Aunties Abroad

The Aunties are on the move, just taking time to tie down their furniture with a good strong rope. The tea set, books and champagne must be going on the front seat of the van, along with the piggy bank.  Wise women. I hope they are going to pick those carrots before they move. From the leaves it looks like autumn, maybe they are heading south with the sun.  They may have passed through the Netherlands on their way

for that is where I was surprised to see this Inge Löök card had come from.  My sender Tamara was going to head south on holiday too. Rather appropriately she has used one of this year's Europa stamp on the "Visit" theme, its idea to tempt us to visit another country in Europe. The Dutch have been more specific and chosen the city of Amsterdam and say "Bezoek Amsterdam" (visit Amsterdam). The graphic designer Michael Snitker's studio looks out over the waters of the Het Singel Canal and all the stamps in the set celebrate the rivers and canals of the Netherlands. This one shows the River Amstel.

I read on Europa Stamp's blog that if the stamps are scanned with a smart phone you'll hear the  Dutch song "Aan de Amsterdam se grachten" which I think translates as On the canals of Amsterdam.  Or what about a taking a relaxing ride: