About me

I was born in Pennsylvania and lived there until I was 8 years old. I lived near my grandparents and lots of cousins. My fondest memories are times with family. At age 8 my family moved to New York. Every year we would go back to PA for Christmas and the whole family would gather in my grandparents tiny house. The rest of the week we would travel around to other Aunt and Uncles celebrating all week. To this day Christmas is my favorite time of year.

I have had many careers from working in medical manufacturing, school aide and librarian to health and wellness retail. I am a lifelong learner which inspired me to go back to school and graduate with a B.S. in Alternative Medicine. During that time I decided I wanted to pursue wellness coaching.

While working on that career change I am taking a journey and pursuing certification as a wellness coach. This site will follow that journey.

Wonder and discover til wonder discovers me.

Preparation for this trip!

To go on this trip I tried to think of all the things that I needed, what I was most afraid could happen and how to make things easier.

Luggage (suitcase, carry on that is also a backpack), crossbody bag and RFid pouch around my neck to hold credit cards and passport, clothes for the right weather, journal, shoes that were weather appropriate.
Places to stay, plane tickets making sure that when I landed the time was in enough daylight to find the place I'm staying, directions to the airbnb so I don't look like a tourist,
Packing clothes for 5 months with layers since it will be 50's in the Netherlands, 90's in Morocco and back to 50's in Argentina. Started looking for ways to save money. In the Netherlands you can purchase a pass that is good for a year and for one price you can get into over 500 museums. You can also purchase a month long pass to ride all trains, metro and buses in Amsterdam for one price. For a short time period you can get a City Card for 7 days of attractions and transportation.

Storyline

Here we go…

Made it to the Airbnb. One roommate is here. His name is Noah and he is from France and staying through July. Sara is arriving in April and staying for April and May so it will be the three of us for 2 months. Beautiful blooming trees on my way to the store. It’s spring. I saw daffodils too. Interesting note they keep the eggs on the shelf in the store not refrigerated. Having trouble putting pictures I take on this site. I’ll work on it.

Today I took a bus and metro to Amsterdam in the area of Waterlooplein. I walked a total of 10 miles! So many shops and cafes. It was like a giant Main street. Went in a catholic church with beautiful stained glass. A lot of people smoke cigarettes or vape. So many people bike everywhere which is great. Hard to figure out where to walk so you don’t get run over!

Today I went south to Utrecht. Another beautiful town with a huge mall and lots of streets with tons of shops and places to eat. It is great to see so many small businesses. I took a tour of the Domtoren which is a tower with bells. You climb 465 steps up to the top with gorgeous views of the city. On the way up we stopped in the carillon room and got the hear the bells play which they do every hour.

It is about an hour walk to Amsterdam from where I am staying. Today was int he 40’s but still not too bad for walking with lots of layers except for the few minutes that is snow/hail/rained altogether. The museum was great. Had interesting displays on culture and the history of the Dutch involvement in slavery and different trade routes. Also touched on art from around the world.

Delft is most know for the blue and white pottery. Two shops I went in the owners were painting the pieces in the shop. Very expensive so I opted for a picture and the memory. I saw my first windmill. Molon de Roos. You could climb up inside the windmill and stand out on the deck and see the windmill moving as well as great views of the city. I saw several churches and went in one of them with amazing stained glass and art. Absolutely beautiful. I also went to the Delft Botanical garden which was nice but its a bit early in the year so it was cold and not much was blooming. They did have a very nice greenhouse with tropical plants so it felt like Florida for a bit. Passed by a gate that has been there since 1400. Amazing to think that I stood where someone was 600 years ago!

Walked to Amsterdam and went to two museums. The first was the Willet-Holthuysen House. Small museum but allowed me to see how a wealthy family lived in the 1800’s. The garden was still in original form in the back of the house. The second museum was Allard Pierson. This museum had quite a lot. A small section on glass blowing and old pieces of blown glass. A exhibition called Not My Soul on slavery particularly on Suriname which was sad but also showed how strong and connected they were finding ways to keep their culture or create a new culture if it was stripped away. Finally there was an exhibit on Egyptian mummies and artifacts showing the similarities of many cultures as they progressed from 1000 BC up to 400 AD and the materials used from clay to bronze and copper as well as writing appearing on the pieces.

