ilovenachos

Random Dutchie Tidbits from the Past 2 Months

Here's a random assortment of shots taken over the past couple of months. Nothing to tie them together really except the theme that this is our life.   

Toby and Sonia made us Thai food. Here Toby is being Sonia's vege slave.

The Food on Wheels festival at Westerpark. A series of cute little food trucks set up surrounding a bonfire and movie screen.

We bought oysters from this adorable little truck.

Anna and Brad hidden by the sun flare at the end of Haarlemmerstraat. Meeting them At The Movies.

A day in Den Haag surprises us with this gay pride festival. His skin was very soft.

They were beautiful!

Random street inspiration.

Adorable mother/daughter situation on the road in front of me. Pardon the motion blur and I didn't capture the popsicle this little girl was chowing on. But what a life kid! You got it good. Likely headed to the park.

The flower basket on our front railing is doing well.

And this is my crowning glory. My first tomato plant. This is the inspiration for this entire post actually. Caprese salad here we come! 

Kroller-Muller Birthday

It's been a while since I have blogged so this is a bit late. However, our day spent at the Kroller-Muller Museum and sculpture park is certainly blog worthy. It was my birthday which happened to fall on a dutch holiday. Ascension day in the Netherlands marks the time when Jesus ascended to heaven for the final time following his crucifixion and resurrection. But we preferred to call it Assumption Day instead. We packed our bestest friends and a nice picnic and headed out to the dutch countryside. It is a beautiful place and our day will not soon be forgotten. I'm glad to be alive!

Barry+Sara Visit Amsterdam

Barry and Sara were our latest visitors. They had done their research and arrived with a well laid out plan of Amsterdam must do's. The weather was beautiful so we set out to experience the city. From the Rijksmuseum to the Bols Genevere tasting bar, we did a lot of new things. On their last night in town Sara even taught me to make Paella, something she learned from her time living in Spain. Delish!

Line for Vlames Frites

Vlames Frites!

Ducking out of the rain and into the Bols Genever tasting bar.

The last of the beautiful tulips that Barry+Sara filled the house with (literally 275 blooms!) for my birthday.

Mom+Dad do Amsterdam

After Spain mom and dad worked their way back to Amsterdam for a week long visit. We spent Mother's Day on Bruce and had all sorts of adventures when we ended up in bigger waters than Bruce was meant to explore. We picked up Katie and Buckley at the Windmill pub and enjoyed a chill day on the water. It was great sharing our Amsterdam with mom and dad. Visiting the Nordmarkt, eating at our favorite Lebanese place and resting in many of the cozy little bars that are all part of our routine here.  

Chillin' in the back yard.

Lebanese delight courtesy of our old buddy Simon

Cruising on Bruce

The windmill pub

Good peeps

Rough waters for Bruce on our way to dinner at Pont 13.

Mom gets doused.

Kurt's drenched.

Ahh...and we made it. Pont 13

Fabulously cozy place on an old ferry boat. They cook with wood ovens so the place smells and tastes amazing.

Spain

About a month ago we got to spend a week on the coast of Spain. We met up with Mom, Dad, Cec, Matt and Dylan in a little town called Peniscola. It's about a two hours drive north of Valencia, the home of Paella ... yum. As the week progressed the weather got warmer and the town got more lively as they celebrated their annual Las Fallas festival. From a Paella cook off in the streets to football in the square, Peniscola did not disappoint. Thanks for planning this family trip Mom!

Ooh yeah

 The pool looks deceivingly warm. Without swimming I was able to work on my golden glow. 

This Las Fallas sculpture gets burned at the end of the week. We missed that part.

Trouble.

Paella cook off in the street.

The whole town turned out to watch Real Madrid vs. Barcelona

An explosion of firecrackers set off in celebration of Las Fallas.

Christie+Robert Come For a Visit

In early April Christie and Robert came for a visit. It was nice to have a little slice of home and get to share this new place we call home with them. Red Light, NDSM, Lebanese dinner, Kroller-Muller museum and more. We boated a bit on Bruce and ate plenty of fondu. What else would you do on a visit to Amsterdam? Thanks for coming guys!

Dylan Visits the Petting Zoo

Ever since we moved to Prinseneiland I have been waiting for the day that I could take Dylan to the petting zoo that is about a block from our house. Well that day just came and my dream came true! On their way to Spain, Matt and Cec brought Dylan into the city for an action packed layover. It was everything I could have imagined and Dylan appreciated it as much as I had hoped. He didn't know where to look next and walked in circles from goat to duck to bunny to pig. Oops, no swine flu so far.  

Sunny Days with Bruce

Brad picked us up from work today and we went out for a spin in the the 72 degree sunshine. Buckley and Brad had a head start on us (note the expression on Buckley's face) and the antics ensued. Bridge jumping/grabbing/hanging seems to be a favorite past time of ol' Buckles. Must be related to his table climbing days. 

Home Sweet Home

Our friends Christie and Robert are here for a visit and an additional bonus to having friends come to town is that it forces us to get our house in line. We bought a bed for the guest room and generally spruced up the house for their arrival. Come visit! We're ready for you.

 Where we spend most of our time blogging, checking Facebook or planning our next get-away.

 Master suite

 Guest bedroom 

 This is the new family motto. It's like Barry always says to enter a room with open arms we've decided to always buy the    big bottle so there's enough to share with everyone.

 This is your breakfast spread when you come to stay at The Parker Suites.

 What's better than roses on your piano bench? Tulips on your horn!

 The instigators, Jim, Bob and Sheena

Chamonix, France

You win some, you lose some. We had such a good time our last trip to the French Alps that we couldn't wait to get back. Our friends Patty and Dave met us in Geneva and we headed to the mountains. Thank goodness for good friends. We had a blast! The weather, however, had nothing to do with it. It was socked in with almost no visibility which left us confined to the smaller slopes across the valley from the big guns. Such is life as a skier. The weather doesn't always cooperate. The good thing is we enjoyed the wine, the cheese, the oysters, and the company... and we started a band.