I’ve been quite busy…

Since we thought we would be here a year but now it’s going to be less and I am on the countdown to go home, I am trying to experience all that I can before I leave.  So I decided I would throw out emails to the women I have met and if any can join me, great, if not, then I’m heading out on my own.  Also, it is a very busy time for Dave with things he needs to accomplish and there are many employees from Taylor US coming over to help with setting up all the departments.  So we have been doing a little entertaining or dinners with them.

Last week was a quiet week because quite a few of the schools were out on holiday and quite a few of the women I know went on trips during this time.  So I did some venturing on my own since I had quite a few days to myself.  I went to two House Museums, to the Van Gogh Museum and on Thursday Maria and I took the train to Utrecht to walk around and have lunch.  Then on Saturday Dave, Rob Magargal (Taylor employee) and I took a driving trip to Breda, another beautiful Holland town.

So the House Museums – they are both on what is called Keizergracht which is a canal street.  So on one side of the canal traffic goes one way and the other side traffic goes the opposite direction.  If the name ends with gracht, it is a canal street.  Then there is straat (street), laan (lane), plein (plaza), weg (way) and several more.  So these two homes I toured are very Dutch and the décor was probably 1600s-1700s.  I would say the most interesting parts to me were their gardens and the kitchen in the one home.  The one garden has the largest fountain pond in the Amsterdam centrum.  Also, one of the homes had a collection displayed of a pastel artist from the 1800s.  Since Dave loves pastels I took him back to this home on Sunday.  He was quite impressed.

Thursday was when Maria and I went to Utrecht.  It was about a 30 minute train ride to another beautiful Dutch town.  We had fun just walking up and down the streets and then had lunch along one of the canals.  It’s always fun to see all the different towns.  Most are laid out the same – with a centrum that includes a beautiful cathedral and plaza – off from the plaza are usually little cobble streets and canals.  Lots of cafes and lots of shopping – most of the shops are modern clothing and shoe shops – and then you have some unique gift shops, cheese shops, bread shops and the typical souvenir shops with the same old stuff you see in every Dutch town.  Now, when it comes to shopping here – the Dutch women are just like the US women – they want the latest styles in clothing and shoes – and it seems that most women tourists are looking for those shops too.  Shopping here is not included in the “quaintness” of Europe.  If you want to find an antique relic you have to find those shops.  They’re in each town but not usually in the town centrum.  I didn’t elaborate on my lunch that day because it was good but not WOW but the surroundings were charming.

Friday I decided to go to the Van Gogh Museum again by myself.  I did this because Dave is not really a fan of Van Gogh and when we went to the museum the previous time, we were enthralled with the temporary exhibit which took up all of our time and we never made it to the Van Gogh section.  Well, I do enjoy Van Gogh and so I thought the best way for me to see the collection was by myself.  And I really enjoyed it.  I remember doing a report on Van Gogh when I was in elementary school and have been interested in him ever since.  There was also an exhibit on the old French artwork that was used for posters, music books, theater programs and the like – that was very interesting also.  I also ran out of time so did not get to view the current temporary exhibition of Picasso in Paris…I’m not a Picasso fan but I am intrigued just a little and am going to try and get back to go through that section.  I want to do another day at the Rijks Museum also so I have plenty to do before I leave.

On Saturday, Dave, Rob, Liam and I jumped in the car and Dave drove us to Breda.  Another beautiful Dutch town that Dave used to stay in when he had to come over here for business in the past years.  He wanted me to see it before I left.  It was really a nice town…although Dave was a little disappointed that the very quaint hotel that he used to stay at was bought and is now an updated, modern hotel.  He said when he would stay there the hotel staff would set up a little table and chair at the window for him because they knew he was an artist and liked the light from the window to draw.  So it is a memory that he can hold onto but is no longer physically there.  We walked around the town and viewed the sites and then sat in the one of the pleins and had a beer and a yummy lunch.  First cafe I’ve seen over here that serves “curly fries” which was a disappointment because the Dutch and the Flemish make the best fries in the world.  I don’t ever eat fries in the states but over here I’ve had more fries in the past 6 months than probably the last 10 years!  I don’t know what they do different to cook them but every US person I talk to agree that fries are way better over here.  Now, they typically serve them with mayonnaise (that’s their traditional topping) but you can ask for ketchup.  If you go to a Frites stand you can get any number of toppings other than mayo and ketchup.  Dave loves the fries with mayonnaise and I think it’s something you fall in love with or you say ICK!  I personally like to mix a little mayo with my ketchup.  OK, so enough about fries!  We finished the day off with some homemade gelato cones and then headed home.  We had a wonderful day in Breda.

This is going to be a long post…

So on Tuesday this week I went on an Epicurean Dutch Walkabout with five other ladies in the AWCA.  We had a lot of fun and I made new friends that day.  We started at Central Station and started out on our walk – first we went to a butcher who won awards for his smoked sausage that he makes, next stop was a cheese shop – and I got the coolest cheese “guillotine” there!  It will slice through the very hard, aged cheeses like butter – love it!  Across the street from the cheese shop is a very exclusive hand-dipped chocolate shop – yes, I spent a few euros in there.  Next stop was a bakery/ice cream shop that made their own stroopwafels – this is the traditional Dutch cookie that is two very thin, buttery waffles with a very thin buttery, caramel/honey filling, yes, they are YUM!  The way this little bakery made them was a little different, very crispy but oh so good!  Next stop – Yep – couldn’t miss the Frites – which I already described to you above.  Then, our final stop was a Brown Bar – these are everywhere in Europe and is a very old pub that serves several types of beer.  This one had something like 15 beers on tap from all around Europe.  I cannot remember the name of the one I had but it was very tasty.  I also tasted cider for the first time – not apple cider, hard cider.  It was quite tasty too.  It was a fun day of tastings.

 

Yesterday was one of the highlights of being here in Holland.  I got to go see the tulip fields while in bloom.  One of the women I met at AWCA was gracious enough to drive me and one of our other friends to the town where they are.  The weather turned a little chillier than any of us expected but we had a beautiful day.  No rain!  It is so hard to describe this because there is color everywhere and oh so many types of tulips – you cannot imagine.  Driving to the Gardens are fields and fields of color – some were green as some types of tulips have already come and gone but there was still so much color.  The season runs from the end of March to the middle of May and depending on the climate and rainfall the peak week can be different each year.  I think we got there just in time.  There were some fields that were “spent” and others that were on their way out and then so many still vibrant.  The place we went to is called Keukenhof Gardens (you can Google it) which is like an amusement park for anyone who loves color and nature.  I think we spent about five hours walking around with a few breaks here and there for eats and drink.  I took lots of pictures – some came out great – some not so great – but I have a memory I will not forget.

Well, today I am catching up on some paperwork and need to run a few errands…but I will write again before I leave because I still have things I have to do and see!

Hugs!

Look at the size of this tulip!  That's my fist.