Here it is, the Cliff Palace, the largest Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwelling, consisting of 217 rooms and 23 kivas (communal multi-purpose rooms) which was home to around 120 people. The cliff dwellings were abandoned around 1300 AD - possibly due to drought, over-hunting and harsh weather conditions. It's really an impressive National Park- the wildlife is equally awesome. As we were hiking we saw a black and yellow snake cross our path (photos on Flickr), and a lone fox on the road. It was a long drive to get here - 400 km from Holbrook, but definitely worth it!
Friday, 22 May 2009
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Chief Robert, Wigwam Motel, Holbrook
Probably the most interesting place in Holbrook, the Wigwam Motel! Here's chief Robert guarding the Wigwam with his life as you can see from the stern expression on his face!
Our first night in the States was in Phoenix - were when asked where we were from, Chief Robert said "which country can you freely smoke marijuana without getting arrested"? To which the waitress happily replied "Amsterdam!". OK, so Amsterdam's a country now, so what? Our second night was in Holbrook where we went to a Steakhouse (wasn't much else) and had the sheer joy of being at a booth with pictures of corpses of criminals......needless to say, never a dull moment. The natives, are as expected, very friendly!
Montezuma Castle, Arizona
Here we are in the USA, and our first National park was Montezuma Castle where this cliff dwelling was home to the Sinagua people from 1125 AD. There were ladders that used to go up to the dwellings - but unfortunately visitors are not allowed to climb up anymore so we need to cherish the view from below. Our trip to the States went smoothly, with a 5-hour layover in Houston, TX. Upon arrival in Phoenix where it was 40 degrees Celsius, we picked up our Chevy Impala which drives like a dream and will be our faithful companion during the next 3 weeks!
Saturday, 2 May 2009
At Elsa's
Queen's Day 2009
What a strange Queen's Day this turned out to be. Some crazy guy drove his Suzuki Swift into the crowd in Apeldoorn with the intention of attacking the bus with the Royal family, in total 7 dead. The tone was "will Queen's Day ever be the same?" . We shouldn't change tradition because of one crazy guy. At Elsa's we were told Job Cohen wanted the festivities in Amsterdam to continue, but asked everyone for 1 minute of silence for the victims. Very appropriate.
On a different note, the party at Elsa's was as usual, with "The Second Hand Band", excellent.
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Queen's Dinner 2009
Following tradition, the Queen's Dinner was held yesterday, April 29 on the Hogeweg (Watergraafsmeer) in our neighborhood. The menu consisted of Tapas, Lamb, stir-fried cabbage, tabouleh and cheese for dessert. All in all yummy! We had a lovely time, this year Annemiek and Lizeila, Amanda and Tessa joined us in the celebrations. Today is Queen's Day, so we've got a lot to look forward to!
Sunday, 26 April 2009
With the catering staff
Intermat, Paris 20-25 April 2009
Just got back from Paris last night after a week's trade show at the Intermat. It was my first Hitachi trade show, and I have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Most visitors were French (although the organisation likes to boast it's international flavour), and the expected number of visitors will be less than 3 years ago. This picture was taken with our catering staff - and I'm sure they gave the best service in Paris that week!
Monday, 13 April 2009
First Communion, Sitges
Happy Easter, Feliz Pascuas! This picture was taken in Sitges, a small town near Barcelona and this little girl just had her First Communion. Sitges is a lovely seaside town which apparently is packed in the summer - but even though the weather was not as fantastic as one would hope in Spain, it was busy during Easter as well!
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