crappy weather

hmmmm... yeah... about them pics... *blush*

Well, while Thu was spent indoors again, in pajamas, cooking lasagna (which came out a little better than last time, I controlled the pasta situation a bit more, although not quite perfect yet...), Fri I figured it was not going to stop raining or get any warmer, so I might as well go somewhere else and try to get my tush back into motion. Since I left The Hague with museums unvisited, I headed off in that direction again. I managed to get to all 3 I had in my list, with a bit of a rush:

- the Genteenmuseum is kinda of a generic "a bit of everything" museum. Skimming through the decorative arts sections I learned a bit about the famous Delftware. In the basement are the Wonder Rooms, each one an interactive experience. Some pretty neat, some a bit lame. But pretty worth going with someone to play around a bit. Definitely good for children.

- The Mauritshuis was a slight disappointment. Even with my museum card I had to pay 4EUR. Good thing it included a "free" audio tour. If you want to listen to the whole thing, plan a couple of hours at least. But the place is tiny... Its claim to fame are a roomful of Vermeer's, including "Girl with a Pearl Earring", and another roomful of Rueben's. They had a temporary exhibit about Italian landscapes, but not from big name artists.

- The coolest one, and unfortunately the one I had the least time to explore (silly 5pm closing times...) was a permanent collection of Escher's work at the Palais Museum. Even though I had to pay full fee here (a whopping 7.50EUR!) I was only upset that I had to rush through the end of it, and I didn't get to try the interactive activities. I love this guy's stuff. This place was bigger that the Mauritshuis, and included photos he took of his family and places that inspired his work.

Since all cultural places were closed, I made a soggy and cold way to the warmth of home. A night of planning has given me a good list of possible next steps. I found out I can make my way by train and ferry to London for a decent price... So that should be coming up soon. And I've been looking into Belgium. Tomorrow through Wed it'll still be fairly soggy, so I'm trying to stick to museums. There are a couple of outdoor places that seem worth visiting... if only the sun would peek out!

Cool news: I am meeting a woman in Amsterdam on Wed, I might get her apt for free for 2 weeks, just as long as I take care of her cat... Which would be sweet, and it would give me time to explore that city, which has way too many things to see, and further north, which right now is kinda too far. Let's see how it goes and if it's worth it... this would place me in the Netherlands through the end of June...! Then I *really* have to make my way south... :P