June 16, 2012
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(written on 24 February 2013)
The picture of the day should really have been of my sister Joyce getting on board an Amsterdam canal boat. But OK, I shall spare her the embarrassment because getting on board of one of those things was already a huge step for her to take, averse of anything touristy as she is. And admittedly, getting on an Amsterdam canal boat is pretty darn touristy.
I picked up my family from Central Station in the morning. Fortunately the weather wasn't bad at all today so the walk back home was quite pleasant. For some reason we seem to be walking a different route to my apartment every time they visit (I jokingly tell them that I do that on purpose so that they won't find the place by themselves) and today was no exception. My sister Ilse, who lives in Amstelveen, also visited and all of us went for a lunch in Cafe de Jaren, just down the street from where I live, in Nieuwe Doelenstraat. That's unusual because typically we'd have lunch at my place, but it was a nice change from the usual routine. De Jaren does nice lunches. As we walked out, I suggested doing a canal boat ride, much to Joyce's disbelief and horror. But I figured it would also make a nice change from the usual walk through town and so it happened that we walked to the nearest departure location and boarded a boat for a one hour tour on Herengracht, the IJ, and the usual other canals. Turns out it was actually very nice, and - apart from the choppier waters of the IJ behind Central Station that were just a bit too rough for my dad's liking - everyone had a good time!
After dinner at my place it was time to walk back to the station again and from there they took a train to Limburg again. I went home, cleaned up, and sat down in my lazy chair. It was a very nice day, even though I was quite tired at the end of the day. I hope the boat ride wasn't too traumatic for Joyce...
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