amsterdam

i´m going to have to work a bit backwards and write about italy and nice, france while already moved on to the netherlands. these photos here are from our current room. they have used their space wisely in this hotel (NL hotel http://www.nl-hotel.com/aboutus.htm). it is a small boutique hotel with the most fantastic decor that i have ever seen. plus we have the only room that has full access to a small garden/fountain area with a statue of buddha. we feel so at peace and realxed that we decided to ask if they had space for us on tuesday and wedneady night which are the dates we are booked in utrecht, netherlands. they have room here and were nice enough to move people who are arriving early the day we leave so we didn´t have to change rooms. maybe letting them know we are newly engaged when i booked the room helped, they have made us feel very at home and pampered with their accommodations. luckily the company i booked our utrecht room through had a 24-hour cancellation policy and everything worked out (unlike florence-a story for later). speaking of our engagement...carlos surprised me in venice. we really only had one full day there, which is not enough because actually getting there is quite difficult and expensive due to it being an island. water taxis are outrageous in price, but really the only way you can get around unless you have about 3+ hours to spend on getting there from the mainland. it was worth it though. we arrived by train making our way across the entire country (started out at 9am in monterosso, cinque terre, stopping in pisa for a quick 1 hour jaunt over to the leaning tower (amazing), arriving with 1 hour to spare (where we loaded up on espresso) in the florence train station to catch our connection to venice. we have realized that these major travel days are exhausting, but we are a strong team and we take good care of each other.

on our first full day in venice we decided to get lost in the narrow streets and do some window shopping while trying to take care of erannds, like mailing home bathing suits and clothing i bought in nice because it was so hot and most of the clothing i had was dark. we passed many shops full of unique masks (some a bit creepy) and loads of murano glass shops with rings, earrings, cuff-links, plates, etc. beautiful. during this meandering we passed a unique jewelry shop and looked in the window. i showed carlos two rings that i thought were cool - very 20's/30's art deco looking. tried not to go inside too many places because the crowds were overwhelming. we later stumbled across this man playing glasses out on the street. full orchestral pieces from mozart, bach - the classics - when he played ave maria i nearly cried it was so lovely. when i say playing glass, i mean touching the rim of glasses that are a bit like wine glasses. you´d think they were full of water, but only one had water in it, the rest were etched on the bottom to create a certain note when played. i was beaming. i spoke with him in between songs and he told me he was from siberia and was only in venice for 4 days. i told him about my trip to russia in 1987. he was impressed that i played clarinet. he plays piano but taught himself this glass-playing art over the past 5 years. he performs with a group that includes a glass bass flute player, glass organ player and glass harp. 7 octives total. they tour on occasion in europe and i believe he was on his way to france for a few gigs. so unique.

the day wore on (the heat & humidity almost unbearable) and we got ready for our evening reservations at a restaurant recommended in my rick steves' travel book. it said the food was artfully served and was all pastas and fish - no meat. the wine selection was surperb. carlos and i found a bottle that we both knew we'd never be able to afford in the states and really couldn't afford while travelling. i was surprised that carlos encouraged it. that should have been my first clue, but i was just so excited we actually found the place (we had to buy 2 maps to even find the street listed - it's all twists and turns). we had a 7 o'clock reservation. the place fills up quickly with its 22 seats and 3 serving times per day. the wine was fantastic. the food was creative & delicious. for sure a one of a kind restaurant. since the place was so tiny, we were a bit forced to speak to our neighbors since their table was so close. this was not a problem. they were from australia and very friendly. a special, sweet, fun couple that was celebrating 35 years together. they actually reminded me a bit of my parents. anyway, we shared our engagement with them, talked about world issues as well as music. carlos found a segue in our coversation and stood up to come over to my side of the table. i didn´t understand why he was getting up because the place was so small to begin with, but then i saw him reach into his pocket as he got on one knee and he proposed to me again in venice, italy at that very moment. i leaned down and kissed him, the room cheered and both of us were in a tunnel where we were surrounded by people who were all watching us, but neither of us felt anyone was in the room but us. it was breathtaking. i was in total shock. while i was in the shower before dinner he ran back to the store where i had pointed at the rings. luckily they were still open and he picked one out. it was the last one in that style. it´s not my size at the moment, but we hope to have it sized properly once we get back home. it is so unique. asian pearls that sparkle.