…fire in your eyes, fire in your eyes.
we stayed out too long, playing in the sun
fire in your eyes, fire! fire! fire! fire!
fire! fire! fire! fire!
yeaaaah the girl is on fire!
So… after a very non-eventful April, May got off to the best possible start!
I left for Holland on the 3rd to visit my lovely friends over there. Stina was there for the
weekend too which was a big bonus!! I arrived at Schiphol at around 9.30am (early morning, zzz!) and we made our way back up to Saar’s place in Alkmaar. After a quick trip to the supermarket, Stina and I made up some lovely rolls to take to the park. The first of many afternoons in the lovely spring sunshine!
Munkeh enjoying the Summer Sun
After a while (and once Stina had finished making her flower-crown), we went back to Saar’s to get ready for ze party. my birthday fest to be precise 
and what a fanastic fest it was!!! We ate nachos, drank cocktails and got very merry! Cisca and Chantie came over with the most AWESOME birthday cake in the world, and Martin came a bit later. It was cool to finally meet him! They all sang happy birthday to me (in both english and dutch) and then we tucked in (i tasted very good btw… 
)
Fantabulous Birthday Cake!
Cocktails with the Girls 
Sunday was nice and warm again so we decided to head over to the beach at Bergen aan Zee. Well…. We made it to Bergen, waited for the connecting bus for about 40mins and then decided that it wasnt coming! So we wandered around the town (very pretty!), got ice cream and munched it in a church garden. After that we found a bar and had some nice coke and bitterbollen *mmm*. What more could you ask for on a sunny sunday afternoon!? We went back to Saar’s, had some delicious soup and watched a movie.
Stina and I waiting for the bus
Blue Sky and Bergen’s Kerk
On Monday we headed down to Haarlem for some touristy stuff and also for the Liberation Day Festival. We roamed through the town centre, had some lunch and then headed down to a very packed park to see Juliette and the Licks. Very Cool. We had to leave before the set finished cos Stina had a flight to catch, so we made our way back to Schiphol. After a teary goodbye Saar and I went to Starbucks for a much needed frappacino. Got the train back to Alkmaar, enjoyed some more soup and watched some TV.
Church in Haarlem
the three of us at the concert in Haarlem
Tuesday - more like HOTDAY. a nice day to spend outside wandering around Zaanse Schans down in Zaandam. I finally got to see a working windmill and sat in the most massive clog you could ever imagine! We got pretty sunburnt, but had a great afternoon out. Its always nice to just chill Got back to Alkmaar and relaxed by the TV for a coupla hours.
Saar and I at Zaanse Schans
Hmmnnn, might need a smaller one!
Windmills on the Zaanse Schans
On Wednesday we went down to Amsterdam pretty early to beat the queues at Anne Frank Huis. What a fascinating place. I still can’t quite believe just how bad it all was. Now all I have to do is actually read the book *searches it on amazon…*. We went up and down the Canals, had lunch in a lovely Cafe, searched for a Church and then went on the obligatory sightseeing boat-trip. I love them! . After the trip we went down to the Dam, took some pics and then carried on down to the Begijnhof… nice little enclosed neighbourhood in the heart of the city just for women i could soooo live there! we wandered up the street to the Croc shop and both found ourselves in the possetion of some lovely shiny CROCS! We shopped a little more and then took the tram back to the station. We got a bit lazy and had some take-away chinese for dinner, watched a LOT more Friends and went to bed.
Gabled houses along the canals in Amsterdam
one of the many bridges
The Begijnhof. I could sooo live there!
Thursday - lazy morning, hectic afternoon, wonderful relaxed evening! We arrived in Utrecht just after two and went to have a little picnic near the Dom. it is sooo beautiful there! I am still in awe of the amazing architecture over there. In every city there is something so unique and so beautiful! After our lunch we headed back to the station and got the train to Gouda where Eugene was waiting for us! We walked into the town, saw the gorgeous town hall (again, amazed by the cute architecture!) and then carried on to Eugene’s place where Marielle and the kids were waiting. Minko was hyper as ever, but poor little Evy was sick with a fever! We played some disney trivial pursuit with Minko and then enjoyed some lovely dinner, followed by table-football games! oh, and Munkeh finally met up with Gijsje! yay!! after a nice chat and a look at Gessle’s brick of a book, we got the train back to Alkmaar and then headed to bed.
The Dom in Utrecht
Saar, Munkeh and I enjoying the sunshine
Gouda’s gorgeous Town Hall
When Munkeh met Gijsje
Friday was spent wandering around Alkmaar we stayed and watched the Kaasmarkt for a while and then looked around the older parts of the town centre, before having some delicious ice cream! We stopped for lunch in a little bagel store and then made our way down to Rituals. teehee. I can’t wait til the one in Cambridge opens!!! We went home around 3pm, watched some more Friends DVDs and then Saar made delicious pannekoeken for dinner. with bacon and syrup *drools!*
Kaasmarkt in Alkmaar
The Waag in Alkmaar
On Saturday we went down to Cisca’s place in Hoofddorp. We loaded everything on the bike and went to the park for a braai. It was such a fun afternoon! Martin joined us and we had hotdogs and toasted marshmallows. We ate, we drank, we laughed. and we got sunburnt! After a long day Saar and I crashed on Cis’s couch…. Sunday was an early one cos I had to fly home!
Cisca sorting out the braai
Picnic & Braai - The Dutch Way
Well… now that I’m back home… I am pretty sure that my week in NL was the only summer I’ll be seeing this year!
Amazing friends. Amazing country. Amazing week!
