In Ashland again! Sept 30, 2017

My college drama friend,  Debbie, made a trip from Boston to Calif and said " Let's take a road trip" so of course we picked Ashland! 👏

We'll see 4 shows over the weekend:
UniSon
Off the Rails
Hannah and the Dread Gazebo
Beauty and the Beast.

I had seen two of them in July but am happy to see them again.

We drove up yesterday & return to San Jose on Monday. Staying at the Stratford Inn & got a suite so we each have our own space. Nice. This town sure is quieter in September than it was in July!  😊

( I also saw American in Paris last Wednesday in SF so this is a 5 show week!  )

Jane

My rankings Telluride 2017

I'm on the flight home & have time to reflect on the festival overall. Sometimes friends ask me what I'd recommend, and that's really hard to do, because not everyone has the same taste in films.  I'll try to tell why I rate a movie a certain way, so that might make it easier for someone to decide if they'd like it too.

My Very favorite:

Darkest Hour.       absolutely everything about this one is great!  Academy Award time
Wonderstruck        A joy; transports you; wonder full!
Wormwood           A great mystery to untangle; will be on Netflix

Super Liked:

Shape of Water.      Wild ride; imaginative
Lady Bird.   .          Like Juno;  fun!
Film Stars... Liverpool       Super acting; based on real story
Loving Vincent.       Visually stunning; interesting story
Battle of Sexes.       Great Fun!


Recommend:
Hostiles            Christian Bales
Lean on Pete.   Very touching; excellent young actor
Cotton Club.     Great cast!  Great dancing!  Gregory Hines!

Do not recommend:

First reformed
Other side of hope

( sorry I'm not underlining  titles-- hard to do on IPad.

Monday --last day of festival

We managed to get in 3 more films today for a total of 14

The most magical and lovely film of all began the day: Wonderstruck, based on the book.  This is a must see, and if you know any children  you must take them to see it.  It's about a deaf girl who goes on a journey by herself in 1920s NYC. It's also the story of a boy in the 1970s who is parent less and also goes on a journey of his own. I don't want to give away the story but please know it's a charming and endearing story.  A joy to watch. Can't wait to see it again.

The second film today was bizzare in a wonderful way-- the shape of water starring Sallie Hawkins, (who I adore) , Richard Jenkins and Michael Shannon.  It's a fantasy, so you have to be in the right frame of mind, but if you're open to it, it's an unusual love story. Octavia Spenser plays a delightful supporting role.

The last show today we should have skipped--the other side of hope. The story line was a good idea-- about a Syrian refugee-- but it just isn't a good film.

I'll write up my ratings in another post when I have a chance. But overall it was an excellent group of movies!

Gotta sign off now.
Jane

Sunday

 I am always shocked when Sunday  arrives. Can't believe we only have one more day after today.

 What a great beginning to today!  This was a tribute to Christian Bale, and first we got to meet him being interviewed by Leonard Maltin. Did you know he's British?!   Who has ever heard him speak in his normal accent? He's always played Americans!

 They first showed clips from about 10 of his movies which was really fun to watch. Then we saw his new film called Hostiles.  It takes place in 1892 and Bale plays a military man charged with escorting Native Americans back to their homeland. Of course the trip across the country was fraught with serious challenges.  Excellent acting. A western.

Lean On Pete
This is a story about a young teenager who is parent less  and latches on to a man ( Steve Buscemi) who owns racehorses. The boy gets very attached to one horse: Pete.    It's a Tender story, sometimes sad.

Loving Vincent is a magical film that blends animation & live action -- all painted in The Van Gough style by a team of 125 painters. Amazing!  Anyone who's an art fan or studying art would appreciate the craftsmanship here. The filmmakers gave a talk about how they made it happen.

Battle of the Sexes tells the tale of Billie Jean King ( Emma Stone) going against Boby Riggs ( Steve Carrell) and the feminist battle of the day. Surprisingly both actors pulled off their roles & we forgot
Who they were.  This was a good history lesson for younger folks who didn't live through it.

Wonderful day!

(Please forgive typos. I write these posts in a huge hurry!  )

Day 2 Saturday September 2

 We managed to see 4 more films today. A Fantastic Woman was set in Chile. It explore the relationship of a transgender woman and a much older man. It was quite poignant and tastefully done.

