feldmanlarry

Sometimes I wonder whether I should be writing about what I previously did or just do new stuff. What if you had a webcam on your head that followed you around all day and you played that back in full the next day? The next day you could watch yourself watching what you did the day before. The possibilities are staggering.

I did too much yesterday. Today I wanted to do too little. I spent a lot of the morning working on the blog and putting stuff away. I had a great lunch at a local pub. Unfortunately at the table right next to me three American women were talking loudly about all their health problems. I don’t blame them for talking about it, but it didn’t add to the ambiance. I dislike talking about my health problems to anyone except doctors and with friends for a few minutes before moving on to something more interesting. I could talk a long time about my health, having had a shoulder replacement and heart surgery but this sentence is the end of talking about it.

I learned about the difference between a “café” and a “coffee house”. Coffee houses are for marijuana, which is totally legal. Apparently you can get coffee at a coffee house but you might get a buzz from the smoke while drinking it.

I got busted at the Van Gogh museum for using the owner of my apartment’s museum card. It saved me some money at other museums but the cashier asked for my ID and figured out that I’m not a Dutch woman. One reason I like Van Gogh so much is that his colors are so vivid that even with my “color dullness”, I can feel his colors. I thought of my father when I saw the famous Sunflowers painting. He really loved that painting. There were several self-portraits in a row that got to me too. These are not my pictures since I respected the no photo rule, especially after getting busted once.

The fact that Anne Frank and Van Gogh never knew they would become famous made me wonder who the people are today who will be famous in the future. Maybe some musician who has a small following today will become the defining artist of our time in the future.

I took a canal boat trip and shared a booth with a woman who was a bartender from Australia and traveling around Europe by herself. People tried to rob her twice but she was able to stop them. This is the second young woman I had fairly long conversations with who is backpacking around Europe. As a male I can go out at night much more safely and I can stay a level or two above hostels. But the freedom these two women expressed very eloquently reminded me of what an amazing opportunity I have right now in my 60’s.

A cab driver I had yesterday recommended to me a Moroccan restaurant in the area of Amsterdam he lives. He invited me to call him and take me there. We drove way out of the tourist area. The food was really good. The Moroccan spices were different from other ones I have had. The meal was called Tagine Kip, which is chicken with vegetables and rice. After dinner I went to a local bar and had a drink then called the cab driver to pick me up. It was a good feeling to be in an area with no other tourists.

I failed at not doing much today but I was able to do much less than yesterday. I feel very satisfied with my trip to Amsterdam. In 3 nights I had seen a lot, just enough to feel I don’t absolutely have to come back although I could see spending a week or a year here someday. It’s a beautiful city with lots to offer. Holland always ranks high in happiness surveys. The bicycle culture, the beautiful canals, the many museums, the freedom for marijuana smokers, and so on but mostly the attitude of live and let live make it a relaxed and wonderful place.