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31 May 2010
Farewell to Amsterdam for a year and a half
Two large Coal Ilas on our last evening in Amsterdam, and I doubt that I can convey anything well. Our anniversary on the 23rd fell on a Sunday, and the weather could have hardly been more perfect. We went first to Betty Too where we had some space cakes, and Tasaro gave us something to smoke along the way. And then we ambled in sheer bliss from coffee shop to coffee shop to pub to pub. Thanks to Bill Cook who has a job in a smart shop (he wasn't there when we came by to see him), we discovered the Kolk on the Nieuwe Zijds and the old if not ancient grain measuring house. I realized then and there that capitalism with its penchant for material profit is no less a form of paganism – whether my preferred form or not. The area was magical with a contemporary trinity of smart shop, coffee shop and tavern all in a row, a veritable birch grove at the end and a hotel that allowed us to witness the archaeological roots of the area on display. Eventually we continued on, and all I can now remember was that it was a supremely celebratory day.
We also had over the long weekend a lovely visit from our Woody and his two friends Luke and Tom. Though we scarcely saw them (they slept all day and partied all night), we enjoyed their just being here and their enjoying Amsterdam as much as we do. This was followed by an evening with our beloved Saskia who must be one of the most beautiful and talented people I know. It is always a thrill to have time with her. The following night two of my former students, Faye and Jane, with an enjoyable friend Suzanne, came for dinner along with our uniquely favourite Jim. Thomas' birthday celebration was the following evening: very Dutch and most enjoyable. The next evening was 'Boys Night Out' which was much, much different than last year's. Instead of Jim whose map did not list the intervening street between the street that the Kurdish restaurant was on and the one on which the Concertgebouw is so that he could not find us, we included Frans a Dutch friend of Thomas' from New York whom Richard had originally met in Rome. It was different and a bit disappointing without Jim but still enjoyable.
The Saturday that followed I went with my Ricardo to "It's Show Time", eight if not more hours of kick boxing in the Arena. It was purely a Roman circus out of the past. For the sociologist in me, it was utterly fascinating. There were strobe lights, disco dancers on platforms between rounds, extravagant entrances of the fighters preceded by their national flags borne by elegant women and every kind of match from one between nine year olds, another between women, one for amateurs all the way up to the supreme match of the day between heavy weight champion Moroccan Badr Hari and the Egyptian Hesdy Gerges. All day long, whenever Hari's name was flashed on the screen, the crowd went wild with enthusiasm and approval. In the first round, he knocked his opponent down and then proceeded to kick him as he was down. The crowd turned on him completely, booed as much as they had previously cheered, he was disqualified, and Gerges was declared the winner. All in all, I have never experienced anything like this, and I had the vastly extra bonus of having a great time with Ricardo who had been given the tickets as an xmas present.
Sunday we were able to help Warren move books in his shop as part of a rearrangement. He took us to lunch afterwards, and then we came home to continue packing and shutting down the house. In addition to this whirlwind, before Bruxelles, we saw Santima; after, we have had some time with Stephan and Koen, Nick and Ilonka (dinners in both instances), Regina, Ralph and Regina's sister Sarah coming up from Bruxelles, and Gerda from Australia. Jim came for an impromptu meal last night. Richard and I sat outside this evening in the warm sun for a farewell cocktail moment in Amsterdam, and now from tomorrow after a ferry crossing, it is London for seventeen days.