Second up was Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool.  It told the story of a young British actor who met the very famous Gloria Graham a film star from the 40s. The two of them had a long-term affair which of course was complicated.  Annette Benning starred and did a fantastic job. We think she is sure to get an Academy award nomination. I recommend this film

 Angelina Jolie --who we saw from a distance -- brought a film to do with the abuses of Khmer rouge regime.   We knew it was going to be very violent so we sat that one out and took a little break.

 We regret that we didn't skip the next film however. It was called First Reformed. I thought because Ethan Hawke was in it, it would be pretty good. But it was very strange. Hawke was there to introduce it. Do not recommend.

 We really looked forward to the late night movie which took us till after midnight. But it was well worth it. It's called Darkest Hour and starred Gary Oldman as Winston Churchhill at the time he took over as prime minister.  The acting was of highest quality and we are pretty sure the film and the star will get a big nomination-- if not the Academy award. Wow!!  Director & stars were here to introduce it. Wow!

There has been some rain but nothing to get in our way. I'm feeling fine  about my decision to get this kind of film pass. While I do feel I'm missing out on some of the other festival experiences, there are advantages to this kind of pass. So I don't regret this decision. 😊

All for now,
Jane

Film Festival Day 1 September 1

We were very happy to be able to start seeing movies this morning. First up: a very long Wormwood  about a real man, Eric Olson, who searches for decades to learn about the death of his father who died in the 50s while a government scientist.  You might remember the events. It will be on Netflix as a miniseries but the whole thing was shown here. . . Like Binge watching.

 It's an Absolute must see!

Next The Cotton Club--a 1984 Coppola film that he restored and re edited. Coppola introduced it to us. Also present were Gregory Hines' brother & son.G  Hines starred  & choreographed. The 

Cast of familiar faces was extensive. Fun. 

Then we saw Lady Bird which we all loved starring Saoirse Ronan as a teen growing up in Sacramento. Had the feel of Juno. See it!

Finally was Downsizing with an incredible cast ( see yesterday's post) and director, Alexander Payne.  However three of us decided to skip it & get some sleep.  Reports the next day were not very positive, so we didn't regret the decision.

Off to a wonderful start!  

Day before festival Aug 31,2017

We had a grueling drive here from Denver yesterday but thankfully arrived safely and are now feeling great. ( Michelle & I just had a massage, too!)

Our condo is good and not far from the theatre where we'll see most films.  Today we got the festival program and are thrilled at the films that will be here!
A sampling: Lady Bird ( not about Johnson) starring Laurie Medcalf;
Battle of the Sexes starring Emma Stone as Billie Jean King & Steve Carell as Bobby Riggs;
Hostiles staring Christian Bale;
Downsizing with Matt Damon, Kirsten Wiig, Laura Dern, Christoph Waltz;
Loving Vincent -- about Van Gough, which I appreciate after my trip to the Netherlands;
First Reformed with Ethan Hawke.

Some people who will be here include Christian Bale, who will be tributed this year, Ethan Hawke, Angelina Jolie, Emma Stone, the real Billie Jean King, and filmmakers such as France's Ford Coppola, Ken Burns, Alexander Payne.

Normally on Friday we only get to see a film in the evening ( on this kind of pass) but this year they're adding a couple more during the day. Super!

So we're off to a great start. Looks like back to back films so no promises about when I can write again.
( big thunderstorms today-- pouring right now. ).

Here's a picture of the 4 of us this year.

Jane

Telluride 2017. Aug 31-Sept 4

The group of us this year is Michelle, Julie B, Pat J and me. We rented a new condo this year, so we'll see how we like it.  We're going several days early, as usual, to get used to the altitude & cuz it's fun!
This is the first time I've bought the cheap seats with the others. . . instead of the outrageous Patron Pass.  I have very mixed feelings about this, but will see if I can adjust. I'm saving a lot of $$-- especially since they raised the Patron pass price a lot this year.

We also tried something new with travel this year. We're flying to Denver then driving the 6.5 hours to Telluride (after a night at a hotel at airport).  We'll see how that works.  :-)

I probably won't have anything to write until Friday or Saturday. . . once the festival is underway.
Until then,
Jane

Ashland July 2017 Oregon Shakespeare Festival

My sister & I drove to Ashland from Lincoln where we saw 5 shows in 3 days:

Beauty & the Beast
I'd never seen it before-- live or film --so finally the whole beastiality thing makes sense to me.  😉Lively, imaginative, and entertaining.

