October 24 Amsterdam

One of my very favorite things about travel is when I’m in a place long enough to do some “normal” things. I desperately needed some foot powder so we stopped in at a little apothem last night. The gentleman showed me what he had in stock but nothing was quite right. He told me he would order a small can of special foot powder and it would be delivered at ten in the morning. He would not be there but his assistant would take care of me.

The little shop is in a side street about a seven minute walk down and across the canal from our house. I arrived there at about 10:30 this morning. A grey haired woman listened to my request and rummaged in a large box. Yes! There was the foot powder. I also needed something to help relieve leg cramps. I showed her my empty pill bottle. We both laughed as we took our glasses off trying to read the fine print. She found an equivalent and we discussed the pros and cons of tablets versus liquid. I took the tablets because they were smaller.

My third need was new deodorant. Yesterday I had noticed some pretty containers and looked forward to seeing what they were. The other natural deodorants looked very clinical, but these in cardboard cylinders were printed in pastel designs. What scents were they? The shopkeeper opened up several so we could smell them. I liked the purple one named Provence. We opened it and a lovely lavender aroma wafted out. That was the one.

The transaction took about fifteen minutes. The cost was about thirty Euros. I wish I could shop there whenever I had apothecary needs.

We also visited the post office so I could mail some books and souvenirs home. While the attentive clerk did the paperwork and taped my bulging box shut, I found these adorable Christmas postcards.

(A little internet research revealed that St. Nicholas is Amsterdam’s patron saint. The dark helper is “Black Peter,” a traditional Christmas character who is supposed to be a Moor. He has become controversial in recent years.)

We went into a high end candy store. I wanted a little gift for Lues, our landlady. And we were ready for a coffee. We ordered an espresso and a cappuccino. Every Amsterdam coffee comes with a little cookie, but this tray exceeded all expectations:

I love the European customer service. With the errands completed, we spent the afternoon as tourists.