Art + Beer = Life

Nov. 22, 2024

Hello friends!

We tried to bring a little culture into our trip by going to the Van Gogh Museum, and while we were in the neighborhood decided to drink in the Heineken Experience. Considering the snow on the ground and rain in the forecast, we were glad to be inside for the bull of the day.

We saw a number of Van Gogh’s big hits – everything from Sunflowers and Almond Blossom to Irises, Bedroom in Arles, Wheatfield with Crows, and a number of his self portraits. (Sadly The Starry Night lives in New York at MoMA, so we’ll have to see it on a different trip.) 

Even with a number of his heavy hitters in the building, we were also taken with several pieces that were new to us. And, with so many pieces (over 2k), I didn’t realize that Van Gogh only painted for about a decade…

“Wheatfield with Reaper” stood out to both of us. I found it interesting that this was one of the pieces Van Gogh painted while institutionalized, and Steve noted how the brushstrokes brought natural movement to the wheat:

Two other pieces stuck with me. 

Full disclosure – these next two photos are excerpts of the larger pieces, but I’m hoping to highlight the texture the paint brings to these works. 

The first one is “Cypresses and Two Women”: 

And, the second is “Giant Peacock Moth”:

As I mentioned earlier, we also hit up the Heineken Experience. It runs through the original Heineken brewery, which still has the original copper kettles and stained glass in the brew room:

On the tour, we learned a bit about their brewing process, special ingredient (it’s the yeast), and some facts about the brand, including:

1) Although Heineken is publicly traded, it’s largely owned by the Heineken family.

2) Heineken was the first beer imported into the US after prohibition ended. 

Specifically, six days after President Roosevelt signed the constitutional amendment ending prohibition, 25 barrels and 50 crates of Heineken landed in New Jersey.

Not everything is original, I mean the beer was new. At the beginning of the tour we were promised “the freshest Heineken in [our] lives,” (i.e., it’s no more than three days old), and they delivered:

Tomorrow we’re jumping on a train to Paris, and we fly to Morocco on Sunday. So, just a heads up that I may not have an update until next week. Until then…

All of our love,

Tara (and Steve)

Crafting Our Way Through Europe (The Amsterdam Edition)

Nov. 20, 2024

Hello everyone!

It was a few hours later than expected, but we made it to Amsterdam. Maybe it was the extra three hours at home or maybe it was the fact that we’ve REALLY been looking forward to this trip, but it wasn’t a bad travel day. 

The plane ride was pretty pleasant. The woman sitting directly in front of me celebrated her birthday with champagne (at the insistence of a flight attendant). We saw the Northern Lights over Cape Dorset, Canada. And, another woman from on of the fancy curtained off sections was so impressed with Steve’s knitting and my embroidery that she brought her husband back to our section to show him.

By the time we got into town – we were able to check into the hotel and take a quick nap before wandering around the city. 

For those of you who remember my Berlin Buddy Bears – good news! I’ve discovered Amsterdam has GIANT wooden clogs scattered around the city, and I’ve already started my collection:

On an unrelated note, Steve has started a giant fish collection:

We still have a lot of wandering to do, but we’ve already happened upon beautiful alleyways:

Impressive street art:

And, a cocktail or two:

All our love, 

Tara (and Steve)

Windmills, Clogs and Cheese

Nov. 21, 2024

Hello friends!

I’m sure you all know this, but adjusting to a new time zone is the worst. We’re still working at it, because today we found ourselves working to burn a couple of hours until breakfast opened at 6 am. As soon as we were done, we went back to bed for a nap.

Like I said, we’re working on it…

Anyway, after we got up the second time, we headed over to the Albert Cuyp Market. (Imagine if a flea market and farmers market had a baby. It’d be something like Albert Cuyp Market.) I found a few knickknacks, and Steve met a new friend:

Then we spent a good chunk of the day exploring Zaanse Schans. It’s a Netherland’s heritage site full of windmills and houses from the 18th and 19th century that are filled with makers of clogs, cheeses, candies and much more . Some of the buildings are original to the location, but many were relocated to the city when they were put up for sale and / or scheduled for demolition.

In short, it’s painfully adorable:

While we were there, we watched a guy make a clog: 

Saw clogs that were probably made for Liberace:

Tasted all sorts of cheeses:

And, made the brilliant decision to climb to the top of a windmill while it was snowing:

We also found the jewel of my clog photo collection. It’s so good that I may need to stop collecting. 

I mean, seriously, how can I top this?

The good news is that we made it back to Amsterdam in one piece. However, I don’t know how much longer we’ll stay that way. 

As Steve put it, walking through Amsterdam is long “playing Frogger.” You’re dodging bicyclists, pedestrians, smart cars, etc. Luckily, we’ll get more practice tomorrow!

All our love,

Tara (and Steve)

What You Should Know Before Traveling with Me (Or – Why Steve is a Saint Among Men; Or – Just An Excuse to Share Silly Photos)

Dec. 4, 2024

Our train to Amsterdam was 50 minutes late. While we were waiting, I decided to send out a recap e-mail. Primarily, because our last travel days cause me to take a writing break, and someone reached out to make sure that we were okay. (Thank you, Nicole!)

If you’ve been lucky enough to travel with me – you know that I like to take a series of photos. I like to use selfies as an excuse to channel Tyra Banks (from her “America’s Next Top Model” days), and get a variety of angles (i.e., facial expressions). 

This is one of the many things that Steve loves about traveling with me…

Exhibit A: Between the clogs, cheese and windmills, we found time to ham it up in Zaanse Schans. And, no, Steve was not in the middle of saying something:

While wandering around Amsterdam, we happened upon a (monster) family that represented different characteristics appreciated by Amsterdammers. If you were wondering, Steve’s trying to pacify me with this photo:

Exhibit B: This is the photo (complete with underbite) Steve wanted:

Exhibit C: Steve may (or may not) be hangry in this photo, but chances are that he’s just be ready for me to be done:

Exhibit D: The crazy may be strong with Steve, but most likely this is the 12th time that I forced him to stop near the Eiffel Tower for photos:

Luckily, sweet treats are easily procured in Paris, and are also a great way to close out a day and reward my (occasionally unwilling) model:

We’re still a few hours outside of Amsterdam, but I’ll let you know how it goes.

All our love,

Tara and Steve