Shakespeare in Love
Adaptated from the film. Such a good idea to do that at this festival cuz the audience got all the allusions to Shakespeare. I especially liked this one.

Merry Wives of Windsor
A clever version complete with a sound track of 80 s music!  Very entertaining!

UniSon
Inspired by the poetry of August Wilson... It's a world premiere by 3 OSF company members. Unusual, creative & thought- provoking. I'd like to read it or the source material to get more out of it.  I was surprised that I liked it as much as I did.

The Odyssey.
Well, as you might expect:  Long!!  This one seemed to be the most traditionally staged.
I'd appreciated the shows with modern or unusual spins

As always, the actors, effects & staging were top notch!

We met up with cousin Jan & her daughter, Megan. This is the second year we have gone at the same time, though the three of them go annually.

The food, hotel ( Bard's Inn)and company were all terrific!

Jane

Sunday Oct 16. From Toulouse

We just spent the weekend in Rocamadour where I was unable to get on their wi fi, so now I need to catch up on several days.  I've felt bad because I would have liked to write more each day that included reflections, reactions, etc, but the pace of this trip has been fast and we have had precious few minutes of free time.  So here's what we've done since Thursday.

Fri Oct 14
We said au revoir to Sarlat ( which I really enjoyed) and set out on our journey towards Rocamadour. This was our first rainy day ( so we cannot complain). The region and topography really changed.  We're in the Lot Department ( state). Our first stop along the way was at a distillery in the town of Souillac.

April 19 windmills & tulips

Today is our last day on the cruise. Tomorrow we fly home.
The ship is enroute to Amsterdam and on the way we see windmills and then visit Keukenhof.
Fortunately Merle & I decided to stay on board in the morning so we could exercise, pack and have a short massage. We were able to see the windmill field-- over 20 of them-- at Kinderijk, which is where our shipmates went by bus to see.

The visit to Keukenhof was spectacular. I took a ton of pictures of the flowers.  I would have liked more time there, though, as there was so much to see.  This is a must- see place this time of year!  So glad I got to be there in April. Very special.

(One day I hope to be able to add pictures here.)

This was a good trip, though as I indicated before, I prefer more time on the land than this cruise could have.Lesson learned.
Farewell Netherlands.

April 18 --if it's Tuesday it must be Belgium

So....the way this trip is set up you only get a very limited bit of time in cities so it's reinforced my hunch that this way to travel isn't my favorite.

We docked at Antwerp. Morning excursion was a walking tour in Antwerp and afternoon we drove to Brussels.  It was Really cold again in the morning.

After lunch Merle left the group to spend time with an old family's friend who lives near here.  The bus first stopped so we could snap pix of the Atominium--- huge atom structure from the worlds fair in 1958. Impressive.

Since today was the only time we visited a French speaking city, I decided to go on my own so I could interact with the locals.  While the time here was very short, I did get a very positive feeling for this city--- it felt a lot like France.

I went to a museum very briefly then wanted to walk a bit in the city, to end up at the group meeting place-- the Grande Place.
I had to have a Stella Artois on tap-- my favorite beer that's from here.  Yummy.
Just had a short walk around.

This was " If it's Tuesday it must be Belgium...."
Next trip I'll stay on land.

April 17 Ghent & Brugge Belgium

Today we docked in Ghent and went by bus to see the ancient cities of Ghent ( morning) and Brugge (afternoon) .  These day trips were too rushed and short and we were a bit frustrated, but we did see some nice things.
In the morning it was really cold and the walking tour wasn't very comfortable. Today is Easter Monday in Europe people are off work and it's another holiday for the locals.  The number of tourists was huge!  We thought going in April would avoid the crowds, but that's not the case.  However we got some nice pix and saw beautiful buildings.

The main site we visited was the Ghent church--- Cathedral of St Baro-- the very famous altarpiece by Van Eyck. ( circa 1492).
We had lunch on ship then drove to Brugge.  Merle & I wanted to go at our own pace so we left the walking tour & had our own tour.  That way in the 3 hours we squeezed in a lot.

First we went to the small Groening museum where we saw what's called "Flemish Primative " paintings.  It's art from the 1400s with unusual  features--- very detailed and colorful and almost a 3 D effect. I found them to be very interesting!  Glad we saw them.
I noticed lots of dogs in art and in town--- unlike in the Netherlands. I must be missing  my puppy!  😉

We then went to the Church of our Lady where we saw the Michaelangelo Madonna.statue.

