I have a lovely room here at Paul's house
On Saturday morning my cousin Paul picked me up from the Double Dutch and took me to his lovely Dutch village called Broek in Waterland. Paul is the same generation as my dad; they both have the same great-great-grandfather. Paul is originally from Brighton, England. He met his Dutch wife Lya when she was an au pair in England and so he moved to Holland. They have a gorgeous house in a very cute village. The village is next to a lake with boats and birds. The backside of their house is glass with a stunning view of green fields. For dinner Paul's two kids came over who are now both in their thirties. Both were so excited to meet me. We had a great dinner and talked for hours. I love my Dutch cousins!
Colette and I at FOAM
Warm Dutch apple pie... does it get any better?
On Monday I went into Amsterdam with Lya. We were headed to a flea market along a canal in the wealthy area of the city. I found a little bear hat for Lya's granddaughter. After an hour so I said goodbye to Lya and walked down the canal to FOAM (FOtografiemuseum AMsterdam), a photography museum. Here I met another cousin named Colette who shares the same great-great-grandfather as my dad, but from a different branch than Paul. Colette is a curator at the museum. She took me to lunch in the museum's cafe and granted me free admission to the museum! Fun fact: Colette's father is the very famous violinist Teo Olof. Colette was a lovely woman; we had a lot in common and had a great time together! At the cafe she treated me to Dutch cheese which was heavenly and Dutch apple pie which was to die for.
After our lunch I walked around the canals and window shopped. I loved the apple treat so much, about an hour later I stopped at a bakery and bought a bread with apple filling... probably one of the best things I have ever tasted. When I was tired of walking around, I took the bus back to Paul's. Amsterdam is so easy to walk around; there is really no need for anything but one's feet!
Tomorrow morning I leave for... Belgium! I was originally planning on heading right to Germany from the Netherlands but am taking a detour in Bruges, Belgium. I will see you there!
More Amsterdam sights:
I saw this on a van... I thought it was funny. Meerkats?
Saw this shirt at a used clothing store
Would you like to live on a houseboat?
 |
| I have a lovely room here at Paul's house |
On Saturday morning my cousin Paul picked me up from the Double Dutch and took me to his lovely Dutch village called Broek in Waterland. Paul is the same generation as my dad; they both have the same great-great-grandfather. Paul is originally from Brighton, England. He met his Dutch wife Lya when she was an au pair in England and so he moved to Holland. They have a gorgeous house in a very cute village. The village is next to a lake with boats and birds. The backside of their house is glass with a stunning view of green fields. For dinner Paul's two kids came over who are now both in their thirties. Both were so excited to meet me. We had a great dinner and talked for hours. I love my Dutch cousins!
 |
| Colette and I at FOAM |
 |
| Warm Dutch apple pie... does it get any better? |
On Monday I went into Amsterdam with Lya. We were headed to a flea market along a canal in the wealthy area of the city. I found a little bear hat for Lya's granddaughter. After an hour so I said goodbye to Lya and walked down the canal to FOAM (FOtografiemuseum AMsterdam), a photography museum. Here I met another cousin named Colette who shares the same great-great-grandfather as my dad, but from a different branch than Paul. Colette is a curator at the museum. She took me to lunch in the museum's cafe and granted me free admission to the museum! Fun fact: Colette's father is the very famous violinist Teo Olof. Colette was a lovely woman; we had a lot in common and had a great time together! At the cafe she treated me to Dutch cheese which was heavenly and Dutch apple pie which was to die for.
After our lunch I walked around the canals and window shopped. I loved the apple treat so much, about an hour later I stopped at a bakery and bought a bread with apple filling... probably one of the best things I have ever tasted. When I was tired of walking around, I took the bus back to Paul's. Amsterdam is so easy to walk around; there is really no need for anything but one's feet!
Tomorrow morning I leave for... Belgium! I was originally planning on heading right to Germany from the Netherlands but am taking a detour in Bruges, Belgium. I will see you there!
More Amsterdam sights:
 |
| I saw this on a van... I thought it was funny. Meerkats? |
 |
| Saw this shirt at a used clothing store |
 |
| Would you like to live on a houseboat? |
Great Twain quote! That museum sounds awesome, I want to go.
ReplyDeletePaul's house looks amazing. I am looking
ReplyDeleteforward to hearing all about your time in Amsterdam. Will you be in Brussels too?
No, just Brugge.
ReplyDeleteAnd I can't figure out why this blog post's writing is lower than usual :/
oh man can you get me a recipe for the dutch apple pie?!!!
ReplyDeleteHi Julia, Isn't Holland terrific? Now you know why Sharon and I took the 7 day bike and barge trip. We covered about 25 miles per day and saw some great sites along the way. The people were very friendly, especially the girls in the windows who were constantly waiving at me.
ReplyDeleteIsn't Mitch funny! Can't wait to hear about Brugge...as you know somewhere I always dreamed of visiting. My grandfather visited Brussels during WWI.
ReplyDeleteThanks guys.
ReplyDelete