If this is Tuesday, we must be in Rotterdam

To begin at the beginning.  Today is Nancy's birthday, and we're celebrating it in Rotterdam.  It has been, as she said, a most unusual birthday.  But it all began, the unusualness that is, last winter in Laos.  We were at a monastery on a hilltop in Luang Prabang waiting for the sun to set.  And waiting, and waiting.  I photographed ants on a tree.  Nancy began talking with a couple sitting next to her.

Their names were (and are) John and Leonie Does.  They seemed nice enough.  Next thing you know, she and they had decided we would swap houses sometime.  And that's just what happened.

Here, by the way, is the sunset for which we were all waiting.  We loved Luang Prabang.

Anyway that, in a nutshell, is how it is we find ourselves celebrating Nancy's birthday in Rotterdam.  About a month ago it suddenly occurred to me that we had absolutely no idea who these people were.  "Who are these people?" I asked Nancy.  "I don't really know." she replied.  "I'll email them and find out."  Nancy did email them.  Leonie wrote back saying they they were both very nice and that their neighbors and friends had, frankly, some concerns about us.

As luck and the vagaries of scheduling would have it, John and Leonie arrived last Thursday evening giving us a chance to get acquainted.  We drove them all over Seattle, as best we could, took them to a Sounders game and to Compline.  We went to the locks,

To Snoqualmie Falls,

To Volunteer Park,

and to Fisherman's Terminal where we all got to see J. P. Patches and John got to touch fish.

Yesterday afternoon, Nancy and I went to SeaTac and flew 9 1/2 hours to Amsterdam, took a train to Rotterdam, took a tram to the nearest stop, and walked to John and Leonie's home.

They have a lovely apartment

which opens out to a lovely garden.

The apartment is, in turn, located on a "singel" which is a sort of canal and a lovely thing in its own right complete with fountains

and art

Once situated we set out to find a place to eat -- always an interesting project in a brand new place.  We walked past all the bicycles

Until we finally came to a "Warung" (which is a street-side café in Bali) which served "Gado-Gado" (which Nancy loved in Bali).  It was Nancy's birthday, so I insisted we pull out all the stops and have the full meal instead of sandwiches.  The food wasn't what I would think of as traditional Dutch but, frankly, there didn't seem to be all that many Dutch restaurants (or Dutch-looking people, for that matter) in this part of Rotterdam.

The food, as luck would have it, was delicious.  Hence it was that Nancy had her most unusual birthday meal ever, and we were well underway with our Dutch treat.  A quick trip to the grocery store and a short walk home, and we're ready for a good night's sleep.  Tomorrow John and Leonie's friend Aad is coming to take us away on a tour of the city.  Let the fun begin!!