The Oogst, a farmer's market déjà vu

For the past nine months I've been irritated that in such an international city as Rotterdam, there is no such thing as a newspaper or local events magazine in English. Man, I'd really love to know if anything super cool is going on this weekend... I've asked countless people about this lack--both expat and Dutch. Nothing. They had nothing for me. Really, how is it possible?

Total tangent here, but I promise it'll get back to the main story...If there's anything I've learned here, its this: don't beat around the bush with the Dutch--ask exactly what you want to know. In fact, think about the result you want and form a question that tackles it. It's an art. Especially as a polite American (well, I like to think I am). In this situation, what happened was that I merely asked the wrong question. This happens a lot here.

A perfect example of this was when I discovered the organic store across the street sold wine by the liter and I wanted to taste it before purchasing a whole liter (less than a liter was not possible). The wine spout is just around the corner from the coffee machine that serves complementary espresso in to-go cups. Here's the conversation I had:

A labor of love: the making of my first quilt

Well, this is actually my second quilt if you count the other one I made in 7th grade Home Ec class. This one was a much larger scale, measuring out at roughly the size of a double bed. It was a gift for a dear friend; a congratulations on her wedding and marriage.

I started this journey the day I received the save-the-date. I knew the two of them, especially him, had spent a lot of time thinking about and creating a meaningful symbol that conveyed a sense of who they are as individuals as well as a couple. A wonderful, modern graphic emerged and its statement was crystal clear: the love that surrounds them is what warms their hearts. And I thought a quilt could keep them warm as well!

I started with the fabric. Oh so difficult. I settled on soft cottons in beige and two shades of both gray and orange (not the purple above!). After I washed, dried, and ironed all the fabric, I was ready to go.

Wine tasting, Indonesian take-out, and late-night museum-hopping

It turns out, these three things go quite well together--and what a night! Oh, did I mention it was 26ºC (79ºF)?! Our one day of summer this entire summer!

We caught the 16h12 intercity train from Rotterdam Centraal to Den Haag Holland Spoor. [side note: in case you were wondering, the 'intercity' is the fastest train between cities, then comes the 'stop-trein' then 'snel-trein' and finally the slowest is the 'sprinter' -- there is a logic to it, but it seems backwards.] After a quick tram to Emmy and Daniel's neighborhood we headed to this fantastic wine-tasting event hosted by the neighborhood cave du vin. It was Italian night and all the wines were, yes, from Italy. All over Italy. I quickly realized how little I knew about Italian varietals. Of course I tasted some Barolo, Amarone, and Chianti but there were others I'd never heard of and couldn't tell you the names. I do remember a delicious Garganega (aka Soave). The pours were humble, the salumi delectable, and the wine convo made me think we were in the Russian River.

After we bought a few bottles and closed up the wine shop, we all headed back to Emmy and Daniel's lovely apartment for some Indonesian take-out. I can't get enough Indonesian food here, it's just so good. We all sat outside on the terrace and soaked in the last rays of hot sun. Ahhhhh, sun.

An outdoor movie, San Francisco style!

I picked up the free daily Rotterdam newspaper and discovered an outdoor movie festival going on, for the next 10 days, in the newly renovated Museumpark on the other side of town. I asked my Dutch neighbor about it and she said that every year the Pleinbioscoop is always a fantastic time. Elliot and I checked out the movie schedule and decided to see Somewhere, the new Sofia Coppola movie. It's set in Hollywood, so we thought it'd be nice to reminisce the warm California weather and hip LA lifestyle. Doors opened at 7pm, and the movie started at 9:30pm. We arrived by bike around 8:30pm, got our 3€ tickets and 1€ folding chair, and found two nice aisle-side seats. In true Dutch style, everyone lined up their chairs in a neat, orderly and systematic fashion. Love it!

The setup of the plein seemed like you're typical drive-in style, but the atmosphere screamed San Francisco SOMA-esque industrial chic: the silverscreen was surrounded by numerous old trailers and converted shipping containers-turned-cafes and restaurants, even a short-film movie theatre with velvet curtains and plush red velvet seating. Each container was topped with unique sets of dim-lit lamps, creating a cozy atmosphere.

Cheese, clogs, and dykes...

This past Wednesday, we had ourselves a real Dutch adventure! At the last minute we (along with good friends, Anél and Hertzog) decided to trek 100 km (62 miles) north for the day in hopes of witnessing the famous 'kaasmarkt' of Edam, a landmark city for the making and selling of cheese. Turned out that the last kaasmarkt was last Wednesday, but we nevertheless enjoyed ourselves and made a full day out of by exploring three other small towns in the area: Volendam, Monnikendam, and Marken.

Quiet streets of Edam

It was nearly 11am when we hopped off the bus in Edam, about 30 minutes north of Amsterdam. The whole town was so quiet and only a few tourists were in the center. We tasted some cheeses at two different shops and learned that Edam cheese is the lowest fat cheese in Holland. We also learned that Holland makes cheeses that imitate other country's cheeses, such as parmesan and emmental. Our favorite was a roasted walnut Edam cheese, which we bought a small round of.