Leana's First Week in Europe

Here we sit, Sunday evening, trying to go to sleep so that Matt can get up early for work.

Just had a late snack at a restaurant in Amstelveen called "Sticks" that does sate style finger foods mostly. Mooi Lekker. Beautiful tasty.

Since Leanna got in on Wednesday, we've been packing in almost everything we can each day. Wednesday afternoon, we walked a big portion of Amstelveen, mostly to show Leanna her first up close Dutch windmill, but also to walk off some of the 10 hour flight stiffness and fend off jet lag. I gave my first student talk on Wednesday with Claudine as my house holder, and at least managed not to trip or drop the microphone.

Thursday we had a wandered around Amsterdam and made our way to the Anne Frank House Museum. Quite interesting, and quite depressing. Talk about man's dominating man to his injury... We had toasties and coffees in a brown cafe while people watching out the small paned windows.

Friday, we spent a good deal of the morning tracking down airfare and hotel prices for a jaunt to Italy, from whence Leanna's family hails. Then we hit the local Amstelveen market, and got fixings for Chinese Chicken Salad to be served Saturday evening. That, and the preparation took most of the afternoon up. Matt took us out to dinner at a really nice place called "the Castle" in Amsterdam, where we had to wait about 45 minutes for a table. We used the time to wander Leidseplein a little and get a pint at the Waterhole, and introduce Leanna to "bitterballen" at our favorite Irish pub a few doors down. Dinner was a very intimate and relaxed setting where we sat in clusters around a rather 70's looking fireplace, and ate dinner off of our wicker platers on our laps. We had a little trouble getting home because for the first time in our stay here, we missed the last tram back to Amstelveen. Fortunately we figured out where to catch the last bus to the same station, and managed to get avoid a hefty taxi fee.

Saturday, we slept in late because we got in so late, made scrambled eggs, and waited for a couple from our hall to pick us up. We tried to invite them to dinner here on Sunday, and they told us that they were already going to ask us to go out on Saturday, so we upped it a day and went with them into the country a little to a town in Zaandam where they've preserved a handful of windmills and traditional houses in their traditional style. The brother (Robert) grew up there, and his wife, Naomi-Ruth says they enjoy playing tour guides :) It started out raining, and cleared up just in time for us to walk the park. One of the windmills was open for us to tour, and we got to see the insides of a working color mill, where they grind limestone to add pigments to for paints. Then we all got inside of a giant yellow wooden show, and took a tour of a clog museum. Best part of that was a demonstration of how clogs are made traditionally and using machinery. I bought the shoe they made for a euro and asked the man who did the demo to re-enact a part. They use the very green wood, and he demonstrated that fact by blowing very very hard into the toe of the clog. It made it rain. So I took a video...

When Naomi and Robert dropped us back home, Robert and Matt tromped down to the storage unit to investigate the bicycle. Robert managed to fix it in a matter of 15 minutes or so. But the light still needs fixing, and I still need a few good locks so as to ward off becoming victim to one of the 10,000 or so bicycle thefts a year here.

Sunday, after the meeting, the same couple, Naomi-Ruth, and Robert (who are actually a Dutch couple but part of the Twi group, not the English, but we meet together on Wednesdays) took us to the...dun dun dunnnn....Black Market.

Which is basically a bazaar in the style of Istanbul, Morocco, China town, etc. I'm still not sure why it's called the black market, but it was fun to say it that way. It happens close to the couples home in Uitgeest (out-haste), so we had a lovely sandwich spread for lunch, including Hagel Slag, then went to shop for everything imaginable. I finally found a bigger service bag that can hold my sammie and my books, umbrella, and spare bits, and some safety lights for my newly repaired bicycle. Leanna walked away with lots and lots of candy.

They took us back to their house for some Chinese take away, and a photo viewing which was a lot of fun. Robert kindly made me some mix CD's of Dutch music which I can't wait to spend some time with..We tried out various Dutch phrases, and enjoyed playing with Gyata, the cat. A huge fur ball full of attitude named Lion in Ghanaian. Then, when Robert had a football game to get to, Naomi was kind enough to drop us back home in Amstelveen.

I'm sure that there's much much more to say, but not much much more of my brain left awake to say it. Perhaps Leanna will grace ya'll with a post of her own in the morning.

We're watching Black Adder. It's past time to sleep.