We are back from "The continent"! Amsterdam was great but missed prime tulip season by a few weeks. Actually saw more tulips in London! Brussels very impressive with great huge buildings on a grand scale. Brugges was really pretty but very full of tourists. Took canal tours of Amsterdam and Brugges, Saw real Rembrandts and musical instrument museum. The Henry VIII exhibit in London was really good. Astonishing that so many documents and books survived 500 years!
I've worn out my feet walking, and the cobbles in the city center of Brussels made our legs and ankles ache. Was so tired Friday night that i refused to walk anywhere and insisted we order room service! I took many many photos (no surprise there!). Went to Regent's Park in London yesterday afternoon for a picnic organized by
naturalbornkaos which was probably the first relaxing thing we did all week and it was really nice to see people from my flist and meet new people and meet baby Catherine who brought her mum
sparklielizard.
Observations: Amsterdam on a Sunday night is unbelievably full of rubbish and litter.
Amsterdam bicyclists are mad!!!
Belgian hand made chocolates really are that good!
Brugges looks like a picture book but heaving with people.
Brussels (according to Graham,) looks like something out of an old WW2 movie with big grand buildings and squares and he said it looked like he might expect to see Ingrid Bergman darting out around a corner running away from the Gestapo or something!
Rembrandt was probably why they coined the term "Master". He knocks the spots off everyone else when it comes to portraits!
Seeing some of the documents from Henry VIII's comings and goings, like the Act of Supremacy and the divorce papers for his marraige to Katherine of Aragon, *original* documents with signatures and seals, can make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
We're staying in tonight, relaxing with our feet up.