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!

Eindelijk!

I've been hearing this word a lot around here. It means finally. And it's usually said with an emphasis on each syllable, as such: eind-uh-lik.

Yes, we're talking about the weather. It's finally spring! The birds are chirping, the trees are sprouting new leaves, flowers are blooming, the winter coats are stashed. You can feel the elation. Now, don't get too excited--it isn't warm yet. We're still sporting gloves and scarves some days, because it's still about 41ºF in the morning. With highs of 52ºF to 56ºF. So, ya, not warm.

The best part about spring here is that the sun comes up at 6am, nearly reaches the top of the sky, and goes down around 9pm. Plenty of time on the weekends for going to our local park, Sarphatipark. I really love it because it's a locals kind of place. People jogging, walking with their kids, playing with dogs. Just a normal, gorgeous park.

 

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!

  

The Best of 2012

Well. It's 7pm on New Year's Eve. Elliot and I are relaxing at home, listening to the sound of the rain pound against our windows and slightly (so slightly) drown out the pops! and booms! and whistles of (legal) fireworks. (It sounds like a warzone.)

This year has been incredible. Full of excitement, stress, love, change, happiness, and general emotion! Started the year with a short trip to South Africa to see dear friends. In February we checked out Carnival in Maastrict and went ice-skating on a lake in Rotterdam. In March, Elliot graduated from his MBA program, we packed up our Rotterdam life and moved home to California, via India for 3 weeks (why not?). Back in the Bay, we finished planning a wedding and then we got married, surrounded by our dearest friends and family from all over the world. It was the most wonderful day of my life. A week before the wedding, Elliot got a job offer and a month later, we said goodbyes and moved again--to Amsterdam. A couple Dutch beach trips, many bike rides, a couple boat rides, and 2 temporary apartments later we were 'home' once again. Fall came quick. I took a break from job-hunting and met a friend in Rome, and another in Paris. Leaves fell, my parents visited, and Elliot turned 30 and finished his first running race. As the cold Dutch winter started setting in, we visited friends in Paris and it was my turn for a 30th birthday. After a lot of hard work, I finally got a job and life just got a lot busier! The first snow came, and then Christmas brought Elliot's mom over to Amsterdam. Holy cow, that made me exhausted.

7 countries. 47 train trips. 2 cross-country moves.  1 graduation. 4 apartments. 3 weeks in India. 1 wedding.

 

But here we are! Another year ahead. What will it bring? What new memories will we make? Every year, I think: how did that go so fast? How can we slow it down? Even just a little? Every year I'm utterly perplexed that it's already December 31. I read a great idea the other day: take a large Mason jar and when something happens through the next year, write a quick note about it and add it to the memory jar. Great idea! I still need to think about some projects and goals for 2013. Any good ideas out there?

See you in 2013! Gelukkig nieuwjaar! Happy New Year!