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We are home...at least i am. Betty Lou will return to Summerland tomorrow.


The last leg of our journey took us back to where we began: Amsterdam. We didn't do much with the evening (dinner & bed), but had a lovely day today (at least i think it was today...it feels like yesterday).

me (Dale) enjoying a cigar in Amsterdam

We visited the Anne Frank house/museum, which was very moving and certainly worth a visit. After that we walked along the canal to the flower market, had a bit of lunch and returned to the airport.

Flower Market in Amsterdam

The flight (10 hours, i think) went by remarkably quickly, considering that neither of us slept.

And now we are back. I'm not sure how i feel about that, but then again, i am so tired i cannot really evaluate my feelings about anything.

It was an excellent trip and neither of us could have asked for anything better.

Thank you again for taking the time to read about our adventures.

Dale & Betty Lou North

From Amsterdam to Moscow

Please forgive me for this being so brief, but it is quite late and others are waiting to use this computer.

Amsterdam canal & bicycles

We arrived in Amsterdam, which was unseasonably warm and beautifully sunny. We cruised the canals and wandered aimlessly down the narrow cobblestoned streets (i am SO glad i wore my Doc Martens; they're not stylish, but at least i can keep my balance), had coffee outside by the canal and smoked a cigar (well, i did; Betty-lou had a latte). Our hotel, the Hotel Brouwer, was beautifully charming and cozy.

Hotel Brouwer, Amsterdam

We flew via Stockholm to Moscow and arrived this evening. It is cold. About 6 degrees. I have to admit this is a bit intimidating. Most people don't speak English and all of the signs are in Cyrillic. I am, however, pleased and proud to report that this evening BL and i managed to find a restaurant, order food and pay for it in Roubles. She had borscht. I had vodka.

Our hostel in Moscow (The Godzilla Hostel) is...well, it's no Hotel Brouwer, but it is clean and has all of the amenities we could need.

Hostel Room, Moscow

We will post when we can.  Tomorrow we are off to Red Square and to view Lenin's body.

A couple of notes to specific people:

 -Dale says:

• "John Josh, Anthony: i ran into someone from our class at the airport. He was en route to Paris."
• "Steve, it is 2 May and i am thinking of you in particular on this day."
• "Chris, thank you for letting me know what the soup of the day is on Granville Island. You're swell."

-Betty Lou says:

• "Dawn, we thought how much you would like Amsterdam - it reminded us of New Orleans."
• "Ron, I love you."

That's all for now.

Da svidanya.

drn and luba dtmetrunetz