAP. So, we missed our last big Scottish breakfast (which I never did get a photo of!) and had to throw all our stuff in our bags and basically get out of our room. Not a relaxing way to start the day, though we survived. Breakfast took the form of a good espresso and pastry at a nearby Italian place. Then we took a walk through the amazing Valvona & Crolla grocery, located in our neighborhood...and made a purchase or two. Finally, we walked down the pedestrian-friendly Rose Street before heading out of town.

Getting to Amsterdam was relatively uneventful. Both of us had before stayed at Mae's B&B, so we opted to go with the known quantity and stay there for the three nights we were to be in Amsterdam. First off - we both LOVE Amsterdam and were reminded of how much within the first evening. Perhaps it was the contrast to somewhat-stuffy Edinburgh, but we felt right at home. That, coupled with a far-improved weather scene, made our initial acclimation quite pleasant! We went out for a walk, grabbed dinner, and then headed for a coffeeshop visit and a walk through the red-light district (which, by the way, I found to be way safer feeling at night than on my last visit, when I wandered through during the day).























Jill saying farewell to the Scotty at our B&B, Lola; Our breakfast today - followed by a picture of a picture of what would have been our breakfast, had we been up on time; Foodie shots by Jenn (note the Mimolette!); Cold, brisk Edinburgh; A kid-friendly restaurant ;) ; Off to AMS; Dinner, coffeeshop, munchie...

Glasgow - Wow!

This morning, we headed out around 9:30 to catch a train to Glasgow. When we arrived at Waverly Train Station, we found that Prince Charles and Camilla were about to arrive. After grabbing out tickets, we checked the time for our train and boom! There were Charles & Camilla hopping off the Royal Train. They came around and chatted with a few people in the crowd and we were a stone's throw away. It was so random, but cool to see them live and in person!

Next up, we took the 50-minute train to Glasgow, arriving at the Queen Street Station. We weren't out of the train station 5 minutes when we were both like, "whoa! now this is a cool town!" and lamented not staying in Glasgow and day-tripping to Edinburgh. The energy, vibe and overall feeling of Glasgow is much more our speed. There were lots of different types of people, whereas Edinburgh felt much more homogeneous. Further, it is the financial capital of Scotland, so there were a lot of P.I.B.'s ("People-In-Black") - the stock exchange and major banks are headquartered there. What's funny is somehow we got it in our heads that Glasgow was a super-industrial, gritty, blue-collar town; boy, we were off-base on that - lots of interesting-looking people...as well as the 'pretty people.'

We started out by heading to The Lighthouse - a building designed by Charles Rennie Macintosh, who is kind of akin to Gaudi in Barcelona here in Glasgow. You can do a tour of just the houses, buildings and whatnot that he designed. We visited the Six Cities Design Festival exhibit in Glasgow, as well (housed at The Lighthouse), and then looked at some of the other exhibits. This venue also got me excited to go back to the Pompidou in Paris - Jill didn't make it there on her first trip to Paris, and the displays in Glasgow reminded me of a mini-Pomp. Lot's of modern, mixed media, 3-D art and design works.

From there we attempted to go to one of the main attractions - the Glasgow School of Art - designed and founded by C.R. Macintosh = but found them closed for 1 week for repairs :( So, we ate our Marks & Spencer grab-and-go lunch on the school's steps, and then went on to see a historical site: The Tentement House. This house was inhabited by a woman from 1911 - 1965, and then she was hospitalized for 10 years and the contents remained untouched. It wasn't a slum or anything like that - just a historical perspective on life through the two World Wars, and general lower-middle-class lifestyle of the time.

Glasgow offered up a really amazing Whiskey bar that was a destination - The Pot Still. Frank Murphy, our bartender, was well-versed in the 300+ whiskeys and based on Jill's love of Maker's Mark, and her dislike of super-peety flavors, he offered up 5 different whiskeys for her to smell, and from that she selected one. I also tried one that was a little sweeter (he helped me too, based on my overall dislike for whiskey, bourbon, scotch..) and after trying it, I wimped out and Jill had to finish mine too. She had hoped to try a second one from her lot...but, alas, after those two, (and the one that she sampled at a different pub) a good walk was in order. Frank was extremely helpful and better than any tour we could've gone on; further, the Secretary of the local Whiskey club had popped in to confirm this evening's tasting, so the three of them talked a lot about the process of making the different varieties of malt whiskey (what we call Scotch) in Scotland.

















Charles & Camilla, oh my!; Glasgow, way more colorful and fun to look at than Edinburgh! Shots of the whiskey bar experience, Jill being schooled by the bartender and the secretary of the local Whiskey Society who had popped in; condiment bowl for Julie :) ; a few shots from the Tenement House; various shots from the design-focused Lighthouse (including a Jill-self-portrait which she was quite pleased with); finally, a little graffiti...what a sad little sack!