This was a great little town. Here I saw the newest looking houses so far. The highlight of this place is the castle Muidenslot. It was built in 1285. Not only could you see the original castle and uses like the dungeon but Hooft lived in the castle in the 17th century so they had period pieces and art from then as well. Hooft was a writer and was called the Dutch Shakespeare. I loved the gardens which had plants for food, dyes, medicine and flowers for decoration. I found St. John’s wort, butcher’s broom, wormwood and mullien. The town had some forts and a farm with a tiny store with a “vending machine” you could get milk straight from the cow unpasturized right into your bottle. It was rather cold today and windy. Hopefully, a bit warmer weather is coming.

By the afternoon today it was sunny and feeling a bit warmer. I started out walking into Amsterdam to the ARTIS Microbiota museum. Where this museum is there is another museum, an aquarium and a zoo. The Microbiota museum was great. It had lots of microscopes and covered viruses, bacteria and fungi. As you walked around you had a piece of paper to stamp with all the microbiota. That made it fun. Then I went to Frankendael Park. This park is only 30 minutes from where I am staying so I will definitely be back. In the back of the park are allotments. Little plots of land one right next to the other with little dirt alleys between them. There were around 150 little plots. They are all well established. On each plot there is usually a gate or some type of entryway and a little building. Sort of like a shed but with windows and often a table and chair or two. People can rent an allotment and have a garden or flowers or whatever they want to grow. You can’t walk on there space but all around them. It was like a little fairy land.

Today I visited 3 places. The first was the Museum van Loon. Another house with period painting and furniture and a garden. There was an old picture showing a tree that was dated as being planted in 1880. The tree was still there. I wonder what that tree has seen in 150 of growing there! Next was FOAM which had photography exhibits. The museum was small but the exhibit on photography from the Ukraine war was powerful. One photo was an empty frame that said “the picture that will never be” and referred to the fact that many of her friends would die in the war and wouldn’t be in the picture. Last I went to the archives. Very interesting timeline of events and also an exhibit showing the Jewish school where the Jewish were forced to go from 1941 to 43. I left there an happily accidentally found Bloemenmarkt. Its a huge market of flower bulbs and fresh flowers and seeds. That was awesome to see. You could buy a cannibus starter too! Right nearby was a beautiful church the Krijtberg that was so detailed inside. Last stop was a cappachino and a stroopwafel.

Today I visited 4 museums. the weather was cold so it was a good day to spend inside. The amount of history I saw today was mind-blowing. Started with another windmill Molen de Valk from 1743. Once again was able to see the windmill turning from up close. Next was the Wereldmuseum in Leiden which had a great exhibit on religion from around the world. Nest up was the Rijkmuseum Boekhaave. The history of science and medicine. So cool to see the microscope Van Leewenhook used. Last was the Rijkmuseum van Oudheden. Amazing exhibit on ancient Egypt. So neat to see the hieroglyphics and tombs. To think that I saw objects form around the world and spanning thousands of years. The Netherlands has incredible museums.

Another walk to Amsterdam. Started at the H’Art museum to look at some interesting photography. I never really took the time to look at much art. The stories behind why the artists made the art and what it stands for can be very interesting. I had a cappuchino and Dutch mini pancakes in the afternoon in a very crowded and touristy area. Then I went off to a more peaceful spot at the Hortus Botanicus. So many plants form around the world. The footprint was not that big but they fit so much in a small area. The US spreads everything out so much. It is so wasteful. I saw a 150 year old Ginko Biloba tree. They had a medicinal section and I wish I could read what each one was and what it was used for but the signs were all in Dutch and trying to bend over and translate each one wasn’t working. So I just enjoyed being around all the beautiful plants. There was also a butterfly house with so many butterflies. A reminder for all of us to spread our wings and fly.

I went back to Utrecht today. Very interesting museum called Speelklok that had a bunch of automaton music machines. They were quite amazing and sounded beautiful. The afternoon was gorgeous weather and I spent 3 hours walking around another botanical garden. This was the best one so far. An enormous rock garden built on top of an old fort. There were so many pathways to walk all over the place. Absolutely beautiful.

Today was a bit silly but I had found searching online that some guy started a project and then other people got on board and you can get a map to find these miniature people hidden all over the city. So I walked the town and found 34 of the 71 miniature people. Didn’t do too much else but a quick walk through the Natural museum which had an exhibit of mummified animals. Gotta say that was a little weird.

Very small town with only 1500 people who live within the actual fortress. So cool to see this town though. The whole town is surrounded by a moat. I did stop into 3 museums. The first was one of the forts which gave some good history. The poor town was destroyed and rebuilt 3 times. It was neat to know that Napoleon visited the town in 1811 so maybe I walked where he did. Another museum had all these old weights and things to weigh and measure with. I have decided the Netherlands is a hoarder of old things. The last museum was on the life of Comelius in the the 1600s. Apparently he was a philosopher and came up with the division of school ages and how to teach that we still use today. Learned something new!

