On Friday night, Best Friend and J. took me to Brasserie Van Baerle for a pre-birthday dinner. I had skate for my main course, and raspberries for dessert, while for starters I opted for a delicious

After dinner, J. went straight home; but Best Friend and I went for a nightcap and ended up guzzling champagne first in anticipation, and then in celebration of my birthday. The next morning, we had a good solid breakfast at Plancius, and then, on a whim, decided to go for a stroll in the Hortus (i.e. university gardens), where we saw

and huge water lillies

and where Best Friend took my picture

and I, hers:

Just as I was leaving Amsterdam, the sun broke through the clouds, and showed the city at its most picturesque:

At home, Manasse let me know that he was ready for his closeup, which is why I'll end tonight's post with this
