A day for a Queen!

Celebrating Queen's Day on April 30 is one of my favorite holidays of all time. And this Queen's Day was the last one! Queen Beatrix has held the throne for about 30 years. Before her, Queen Juliana. Before her, Queen Wilhelmina. Now, we have a King! King Willem-Alexander. Next year, King's Day will be on April 27, the new King's birthday.



Queen's Day is just a super day. It starts early in the morning with garage sales. It's the only day out of the year when you don't need a permit to sell your goods (or services or talents). If you take the time, you can find some great deals.

The sidewalks are full of people selling things (anything from old records, books, clothes, to homemade cakes and cookies) and the parks are full of parents and kids, also selling things like their old toys. Lots of youngsters trying to make some money playing their musical instrument, painting nails, doing silly dances, etc. It's hilarious and super cute.



In the afternoon, street parties take over the city. Bands and DJs take over the plazas. And boats take over the canals. It's a sight to see. Everyone is having a good time. Hoera!

Spring is (almost!) in the air

Seeing Amsterdam by boat is one of the best things to do in the city. So, as a general rule, when you're invited on a boat in Amsterdam you almost always say yes. Especially when there are pancakes involved!

We met Koen and Alex sort of randomly and it's a good story. Elliot and I had just moved into the neighborhood and we decided to check out one of our local cafés, Gambrinus. This very nice Dutch guy served us at the bar and chatted us up, in English. We talked about California and Holland and why we're here, yada yada. He mentioned his girlfriend from Colorado is moving to Amsterdam in a few months and he was super excited to show her the city. Not knowing what would come of it, I wrote down my email address on a napkin and told him to give it to her, in case she'd want to meet for a coffee when she got into town. I didn't really think about it for a couple months, until she emailed me! We met up in December at some point and the rest is history.

So Koen has a great little boat and they invited us out on the canals for the day. It wasn't a sunny day, but it also wasn't raining and it wasn't freezing. With fresh coffee, orange juice, and (oh ya!) pannekoeken, we all jumped aboard and got cozy. He took us out to the outskirts of the western canals and we made our through the center. We saw some really amazing houses (with yards and docks and porches!). When we got hungry again we just docked up to a café for some broodjes (sandwiches) and people watching. It was a perfect Sunday!

  

There's something about -5-degree weather that makes me want to watch 80s movies all day

But alas, I don't. It's been a busy month!

First, I could not believe it's 2013. Now, I can't believe it's almost February! This month has just flown by. We've been meeting new friends, working hard, and watching lots of movies from the 80s (our 2013 resolution is to see 80 movies from the 80s). Something I didn't write about was Elliot's mom visit during Christmas. We had a lovely visit. Elliot had off from work, so we could go on short trips around the city and enjoy long dinners together. We went to Haarlem for a day, too. One of my favorite Dutch cities. Mary wanted to eat all the Dutch treats possible--so we ate it all! We had olliebolen (doughnut like things), frites with mayo, stampot, boerkool, rookworst, kroketen, and pea soup. (sorry about the spelling!)

Also, ever since I got a new contract with Stipo, the urban planning company I was working with before, life has been very busy. We just published our first book The City at Eye Level (edited by yours truly) and I organized a huge launch for the book in Rotterdam. The venue was this old supermarket that we turned into an awesome party place. It was a great success, and made me miss wedding planning. Elliot even helped out with book sales!

All the while, it's been getting colder and colder. Even though we've passed the darkest days of winter, now we're in the middle of the coldest days of winter. It's been in the low 20s (-6ºC) and with snow. Despite the ice, we're still biking to work, as all the Dutch do. I had to scrape out the ice and snow from my basket the other day! But, wow, how lovely is the snow. The white outlines the curves of the city in such wonderful, photogenic ways. It's tough to capture, you just gotta come see it for yourself!

Lighting it up in Amsterdam

This will be just a quick one. Where has the time gone! I cannot believe it's almost New Years Eve!

Even though it gets dark at 4pm and light by 10am, the Dutch go a great job at lighting the city at night. The other night Elliot and I went out on our bikes to enjoy a dry evening (and fairly warm at 47ºF) and to check out the Lights Festival on the canals. There are several light artists (a new concept to me!) in town displaying their art on buildings and on walls throughout the city.

Also, each shopping area in the city dawns sparkling lights right when it gets dark out. Makes it a little easier to handle the dark and cold winters here!

New colors in Amsterdam

One thing the Dutch love to talk about is the weather. I hear these conversations all day long. It's good practice for my beginner Dutch! It may not officially be autumn (is it?) but it sure looks that way. Such a lovely time of year in this city. The leaves of course are the highlight. All the oranges and yellows go perfectly with my teal coat. The weather hasn't been too bad yet, either. At least 3 sunny days per week, and some off-and-on sun on other days. This is the time of year the weather can't decide on anything.

Tulips, picnics, and friends...OH MY!

Guess what?! It's finally spring! People are out, everyone is smiling! And yes, they are turning their shoulders for you! What a difference +8°C can make!

It's spring!! (L) Enjoying sun at Het Park in R'dam (Top) my new friend 
(Bottom) fresh hyacinth from the market

The day we returned from Portugal (flying into Brussels) we met wonderful California friends, Jess and Jordan, who just happened to be hanging out in Paris whilst we were in Lagos. After a bit of cell phone-email chaos, we finally rendez-vous'd at Brussels Central Station, where we jumped on the next train to R'dam. We enjoyed some chilled Champagne on a packed train while we caught up over the last few months. Ah, friends from home!

Picnic at Keukenhof gardens!