A'dam

This morning Coby and I walked to the weekly market in Weesp to buy eggs, cheese and fruit. I also bought some kibbeling, a fried fish treat that can be found in all of these street markets around the Netherlands. Then Coby, Lisanne, Jesper, my Dad and I took the train to Amsterdam. Here is a picture of the many, many bikes parked outside the train station.




Unfortunately, it started raining and that put a damper on a lot of our sightseeing. We did take the rondvaart - a boat tour of Amsterdam through the canals - hoping the rain might go away by the time it was over. No such luck! Below are some pictures of the boat trip as well as our walk through the city. Coby and Jesper mae me put camera away while in the red light district, and they wouldn't let me get a hot beverage at the many coffee shops we saw. ;-) I might take a trip back in later when it's not raining - I'd like to take more pictures of the buildings, etc. Oh, yes - and I had yet another kroket!

Tomorrow - a day of rest for me while Mom and Dad go visit with their friends, Freek et al.

Sleep, Shopping... and more Krokets!

I was firmly told to go to bed last night at 8 PM - I think Coby was tired of seeing me watch TV with my eyes closed! I slept until 8 AM - ahhh! My Dad slept 15 hours! Mom slept 12 hours , too. We all feel much more human.

Today we had an easy day - a little shopping in Hilversum, where I stocked up on some Dutch washclothes and we had a McKroket - kroket sandwiches at McDonald's! (Lia and Ellen - they no longer come in the Deflt Blue boxes.) This Seattle girl felt a little out of sorts - there was not a coffee shop on every corner! The Dutch aren't as addicted to the latte as we are.

I don't think I mentioned the pouring rain yesterday - felt like Seattle. Today was dry, but grey. Still felt like Seattle! Tomorrow... more of the same...

I had dinner at Tante Jenny's with Mom and Dad - I balked when Coby said she was making zuurkool! Tante Jenny was making gehaktballetjes - no contest! We had I nice evening and I even tried to speak Dutch, since Tante Jenny doesn't understand English. I have been throwing in sentences here and there, but am very glad my cousins have a decent understanding of English! Lisanne has an English exam coming up soon, so we have a deal where she speaks English to me and I speak Dutch to her - and then we revert back to our native language in about 30 seconds. :-)

After dinner I played Rummikub with Lisanne and her friend, Esther. Then watched America's Next Top Model with Dutch subtitles. Also looked at Jesper's new business website. And then called it a night. I didn't even doze on the couch! Tomorrow we are going to Amsterdam do to a little sightseeing.

I will try to post some pictures here now - I haven't really taken a whole lot - all I feel like I have done is sleep and eat!

Mom and Dad waiting to board the plane. We were only there 4 hours early...

Jesper playing handball - he's #5 in the back.

Coby, Jesper and Lisanne

Cor, Tante Jenny, Coby and Jesper

Lisanne and Mom

We made it!

We arrived this morning around 8 AM after a nice uneventful flight. None of really slept on the plane - between the 3 meals and free movies and video games, there really wasn't much time to sleep! I watched Marie Antoinette and Little Miss Sunshine, and played way too many rounds of Bedazzled. I am tired!!! This afternoon we went to watch Jesper, my second cousin, play Handball - sort of like opposite soccer where you can't use your feet at all. It was fun, but they unfortunately didn't win. But I did get my first kroket of the trip - lekker! I struggled to keep my eyes open while everyone was talking - and failed miserably! I finally got to take a quick nap when we got home around 3, and then we went to Tante Jenny's for dinner - chicken soup and sandwiches with cheese and various pork products. My Dad missed dinner - he finally gave up and went to bed and left instructions to not wake him up until morning. Mom and I made it until now - 7 PM. We have had it and are going to bed! Tomorrow is a slow morning and then shopping at Hilversum. Between my cousin and my Dad, there is quite a schedule planned and tomorrow may be the last rest day for a while!

Ready... finally

OK - I am packed and ready to go. Yes, it's 2:30 AM and the flight leaves in just about 10 hours. To be fair, I was done packing 3 hours ago. And I met my goal of everything in one non-bulging-and-about-to-explode suitcase. Since then, I have been taking care of some last minute work details so I can vacate with a clear mind. I am somewhat annoyed that Mom and Dad have been in bed since 9 PM. I'm thinking I won't have a problem sleeping on the plane.

'Night...

A prayer for patience

We haven't stepped on the plane yet and I am already starting to realize what I have gotten myself into by traveling with the folks! Last night I fielded multiple phone calls from both Mom and Dad about their seats on the 9 hour flight to Holland. They are in row 31, and Dad was convinced he would be in the back next to the toilets and it needed to be changed right away. I think I was finally able to get him to understand that row 31 is close to the middle of the plane - an Airbus 330-200 - and that he should be happy he wasn't in row 42, the *real* last row of the plane. This morning, I am dealing with Mom, a bit frantic after they discovered that the circle Dad drew around the departure time on their reservation print-out covered up the "1" and we are really departing at 12:55 PM, not 2:55 PM. It could be a loooooong 2 weeks!! :-)

President's Day Shopping = Great Deals!

I did a little final preparation shopping yesterday for those travel essentials - an iPod charger, socks, electrical appliance adapters. I found a great deal on a 2 GB disc for my camera - $29.99!!! Gotta love holiday sales! I think that between that and my 512 MB disc, I'll have room for 1700 pictures and that should just about do it!

Still need a book for the trip. I have Blindness by Jose Saramago laying around, but it seems to be more dark that one would want for a trip to Europe. Any ideas?

The preparations have begun!

In a little over a week, I will be on my way to Holland - The Netherlands - for a two week adventure with my parents. I am getting very excited! I have been going nuts the past few weeks trying to get everything done that needs to be done - as luck would have it the 2 weeks I am gone are smack dab in the middle of my PR prep time for Bells of the Sound. I hope to have all of that done so I can enjoy my trip and not worry about what I have to do when I get back.

My biggest worry right now is not relapsing into the cold I have had for the past 4 weeks - my second round of antibiotics ended a few days ago. This weekend I am stocking up on Airborne - I have decided that I will put my prior distrust of its effectiveness aside and take it leading up to my flight next Saturday and all during the flight. I will NOT be sick in Holland!!!

I expect the actual trip blogs will be much more exciting than this one...