Adorable & Charming

This city is so adorable, you just want to take a picture of every building, every bridge, every swan. That is, in the historic section--the new section is full of brand name clothing stores.  There's a house for sale that was built in 1675--it's on a canal and very nice. Only 1.5 million euros.

No this is not a famous picture I took in one of the museums.  It's in my room.  Yes, you got it, they gave me the chicken room.  Meanwhile, the cat keeps coming to my window to be let in--I'm on the second floor so I wonder how he gets on the roof.   I don't really know if these owners want him in the house since I never see the owners.  I saw a maid today and explained to her the light was out in the bathroom. She thought I was a stupid American who couldn't use the fancy light switch but then noticed that the lightbulb needed to be changed.

Today was supposed to be all-the-time museums since they'll all be closed on Monday but we actually had sun for a brief period so I took a canal tour. I did see a lot of museums.  In the first one, I got in cheap for being over 60. I was so impressed by the colors in the 15th century paintings (these artists were the first to mix colors with linseed oil) that I asked a guard whether some of them had been retouched.  The answer was yes and that's when I got busted...for having a bottle of water and an umbrella.  In the second museum, the woman decided I was over 65 and gave me a discount but the girl in the 3rd museum wasn't buying it and charged me full fare.  My favorite art today was an exposition I stumbled across--seriously, there was a sign that said "Congratulations. You have found this special exhibit"--of Picasso and Joan Miro.  It was a great exhibit and I especially liked the Chagall room which wasn't even mentioned in the advertisement.

Beginning at the train station yesterday, I discovered that it costs 50 cent to use the bathroom.  I haven't paid for bathrooms since Poland.  This is just in public areas--museums and restaurants don't charge. I find that very expensive especially when one stall was Gebuiken.  Also, often there's no separate rooms for men and women--they figure if you have a private stall, that's good enough. And...they may or may not give you a paper towel for your 50 cent.  Often, there's just an old towel sitting around for everyone to use.

I had a Croque Monsieur for lunch today which was a grilled ham and cheese just like I would make at home. Seriously--white bread with grill marks on it, much like I get from using an iron.  To make up for the fact it wasn't nearly as good as the ones in Paris, they gave me two.   I find all meals here all the time about twice as big as they need to be.  I realize Europeans don't eat every meal in a restaurant, but these portions are huge. I had the famous Belgian spaghetti bolognaise for dinner--can't help it; I have a hurty tooth.  It was very different from the one Nicole had in Paris. Tasty but it could have fed a family of four.  And that's why I haven't had a Belgian waffle yet. I'm too embarrassed to order dessert when I don't clean my plate.