The town was REALLY overrun with tourists and that was not at all pleasant.

We saw beautiful swans and some tulips.

April 16 Veere ( in Zeeland)

Funny thing last night... I turned on I pad to blog and the message said the site was blocked because it was deemed to be porn!! 😬  Oh dear!  I tried many times & was refused. So I'm glad that now I can log on.

During breakfast we went through another lock, which is always fun to watch. We docked in the town of Veere, on the North Sea.  Today is Easter and there is a large group on board from Germany. So in the lounge on the upper deck they laid out a German buffet and had music playing German songs!  Really felt like we were in Germany.  The food was not what I eat--- there was even a pig's head in display in the buffet--- but it was festive and lively.
I ate in the restaurant and by the way, the food has been excellent, as has been the service. I'm way over- eating.  I'm really satisfied with this cruise. The stewardess delivered a plate of chocolate eggs to our cabins this morning.

After lunch we had an excursion to the Delta project--- built to prevent the kind of horrible flood like they had in 1953.  Our bus drove over a dam where on one side was the North Sea and the other side was a lake.  ( I think I'm saying that right...). Then we went to the Delta Barrier----- built so that the sea could be shut off if necessary--- to prevent flooding.  This was an incredible work of engineering.  We walked over the barrier as well as went inside it.  At the visitors center we saw a film explaining the whole project. Just amazing! Our guide said the Dutch are fond of saying that God built the world but the Dutch built Holland.  It is a really apt expression and I now understand why they say that.  I hadn't realized before this trip that everywhere are dykes--- not just here and there.

We had a short walking tour in the town of Veere.  Again, really pretty and quaint.  The Dutch were all out riding bikes or going for a Sunday stroll.

We are never really sure what's coming next on this trip....we wish we had a clear map of our routes ( such as with the daily schedule) but that's not been the case so far.

By the way, I know there have been some typos in my blog ( and I know some friends are finding them all) but it's not always  easy to see them and Internet sometimes cuts out.  So please forgive.  😉
All's well here and still having a good time!

On the ship April 14-15

It's evening on April 15. I couldn't get on Internet last night so I'll write about yesterday and today.

April 14
I spoke to Roger a couple times on his birthday and it seemed he had a good day!
Today we went on a bus to and excursion out of Amsterdam. Just 15 minutes outside of the city you're really in the country and it was beautiful!  First we stopped to see our first windmill up close.  We learned that windmills were built in a row at increasing heights in order to pump out the water.  We visited a cheese factory where we tasted a wide array of different Gouda cheeses.  Yummy.

The first town where we stopped was Volendam-- really charming!  Would be a lovely place to stay for some days.  In the town is a huge lake that was originally a part of the sea but was dammed and now is a fresh water lake.  Tradition here is for each house in the village to have a window close to the street and the curtains at each house are unique & special.  Town has grown so much that now it connects with the city of Edam.

Driving past houses in the country showed me the typical lay out-- street in front, then canal,  then another canal on the side followed by a field with grass & sometimes cows grazing. The land all was reclaimed and evidently pumps keep things in check all over.  Many houses have a boat in a nearby canal.  Beautiful!

Next town was Edam. Turns out though there's not a lot of Edam cheese made here as locals prefer Gouda --they say it's got a stronger flavor ( and Edam is seen as too bland). This is another really charming town!

Our ship FINALLY set sail during the night Friday-- after 2 nights moored in Amsterdam. I say "finally" because the travel plans changed from the schedule when they discovered the place we were heading to had " no room at the inn"--- or rather at the harbor.  Hard to understand how that sort of thing can't be set in advance but someone speculated that the local harbor master may have gotten a better offer elsewhere... Hmmm...
But we still are having a good time.

April 15
During the night I kept my curtain open a bit to watch the water.  Nice.  This morning we woke up to the ship going through a lock before arriving at Arnham.

Our guide Frans gave us an excellent lecture about the waterways and how it all works.  Most informative!
After lunch Merle & I joined a couple of others to deviate from the organized excursion so we could go see a museum -- Kroller- Muller Museum outside of Arnhem. It holds the second largest collection of Van Gogh works.  Since we missed his museum in Amsterdam we really wanted to go here.  His works were fantastic and the crowds were nothing like we found in Amsterdam despite this being Easter vacation week.  In addition I was delighted  to see other works such as Picasso ( I Loved those), Gaugin, Pisarro, Cezane, Monet, Renoir, Signat and some excellent Dutch painters I had not known before.  We were very pleased with our decision to go here.

