Jael Takes Rotterdam

Jael is handy to have around because she climbs on things and gets into the picture taking spirit--as a model. So, we kept running across stuff and then she would climb on/in/over it and I would get fun pictures.  She did say I wasn't allowed to publish the really funny posterior shots of her climbing on stuff but there are still some pretty good ones.

This giraffe is part of a pretty nifty playground/park area that is on my walk home from school.  There are little parks all over the place in Rotterdam and they are a lot of fun to stumble across.  This one has a play ground area with a  bunch of wooden animals in it.  (There was also a giant wooden alligator but Jael was bored of giant animals by that time.

The park also has a big collection of giant climbing rocks that are pretty nifty.  There are also a few seating areas, a large section of reeds or bamboo or something that I've seen bunches of kids playing in.  The big, empty middle area is used as a soccer field.  The last time I walked through there, a couple of days ago, there were some kids playing soccer there.  Then one of them started calling "Mevrouw! Mevrouw!" (Ma'am! Ma'am!) and I looked over and realized that there ball was bouncing toward me and they wanted me to stop it before it got to the street.  So, I kicked it to them.  And it ran into a rock and then bounced back to me.  I eventually got it kicked to them and then I zipped away.  Now I feel kind of goofy going by there again because I was so obviously inept at kicking a little soccer ball. 

I had class one day while Jael was here and so I went off to class earlyish in the morning while Jael slept in.  (But then she did the dishes so I forgive her for not having to go to a boring class. =-)  She walked over and met me so we could go off and do other fun things.  She had to wait about a half hour  past the time I told her to meet me because the class went long.  I don't know if it makes it better or worse that we never once got out of class less than 5 minutes late the whole term.  This picture, though, is of Jael by the statute of Desiderius Erasmus, the famus Dutch Enlightenment-era philosopher, translator of the Bible, and name-sake of Erasmus University.

This is just what the metro-station at Rotterdam Centraal looks like.  They have been doing all kinds of renovations and have decorated it mighty pretty.  The colored stripes on the ceiling are just long, hollow, colored tubes.  And the have colored spotlights on the walls.  All of the metro stations are decorated just a bit differently from the others.