Fietsentocht to the fireworks

A very Dutch thing to do in the summer is a fietsentocht, or a bike journey. Usually they last a few days or a month. Ours was a couple hours. And we were fine with that. It happened to be the international firework festival in Scheviningen, the beachside town near Den Haag. We rented bikes when we got off the train and cycled about 15km through the dunes (the long way) to the beach. We got rained on a little (what's a bike ride in Holland without rain??), but made it just in time for dinner and a view of the fireworks. Of course it was pouring almost the entire way back to the train station. But it was warm and we had fun!

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.

217 days of rain...

PER YEAR in this country! Today must be Day 218. We seriously haven't seen the sun in two weeks. No. Sun. It's pretty depressing, I have to say.

Nevertheless, I tried to make the best of it this week.

On Sunday, it was raining and we were going to have dinner guests, so I thought I'd make lasagne--a good indoor activity. I made the lasagne using this recipe--delicious, however, the name of the recipe (Simple Baked Lasagne) is very deceptive. Two of Elliot's classmates (Americans) came over for dinner and really enjoyed the meal. One of them lives in the dorms, so he really enjoyed a home-cooked meal.

On Monday, it was raining lightly, so I went to the gym. While I was there, I noticed the fantastic view of the church from the 3rd floor. And guess what?! The scaffolding is finally coming down! I'll have to share a picture next post.

The rest of the day, I sewed. I made a dual-sided table runner and some fun coasters!

On Tuesday, even though it was drizzling, I made my market run. I scouted some great ingredients for about 25€. Gotta love the market!

Down by the banks

After Elliot and I were privileged with a weekend visit from long-time friend, Gadiel, the boys headed off to Italy for a manly adventure in Milan, Parma, and Cinque Terra. While Gadi was here, we toured him around our 'hood, went to Den Haag for a dinner party, and also Delft for a day trip. We tried to check off all the Dutch things to eat: raw herring sandwich, fries with mayo, bitterballen, appletaart with cream, and a fresh salmon dinner and Dutch potatoes from the market. On Monday, July 4, I saw them off at Rotterdam Centraal. So fun to have you around, Gadi!

Dinner party in Den Haag