Today I went to the cheese market in Alkmaar a tradition that has been going on since 1592. So many people came to see it. I got a bag with 3 kinds of cheese and a cheese cutter for only 15 euros. So what do you do after seeing the cheese market – you go to the cheese museum. I had some samples of cheese and learned how they made cheese and butter over the years. I went to another museum on the history of Alkmaar and saw a beautiful church. Each town seems to have a Grote Kerk or great church. So beautiful. Then I wandered around looking at shops and searching for a place to have a afternoon coffee. I went arounda corner and smelled something wonderful. A woman was making waffles in front of a shop right on the street and it smelled amazing. As I got closer she said head on in its like a museum with items from long ago. So in I went and as you go back this narrow path through the shop they have all sorts of yummy treats and jars of herbs and then in the back there are a few random tables with really old furniture and beautiful cups and plates. So I sat down and had a cappuccino and a waffle with cream and strawberries. So delicious. Another couple sat down and told me to go upstairs to check it out. So when I was done I did and you can go into the shop owners living room and sit down and there to eat. The kitchen is right there and you are in there home. It was really a neat experience and people who have been there return to come back for the magical place and its wonderful food.

I can’t really say I saw a lot of the town of Haarlem and I would have liked to walk around more but I need to let that go because I really enjoyed my day. I started at the Teyler Museum which is the oldest museum in the Netherlands. It was started as the the desire of Pieter Teyler van der Hulst that a foundation be set up for study and education relating to science, instrumentation and art. Interesting things I saw were the fossil or an icthyasaurus. That may sound weird to mention but I did a report on this water creature when I was a kid and it resembled a dolphin and lived back with the dinosaurs. To see a fossil of one was really neat! (to me anyway). There were phonographs, original telephones, a Tesla apparatus, telescopes and microscopes and really old coins all marked by which city they were found. My favorite part was an exhibit on Dangerous books that had the books with lists of books that were banned as well as the banned books. There were original books from the 1500s like Copernicus and Galileo as well as works from Darwin, Gregor Mendel (monk who did studies on heredity) and Albert Einstein. So awesome to see these original works. Then I found the cathedral St. Bavo which was amazing. The floor is all tombstones going back to the 16th century. Beautiful stained glass and a huge organ that was played at one time by both Mozart and Handel. Next was some coffee at a place called silla that said “Every cup has a story” which I loved so had to stop there. The last stop was a Museum van de Geest. This museum was build in an asylum and went through the history of mental illness but by asking questions like who are you? What do you care about? When does being alone feel like freedom, and when like loss? and so much more. I only listened to a little over half of the information. I could have stayed much longer.

WOW is all I can say. So many tulips and other flowers. If you ever have the chance to visit these gardens it is definitely worth it. I spent 7 hours here and could have wandered around longer. Every color you can think of and the hyacinths smelled amazing. Birds were singing. It was like the scenes from the Wizard of Oz with all the flowers as far as you can see. It is hard to capture what I saw in pictures. Amazing day!

I decided to take a trip to Belgium a while ago. I hadn’t planned anything out yet and I met a college student in a windmill in Delft who was from Belgium. She gave me a list of things to do while visiting Belgium and suggested the I visit Bruges and Ghent. So I planned my trip around her suggestions. Bruges was a beautiful city. Here one can find the Choco-story Museum. As many of you know I love chocolate so this was one I had to see. It was interesting to see how the “hot chocolate” drink was made in Mexico and how it changed over time as it came to Europe. As with all the museums here they had quite a collection of items. I think one of my favorites was the delicate China cup for drinking the chocolate that had a piece built inside the cup so you could drink the chocolate without getting any on your mustache. There were quite a few cathedrals including Basilica of the Holy Blood which I did take my turn to see (the vial dating back to the 12th century), and I climbed the Belfry. I was told to have a waffle in every city so I made sure to have one in Bruges. My favorite thing to do is just stroll around turning down whichever street looks interesting.

The next morning was a short ride to Ghent. The highlight here was the castle built in 1180. Also for me having a Belgian waffle with chocolate sauce and blueberries with a cappuccino and a view of this castle while eating was amazing. Several famous cathedrals including St. Bavo where I saw the Gent altarpiece the Mystic Lamb. I ended the night taking an evening tour with a group of people from all over and a very lively Kenny as a tour guide showing us the places of death and torture around the town. The buildings are lit up and look beautiful at night. Travelling alone I don’t stay out late so it was nice to be with a group of people.

