Here are some more pictures from the canal boat ride we took back in the summer of 2010 (“we” being Roger, Marco, Marco’s Mom and I).
Random family above.
Foto’s
Delft (Or: Dutch fridge trinkets)
My fridge is full of lots of little trinkets, including but not limited to Dutch things.
Above you can see a Delft postcard and magnet (the latter having a 3D element in the upper right that comes out a bit, using a spring). This was from the Summer 2011 trip. You also see my parents’ dog, Oreo. She is a papillon (see below). Kind of big boned for a breed that is supposed to be dainty, but we love her…
There’s a Holland magnet above that which Marco gave me a long time ago. Due to its age, it’s starting to bend a little bit.
In the upper right you can see part of a magnet for the New York Rangers goalie, Henrik Lundqvist (Let’s go Rangers!). It’s actually holding up a business card with information regarding my next dental appointment in late November.
And this is only one corner of the fridge! I plan on taking most of these with (if we find a not-so-garish way to display them) – and if they survive being peeled off. Some don’t respond well to being moved anymore.
Speaking of papillons…
Above is a picture of the Westminster dog show banner in the Madison Square Garden. It features the papillon “Kirby” which won in 1999. During the dog show (which happens during the hockey season), the ice rink must be melted down. Otherwise the dogs can sense the ice and spend most of their time trying to dig down to get at it!
In motion (Or: Spinning art in Rijswijk)
Marco was able to get some good pictures of a curious looking art installation which was placed in Rijswijk near the Hoogvliet supermarket. I have included both pictures so you can see the motion of both the skaters and of the small ledges they stand on.
I really have no idea what the art is supposed to symbolize. Maybe it hypnotizes the viewers so that when they enter Hoogvliet they buy more…
Happy Friday, everyone!
Picture books (Or: Tien kleine heksjes)
Before there were chapter books like Het geheim van de verliefde hulpkok, there were picture books like Tien kleine heksjes (10 little witches). Marco and I had gone to Amsterdam Public Library, and we stopped at the children’s section for this photo.
You can see more pictures of the children’s section of the library by looking at one of the first posts I wrote for this blog.
Traffic jam (Or: Amsterdam’s in-water boat show 2012)
Roger was gracious enough to send me some pictures of Amsterdam’s in-water boat show which starts today, September 4, and runs through Sunday, September 9. He has been watching the construction of the marina over the past few months, which will house all of the boats this week. Apparently most of the marina will stay after the boat show wraps up, which is nice.
Location: Amsterdam Marina, NDSM Shipyard; Werfstraat 4, 1033 SN Amsterdam
Of course, it does mean there will be more traffic in the area, which hopefully won’t put a damper on Roger’s commute to and from work each day. It’s only four days, at least! Here’s a floor plan of the boat show so you can see the amount of boats that will be docked there. As Roger noted, it is kind of weird to see “Manoeuvreren voor vrouwen” in the lower left of the floor plan (maneuvering for women)… as if men don’t need any help, or all women need help. (I would!)
You can also see a list of activities broken down by day — though it seems like a lot of activities happen on all of the days.
There will be 200 exhibitors and 300 boats. You can read more about the facts & figures of this event by going to the press section of their website.
Categories: Amsterdam, Culture, Transportation
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Brazilian food (Or: It’s all about the pineapple)
From Marco…
This past Sunday, Roger invited his family and me out to dinner.
He picked a place called Rodizio (rodizio.nu) which is a Brazilian restaurant in Scheveningen.
You don’t order a meal, they just bring a whole slew of skewers with meat to your table, and you get a slice of everything your hungry heart desires. Good times..
When Niki was visiting in the Summer of 2011, we went there as well.
I think that maybe at first she was a bit cautious about what they were trying to give to her.
But that soon faded as they brought delicious chicken and beef and sausages.
I do remember there was one type that she didn’t like, but that’s fine..there was plenty to choose from.
The fun thing is that officially you get a little round green/red sign that you put in front of you.
Green means you want more. Red means you’re skipping this round.
Though usually they don’t really check them.
It’s only when everyone on your table has the red sign that they act on it, and they know to take your plates.
