A long weekend in the Netherlands

This last weekend we headed to the Netherlands, to visit some of Luuk's extended family. He's a Dutch boy, though hasn't lived there since he was very young, and seems mostly Kiwi, I think. But that handy EU passport has saved us a few headaches, and his miraculously-well-kept grasp on Dutch language has been useful as well. (For some strange reason the supermarket in-house-brand products in France often have labels in Dutch and French.)

We got off to an excellent start - on the road at 7.30 in the morning, and then found a fantastic place for breakfast at 9ish. There was a play area for Louis and good hot food for us.

A very good start.

Louis slept for most of the remainder of the trip north. Drove right through Belgium without stopping. We stopped for lunch in Veldhoven - got us some good dutch frites - and then continued on to Luuk's aunt and uncle's place, in the vicinity of Nijmegen.

Unfortunately, Louis was fighting a cold and was grumpy, coughing a bit, off his food... But Stef did find something that kept him happy...

King Louis, in his carriage!

Oom Stef, taking Louis for a ride...

along the dijk. And that's a cyclist going the other way. How very quintessentially Dutch.

We were treated to an amazing feast of a welcome dinner that night.

This seems to be a popular special-occasion meal. Similar to stone-grill, everyone sits around the table and cooks their meat, eating as they go.

And there was a whole selection of meats! This was only half of it. There was another plate of delicious seafood. Then the sauces and salad, as well as bread. What a feast!

On Sunday we drove into Amsterdam for Luuk's cousin's birthday. Louis was at his worst health-wise: was sick in the car, probably from coughing so much. Poor wee man. Perked up a bit in the afternoon, playing with all his new-discovered family...

bubbles! Ah, the joy.

Luuk's aunt and uncle.

Louis cleared the coffee table (if only it were a marketable skill) but managed not to break anything. Played with an ornate Moroccan tea pot for a while, then the remote control. Only knocked the table over two or three times.

Louis and I, and the birthday boy.

For dinner we had the same thing as the night before and it was just as delicious the second time around. It's a nice, leisurely way to eat a meal and very cosy with everyone sharing, cooking, eating and talking together. 

Monday was 'Queen's Day' in the Netherlands, a public holiday. We went to the fair/market in Beuningen...

The market - a special case for Queen's day - no fee/licence required to sell wares. 

Loads of people were selling off their old toys and things. We got Louis a great little trike with a trailer, as well as a couple of little toys and a dutch children's book.

We took advantage of the gorgeous weather and enjoyed a very Dutch form of transport. 

No helmets required and very leisurely. Louis (much happier/healthier) loved it and the view from this seat is much better than from the one on my bike in NZ...

Even I biked, 7.5 months pregnant and all. 

Tuesday we were heading home but not until after lunch. Luuk and I also got the cold/cough and were glad of the leisurely morning. Louis slept lots and was thankfully eating more and coughing less.

We had a delicious lunch at a great cafe in Beuningen, including bitterballen, a Dutch favourite of mine. Then we drove on to Sittard, where Luuk's Oma lives, for afternoon tea. On the way there we accidentally drove into Germany, thanks to our charmingly confused GPS. We were only a few minutes late...

Louis and his great Oma! (and his new green race car)

We still had a long drive back to Paris, and so, well stocked with coffee, cake, and some extra food supplies for the journey, we headed off. I was certain Louis would sleep in the car but he stayed awake, and happy, for nearly the entire trip.

Are you serious?

As we came into Paris he nodded off, only to be woken when we got home, of course. It was a beautiful drive - a different road through Belgium because we came from a different direction - and much more picturesque. France, with the sun shining, and then setting rather spectacularly, across the farms and fields, was looking gorgeous. 

It is strange that coming home feels like coming home, but I am glad. I am tired and sick, glad to put my feet up and achieve little more than laundry for a few days. On that note, the laptop battery is low and I am peckish. I think some good ol' tv watching and snacking is in order; another hot drink and a heat pack for my achey back as well.

Later, perhaps, I'll do some writing, hang out the washing, tidy the bench. When Louis wakes there are a few things we need at the shops, and some good fresh, french bread for lunch. Maybe a quiche too. Ah, the food in France. One day, in the not so distant future perhaps, I will start to feel homesick for NZ, but the food in France will always be a comfort, methinks.

Some days...

Day 9: conversational patterns

Day 10: wake up call

- Mummy better wake up soon or she won't sleep tonight.
- I'm awake.
...
- Oh hello darling. Did Daddy send you in here? Yes that's the light switch. What a great game.

Day 11: Borderless, part 2 (or The joys of GPS, part 2)

GPS: Perform a u-turn where possible.
Driver: What? Oh man, I think we're going to Germany.
Passenger: Oops.
GPS: Perform a u-turn where possible.
Driver: On the motorway?

