This delightful little book is a collection of stories, both fiction and memoir, all of which have Amsterdam as one of the characters. The stories are all penned by Dutch writers. In some stories, the presence and feel of the city is barely noted, while in others, the city is the main character. The stories are grouped by the parts…
More reasons to love Puerto Vallarta
I like to be busy, and my agenda is starting to look pretty full for the next few months. Tomorrow, we leave for Mexico, for five days. Puerto Vallarta. It’s my fifth time there, and Mark’s fourth time there. We’re going to be sharing an Airbnb with another couple. We’ve never really vacationed with another couple, so it’ll be interesting.…
Worldwide Veterinary Services International Training Centre by Dr. Arnold Plotnick – Catster.com
Monday was the last full day with all four of us, and it was really a terrific day. We saved the best museum, the Van Gogh, for last. There was a fascinating temporary exhibit about his painting, The Sunflowers. First we attended a short talk about the painting. Apparently, after he painted it, Van Gogh felt that the uppermost sunflower…
On Saturdays, there’s a nice farmer’s market called Noordemarkt, on the northern part of the Prinsengracht. The plan was to check it out, and since Udi lives close to the market, pop by his place, introduce the guys to him, and show them the joys of a canal-view apartment. The market was very nice, as usual. Lots of fresh fruits,…
Excellent night last night at Radio City Music Hall!! Celebrating Peter Fonda and the movie’s 50 years, “Easy Rider” was shown with Steppenwolf singer John Kay and The Byrds’ Roger McGuinn performing the soundtrack LIVE! They were terrific. Great vibe. Great finale, too. “Easy Rider’s” iconic soundtrack includes Steppenwolf classics like “The Pusher” and “Born to Be Wild,” as well…
40 years ago tonight, this photo was taken at The Clash concert at the Palladium. I was at this concert with my friend Neil. Sam & Dave, and the Undertones, were the opening act. It was Yom Kippur and my mother was not pleased. What a show! Here’s the full show bootlegged and preserved:
Mark and I have decided (last night), for our December 2019 trip, to go to Kenya and Ethiopia. A few days in Nairobi, with a day trip to Mombassa and a few days in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia with a side trip to a cool place called Lalibela. All details and plans to come soon.
The bleary-eyed bunch woke up around 9:00 a.m. and began screaming for coffee. We pulled ourselves together and hit the street, on our way to Blue, a popular eatery that offers excellent brunch, with a great view of the city. Amsterdam is home to many fantastic museums, and the guys definitely wanted to see the big three: The Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk…
I woke up early, got dressed, and started walking toward Central Station. Plumeau and Rosen were due to arrive at Schipol Airport at 8:30 a.m. I grabbed the 7:30 train, got to the airport at 8:00, and looked at the arrivals board to see which arrival hall they would be coming through. I knew they had to go through passport control,…
Introduction: The Backstory In early 1978, as I was finishing up my freshman year of college at New York University (NYU), I realized that this wasn’t the collegiate experience that I was expecting or hoping for. I was still living at home, riding the subway into the city for my classes, and then coming back home to Brooklyn to try…
The last days of the trip had really beautiful weather, and I convinced Robb to do some biking. (He was obsessively keeping track of how many steps he walked daily, and he was reluctant to go biking because the pedaling didn’t register as steps. Silly, I know.) Vondelpark is a beautiful, popular park in Amsterdam, and a picnic in the…
In New York City, the big Pride parade occurs on the Sunday of Pride Weekend, traditionally the last Sunday in June. In Amsterdam, however, the parade occurs on Saturday. Rather than march down the street, the floats sail down the Prinsengracht canal. In New York, traffic is a nightmare and trying to get from one side of town to the…
Pride is a fun time of year here in Amsterdam. The city really gets into the spirit, and there’s a great feeling of Pride and activism in the air. Stores get in the spirit as well, selling all sorts of Pride related things. My apartment is on Spuistraat, in the centrum. It’s a very central location, and that is very…