Lexi's Birthday in Holland - Day 3 - Cirque
We woke up later than we wanted to the next day and had to grab some muffins from some cafe (it started with an "A") on our way to the train stations. The muffins were a white chocolate raspberry muffin which turned out to be pretty good, but a little heavy on the butter.
We slept for most of the train to Rotterdam. Lexi set her cell phone alarm just in case, but we didn't need it. We found a cab just in time to grab our tickets and sit down at the Cirque du Soleil production of Dralion. We had seats 3 rows back, but luckily, the clowns didn't decide to screw with us. We had a close call back in Vegas at Mystere, when the character of the little baby almost chose us as it's parent. The poor woman next to us who was chosen, got pulled on the stage 3 or 4 times. The production was good, but not the best Cirque we have seen. There were highlights, like this guy who used a giant trampoline to help him run up a wall. The contortionist was unbelievable. She could bring the soles of her feet up to the back of her shoulders while balancing on one hand. However, some of the other acts had some mistakes, a group of balancers couldn't keep their three person tower up, but no one was hurt in the fall. Some of the tumblers hit the tinly little circles they were trying to get through and the human pyramid that was jumping rope almost got the last guy on top of their 5th layer. Honestly, I can't complain, cause I couldn't do any of that. It seemed like they might have been training some new troupe members as many of the actors seemed younger than average for Cirque performers. The few mishaps couldn't ruin what was a spectacular show and we got back on the train for Amsterdam satisfied and still a little sleepy.
Once we got back, we picked up our luggage at the hotel, bought some dutch chocolate pastilles (soooo good) and had a quick bite to eat at a brasserie outside the train station. They had pretty decent food, but nothing spectacular. They did manage to serve us in a half an hour, which is faster than most sit down restaurants we've come across have managed.
Our train ride back had us sharing a compartment with 4 swiss teenagers, all playing Jass (a Swiss card game with a special deck of cards). We took the top bunks and got some sleep while they played. We only woke up when they had to switch engine cars and our AC was turned off, which turned our compartment into a sauna for 45 minutes. Once the new engine was hooked up, the AC was on and we actually got about 9 hours sleep on the train.
Finally, here are some other pictures that I just had to share.
So far, we have seen more painters at work in Amsterdam than in Paris or Zurich.
There are some great signs of a strong counterculture. It's a little hard to make out, but someone has put a raptor on this Manpower sign. Manpower finds temps for companies.
Max Euwepine Square. The giant pieces are public property and free for anyone to use.
You gotta love a city with more bikes than cars.
We slept for most of the train to Rotterdam. Lexi set her cell phone alarm just in case, but we didn't need it. We found a cab just in time to grab our tickets and sit down at the Cirque du Soleil production of Dralion. We had seats 3 rows back, but luckily, the clowns didn't decide to screw with us. We had a close call back in Vegas at Mystere, when the character of the little baby almost chose us as it's parent. The poor woman next to us who was chosen, got pulled on the stage 3 or 4 times. The production was good, but not the best Cirque we have seen. There were highlights, like this guy who used a giant trampoline to help him run up a wall. The contortionist was unbelievable. She could bring the soles of her feet up to the back of her shoulders while balancing on one hand. However, some of the other acts had some mistakes, a group of balancers couldn't keep their three person tower up, but no one was hurt in the fall. Some of the tumblers hit the tinly little circles they were trying to get through and the human pyramid that was jumping rope almost got the last guy on top of their 5th layer. Honestly, I can't complain, cause I couldn't do any of that. It seemed like they might have been training some new troupe members as many of the actors seemed younger than average for Cirque performers. The few mishaps couldn't ruin what was a spectacular show and we got back on the train for Amsterdam satisfied and still a little sleepy.
Once we got back, we picked up our luggage at the hotel, bought some dutch chocolate pastilles (soooo good) and had a quick bite to eat at a brasserie outside the train station. They had pretty decent food, but nothing spectacular. They did manage to serve us in a half an hour, which is faster than most sit down restaurants we've come across have managed.
Our train ride back had us sharing a compartment with 4 swiss teenagers, all playing Jass (a Swiss card game with a special deck of cards). We took the top bunks and got some sleep while they played. We only woke up when they had to switch engine cars and our AC was turned off, which turned our compartment into a sauna for 45 minutes. Once the new engine was hooked up, the AC was on and we actually got about 9 hours sleep on the train.
Finally, here are some other pictures that I just had to share.
So far, we have seen more painters at work in Amsterdam than in Paris or Zurich.
There are some great signs of a strong counterculture. It's a little hard to make out, but someone has put a raptor on this Manpower sign. Manpower finds temps for companies.
Max Euwepine Square. The giant pieces are public property and free for anyone to use.
You gotta love a city with more bikes than cars.
posted by sfphotoblogger at 10:32 PM
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