Weather was chilly but sunny so that's good!

Off to dinner now!
Jane

April 13 Amsterdam

I'm now sitting in my cabin aboard our ship the Amadeus II Silver. We came aboard late this afternoon after a full day in Amsterdam. This morning our art historian ( Max) gave a lecture about the 17 th century art in the Netherlands-- the " golden age."  He's very knowledgeable and enthusiastic and brought to life the artists such as Rembrandt, Vermeer, and others. This was a prelude to our visit to the Riksmuseum.  He took us on a short " greatest hits" tour of the museum.  These were masterpieces for sure.
Unfortunately this is the week before Easter and we discovered that this city was extremely crowded with tourists ( oh dear) and hoards of school children from all over Europe on vacation.  So navigating the museum --and really all over town --was not fun.  Locals said the number of tourists in the city has gotten out of hand and we sure saw that.  Anyway, we did see some excellent art.

Some overall impressions of our stay in Amsterdam:
-- I really liked this city. Lively, beautiful, easy to get around ( tram or on foot).  I'd be happy to return here.
--yes indeed I smelled that special herb often on the streets
-- we only accidentally walked down a street in the red light neighborhood but did see examples of ladies in windows
-- we experienced some intermittent sunshine, and quite a bit of grey and overcast skies

We boarded out little ship around 4 pm and got settled.  Our group of 21 is only a small part of the approximately 130 travelers aboard.  Merle and I wanted to sign up for massages tomorrow before all the slots were taken, so we did that ASAP.

Our cabins are gorgeous!  The ship is only a couple years old, and quite spacious cabins and new. I'm very impressed with that so far.

Dinner was delicious---- high quality. I had salmon.  I expect we will eat too well!

Was surprised to learn that the ship doesn't depart till tomorrow afternoon so we are moored here in the harbor in our floating hotel room.

So far so good!
Tomorrow is Roger's birthday. Sorry to be missing it ( and him).

Jane

April 12 Amsterdam

Today was our first full day with our Road Scholar group. Our guide gave us a short history of the Netherlands lecture (1.5 hours) with PowerPoint and while it covered a lot of material it did hit the major events. ( Glad there wasn't a test after, however). Any discussion of history inevitably reminds me that things just keep repeating themselves... It's about power, control, money fame, ego, pride, etc.
Frans is quite knowledgeable and easy to understand, thankfully.

He then introduced us to Max, an expert on the architecture and art of the city.  Max gave us a walking tour and pointed out curiosities and historical facts about the buildings.  We walked through various neighborhoods and along canals & the river. It was nice to walk around but we also had to stand a lot & it became very chilly. The weather has been unexpectedly cold and today was quite gloomy, with a few light bits of rain. We really hope the weather is better on the river trip ...or it may not be quite the trip we hoped for.

After lunch we were on our own.  I wanted to see the floating flower market but it turned out to be a waste of time.  The shops along the river sold bulbs and kitch and nothing of  interest. A disappointment.
But then we went to the Hermitage museum where there is a fantastic exhibit about the fall of the Romanovs. The way the information was displayed was very special--- made you feel you were there, with music, art and history woven together. The focus was on Czar Alexander and his heir --- the very ill- fated Nicholas and his family. It was a most interesting unfolding of this tale.

Merle & I were cold & tired so we opted to have dinner not far from the hotel-- at a Malasian restaurant. Nice. Wish Roger could have had their yummy coconut ice cream!

We had to pack up, for tomorrow our bags are sent to our boat while be go to museums.  Then when we head to the boat in the afternoons, our bags will already be there.

Time for nite nite.😬💤
J

April 11 Part 2--evening

What a wonderful day!
Merle and I had bought tickets long in advance ( necessary) to see the Anne Frank house.  It was not a disappointment.  It's the actual building where she,  her family and others were hidden from the Nazis. The museum had real documents, family photos as well as portions of the original diary. But the most amazing part was that the rooms where they hid were a part of the tour.  The rooms have been furnished as they were in the 40s and you could really see how it might have felt for them to be so restricted. I'm sure you know that her father was the only survivor, and when he returned to Amsterdam after the war he found that Anne's diary had been retrieved by one of the brave people who helped supply the family ( and keep the, alive). We saw video clips of Otto Frank talking about the diary---  he said it took a very long time for him to be able to read it.   We are benefit from his efforts  to get it published and tell their story to the world.  This museum experience was powerful. I noticed that the website for the Anne Frank house has educational videos suitable for teachers.  Bravo.

