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We had a relaxing morning as the kids slept in and meandered out the door late morning. We walked to go rent bikes and ride out of the city. I was so impressed with the kids as we rode over 35 kilometres and they did great. They have awesome bike lines along the highway and through the towns.

This was one of the towns we biked through.

We drove out to where some old windmills are still in use. This one grinds up materials used in paint pigment.

The inner workings of the windmill were quite the sight.

These were taken outside where the windmill spins.

These cows lived right across the path. There’s no need for long fences when you have waterways.

We took a very short ferry over a waterway.

After living in a different city for just a few days, I can’t help but notice what is the same and what is different than at home. Amsterdam has lots of coffee houses (where you go for marijuana) and coffee bars (that serve coffee), just like Vancouver.

The place we are staying in has no oven or clothes dryer and a small washing machine. I’m not sure if that is unique to our place or not but I would assume it is the norm. There are also a lot of steep, narrow staircases to make the most of the space they have.

The bike lanes are like home but I was surprised that these small cars sometimes join the bikes, scooter and mopeds on the bike lanes. The vehicle lanes are also quite narrow, like Ireland.

Smoking is allowed on the less than five minute ferry ride on a boat with a wooden floor.

Instead of dumpsters, there are small garbage drop boxes and they get emptied by these garbage trucks.

For our first few days in Ireland, we didn’t have to worry about directions, attractions or food. We were quite spoiled. After spending a whole day in Amsterdam, we felt much more comfortable navigating where we wanted to go, how we wanted to get there and how to manage our day.

Our first stop was the Van Gogh museum. They have a great treasure map for kids which kept Leah and Joel engaged throughout the visit. Pictures aren’t allowed in most of the museum but it was a great way to spend the morning and we will remember it fondly in our minds.

In some places we stack rocks on top of each other, in other places they place rocks in trees.

One of the museums here.

We rode on a double decker bus. Joel was quite pleased once we got these seats and declared himself the driver.

Since Joel loves emergency vehicles, I thought I’d try take a picture of some in different countries. Here is an ambulance and a police car.

We also passed by an old windmill.

After our bus tour we found ourselves close to Vondel Park so we decided to walk through. It’s natural beauty and walking and bike paths remind me of Stanley Park. The kids spotted a cool bird in a tree. You might have to click on the picture to enlarge it so you can see it.

We stopped at a restaurant for bitterballen and found a playground amongst the tables. The kids had a blast. They encourage cycling young here.

On the other side of the restaurant away from the playground you could also dine by this pond/river.

This style of housing reminds me of all the talk and skinny new townhouses going up in Langley and Surrey.

We walked home and got to walk by average streets and businesses away from the touristy part of town. Every bike rack you pass is brimming full of bikes. I loved walking down the street and looking in the windows of all the shops.

Morgan has done all the grocery shopping so far until today. We all went together and it was interesting to see how things are packaged, the variety of items and the pricing. I was excited when I found these.

We are staying in a pretty Dutch neighbourhood. Our table mates the first evening doubted the restaurant would have an English menu. It’s neat to stay among the locals and see how they do life. I’m surprised at the diversity here though I would imagine it is less so as you leave the city centre.

We started our first full day in Amsterdam buying some food and visiting a playground nearby. Then it was off to the city to see what this place is all about. We spent the rest of the day on a hop on, hop off canal tour.

What do you do when land gets scarce and prices are steep? You just go onto the water of course.

The buildings have great style here.

These are the organ pipes in an old church where Rembrant is buried.

The two gated platforms are at the train station and are a parking garage for bikes and it looks full. In front of it is one of many, many tour boats going up and down the canals.

Here is a typical street in Amsterdam.

There are canals everywhere. The boats looked so unique to me as they are so flat. Even with being so short, they don’t have much clearance as they pass under a couple bridges at every block.

Leah and Joel hanging out at the side of a canal waiting for our boat. I was surprised at the lack of fences.

The lack of high rises also surprised me. The house fronts look very cool though I would imagine you would lose a lot of space due to stairways.

Here is a typical intersection with a bike lane, a vehicle lane and a transit train. The bridge railings are all used as bike racks.

We ate tacos for dinner tonight which felt a little odd. I’m not sure what the Dutch normally eat for dinner though I was looking out for some bitterballs (a delicious Dutch ball of deep fried goodness) today but didn’t find any. We didn’t look that hard either but I’ll have to up my game tomorrow.

Today marks two years since we moved to Vancouver. I fell in love with the way of life very early on. The walkability of our neighbourhood is amazing along with great, safe bike routes and beautiful views. It was a bit lonely early on but I knew once we got more established and found some friends, this would be a neighbourhood we would want to stay in.

We had amazing friends and family help load up our moving truck and bring everything up to our apartment as well as a dear friend who took the kids to the playground while we moved. We realized that night we had brought too much stuff over and the unpacking, organizing and purging began. We traded in furniture for new stuff from Ikea that fit our space much better.

Now the West End feels like home. We know many people in the neighbourhood, have many friends and acquaintances and are friends with the cashiers at our favourite places to shop.

