Dutch flowers

Date

Event

Friday, June 24

We leave for Holland! Kris and Julie fly from Chicago and I fly from San Francisco. Both flights are full, but our seats aren't too bad. I was lucky as my plane had individual video screens at each seat. I just watched movies during the whole flight. Now if only the kid who sat next to me didn't have stinky feet!

Saturday, June 25

After a long flight, we arrive, 4 hours apart. Kris and Julie arrive an hour early, so they have to wait. Luckily, Jeannine (an old school friend of Kris') comes to the airport to keep them company, and later Tante Tini & Oom Joop also show up for some hugs, kisses and coffee.

After I arrive and get the rental car, we go to the hotel (Hotel de Witte Bergen) and check in. We have some lovely large suites, perfect for a two-week stay.

Dinner is at Tante Tini & Oom Joop's house, a nice quiet way to start an event-filled vacation!

Sunday, June 26

A big party! We see all the aunts and uncles and most of the cousins at a wonderful lunch at Tante Tini & Oom Joop's house. Luckily I have my Palm Pilot, so that I can make note of all the invitations we're getting.

Monday, June 27

Take care of business and start the shopping! We closed Mom's Dutch bank account and started to buy those presents.

Dinner at Tante Tini & Oom Joop's, another casual and fun evening.

Tuesday, June 28

Poffertjes! A delicious lunch in Laren with Tante Tini & Oom Joop. For those who don't know, poffertjes are small pancakes, similar to the American "Silver Dollar" pancakes but a bit smaller. They are served with lots of real butter and powdered sugar. You can also get them with a splash of Grand Marnier, rum, and other delicious flavors.

Dinner at Victor and Veronique's house, with a delicious meal made by Tante Mieke. What a treat to see those twins!

Wednesday, June 29

Shopping in the morning – what else is new? Every time we saw a store, we shopped. It's amazing how easy it is when all you're spending is Monopoly money.

Afternoon/Evening: dinner at Trix & Aad's house. We caught up on each other's lives, ate a wonderful dinner prepared by Trix, and then Kris tried to catch a big carp. She caught a few little ones!

Thursday, June 30

AMSTERDAM! Kris and Julie saw the house where they lived, the school they attended and Julie and I bought some Delft pieces that we'd wanted. The Delft was our way of remembering our Mom.

Dinner in A'dam with Jeannine de Jong – an Indonesian Rijsttafel ... delicious!

Friday, July 1

We're pooped! Taking a day off just to rest ... and maybe we'll have some poffertjes for lunch? Yep, we went back to Laren for some more ... and I got soaking wet in a quick downpour! The *one* day I don't bring my umbrella with me. Typical!

Saturday, July 2

Coffee and visiting in downtown Bussum with family.

Dinner at Paul & Ella's house. The weather was moody (rain, no rain, rain, no rain) so we trooped in and out of the house like soldiers.

Sunday, July 3

Morning is spent at churches services (for those who want to go).

Evening is a birthday celebration at Tante Mieke's house. More great food, more great visits with family.

Monday, July 4

Volendam! And yes, we took those pictures in traditional Dutch costumes.

Tuesday, July 5

Kris goes to Amsterdam. She meets up with Jeannine and explores more of Amsterdam's shopping districts.

Julie/Phyllis take the train to Paris! Only in Europe can you take a "day trip" to a city like Paris. We got up early, took the Thalys to Paris, spent 6 hours sightseeing and then took the train back. It was whirlwind, but how often can you say "I spent the day in Paris"?

Wednesday, July 6

Shopping in the morning. It's starting to sound like a skip in a record, isn't it?

Cocktail party at Joep & Ineke's house. Everyone was celebrating Cherine's successful completion of school (similar to graduating high school in the US), so it was a very happy evening.

Thursday, July 7

Morning: Open air market in Bussum. Note: There are a LOT of pictures on this page. The open air markets in Holland are so different from ones I know in California, I really want to remember it.

Afternoon: Lunch at Madelon's house, which is always so "gezelling" (sorry, all you non-Dutch speakers ... that word is really impossible to translate!). Afterwards, we did some local sightseeing with Oom Henk.

Evening: Dinner at Trix & Aad's with Oom Henk and Anne Marie. Another wonderful meal, another wonderful evening full of reminiscences and stories.

PACKING! How *will* we get all those presents into our luggage? We also went out for some more poffertjes at lunch ... this is the last time we'll eat them for a LONG time.

Evening: A farewell dinner at the hotel with Tante Tini & Oom Joop, Trix & Aad, and Tom. The food was excellent, but more importantly, we got to spend some final moments with our family.

We fly home. We had a marvelous trip. We got to see our Dutch family, keeping the family ties strong, which is something my Mom would have loved so much. It was sad to leave, but we know that we'll always be welcome in Holland, our "home away from home".