Today is freedom day, or something like that in Leiden. They won some sort of war or something. I don't really understand it. So a whole group (it started out as 4 and ended up with 10!) Went to Leiden to check out the festival. We decided to meet at the train station at 9:45am and head on in. So since it was a beautiful morning I decided to hop on drope (i decided to name my bike drope because it's very black, and very dutch just like the candy.. heheh) and ride on into Central Station. So we hop on the train to Leiden, stop in Starbucks (it's not a common thing here, so now it's tradition.. Leiden = a necessary stop to Starbucks) and then we headed into the city center. Well, we realize that not much is going on, so we head to the market and then ask someone when everything starts. This person says " the rides open at 2, the parade is at 6 and the music starts at 9." Awesome. It's 11:30.. what are we supposed to do for the next several hours? Eat. and Eat. and eat. I think I"m going to have a junk food hangover tomorrow. We had a delicious sandwich, pofferjes, soda, Starbucks, and then later pizza. Now.. let's not forget that I live with a family who try's to be healthy, so junk food is no longer normal for me, so to eat this much junk is terrible. Ick! Anyways.. So we ate, rode this big swing ride that takes you clear up high so you can see the whole city and then sat down in a park. By now it was about 3:30 and I was partied out. Lot's of walking and lot's of eating, I was ready for a nap. So my friend Rachel (the one from Atlanta Georgia, not the one I met at church) and I headed back to Den Haag. Well on the way back we decided that we were hungry and Domino's sounded really great as did watching some Glee or something American. So we headed to her house to pick up her bike and it starts to drizzle a little. No big deal. We get the bike and within 10 min it is raining a little harder, by the time we got to my house we looked like a couple of drowned rats. Mascara all over. Soaked to the bone. And good news. I didn't have a rain jacket or anything. Just this flimsy "emergency poncho" which does nothing for you really. We just had to laugh though because we left and it was so sunny, and we got home and we looked like drowed rats. We decided we had been officially initiated by Holland. Lol. So we threw our jeans in the dryer while we waited for the rain to calm down before heading over to Sheil's to watch some good TV and figure out how to order pizza in this country (turns out it's not to hard, you just have to listen to them jabber on about their special and then say, "English please" then they don't repeat it but they say ok what can we get you.) p.s. I like that I don't always understand what they are saying b/c then if they say something crazy I don't know, and it gets me out of talking to a lot of solicitors too. haha! After a nice pizza, good tv and being dry I headed home, in the rain (with my rain jacket this time) and now I'm headed to bed to sleep off this junk food. I'm hoping that today I rode my bike fast enough (I beat a record for getting home on a bike I"m pretty sure) and long enough to have burned off at least some of the calories from today's food and last night's food! haha
Speaking of last night.. if you ever have a chance to go to Rodizo's, GO! It is so yummy!! I went to 1 in Springfield a couple years ago, and we went to one last night with Val and Erv, and Steve and Sheila, and Barb and George (I think that's his name.. sorry if it isn't!) it was so much fun. They bring all different meats out to you on a stick and just cut some off and then they bring out more and more and more. If you walk away hungry.. it's your own fault! And this place had Brazilian dancers. It was so fun!!!!
Well ya'll. I'm beyond exhausted. Time for some nice shut eye :o)
yum
I think this pretty much sums up Leiden. Lot's of canals. Heck, I think this pretty much sums up Holland..
haha!! LOVE Val's face! The Brazilian Dancers would come around and pick people to dance, and they wouldn't take no for an answer. Thank goodness they left me alone :o)
Poor Erv. He wanted nothing to do with this girl.. but he managed an embarrassed smile
The 3 dancers
Actually...I think that you were born for Holland! You've fit in so well so quickly. What has the Motherland done all these years without you? :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd really, his name is Greg, not George! Barb is on the Golf Classic committee with me, so I hope you made a good impression! I told you its a small world!