East Coast/ West Coast...lovely gestures

I'm in Greensboro, NC with my some of my family. To the left is my cousin Jimmy (we're *maybe* going on a motorcycle ride tomorrow, whether permitting) and to my right is my cousin Kristina. My other cousins, Michael and Roger, are missing from the photo. All 3 of us wish they were here, but we decided we would either draw in ink their faces, or ask Kyle (Jimmy's super talented son to photo shop them in the photo). Hugs to Michael and Roger!!!!!This is where I spent most of the day. Something called Furniture USA Southland?? It's a 1.1 million square foot showroom of furniture (not even joking). Good lord! We picked out fabric for my mom's new sofa.....let me just say it (the fabric) is lovely. The showroom was fun to wander, but I like to pick out decor in a more informal manner, no matchy matchy around my home. But I must say the big dresser at the entrance is a hoot. Woot!

LOVELY GESTURES: OK, on another note, thank you to the kind strangers who helped me with my baggage yesterday! I really wanted a direct flight to Atlanta and then a quick connection to Greensboro (but instead had to get through the Phoenix maze of terminal transfers, bus rides, additional security, extra baggage handling). But, it worked out fine, there were enough kind people who helped me get my heavy suitcase in and out of the overhead bin (6 times to be precise). I couldn't have done it myself....which made me think of how many times I've traveled and someone has been kind enough to lend that extra hand!

P.S. People are so friendly here....I love it!

I need...CAKE

For some reason, I need to make a cake. But, I promised daughter we would make rice krispie treats dipped in chocolate and covered with sprinkles.....so once that's done, I'll focus on the cake. So strange, I know, because I don't bake. Anyhow....

Thank you to everyone who has been asking to see the Amsterdam photos. Sorry, it took longer than I expected to get them off the camera and onto the computer. They are at the bottom of this post.

Does anyone else find it strange that the only parking in front of the DMV in Mountain Park is 15 minutes? I went there to get a new ODL and thought that was a little ironic. Who EVER spends less than 15 minutes at the DMV?

Well, this is a smattering of thoughts...kind of like dreams.

Hope the rest of the world is having lovely weather like us!!!!! I actually heard boats on the lake today.

The architecture is brilliant. You can tell the buildings have been there forever, but they look so fragile, as though they may crumble and fall apart any minute. Some buildings were actually leaning. But I don't have a picture of those.There are a lot of bikes in Holland. It's hard to tell, but there are 3 levels of bikes in this photo and they are nose to nose. That's a real, live bird on the car. I think it came out of a canal.Flower market photo. I thought I would have a better photo of it. That's the best one I have. It looks better in person...but most things do don't they?Scotland v. Holland. Can't remember who won the football (soccer game), but there were men in kilts everywhere in Amsterdam. Believe me....one sees a little of everything there.

Oh, this Germany. I laughed when I saw that it really is Wodka there. Too funny.

I love Cologne!

I'm surprised. I didn't expect to like Cologne as much as I do. It's super easy to get around (the best Public Transport system I've EVER used, did not get lost ONCE and I speak maybe two licks of German), it's got the old and new European mix, and so real...not touristy, except for the Cathedral and well, once you see the photos of it you'll see why a person would travel here to take a look. It's breathtaking!
The ICE is the high speed train we took from Amsterdam to Cologne.
The Cologne train station. It's famous for the scented water, cologne, and 4711 is sold everywhere. I don't know what it says under the 4711.

The Internationale Dental-Schau. This is why we came!

The Rhine river. I took this pic from the tram.

Cathedral

Cathedral again, but from a different view and a DHL truck in the photo! Nice. It's so tall that I couldn't get a good shot of the entire height.

This is the Cathedral with the modern Museum Ludwig (I went there today). Total juxtapostion of old and new (ooh, I sound like a tour book).

The Dom Hbf. I just love train stations.

Here's a fun building in the Neumarkt Shopping neighborhood (I went there today too!). I thought daughter would love the ice cream cone on top of the building. Inside, there are way too many little cafes with delectable desserts.

Tomorrow we're back to Amsterdam. A few more sights to see and a birthday celebration!
Then it's up early to fly back home.

Gute Nacht (that's good night in German).

In Amsterdam and a little bit sleepy!

This is what jet lagged people who flew the red eye from JFK to AMS look like when they get off the plane and realize they're on the wrong train to Amsterdam Central! No problem...it's incredibly cold, raining and haven't slept in hours.....but an adventure is waiting.

After getting off the train (once realizing we were not going to where we wanted), we waited for a very patient 30 minutes for a train that was running late (this is not Switzerland!) and boarded the correct train to Central. Hooray!

Had a great day despite our tiredness. Went to the Anne Frank Museum. What an exceptional piece of history. Will take daughter there once she is old enough. Here are a few shots from Amsterdam:

Tomorrow, we are of to Koln. Should be a lovely train ride.