Deftly to Delft

Well, here comes the second bite of the elephant!

Our first “full day” in Amsterdam began with a quick city tour again, greeted by relatives of the cheese makers we saw on the farm, although they were dressed a bit differently

Trying to make us believe they were Spidey and sup..  we also passed a branch of a brewery known to all

As part of the tour, were able to take a little ride on the canals in a glass topped canal boat

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It does give a different perspective of the city when viewed from the canals, and you got to see more of those unique Dutch (or sometimes called Flemish) gables which we would see in almost every city we visited.

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We returned to the Alsvin for a lunch, and then MFO took the (optional) tour to the historical city of Delft (dating from the 11^th Century).  You may recall that Delft is famous for (at least) a couple of things, the birthplace of Johannes Vermeer, and Delftware.  It was also a residence of William of Orange, a rather famous (or infamous depending on your slant) figure.  It was kind of a relief to leave the big city of Amsterdam to see buildings like their City Hall

We again had a walking tour, and it was a very charming city of course laced with tree lined canals

Of course while our guide was explaining the history of the local buildings and talking about trade guilds, pointing out features, the Bottom Feeder would wander a bit and find (more) interesting things like “The Shoals”

A purveyor of (guess what?)

Or looking at intriguing cafes

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And their menus

The translation of which is left to the reader (mostly coffee related)

Although you can probably figure out who this one honors

But despite all these little charming places, sprinkled among them are signs of the intrusion of modern life, providing an interesting juxtaposition

So after a bit of Vermeer (no there!), we visited a little shop that (hand) creates the other famous export of Delft, called De Candelaer.  It is one of the few (three?) studios that still produces hand crafted and painted Delftware.  The owner gave us a short class in porcelain making demonstrating all the steps from powder to hand painted finish

Who was a pretty engaging guy

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He also showed us the only three “authentic” watermarks you should look for if you are in the market for “authentic” stuff actually made in Delft.

His is the top one, with the candle (De Candelaer, get it?) with the candle, the initials of the shop (DC), the initials of the maker (he is SD, the other lady is AR), and their code for time of manufacture. There's your little nugget of knowledge!  

Of course we had to pick up a few pieces to bring home for maybe the FOJ’s (or wives of same... wait for it)

We then bussed back to Amsterdam for dinner aboard

The boat remained in port for the night, and those who wished (and had the stamina) could go ashore for leisure time, starting at nine!.

And I suppose it has to go someplace on any accounting of a trip to Amsterdam, so it might as well be here.  One of the things that the city is known for is the famous “Red Light District”.  They are very open about it, and the tour books always have a little map and description of the famous windows and such.   Well, although that would have been interesting to see (just so you said you did) the closest the Feeder got was on a city tour when the guide pointed out (about ten in the morning), that those awnings “over there” would be occupied later in the day.  To be honest (as I always am), I would have liked to see them, but the only way would have been to go out at night and I have crossed the line of convenience versus curiosity.  Oh, well, I guess I know what they look like.

So we remained on board after being
DFD

Another elephant bite to follow, although we may have to take larger chomps to finish