The end of the boat ride… around a little pond called the Baltic Sea.

Today, was an early start.  Up at 5:30.  We disembarked.   Like dogs… we barked…. and then we schlepped luggage.  We set our little feet on the ground in Amsterdam.  (Some of us have littler feet than others… due to recent spa treatments… I’ll tell you.)

So….. We started walking… and then we we didn’t really quit walking until 9:00 p.m. tonight.  Okay… truth be told… we stopped and ate quite a few times today.  There is so much great food in Amsterdam.  On every corner of this place… it seems.  The best dang dark bread in the world.  With meats and cheeses.

And tonight… our fearless leader…. found an out of the way French Restaurant which really shouldn’t be missed.  It was pretty much sinful… it was THAT good.

We saw a lot of sights again today.  We had a good visit to the Anne Frank House. (It was good in that it gave us an appreciation for our current freedoms.)   And then…. at the completely other end of the spectrum… we took a quick tour through the Red Light District.

So.  I know you are probably tired of hearing this.  But I can’t say it enough.  What a interesting, compelling, and intriguing world in which we live.  I am simply astonished…. once again.

I am guessing that Anne Frank was about 13 years old when she wrote her diary?  I am also guessing that many of the women who were working the Red Light District were about 13 when they ran away from home?  How is it… that we are… who we are?

Like I said a moment ago.  Oh what a world we live in.

On a lighter note.  Much lighter.  My other big lesson for the day…..  If you are going to commit to having a tattoo… you better mean it.  Even if you are in the Red Light District…. in Amsterdam.  That’s all I can say about that.

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I am searching for abstract ways of expressing reality, abstract forms that will enlighten my own mystery.  –  Eric Cantona
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“We promise according to our hopes and perform according to our fears.”  –  François de la Rochefoucauld
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😉