Walk 'til you drop!

After our tour of the Anne Frank House, we spent a few minutes at Westerkerk, a gorgeous church with a rich history.  There is a free organ concert on Fridays, and we were lucky enough to be in the church during rehearsal.  The pipe organ is the centerpiece of this majestic church.

Walking, again, we headed to De Kaaskamer cheese shop where the proprietor made us two wonderful sandwiches to take back to the apartment for lunch and some much needed down time.

How could you choose?

After a nap for DH and a bit of reading for me, we decided to walk the canals in search of the two quilt shops that I located on the Internet.  We found them!  I could not resist a charm pack of Dutch fabrics -- colors that we do not see in the US.  Who knows what I will do with them?  Probably just enjoy looking at them and remembering our time in Amsterdam.

Along the way, we found a nice neighborhood playground loaded with children and parents enjoying the mild weather.  And the park had benches!  There aren't a lot of benches in this city; DH thinks it is because they have to allocate so much space for parking for both cars and bicycles.  Anyway, it was a delight to be able to sit awhile and watch the kids play and the moms talk. 

We found a great bar on the way home and had a couple of brews you can't get in the good ole USA:  Westmalle and Affligem.  DH wanted to try one of the many Indonesian restaurants; we found one a few blocks from the apartment.  Although it was a lovely meal, the tempo wasn't quite right for Southern Californians - well over two hours from the time we arrived to the time we paid our bill.  Americans just aren't used to the relaxed way Europeans dine.

Friday night brought party central to our neighborhood.  Doug finally got up and read until 2 a.m. or so to avoid the street noise.