Road trip!

Vrouwekathedraal (Cathedral of Our Lady), Antwerp, the Netherlands

One of the things many North Americans can't get over when they visit Europe is how close everything is. Drive for an hour or two, and you can be in a different country from where you started, not a different state.

Introducing the Grammar Ninja!

To start with, I object to the title "Grammar Nazi:" it implies that those of us who love grammar will stop at nothing to exert our delusional ideals. That is not the case with me. While I have an OCD-style compulsion to notice typos and grammatical errors, I care more about the people in my life, so I make no comment, most of the time.

Also: my ideals are not delusional.

A-maze-ing Amsterdam

This road was used for two-way traffic, including delivery trucks, bicycles and pedestrians.
Wise pedestrians stayed off the road.

One of the idiosyncrasies of old cities is that they are not constructed on rectilinear grids. This makes them both charming and incredibly disorienting.

Utrecht

From Willem and Els's garden 

Rather than going in strictly chronological order, I've decided that, at least for the Netherlands portion of the trip, I'll group my comments and pictures by city or theme. Since Utrecht was our home base, I'll start there.

We landed on a foggy morning. As a photographer, I actually really like fog; it softens things and adds mystery.

The adventure begins!

Lily pads, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands
(I think I may want to have this picture framed.)

Oh, I have so much to show you and tell you!

It's been three full weeks since I blogged, and in that time, I've been to Holland, Belgium, Switzerland, France -- and even a couple of special places in Canada. But I am finally home and almost caught up on laundry, so it's time to get to work before I begin my next adventure.