The Renée Review

Our fourth day in Amsterdam was spent visiting the Van Gogh Museum who’s correct pronunciation is best left to the locals and getting a crack at the special exhibition called “Van Gogh Draughtsman – The Masterpieces.”

This particular exhibition is one the museum advertised as possibly never occurring again because of the paper works extremely fragile nature & sensitivity to light. Over 100 works from between 1853 - 18980 were brought together from public and private collections throughout the world. The drawings were considered Van Gogh’s finest and were a representative survey of Van Gogh’s masterpiece. One of the greatest joys this exhibit held for me was the viewing of Van Gogh’s four surviving sketchbooks, which were brought together and exhibited for the first time ever! This was an absolutely awesome showcase of his work, which we thoroughly enjoyed – a day well spent!

Our return to the Hotel Pulitzer involved some rain, getting wet & failure to properly board an Amsterdam tram; we never quite got the hang of the tram system, in truth, we really didn’t try that hard, followed by some additional Canal Bus time.

We met up with Luc & Jo Maene enjoying champagne & cocktails in Pulitzers Bar. Shortly, Paul’s family arrived in from Paris and was introduced to the Maene’s. Paul’s family lives in California, however, their vacation began in Paris.

We all enjoyed cocktails and beverages before splitting up for dinner. Marlo and her cousins Jillian and Paul James (PJ for short) had a wonderful time filling each other in on their vacation adventures, allowing Paul, his sister Lori, his mother Frances and I ample conversation time. Tonight we ate at a lovely Mediterranean bistro in the canal district located within easy walking distance from the hotel. (I am still desperately looking through receipts to find the name!) The ambiance, service and food were exceptional, plus the added bonus of stumbling on this place by accident added to the serendipity of our evening.

After dinner and finalizing our plans for the next day, we bid each other good night and Paul’s family departed for their hotel, The Amstel Intercontinental. This was the same hotel we had dined at the night before with Luc & Jo.

To our good fortune, upon our return to the Hotel Pulitzer, we met up with the Maene’s and enjoyed a nightcap together.