The last stop was Brussels. It was not a nice day weather wise and I got quite wet. I started with a Liege waffle which was on my list and made my way in search of chocolate for Ryan (my son who loves chocolate). I was told to find Mary’s and Neuhaus. Mary’s being the chocolatier for the royalty and Neuhaus another very good chocolate. I found them both (and a small sample for myself) and hopefully they make it home in one piece. I had to get the touristy photo with the Mannekin Pis which that day was dressed looking a bit like Count Dracula. I put a picture below with no costume but apparently there are over 1000 costumes which you can see in a museum – I passed on that one. I stumbled into the Grote Market which opens up into an incredible square with beautiful buildings surrounding every side. There are loads of people standing in the square taking in all in all day long. I wound up meeting someone from Amsterdam and another person from the Caech Republic. The rest of the day and I found Brussels to be very touristy with most shops either cheap chocolate or those stores with socks and shot glasses saying Belgium. I am amazed people buy that stuff. After Brussels I was ready to head back to Amsterdam.

Today seemed like a good day to visit a castle. This is the largest castle in the Netherlands but compared to others it is not very old. Built in the late 1800’s with the intent to be a very luxurious place to entertain. For over 100 years famous people came to the castle for grand parties in September. People like Coco Channel, Yves Sain Laurent, Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and Michael Caine. The castle looked like a fairytale castle and the inside was incredible detailed in the decorations and furniture. What I liked most however, was the grounds around the castle. There were ponds and little bridges around every corner with trees like weeping willows hanging into the water. The castle could be seen from faraway with beautiful landscaping surrounding it. There were deer and one pond had a swan. Beautiful day.

This was a great little town. Not too crowded and lovely shops and cafes. There were three museums. The first two covered some town history and art. The third museum really fascinated me. It was about ladders. I know you are thinking a museum about ladders how is there even such a thing. I was thinking that when I first entered but then the exhibit went on to show how ladders are used and the symbolic meanings. Ladders take us from one place to another or one level to another. Ladders can represent the stages as we go from a child to an adult, the movement between consciousness, subconsciousness, and unconsciousness and transformation. They symbolize a connection between humans and the divine. Where does your ladder lead?

Gouda is another cute little town. Nothing very remarkable about it but there was quite a bit being renovated. Spent a good part of the day wandering which is my favorite thing to do. I found shop the serves stroopwafels with cheese melted in between them. Since I was in Gouda I figured why not. It was delicious. See the picture below for what a stroopwafel looks like. The ladies who ran the shop talked to be for a while and they were telling me about King’s Day which is on Monday April 27. My roommate and I have been asking people what happens on King’s Day. It is the King’s birthday and all we have been able to find online or from people we ask is that everyone wears orange everything shuts down and everyone puts anything they want to sell out on the street. Like a huge countrywide garage sale. And there is music. We can’t quite picture what this will be like so stay tuned for Monday’s post.

I decided to sleep in a little and just go to Amsterdam. I’ve been wanting to go to a museum called Embassy of the Free Mind. It was a small museum with lots of books on all philosophy and religion. There was also a beautiful little garden. From there I just wandered and wound up at Westerpark. Park with lots of paths to walk around. There were so many people outside enjoying the nice weather and sitting all over in the park. This park also had allotments and these mini houses were a bit bigger than the ones at Frankendaal Park. I just love walking around these cutes little places and the beautiful plants and flowers they have growing. Since it was so nice I decided to walk back to the airbnb.

Today was the celebration known as King’s Day when everyone celebrates the King’s birthday. This year he turned 59. Everyone wears orange and everything except restaurants is pretty much shut down. From 6am until 10pm anyone can sell pretty much anything on the streets and in the parks. People covered pretty much every inch or the parks with blankets or tables selling just about anything. Common items were clothing, shoes, books, games, toys and jewelry.It was pretty much a giant garage sale.I was looking for little coffee spoons and found exactly what I wanted. One lady had hundreds! Many people also had games like fun little spin the wheel, or they would drop a tomato down a tube and you had to try to hit it when it came out the end. All homemade things. They sold food and drinks and lot of kids were dancing, singing and playing instruments. Although there were adults it seemed like mostly kids ran things in the parks. Out on the canal there were tons of boats full of people in orange and palying music. Great to be around so many people. I enjoyed taking it all in.

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