Ancient home of the rich. All silted in.
Pompous palaces
Boats full of tourists
Sugar in the air
Friendly dogs
Beautifully cooked steaks
Nighttime magic to close the trip
Champagne in a Kir Royale by the fire.
Fin.
A Boat in Bruges
March 4, 2026
travel, who knows boat, bruges, madou, romey, tourism, travel 2 Comments
Some of us have been to bruge 4 or 5 times. Others 10,000. Still others once. But we all got on the same boat, and it was great.
We found an opportunistic window of blue sky.
Swans
Churches are a thing. Were a thing.
Our hotel and the famous tower
Tourism is fun!
SCW sighting in Bruges
March 4, 2026
who knows gary mcgraw, scw, secure code warrior Leave a comment
Pinball Wizard Lives in Lichtervelde
March 3, 2026
farm, travel, who knows dogs, lichtervelde, madou, pinball 2 Comments
Chez Madou was a respite and a calm retreat after our Amsterdam extravaganza. Ahhh. No rum thing this time…which probably would have killed us anyway.
Sitting by the wood stove as Spring unfolds behind us. Talking and laughing and just being together.
There is pinball.
Views from the guestroom.
Did we mention pinball?
We can’t wait to return and walk again with the dogs.
What’s Better?
March 3, 2026
food, mixology, who knows amsterdam, fernet branca, poffertjes, romey, toronoto cocktail Leave a comment
A late night Toronto on 23 (to compare to the one we made at Bar Hachi)…yes this one was way better
or little tiny Dutch pancakes, apparently called poffertjes ??
Well, I mean, how many poffertjes are you supposed to eat at one sitting?
I guess we will forgive the little French guy for his Maginot line. Maybe.
A Blast From the Software Security Past on 23
March 3, 2026
travel, who knows 23rd floor, florence, gem, madou, noelie, okura 1 Comment
Who are these people? Madou? Florence? McGraw? Noelie? All together? No fucking way.
A nice way to turn 3C is to gather the geeks in Amsterdam for a photo shoot.
The Only Bar Open at 2am in Amsterdam
March 2, 2026
who knows amsterdam, bar, bar hachi, roulette 1 Comment
Whatchya gonna do after a florence show when the only weenie bartender in your hotel (a French guy) won’t stay open to last call? Find a dive bar. Bar Hachi fits the bill perfectly. When we arrived, NOBODY was there and our driver was a bit concerned. We went in anyway. Great cocktails made by an enthusiastic young man who was not drinking for ramadan, but who really really wanted to learn some stuff. We had a blast.
Best Banana Birthday
March 2, 2026
humor, who knows banana, birthday, birthday card, gem, romey 1 Comment
Romey always finds the very best cards.
3C is 60 to you and me
On the Boat in Amsterdam
March 2, 2026
photography, river, travel, who knows amsterdam, canal, okura, seven bridges, tourism, travel 2 Comments
Romey and I hired a boat for a canal tour. We also hired a bottle of champagne. The boat ride was excellent.
We started from the pier at the Okura just after dark.
The boat itself was built of teak and glass in 1903.
The lights are a sight to see.
Seven bridges
Banana Baby
March 2, 2026
who knows baby, banana, leiden, teething Leave a comment
It’s teething time