Day 8: borderless (a one sided conversation)

Hello? Belgium? The door was open so I thought I'd just come on in.
Oh, cool, I guess that was the idea.
Feels a bit weird helping myself to a beer though. Then again, if it's Belgium beer.

Vacances, the finale...

Monday afternoon, after our swimmingly good day-so-far, we headed into Argeles-sur-Mer for a bit of exploration.

Pokey little streets and fun coloured buildings all packed together, the ancient beside the just plain old, balconies and street lamps, guttering and window boxes... all very cool and quaint.

So we wandered around a bit.

Found a cool old church.

The town of Argeles-sur-Mer is a little way off from the beach, so we consulted our handy dandy GPS and found Argeles Plage... the beach.

Ah, the Mediterranean.

The palms kept reminding us of Florida... not so much the temperature, malheureusement.

We had pizza for dinner, with a view of the beach. Louis was a bit over it, unfortunately, and we had to pull out the bubbles. Problem is: once they're out you're not allowed to put them away.

 Unless you offer something better... like sand. And for want of a bucket... my shoes.

A family photo, which will very soon be out of date.

Tuesday dawned cool and not-so-clear. With our hopes high we packed our togs, thinking we could turn toward the Mediterranean and make the most of a hot day, if one showed up. Meanwhile, we had another funky town to explore: Elne.

Wonder if this guy owned this car before being allotted this parking space...?

Saw these green bamboo-looking pipes on loads of buildings, including on the castle at Collioure. 

Strange but cool.

Elne boasts an abbey, which we decided to visit.

The courtyard was like the garden of Gethsemane in a movie... or that's what it made me think of.

We climbed these well-worn spiral stairs,

up to the roof,

and the view. Then down the pokey stairs, slow and careful, to the courtyard.

 

You can't actually go in the courtyard, but the galleries were interesting - beautiful architecture and, for something else, a few sarcophagi. 

Inside the cathedral.

That's quite the organ. 

And in the basement... an archaeological exhibition. 

There was also pottery from the 4th century! Kind of blows my mind, how old these places are.

It was sunny but blowing something of a gale, so we headed to the beach, and then, toute de suite, found shelter... 

Shelter that served fabulicious ice creams, coffees and crepes!

Scrum-diddly-umptious!

Unfortunately Louis woke half way through a nap when we stopped driving and was not at his best. He perked up a little bit when I started shoveling strawberry ice cream into his mouth, but even that didn't last long.

So we took Louis back to camp for a proper nap. The boys went off to get some groceries. Michelle and I hung out and had a good, long yarn. After a delicious dinner we played Carcasonne all evening (cough-again-cough). In the morning it was clean-up time.

We had to catch a train from Argeles-sur-Mer, but not until after one last stop for pastries at/near the beach.

The park over the road from the beach... no sand in our chausson aux pomme, but unfortunately the park had a bit of a pong. A doggy pong. Probably. Yuck.

 

Beach was gorgeous. 

And Louis was happy.

Farewell to the Mediterranean, for now.

Adam and Michelle had to get on the road so they dropped us off at the train station. We grabbed some lunch then took an earlier train than planned. 

Waiting, briefly, for the train at Argeles-sur-Mer

Louis playing with Luuk's face: a game which lasts longer than you'd think.

Unfortunately we couldn't take our next train earlier than originally planned. So we ended up in Montpellier for a couple of hours. Didn't go far from the train station, laden with luggage and all. 

First impressions of Montpellier: beautiful but rough, but perhaps because of our proximity to the train station.

Louis wouldn't sleep on the first train - why, oh why? - and we were feeling past it as well. 

Therefore, first priority: coffee.

And next, to find a play ground. Which turned out to be very easy: the park right across the road from the station! Handy.

One more long train trip - 3 hours by fast train to Paris...

We ate dinner, played games, read and relaxed.

Louis slept!

And Luuk played with the settings on the camera.

Voila! Fini.

And tomorrow we're off to the Netherlands for four days. I've finally finished doing all the laundry and have started packing again. We're driving this time, so don't need to be quite so compact: don't need to be able to carry everything through a bustling train station. Also, we're staying with Luuk's family, so we don't need to take sheets and towels. We're going north and have no expectations of swimming, or even sun really, so that narrows down the outfit selection.

I think, after this trip, it'll be time to slow down, to rest and nest... in the necessary rather than superfluous sense, i.e. should find this soon-coming baby a bed, something vaguely girly to wear, a car seat, and some new born size nappies. I'm trying to think what else we'll need. I suppose I could pack myself a bag for the hospital once I've unpacked from the Netherlands. That'd be awfully organised, wouldn't it?

I painted a huge mural for Louis just before he was born, speaking of nesting. We brought it with us, folded up like a sheet. It's still folded up, but I keep meaning to unfurl it and put it up. Perhaps I'll paint on some new things, some more birds and animals, for the new baby and we can put it up in the bedroom.