Drive NL: Haarlem

Over the weekend, we drove to Haarlem which lies just outside of Amsterdam.  The more famous Harlem in New York City was named after this Haarlem in The Netherlands (New York was a former Dutch colony).

The pigeons of Haarlem.

Boat house by the river Spaarne.

We caught the opening of the road-bridge to let some leisure crafts through:

Here the bridge is closed and the road above it is open.  Later, it would swivel 90º to let boats through.

Can you spot the difference?  The bridge/road has turned and is open for boats to pass through.

Waiting for the road to open.

Here is a video of the bridge/road swivelling back into place - quite cool:

Gorgeous flowers by the sidewalk.

Local pigeons and ducks.

Lovely old buildings by the waterway.

This is another bridge which was kind of half open, so people can pass above and below it.

Sint-Bavokerk at the central market square.

Lunch by the cathedral.  It was sunny but the wind was chilly.

Impromptu PDA (Public Display of Affection) on the streets of Haarlem:

First, the forehead rub.

Then checking for cavities.

Finally, the nibble.

Typical street scene.

Window display at a violin shop.

Interesting decoupage shop facade.

Chilling out by the river before heading back.

All strapped in and not going anywhere :)

Sliding to Paul Simon

Lucas has finally learnt to use his slide properly, instead of going up the wrong end.  So he is a bit obsessed with it at the moment.




His other obsession: colourful four-wheelers.

Our Ikea trolley has been taken over.

Posing with his Tonka collection.

Playskool animals on wheels from Grandpa - these are great!
Perfect size for little hands and fits into pockets and handbags for outings.

Yes, he must also test his friends' four-wheelers.  

Here he is with William's fire engine.

Luckily, Will has an adorable little house so the boys could do some cooking instead.

  

Trying out Will's culinary delight.

Plastic food is not as good as the real thing, though.

Will's super cute playhouse!

Up-Beat!

Beatrice is our lovely FF friend (that's Foodie and Fashionista!) who came to visit us for three weeks in May and June.  When she wasn't busy visiting fashion capitals, she was busy discovering the fresh local produce and duly documenting them in gorgeous photographs.  Her enthusiasm has certainly rubbed off and I am now appreciating the fresh fruits and veggies which I had taken for granted all these while.

She has kindly agreed to let me post the photos she took, so I am sharing them with you.  Saves me the trouble of taking such photos, and it will be a lovely reminder for us when we leave -thanks, Beat!

Extolling the virtues of the bospeen (carrots).

Don't they look gorgeous?  They are probably the sweetest carrots I have ever tasted.
And they cost €0.99 from our neighbourhood supermarket, Albert Heijn.
Yes, for the whole bunch.

More hauls from the supermarkets (Albert Heijn and Sligro):

Tri-coloured cherry tomatoes.

Cherry trostomaten on vine, giant red peppers, parma ham and spaghetti peperoncino.

Fresh raspberries, orange baby peppers, radishes and cranberry yoghurt.

Makes you wanna eat veggies.

A visit to the farmers' market at the Centrum on a sunny Wednesday in May:

We bought some red quinoa for dinner.

And yellow chillies - these were hot!

Then we came upon this array of local mushrooms.

Very strange-looking.

And very fresh.

These rose mushrooms were so exotic and pretty, we just had to try some.

Then it was off to the Binnenhof for lunch under the sun.

A loaf of delicious gorgonzola rosemary bread for us.

And everything else for Lucas - water bottle, plate, bowl, spoon, thermos, wet wipes, toy car...

A spot of sight-seeing at Lake Hofvijver overlooking the Binnenhof.

Dutch ducklings by the lake.

Back at home, Beatrice made us a healthy yummy quinoa dinner!

The pink mushrooms all ready to be eaten.

Some shots at home, and out and about:

Beat and her 'roomie' for several nights.

This was us attempting a self-portrait.  Would have been perfect if the one in the foreground could just sit still for two seconds.

Senior stylist on the job.

Reinforcement/incentive.

Grandma.

Lunch at Simonis' on Scheveningen beach.

Enjoying his first McDonald's meal at Batavia Outlet Shopping.

Thanks for the wonderful memories, Beat!