Zutphen

This place is amazing. It should be a must see for anyone coming to Amsterdam. It is the most quaint little town, about an hour and a half train ride from the airport. It is not a tourist attraction, so everything is local, every one knows each other, there is a river in the town, a large cathedral, a public market on Thursday and Saturday, a Turkish grocery, lots of shopping, and Tamara's flat! It reminds me somewhat of France, the alley's, brick streets, tile roofs. I love the artchitecture and it is one of the oldest, if not the oldest city in The Netherlands. I am pretty sure they have those fries with mayo here too. AND I had a goat cheese sandwich for lunch this afternoon. I asked Tamara about the river and she said, "Do you want to jump in it?" and it was hot so I said, "Sure". And she sounded so excited and said, "Oh good, only crazy people do it. Let me call my sister". So we are going tomorrow.

I only "know" three people in Zutphen, Tamara, her twin sister Mirjam and her old roommate Henry, and I only "know" them from hearing Tamara talk about them. As soon as she picked me up at the train station (on her bike) we were walking to her flat and first ran into Henry and then right after Mirjam...both just walking or riding their bikes through town. The people are friendly and speak English and don't make you feel like an idiot because you don't speak Dutch.

I have posted a photo of Tamara's beautiful flat. The market that I wanted to go to is literally right outside her window. We are about to sit in the window seat and hang our feet out the window and "chill" as she says.

More soon...