(Note from Niki: When I first read this I thought it said “they know to take your pulse.” Haha.)
Another good thing about this place? It’s where I discovered Caipirinha’s.
The first time I went there (2 years ago) it was like a sort of after-work party.
We got a short class in how to make those (and Mojitos but those aren’t nearly as good).
When I make them myself, they’re a bit more sour (also more alcohol I bet) which is fine but I have to admit, the ones at the restaurant look better.
I could write for a while longer about the fun eating (and drinking) experience that is Rodizio.
But I am being urged by Niki to go to sleep (it’s 11.30 pm at the moment)
Which is fine, it just means I’ll be one day closer to the day I get to go there again with her 🙂
Athene Palace (Or: Greek food in the Hague)
As Marco visited Athene Palace in July for his birthday, he was kind of enough to give me a picture of the menu.
And not just any page of the menu… but the page with #95, which reads: Sirtakischotel: kipfilet, suflaki, sutzuki en giros. Each time I have gone to the restaurant (2 or 3 times?) I have always ordered #95. The gyros are my favorite for sure.
Oh, and if you want to spell 95, it’s vijfennegentig (5-and-90, with the classical Dutch refusal to add spaces).
Marco was also kind enough to get a shot of ouzo in the picture. I like it — it tastes like licorice, though it does burn a bit going down. If you’re with a group of people, you can clink your shotglasses together and say Proost! which is their version of “Cheers!”. (It rhymes with “boast”.)
And for dessert, I like to get the Dame Blanche, which is vanilla ice cream with hot fudge sauce. My ideal method for attacking that dessert is to be stingy with the sauce and add a little bit every few bites, to prolong the chocolate heaven.
Irony (Or: Summer schedules on rain-filled days)
There’s just something very ironic about the following photo which Marco gave me a few days ago. It is taken from the inside of a bus, and focuses on an advertisement.
1. “Summer schedule returns next week!”
2. We’re going to promote this with a picture of a smiling happy family at a beach!
3. Don’t look out the bus window, or you might see the dreary rain-filled day which lies in stark contrast to this promise of sorts.
Weekends (Or: Flower filled Fridays)
I would take a picture of the flowers outside of my NY apartment, but they have been scorched due to the heat and no longer resemble anything with vibrant color. (However, I feel like doing a cheer… it’s been over a month, but tonight the apartment is finally cooler than 80F/26C.)
So instead, here are some colorful pictures from Madurodam. It’s been a while since I showed any Madurodam photos!
The landscaping of Madurodam is its own reason to visit, in my mind.
Above, a typical kid doing the balance beam routine. It reminds me of the thing children liked to do when I was a kid: don’t step on a sidewalk crack, or you’ll break your grandmother’s back. I like to think I did this perfectly – as no harm ever came to her back.
New toys (Or: A flood of widgets)
The title of this blog post is sort of a play on words, since it deals with flooding at the Centraal Station in the Hague, but also some new widget options that WordPress is offering.
First off, Marco sent me a link to a video of the flooding at the Centraal Station. It’s a short 15 second clip. Basically, they have been renovating this station for about two years — it was a mess the last time I was there. They removed the roof this weekend to continue their refurbishing, but forgot that they were in the Netherlands.
There was heavy rain over the weekend. And a building without a roof. Eek. Thankfully it’s mostly concrete floors.
Second, I was pleased to see that WordPress has added some new widgets. Inclding one that I have already implemented called “Blogs I Follow”. You can show a list/grid of images of the most recent blogs you followed.
Things I noticed:
1.) Since it is ordered the most recent blog you followed first, it makes more sense to keep the number low (depending on how many blogs you follow every day and how often old blogs drop off the list). I would much prefer if this was a random list so that refreshing the page would show new blogs. I was really looking forward to going to my favorite blogs and hitting refresh a lot…
2.) It seems to bleed into my Milestone widget (the 5 months countdown). But I will leave it be for now and see if anyone else notices.
3.) It’s prettier than I expected, and the images are slightly larger than I expected as well.
There are more widgets mentioned so go take a peek!
Life in the Hague 