I returned a couple of days ago from my 3 weeks in Europe. A bit frazzled, but happy to be home, especially to find no snow. Well, a bit of snow, but it seems to be melting fast.
 
After Amsterdam, my sister and I returned to England. I had a couple of days to catch up on my rest and let my poor tootsies get a break from all that walking. But Rena was off with some of her work colleagues for an exercise weekend at Potters, a resort hotel that is a bit like the holiday camps that were so popular in England in the ‘50s. She had gone last year and had booked to go again this year, but had forgot all about it when I told her I was coming. Oh well… Anyway, while she was going to exercise classes I took it easy, reading Anne Simpson’s wonderful new novel, Falling, and watching some fine British telly. Much of the television in England seems very Americanized (as does Canadian TV) but there still some excellent panel shows such as Have I Got News For You and QI  (with host Stephen Fry) as well as one of the best music programs ever, Later…with Jools Holland.
 
The day after my sister returned from her exercise weekend we were off to Scotland. By this time it seemed we were spending as much time on buses, trains and airplanes as we were on solid ground. First stop – Glasgow, where our Uncle Leonard lives. In the 50s Len studied art at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art with none other than famed member of the Group of Seven,  Arthur Lismer. He later went on to study at the Academia in Florence and finally settled in Glasgow to become a teacher at Jordanhill. He retired a few years ago but still paints in the studio in his flat. The next day Rena and I went Edinburgh to visit our cousins Sasha and Michaela. Sasha and I are quite close and used to stay in close contact when she lived in Montreal. But I hadn’t seen Kaela in years, the last time being around 1993 when she was in Toronto singing with the Scottish group Mouth Music. It was amazing to see both of them again and made me wish that we all lived a bit closer.
 
Back in England, Rena and I made the most of my remaining couple of days. We and her son, Gareth, and his wife, Julia, went to London for the day. We got an excellent deal from British Rail of 4 roundtrip tickets, which doubled as travel cards for the Tube, for around £70. First we saw an exhibition of artifacts from Tutankhamen at the O2 (formerly the Millenium Dome). It’s a massive structure and the exhibition was top notch with archival film footage of the discovery of King Tut’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings and comprehensive history of how Akhenaten introduced monotheism to Egypt, only to have Tutankhamen, the Boy King, bring back polytheism. At one time it was thought that his early death at the age of 19 was a result of murder, but that was later disproved by modern forensics. CSI: Thebes anyone?
 
After the exhibition we took a rather long and circuitous walk on a pathway along the Thames. After walking for about an hour or so (hard to believe my Blundstones didn’t disintegrate by this time) we discovered a water taxi. Our travel cards got us a discount on the fare, so we took it to central London. There Julia and Rena went clothes shopping on Regent Street, while Gareth and I checked out the Apple Store. A very cool place. On the top floor a GarageBand workshop was in progress where an instructor was demonstrating all the cool functions while people in the audience followed along on their laptops. Made me wish I had had my iBook with me so I could sit in with them. Gareth and wandered all over, drooling over iPhones and latest iBook Air. I ended up making a very impulsive purchase of one of those super-thin aluminum keyboards.
 
On my last day Rena and I took her new Mazda out for a spin. For many years she had driven a VW Golf, which she had dubbed Pippi (after Ms. Longstockings). But Pippi had begun to rust and so this new Mazda (purchased just before we went to Amsterdam) is now her mode of transport. She is calling it Kiku. We drove to Felixstowe for a nice two hour walk along the beachfront boardwalk, which is lined with small colorful beach huts used by British families since the early 20th century. Later that evening we went to see Shine A Light, the new Rolling Stones concert film by Martin Scorsese. I had read some lukewarm reviews and wasn’t expecting much, but it’s a terrific film and it is nothing short of amazing to see that the Stones still got their mojo working after all these years. My favorite parts were the cameo appearances by Jack White, Buddy Guy and Christina Aguilera, who did a scorching duet with Mick Jagger on that Stones classic, Live With Me.
 
The long trip back home, starting with an early train to London, the Tube to Heathrow (2 ½ hours total), and 6 hour flight was uneventful, that is until I landed in Halifax, where I was detained by Customs. When I filled out my declaration card on the plane I didn't bother to  declare any of the gifts I brought, which is what I usually do because I'm always under the limit of what I'm allowed to bring. Anyway, this time they decided to take me aside, asked me again if I had bought anything. I confessed to some books I had bought and they x-rayed my bag. The guy asked me again - or as he put it: "The way you answer now will decide on how we proceed" -  so I had to fess up to the rest of the stuff – the Apple keyboard, some gifts I bought in Amsterdam and a number of museum souvenirs. I felt pretty foolish, like a little kid caught red-handed, but the Customs officer was actually quite nice to me. He said he could confiscate everything legally because I didn't declare it, but he just let me go. I have to admit I felt pretty dumb, but happy as hell to get on the plane to PEI.

