Windmills, Teller, laundry, and Five Flies

An old Dutch windmill, still operational, in Delft;  A sign advertising Teller's presentation

An attractive clothesline in our hotel room; a very old door-knocker inside the Five Flies restaurant

We returned to our hotel so late last night that I was exhausted.  Tim, equally exhausted, had to get up early this morning and go out to the IBC tradeshow (the other reason for our being here).  I elected to remain horizontal as long as possible.  Ah, bliss!  It was really a luxury to stay in bed a couple extra hours and catch up on some sleep.  

Our friend Teller (of Penn & Teller) is in town presenting a program about Illusion to the Psychological Society and he invited us to attend.  It was a wonderfully fascinating exploration, and demonstration, of illusion as seen through the eyes of a magician.  I met Tim at the site of the presentation.  It was very special, and well-received by the audience.  Tim took off to return to the trade show, and he had a dinner scheduled with the European dealers this evening.  I joined Teller and several other friends for dinner at the Five Flies, and old and very nice restaurant which is composed of five townhouses from the 17th century that have been combined to create the restaurant space.

After our dinner we all parted ways, and I joined Tim at the Newtek-Europe dealer dinner, which I discovered was quite close to my location in the Spui (pronounced like Plow but with an S).  I enjoyed seeing some old acquaintances and meeting dealers I don't know.  It was fun, and I'm glad I made the decision to crash the party. 

Here is a clip from a restaurant review that I found:

D’Vijff Vlieghen – it means ‘The Five Flies’ – restaurant in medieval Amsterdam is a landmark, full to bursting with everyone from business diners to tourist busloads to couples who love it. The nine dining rooms ramble over five classic 17th century townhouses, each dining room a different expression of the Dutch Golden Age. The Rembrandt Room features etchings, the Knights’ Hall a collection of armour and so forth. Groups can book different rooms or hire the whole amazing place to seat up to 300. The founder, one Nicolaas Kroese, started it all in 1939. He had gigantic charisma that attracted attention from everywhere. Plaques on the chairs commemorate past guests: Walt Disney, Gianni Versace, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis. Chef Jeroen Groot creates exciting New Dutch cuisine dishes, using mainly organic veg and other respectful sourcing, presenting a la carte, seasonal, vegetarian five-course, and tasting menus.