I’m so glad we took the plunge and moved into the city. We are very fortunate that we are able to still visit our families regularly. At my mom’s we get to enjoy all the benefits of living in the suburbs. The kids can run free in the backyard at any time and I get to get my hands dirty in the garden and do laundry without paying or walking down the hall.

Today we relaxed at home, made some origami animals, the kids played with their friends and then off to the airport. Our flight was delayed so it was quite late when we got in. We went out for pizza and then straight to bed.

While we were waiting for our flight I gave the kids their journals to work on. This is Joel’s impression of Ireland – a few cows, some sheep and lots of rain. We actually had decent weather while we were there.

We found Science World at the airport (right on the top of the pole).

I found these chocolate sprinkles in the home of our host. My Oma had these and we would have chocolate sprinkles on our sandwiches at her house. It was such a treat.

Yesterday we drove to Northern Ireland and visited an open air museum about emigration to America from Ireland. There was about forty buildings showing the houses,schools and shops of the time with some places having great volunteers dressed up in period costume and telling about life back in the day.

The museum started off by talking about the potato famine and why people immigrated to America. These were the houses they would have lived in in Ireland. The first house was quite small and would be for a poorer family.

A house with a thatched roof and whitewashed walls.

A wealthier family’s home.

This was the inside of a Catholic Church with the confessional in the corner.

Here was an one room schoolhouse with sixty students. The children would bring a cold, baked potato for lunch as well as two pieces of dried sod for the fireplaces at either end of the school. The kids would have slate and a board or ink pens.

To use the bathroom you had to walk outside the school into the attached room and do your business. We never figured out how they emptied the outhouse.

This was inside the printing shop.

This was a shopping street with many ‘stores’ open to walk through.

Then we boarded the ship to America to see what life was like there.

We decided we would not like to spend weeks in these bunks.

Home sweet home in the new world.

This is the house where we are staying. I love all the stone and brick everywhere.

It is very quiet and picturesque. This is the view all around.

Today we started our real adventures. The kids and I slept until 10 this morning (though I was up in the night for a bit) after going to bed around 7:30-8. We had breakfast and then went on the road.

Our first stop was magic hill. It’s a small hill where you stop at the bottom, put your car in neutral and the hill pulls you up the hill. It’s the weirdest thing and your mind has trouble believing it to be true. (It’s an optical illusion).

Then we went off to see the long women’s grave. It’s an interesting tale about a tall woman from Spain who died at the top of the mountain when she discovered she had left home for a man who actually owned a little bit of land instead of the great riches she had thought. We hiked up to the top of the mountain and had a picnic.

It was quite windy at the top so this pair decided to try fly by flapping their wings.

This is looking out at Northern Ireland.

After our good hike and passing many pastures of sheep, we visited a really old castle. We had a blast climbing around, in and on the castle built in the thirteenth century. Some of the walls had walkways inside of them with small slits for archers to defend the castle.

Our last stop of the day was a church with a tower next to it. When pillagers when come, they protected the church’s treasures by putting them in the tower and pulling up the ladder.

The plane ride was very smooth and went by faster than I thought it would. Everyone was immersed in their electronics and passed the time well.

Leah and Joel both slept for just a few hours on the plane before we landed in Dublin. My friend Glynis picked us up and off we went to church. They sang many of the same songs we do and belong to a small, tight knit church. It was great to sing and listen together.

We kept the kids up with less than four hours sleep and they did amazing all day. Glynis had three kids that are close in age to ours and they hit it off really well.

Glynis has a beautiful house surrounded by pastures wherever you look. This is in sharp contrast to our current city life and feels lovely, even though we love being downtown.

We drove a few kilometres in the afternoon to go on a little trail walk in the forest. The kids all had a blast playing with sticks and water and exploring nature.

It still feels a bit unreal that now we are in Ireland and have so many adventures ahead of us.

As I woke up this morning, thoughts swirling in my head about politics, leadership structures, apps for the kids, and the mundane, it hit me, today we are off. The long awaited, researched and paid for trip across the ocean to go visit Europe.

The kids are excited about the plane ride, I’m excited to see my friend and we are all excited about the adventures before us as we see the sights, taste the food and experience different cities in different countries.

Leah and Joel have their own backpacking backpacks and we tested them out last week. It’s exciting as they grow up and we think of all the adventures we will be able to go on.

This was how Joel fell asleep last night.

We are coming back in September with memories of Dublin, Amsterdam, Paris, London and Rome. Now it’s off to wash the bedsheets and do some last minute prep for our houseguests.

