Oudmanhuispoort (Old Man’s House Passage) was part of an 18th Century senior citizen’s home. We learned about the place during a late-night “ghost tour” and vowed to visit the ancient market when it was open for business. Not too long after, a rainy day provided the perfect excuse.

In the mid 1880s this passageway became a place for vendors to sell music, books, and prints. That’s still going on today, although during our Tuesday morning visit most of the stalls were closed. One booth that was open sold nothing but used dictionaries — of every kind imaginable, such as “Biblical Greek.”

It’s said that Amsterdammer Vincent van Gogh was inspired by the Japanese prints he saw here, forever changing the course of Western art. The print vendor open on the day we visited had many great pieces to choose from, at very reasonable prices. Two (a Pooka, and a Water Fairy) will be making their way back home to Chicago with us, which poses a new challenge for our luggage situation, but we’ll do our best. (Update: We visited again, and while more booths were open that time, it was still fairly sparse. Perhaps September is off-season for the market.)

The shop’s owner was a charming lady whose only U.S. visit has been to Los Angelas, so she had a few questions about Chicago, which she said was one of her best-selling old map prints.

Postscript: The passageway and surrounding buildings are now home to the University of Amsterdam’s School of Law, which makes clear their view of interlopers in classic passive voice:

The subtitle of this book by Eliza Todd is “A Coloring Book That Thinks You’re Pretty Darn Cool.” (Spoiler alert: the feeling is reciprocated.) Yes, let’s get one thing out of the way first, I’m 45-50 years older than the target market for this book. I don’t care, not only because I have no shame, but also because adult coloring books are actually a thing too.

But the problem with “adult coloring books” is that they strain for credibility. They’re serious. They’re complex. Coloring them makes me feel like I have a second job. A job that I’m not good at. I don’t need that stress and pressure!

Todd’s book is simply delightful. It’s affirming, friendly, and cute. And as you focus (just enough) on coloring it, you discover all sorts of delightful and endearing touches. Before you know it you’re smiling, and if you’re not careful, having fun.

You can get your copy from Amazon for a very reasonable price. Welcome to the world of adulting like you don’t give a damn.

(You might also like Book Review: Why You Should Read Children’s Books)

In iOS 13 (and prior, probably) there was a Camera setting that would “remember” how you had the app configured last time you took a photo. This was very handy if there are particular filters, aspect ratios, and other tweaks you typically use when shooting a photo. (These days, for example, I mostly shoot iPhone photos in Square ratio.)

After installing iOS 14, this totally changed. Camera would no longer launch to my previous settings. I found a preference that seemed to be the same as the one in iOS 13, but it didn’t work the same. Bottom line: To mimic the old behavior you need to turn on all three options in Settings > Camera > Preserve Settings. Seems like feature creep to me, but there you are, go forth and be happy.

We had a “date” to meet Kay and Flo for drinks the day after our joint nighttime dinner cruise of the Amsterdam canals. Gale and I arrived early and settled in at “Bar Americain” at the American Hotel. (The fact that we were early will surprise few of you.)

The walls of the bar are filled, corner to corner, with framed 8 × 10 photos of celebrities. Gale immediately recognized a few — such as Boy George — and as we waited for the arrival of the server we tentatively identified several more, including Slash.

Our server, Roger, confirmed many of our guesses and explained the photos were all taken in the bar. (I was wrong about Lenny Kravitz, it was a Dutch singer that Roger assured me I’d never heard of.) Gale and I were both surprised at how bad Billy Idol looked and would have never recognized him. And of course there was no mistaking the boys from Texas, ZZ Top.

One of my favorites, which Gale spotted, was a young Dweezil Zappa.

Kay and Flo — who were staying at the hotel — said they heard that it was soon to become a Hard Rock property. Which makes sense, given the rock star appeal. A guest book in the lobby displayed the signatures of UB40, who were playing in town that weekend.

Roger did a good job of keeping us well served and told us, when asked, that he was a true native, having been born just a few blocks away. He also offered Kay and Flo a couple of tips for their next destination, Barcelona.

As we left I gave Roger a Bucktown pin, and he gratefully reciprocated with a Bar Americain guitar pick.

We had a great time visiting with Flo and Kay. We left them well after dark (despite intentions otherwise) and had a long walk back to our canalboat, in a heavy rain. But it was worth the experience and friendship, both new and old. I’m hoping we get back to see Roger again before we leave.

"The mass of men lead lives of boring return address labels. I choose not to count myself among them."

I couldn't agree more. Join the author and me in spreading a little joy with every missive:
One Foot Tsunami: Fun With Address Labels