AMSTERDAM

 

Imagine walking in Amsterdam’s historic district in the morning mist along the Amstel canal. You arrive at the door of a 17^th century residence, and are welcomed in by a distinguished young gentleman, Jan Six, who is the 11^th generation descendent of Jan Six I, a friend and patron of Rembrandt van Rijn. You cross the threshold and enter a world of Dutch masterpieces collected and commissioned by the family since the Golden Age of the 17^th century. Jan graciously guides you through the rooms of family portraits, furniture, and objets d’art. There are several of Dr. Tulp, later featured in Rembrandt’s “The Anatomy Lesson.” A portrait of Hendrik Six includes a camellia plant that he first imported from Japan in 1823. A camellia from the same stock is flourishing in the conservatory. In the corner there is the harp, an aigrette with ostrich feathers, and a silver inkstand that are featured in other portraits. At the end of the tour you reach a room with Rembrandt’s painting of Jan Six I – with extraordinary brushwork – which only rarely is seen outside the family.

After lunch at a fashionable brasserie, you walk to the ultra modern van Gogh Museum to meet with Director Axel Rüger for a personal guided tour. He is equally as engaging. The collection holds over 200 paintings by the artist, mainly from the estate of the artist’s brother, Theo van Gogh.

And this was only the first day of an 8-day trip!

On May 10^th thirty-one MFA Senior Associates embarked on an adventure to Amsterdam, The Hague, Bruges and Brussels. Superbly organized by Sharon Fownes ’10, and with the thoughtful and generous expertise of Rose-Marie van Otterloo, it was a truly memorable trip. There were masterpieces of art to be seen – with guided tours by museum directors and curators – at the Rijksmuseum, Frans Hals Museum,  Kröller-Müller, and Mauritshuis. There were fields of tulips and manicured gardens at Keukenhof and Floriade.  Plus tours of Anne Frank’s house and the royal Het Loo Palace! Afternoon walks highlighted Dutch architecture in the historic towns of Leiden, Bruges and Ghent.  Fine dining included a gourmet dinner cruise on Amsterdam canals, and we happily gobbled up treats such as Belgian waffles and Bruges chocolates. Hotel accommodations were luxurious and full of charm. And, of course, there was shopping – especially during the visit to the last remaining Royal Delft pottery works where artisans were hand painting blue and white ware and where SAs were eager to purchase their handiwork.

                                                                           Bruges

The days of travel were full of lively friendship, lots of laughter, and that special MFASA esprit de corps.  It was a spectacular trip!

(2012 - Mary Lord and Ginny Bradley)

NEW POST

 This past Christmas my family along with two other families traveled to Mexico for a week in the sun between Christmas and New Years.  This is the second year traveling with these friends during this week and we knew everyone was going to enjoy themselves.  We chose Mexico because we had never traveled there before and had heard that the Riviera Maya was a beautiful spot with less action than Cancun to the north.  We chose the Barcela Maya Palace Hotel as it was an all-inclusive resort with a good disco for the six 18-21 year olds that we had in tow.  The hotel was about an hour south of the Cancun airport and with a pre booked transfer, it couldn't have been easier to get to except for the flat tire along the way.... more on that later....

The resort was very large.  It had all the toys you would want:  kayaks, sail boats, snorkeling gear, tennis courts, bocce ball, basket ball, soccer fields, pools, nightly entertainment, kiddie pool (if traveling with small children) and activities through out the day.  The rooms were spacious and clean, the staff could not have been friendlier or more accommodating.  My only complaint was that our room was far from the pool and beach - I would recommend upgrading and getting a room closer to the water.  

The food was excellent!  Buffet style with many delicious options.  There are also restaurants to choose from but those need reservations. (no additional cost)  When we arrived were only able to get reservations for 2 of the evenings but with a little encouragement (if you know what I mean) we were able to secure another evening reservation at a good time for our party of 12.  The buffet restaurant is by the water which we all enjoyed.  Other all-inclusive resorts that we have been to have had the dining facilities back from the water.  Here were able to dine on the patio over looking the water at lunch and dinner.  The location was not by the beach but back from a rocky area so the view was stunning.  

What I noticed was that there were  many mult-generational families from all over the world.  Grandparents, kids and grandkids. Some families included aunts and uncles and cousins.  It really was a perfect place to relax with the family.