In the afternoon I got to see my former student, Jacques. He has led a fantastic life and has been very successful in his international governmental work. I am not surprised ---as he is gifted and very hard working. He has worked on international efforts to deal with chemical weapons as well as security in the EU. It was most interesting to hear his international perspective on the insanity that led to Brexit and the US election--- two tragic decisions in our lifetime.

At 4 pm our tour group met for the first time. It's a nice sized group of 21. More are married couples than in my previous trips--- only a few solo travelers. Our Dutch guide, Frans, seems lovely and quite capable. It looks like it will be another well- done tour!

The next 2 days will be in Amsterdam before we get on our boat Thursday afternoon. So much to see!

Jane

April 11 Part 1 ---Amsterdam

Morning
It's amazing what 12 hours of sleep will do for you!  I feel great this morning.
I arrived yesterday and met up with Merle at our hotel-- the Park Plaza Victoria. It's a terrific hotel, very centrally located with outstanding staff. Really outstanding!  Merle got here around 8 am--several hours before me -- and had to wait for a room ( naturally). So while she waited, all the staff got to know her-- and by extension me-- so that when I arrived everyone knew who I was already!  Just like at Cheers.😉
We decided to walk around and get to know the area.  Merle had studied the map, fortunately. As in the photos, there are tons of bikes, and as Rick Steves told us, you have to be vigilant about where they are --as well as the trams.  Not as scary to walk as Rome is, but challenging.

We had a light lunch in a cafe in a small pedestrian street ( we like those!) which could have been anywhere inEurope.  I think it's great fun to see so many blonds-- like in Sweden.  Very unlike the Bay Area where they are scarce.  But there is still a mixture of people here...of course it's a very international city. Heard all kinds of languages.  Dutch does sound germanic but we can't decifer anything. However really everyone speak English. So much so that we found Dutch people who even speak with their Dutch restaurant servers in English.

We went by a couple museums but decided we were too jet lagged to get anything out of them. The weather is colder than I expected so coats & gloves are needed.  Love those scarves ( added warmth). After checking into our rooms in the afternoon, unpacking & showering, we went to the Amsterdam pancake restaurant across from our hotel. But the Dutch version of pancakes meant crepes, so I was happy.

Today we will go to the Anne Frank house.  Today is the first day of Passover and Merle is Jewish, so it seems especially appropriate today. Then after lunch, a former student of mine from Mission College will come to see me at the hotel.  Jacques and his wife took 3 different courses from me back in the 90s, then went on to Cal & graduate studies.  He is Dutch and works for Eurojust.  I really look forward to seeing him.  ( Ironically, his wife is in San Diego right now visiting her parents, so I won't see her).
Then at 4 pm our tour group will have its first meeting.  Will be a full day!
Jane

Upcoming trip to the Netherlands & Belgium --April 2017

I’m heading out on my next Road Scholar trip to the Netherlands & Belgium April 9-20.  

We begin in Amsterdam, then will board a river boat for a cruise (in rivers & canals) and will see such places as Amsterdam, Ijsselmeer, Arnham, Ghent, Bruges, Antwerp, Brussels, Kinderijk, Ultrecht and Keukenhof.  The focus is on the tulips as well as the history & cultures of the region.  I’m meeting up with a lady (Merle) who I met on my trip to France last October.

I plan to write in my blog but am not certain how often I will have internet access.

If you're interested, you can sign up to be a "follower;" you then will get a notice whenever I do post.

Jane

To the Netherlands April 9, 2017

I'm headed to Amsterdam for my Road Scholar trip in the Netherlands & Belgium. Currently at SFO awaiting flight. We'll be in Amsterdam for several days before getting on the riverboat for a week. Tomorrow I'll meet up with the lady I met in France---Merle--and the whole group arrives on the 10th. I made contact with a former student from Mission College who works in The Hague & will get  to see him on Tuesday.
I'll try to write in my blog but am uncertain when Ill get internet service.
I look forward to the trip  🌷🌷🌷and the Tulips!
Jane