All Candidates Meeting at WECC
Thursday, October 8
7-9:20

NDP- Constance Barnes
-single mom who raised two kids
-housing, seniors and daycare are important issues
-$10/daycare
-women’s rights

Green-Lisa Barrett
-single mom who raised kids
-mayor of Bowen Island in the past
-balanced budget, housing co-ops, trade agreements that look out for citizens

Liberal-Hedy Fry
-MP for 22 years, doctor at St Paul’s
-seniors

What would your party do if a minority government was formed?
NDP – has wanted to form a coalition government but have been told no by conservatives
G – Elizabeth May has done well, willing to work with parties to get the job done
Lib – ask that later, running to win, but will work with other parties

Oil Spills
G – stop subsidizing tar sands, opposed to twinning Kinder Morgan pipelines, says scientists are unmuzzled
NDP – unmuzzle scientists, nothing will move forward till scientists speak, immediately reopen Kits coast guard, look into green technology
Lib – lobbied for Kits coast guard, will reopen marine communication, wants environmental assessment before pipelines

Foreign investments, properties in trust, income tax loopholes
Lib – wants research, bring back the long form census, need a good housing strategy
G – home is a right, not a commodity, tax laws written by those who will benefit such as deathly and real estate, too many numbered companies buying, need to reinstate justice department and its lawyers to address people bypassing laws
NDP – need data

Bill C51
NDP – no amendments, repeal
Lib – our job is protect citizens from harm and protect freedoms, had six amendments, four passed
G – immediately repeal, need a very strong, vocal voice to fight

Mentally Ill
G – need everyone to work together including local health authorities. Housing first, then support right away
NDP – mental health innovation fund ($25 million), concerned with indigenous youth, addiction
Lib – house, wants to provide supportive care,, reengaging mental health with medicare
Two most important issues of West End
G – affordability, cost of young people in university (cap current student debt), be tuition free, childcare (support employers providing onsite daycare with tax incentives)
NDP – housing, bill C51, bring back national housing strategy, co-op housing subsidies will be gone in 2017 with Harper
Lib – housing, seniors (her third would be at risk youth). $20 billion in social structure over ten years, likes co-op housing and supportive housing, ability to buy your own home, increase senior’s guaranteed income

Affordable and accessible higher education
Lib – $3000/year grant (not a loan) per student for those who can’t afford, pay back requirements for student loans would start once student has a good job
NDP – no interest on loans, practicums/interns would be paid, make sure housing is there and $15/day daycare
G – cap current student debt at $10,000 (forgive anything above that), guaranteed livable income for everyone regardless of work which would ensure everyone lives in dignity

Agriculture – viable employment and food security
G – agriculture has been under attack, big business has taken away the family farm, selling off wheat board was a bad decision
NDP – against TPP, she advocated for and helped build community gardens, fruit tress
Lib – protect agricultural land, farmers who lose crops because of climate will receive aid from government, waiting to see what TPP before forming an opinion

Climate change
Lib – national environmental strategy, clear guidelines but provinces can meet them how they wan, protect fresh water
NDP – want to bring back climate change cap and trade
G – ending tar sands/fracking industry subsidies, national energy plan, reinvest in clean energy (with $$ from polluters), reinstate energy efficient standards

Seniors housing and seniors in general
NDP – national seniors housing, lift 400,000 seniors out of poverty, pharmacare strategy to buy in bulk to bring costs down, need to keep St Pauls in downtown, change age for retirement money from 67 to 65, automatically would get this money, do away with complicated forms, keep co-ops
G – home care to age in place, respite for caregivers, expand CPP, national seniors housing, support national pharmacare strategy, against trade agreements that hold us captive to high med prices, guaranteed liveable income for those 18 and over
Lib – healthcare and housing, increase money for seniors, whole care facilities, community care and home care strategy, transit is important, expand CPP (for those who have been out of the workforce possibly raising children)

Employment Insurance
Lib – removing 940 hours of work requirement, strengthen it for caregiver leave, decrease taxes for businesses that create jobs
NDP – create 90,000 jobs so people have places to work, have jobs to people can get trained on the job, losing jobs because of cutbacks so strong job market will help
G – stop raiding EI funds to balance budget, that money is for the workers, training programs for jobs, no one forced into a training program, dignity for all

Affordable daycare
G – national daycare strategy, give tax incentives to employers who provide daycare onsite, work together with municipalities and provinces
Lib – daycare is provincial, will work with provinces, ensure to build daycare spaces
NDP – take 2% from CEO’s of top companies to pay more for daycare

Voting
NDP – proportional representation
G – proportional representation possibly, want consultation with Canadians
Lib – proportional representation possibly, would have all party committee talking to Canadians

What will your party do to regulate foreign investment but not sell our country?
Lib – like Australian model, set limits on ownership, requires certain amount of national workers, live in global world, let’s not tax them to death
NDP – need data
G – sits on housing committees, says investment’s interests are being protected currently but not protecting citizens, would fight for citizen’s interests

Market housing
Lib – look at full spectrum of housing
NDP – this is a municipal issue
G – all levels of government to work together, no need to wait for data

My question I asked personally to each candidate after the formal questions were done. How does your $10/15 a day daycare plan help my family where we have chosen to have a parent stay at home?
Lib – removing tax on child benefits, will reduce taxes by 7% for the middle class (this assumes families with a stay at home parent are middle class)
NDP – daycare is great, you should send your child for socialization and further development in areas you can’t provide
The Greens don’t have a subsidized daycare plan, so I asked more generally.
G – We support choice and making sure everyone lives in dignity so we provide everyone with a livable income and they can choose.