amsterdam
27 december 1999

hi all,

wanted to update everyone on our first full week here in a'dam. jet lag is finally subsiding; it was pretty bad for awhile making it difficult to function in normal hours. strange sleeping patterns, too.

anyway, tux, the cat did very well on the trip after being mildly tranquilized. he was refusing to eat cat food at all and was getting pretty spoiled but seems to have taken a new interest in his own food lately. we are staying in a wonderful hotel on a canal and the staff thinks he's just the cutest thing- he is, of course. sometimes he wanders the hallways exploring the many sets of narrow dutch stairs. as soon as he gets comfy here we'll be moving into our own apt. so the fun will begin all over again for him.

gary is already an expert at getting around on the various trams, trains, and buses. i am overwhelmed by the whole thing at this time, but since that's the only option, i'll have to do it. as long as i can get to dance class, i'll be fine. haven't had a chance to look into it but my friends who are dancers suggested a school for me and the sooner the better. it doesn't take very long to start feeling out of shape for us neurotic movers.

exploring has been a lot of fun for us, as gary is off this week and we really feel like we're getting the vacation we were looking forward to. do we really live here? it's such a strange feeling to think we are here for a length of time. i feel very excited by it and plan to take full advantage of being in europe.we are taking the train to brugge in belgium on wed. for our first overnight getaway. it's supposed to be a lovely town with a medevil flair.

the weather is damp, cold, often rainy and rarely sunny as we knew it would be. however, green grass and flowers abound. today we visited the botanic gardens, which i like in any town. other activities have been a day at the van gogh museum-we'll be going frequently. i love his work and reading all the history surrounding his painting is fascinating. i swear those paintings are so vibrant they look like they'll jump off the wall any moment!! so many museums to explore! we also went to the anne frank house; a very sobering experience. i had been there the last time i was here but really even seeing it the second time, there are still no words. having just done the show "cabaret" intensifies the experience.

xmas was pleasant and we spent a quiet day and then had a 7 course dinner, which lasted 4 hours. i am not exagerrating! we finished eating at 12:30am. that was a first. dining in general is a very unhurried activity and don't wait til you're keeling over with hunger to decide to go out to eat. fortunately, we have 24 hour room service! but since we aren't on a schedule or anything right now...by the way we met a couple from frankfurt at our expanded xmas dinner. they had just gotten engaged and were brimming with giddiness and we had a grappa(italian liquor, very strong} with them in celebration. we now have a place to stay when visiting frankfurt.

so far we are enjoying ourselves here in this wild city. i'll try to keep you updated periodically and in the meantime will write shorter notes individually. wishing you all a happy new year! please stay in touch.

with love, deb and gary