Just spent three days and nights in Amsterdam. My sister and I stayed at the Barangay B&B, which is very close to the train station. The B&B is owned by a couple, Wimmo and Godwin, who were very gracious and accomodating hosts. We were actually greeted at first by their friend Ron, who made us tea and provided us with a map and a visitor's guide. He immediately set about marking up the map for us, pointing out the Jordaan (an arty section of shops and cafes), the Red Light District, some museums and some of his favorite restaurants. He also gave us a discount coupon for a boat ride.

The B&B wasn't cheap (about $500 for 3 days, which is still cheaper than hotels), but it was very comfortable. My sister and I had a floor to ourselves. Both our rooms were large and comfortable, decorated in a funky tropical theme. On the floor below there was a communal breakfast room stocked every day with fresh breads, muffins, cereals, meats and cheeses. We made our own breakfast and washed our own dishes, which Rena found odd for a B&B, but I liked the homey atmosphere of it.

Amsterdam is definitely a walking city and pedestrian friendly. The city seems to be an interesting mixture of old world austerity and a modern upbeat vibe. This was most evident in the constant flow of sturdy Vermeer-black bicycles and whizzing Day-Glo Vespas. On our first night we walked through the more touristy section which led to the famous Red Light district and then into Chinatown, where we had a couple of fine meals. Both my sister and I are hopelessly direction-challenged, but she was determined to understand the map and managed to guide us (in an often-roundabout way) through the city and get us back to the B&B. I, on the other hand, was happy just to wander aimlessly. After a bit we stopped for a coffee and quickly discovered we were in one of the many cafes where more than just coffee is available. My sister, who doesn't partake of that sort of thing (or hasn't for years) was the designated walker for the evening, while I had a "special treat". It went well with my cappucino and I felt quite at home with the city's laid-back sensibility.

Most of the time was spent walking along the canal streets - the Herengracht, the Prinsengracht - and ducking down small streets. My sister is a budding photographer and found plenty to shoot, some of which should be posted on this site soon. We did manage visits to the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum, which was huge, so we restricted ourselves to the Rembrandts, Vermeers and Steens. But the real work of art as far as we were concerned was the city itself. The buildings towered with a sturdy beauty and my sister fell in love with the huge windows. Whenever I go to a city or town I always wonder to myself if I could live there. I think I could definitely see myself living in Amsterdam. It would probably be a challenge to learn Dutch, but on the other hand the place seems so laid-back and easy-going that it might be easier than I think.

I have been in England for a couple of days now visiting my sister, Rena, in Ipswich. Today we had our big outing to London, which l we always do when I visit. It's our time to hit the museums together. First it was the Tate Modern to see an exhibition of Man Ray, Marcel Duchamp and Francis Picabia. I was familiar with the first two, but had never heard of Picabia before. The three were close friends and sometimes collaborated on each others' work. As painters, photographers, scuptors and poets they were pioneers in the Dada and Surrealist movements.

My sister and I like to play a game when we go to the museum. We are each allowed to choose our favorite work of art which we can bring home. Because this was an exhibition of three artists we could choose one piece from each. One of my choices was Duchamps' most famous painting: Nude Descending a Staircase #2. I'd seen it in books before, but to see the real thing up close was fascinating. When it was first exhibited it caused an uproar because people thought a nude shouldn't be shown doing something as prosaic as walking down some stairs. But for Duchamps it was a study of movement.

The painting is often referred to in Anais Nin's novel, A Spy in the House of Love. The main character, Sabina, feels a connection to the many nudes in Duchamps' painting because she believes she herself has many separate selves.  

After the Tate Modern we walked along the Thames to the National Portrait Gallery where they were having a retrospective of Vanity Fair photographs throughout the magazine's history. It was amazing to see photographs of Virginia Woolf, GB Shaw, Hemingway. One of my favorites was a beautiful black & white photo of the opera singer, Jessye Norman. Another - interestingly enough connected to the earlier exhibition we had seen - was Man Ray's photos of La Nijinska (the sister of the great dancer, Nijinsky) done up in dramatically grotesque face make-up.

My sister, who has recently started taking photographs herself, fell in love with all the Annie Leibovitz photos. And with good reason: they are stunning!! She has a way of manipulating light that makes her work look like paintings. Amazing to see the real things up close.

Afterward we went to Chinatown and shared a plate of crispy aromatic duck, fried noodles with prawn and pork dumplings. Yum!!! Finally we made it just in time to catch the 9:30 train back to Ipswich. After 7 hours of being on our feet it was good to get back home. We have a couple of more days to chill out and then on Monday we are off to Amsterdam. Tell you all about it in a week or so.