Meowster van Loon

Over omelets, fresh orange juice, coffee, salad, and bread, we enjoyed a slow, cozy morning at Pompa.

With 1 hour left on the five day City Card, we brainstormed our final visit. We chose the van Loon museum home. Owned by the Van Loon merchant family, the home was a “magnificent double-sized canal house located on the Keizersgracht canal in Amsterdam.”

Several areas of the house were open to the public, including bedrooms, dining rooms, a gentleman’s room, a garden room, the servant quarters, the stables, and the garden.

The home was ornate and spacious. Willem van Loon had been one of the co-founders of the Dutch East India Company, established in 1602. His family lived in subsequent luxury. Relatives of the van Loon family were still living there, the pamphlet read, although we were unable to catch a glimpse of them.

Le beau noticed false doors, which held closets and staircases. I observed the interior design symmetry. We admired the detail and intricacies. We imagined the history and lives of the van Loon family.

 

 

 

 

In the garden, a sudden floof emerged from the bushes. A cat!

He brushed against my leg and waited patiently at the stable doors. An employee let him in. Apparently, he was a regular guest who arrived at opening hours. He was a neighborhood cat, they said, and had begun showing up daily for several months. He acted like he owned the place – the employees even had a special brush for him. That’s Meowster van Loon to you.

Clearly he enjoyed the attention and scritches. Later, we saw him sitting on a café chair, purring under admiration.

 

 

 

 

 

Category: Trips

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