Hair Spiders

Dear Readers,

I am not a board certified biologist, but I believe I may have discovered a new species.  I have named it the "hair spider."

I first started noticing these creatures about 3 years ago, soon after Malinda and I were married.  I thought maybe they only lived in the US, but I have found them in increasing numbers in Switzerland and other European countries.  Please be on the lookout.

Hair spiders look a lot like common "daddy long legs" spiders (Opiliones).  However, my research on wikipedia has not led me to the same thing I am seeing.  Hair spiders have a central body and very long thin legs, but the number of legs can vary.

WARNING: Malinda feels that some of the pictures I have of hair spiders are inappropriate for our readers.  I guess she is just really squeamish???  Do not scroll down if you have a sensitive stomach.  Just check for the next post.

It seems like they have a defense mechanism of playing dead when you look at them directly.  I have never seen one moving.  However, they must be able to move, because I often find them near our couch where Malinda sits and then I find them in the kitchen or attached to my socks or tangled in my shoelaces.

Amsterdam

We planned the Amsterdam portion of the trip as an add on - Mom and Bill left for the US from Brussels, and instead of coming straight home to Lugano, we hopped on a three hour train for a short bonus vacation.  Months ago, this seemed like a great idea.  At the time of departure, however, I had my doubts. We were all pretty tired.  Little did I know we were in for a treat... Amsterdam totally surprised us.  

It took me a while to find a hotel I was comfortable with... I wanted to be in a quaint neighborhood, and as far away from the Old Center as possible.  I didn't really want to suffer the awkwardness of taking my 16 year old sister past women in windows and stoned stag partyers.  I managed to find a reasonable hotel in a very desirable neighborhood - one with only two hotels (because it's mostly residential).  I was not disappointed.  Yes, we had to walk up three flights of stairs to our room.  Yes, the beds were... practical.  Yes the trash can was a plastic bucket, and the shower with no door was equipped with a squeegee mop.  

  

But... it was clean.  The ceilings were high.  The guests were nice.  The neighborhood was perfect.  And it was facing a beautiful canal.  It was on the steps of this hotel, on said canal, where Bizzy and I enjoyed the wireless internet (that is only afforded to those within three feet of the front desk).  I stared across the canal into beautiful apartments, and saw people enjoying the same incredible view.  I considered it a budget victory.  

The real hit of the trip?  Bikes!  We LOVED riding them.  It all started with another bike tour... the guide was great, and showed us places all three of us wanted to see again.  So when our two hours were up, we rented our own for the remainder of the trip.  

  

Ryan and I made a Bizzy sandwich... he led, and I brought up the rear.  Her "yielding" made me nervous.  While on the move, this was my view of Amsterdam.   

And here's a little video.  We were passing through a really pretty park, trying to find the perfect place to sit and rest.

The bikes made us feel like we were really part of the city, and allowed us to get around without walking all day.  They were the sit-straight-up-cruising kind (the guide called them dutch bikes).  I had never ridden one before, and really liked it.  I told Ryan I thought I wanted one for when we move back to the States, and surprisingly, he was thinking the same.  I know the relocation material will suggest we blend into our new US surroundings as much as possible, but I want these bikes.  His and hers!  Although mine needs a basket.  We might get made fun of.

And look at this picture - vindication!  I am not the only one who lets my cat outside on a leash.  For the record, our cats are declawed (hence the need for a leash).

We had pancakes, which were great, but the company was better.  A group of German guys walked in, and in a very loud voice, went up to the counter and said, "WE ARE HERE TO BUY PANCAKES."  Hilarious.  Although that's probably what I sound like when I speak Italian.   

Good trip all around.  Here are some more canal shots... this city could not get any prettier.  

Belgium

Our Belgian portion of the trip started with a super fast train from London to Brussels, and then on to Bruges.  There, we enjoyed our first taste of Belgian beer, a canal tour, and a really nice dinner.

According to Bill and Ryan, the beer in England wasn't great.  Not the case in Belgium!  And, each type of beer has its own glass... here are a couple of examples.  The one on the right comes with its own wooden stand because the bottom of the glass is round.  Bill kept trying to set it on the table by itself... never worked.  

The canals were beautiful.  We got to see them up close by way of a boat tour.

It was in Bruges where we first noticed these stair-stepped gabled roofs (definitely not their official name).  It's interesting to see architecture change in Europe... what I see in Italy is different from France, which is different from Switzerland, etc.  I liked that in Bruges, I saw something new.

We had a great restaurant experience... I tried to compare it to my birthday dinner, but it was hard.  Best best best vs. best best best best?  They're all good.  Although this one had a lot more innovation... think tomato sorbet with parmesan foam.  I wish I could have captured the food, but settled for a group photo outside the restaurant.

Moving on to Brussels, where the highlights were the fries and a bike tour.  The fries speak for themselves - they were amazing.  Especially because they are served with your choice of sauce and little tiny forks!

Aside from the fries, we were struggling to find the charm in Brussels, until a guided bike tour showed us what we were missing.  It took us everywhere, more than we could cover in a day on foot.  And, it was just fun being on bikes.  Brussels still wasn't my favorite, but the tour at least showed us it was better than our first impressions.  

Ryan was assigned back of the line duty, and had to wear this great vest.

Ghent's charm, on the other hand, was immediately recognizable.  It was similar to Bruges because of the canals, but it seemed to have much more to offer... quirky shops, neighborhoods, and good restaurants (although Bruges had plenty of those, too).

















We went to a castle.  Bill got into it... Ryan, not so much.

But mostly we enjoyed walking around.  We found a design museum, cool shops (like soap, inspired by true events), and nice benches, where we could plan the rest of our day.

PS - Waffles!  They really are delicious.  The kind we liked was made from a dough ball being pressed into a waffle iron (as opposed to a liquid batter being poured in).  Mmmmmm.  Dough ball.   

London

You can probably tell by the Cotswolds pictures that our vacation weather wasn't great.  London, unfortunately, was more of the same.  Cold (in June!) and rainy.  Most days, we looked like this.

Striking a pose under an awning, waiting out a storm. 

We did some interesting things that might not always be on people's lists when visiting the city.  The first was a tour of Lloyd's of London.  I think the idea came about because Mom had to work one day, so one of her colleagues took us across the street and showed us around.  I didn't know what to expect... we had to get really dressed up, and went through pretty serious security.  I walked away thinking insurance was really cool, so that had to be one awesome tour, right?   

After Lloyd's, we had dinner with some of Mom's work friends, who took a great picture of us on from the balcony of the restaurant.

Later, we went to the East end of the city in search of a Banksy gallery, and came across some famous street art.  

When we finally got to the teeny tiny and very crowded art gallery, we were not disappointed.  It was way cool... too bad we couldn't afford the good stuff.  Actually, I take that back - Bizzy got stickers.    

The rest was filled with what you might expect... Indian food, Tate Modern, National Gallery, Borough Market, Tower of London, St. Paul's, and some shopping.  We walked our bums off, and had a great time.  

PS - This was our attempt at an Abbey Road photo (never mind the fact that we were in Notting Hill).  It was hopeless, but Ryan's poses make the pictures pretty funny.