A weekend of celebration

Last weekend was a great weekend. It was jam packed with activities for my boyfriend's 30th birthday. On Friday we went to the highest restaurant in The Hague called The Penthouse which is situated on the 42nd floor. The view from up there was great and we could see all the city. The food was also lovely although it felt like we paid for every floor we had below us.

On Saturday I had planned a surprise BBQ at the beach with family and friends. The day turned out great, a lot of people showed up and we just had a good time. So much that the 10 kilometer bike ride back home was not the most simple and straightforward task.

Sunday was my brother in law´s birthday and we spent another day at the beach. It felt like being on holiday with tropical weather. 

This morning waking up was so much harder than usual Monday mornings, not that they are ever easy!

How to lose your BBQ

This is a story based on real-life incidents.

There was once a couple who owned a house with a lovely garden next to the water. The couple loved BBQ'ing in summer but rarely ventured out in the garden once it started getting cold. They did cover the bbq but never got around to storing it inside. They looked outside many times and pointed out that it should be brought in, but most probably they were too busy doing other things. With time they forgot about the BBQ out in the cold and rain, until after a stormy day they looked out and the BBQ was gone!

It was nowhere to be seen floating in the water. The BBQ was lost forever (or maybe till next summer when the kids jump in the water and bump into it).

The couple did think to put a fence after this incident but seeing as there are no kids yet they prefer to have the looks instead of the safety.

Will the couple be more careful in the future? I hope they do!!

Marking the end of the bbq'ing season

To end the bbq'ing season, last weekend we had a bbq in the garden. We ate more than we should and relaxed in the warmth. As the sun started setting we put on the fire in the vuurkorf which is a sort of an open air stove. The flickering of the fire is just one of those things that I don't manage to stop looking at. At some point we were joint by 2 beautiful swans. The picture will be in my memory for a long time.

Now that bbq has been cleaned and stored for the winter season, the temperatures rose , just to tempt us to want to use it again!

BBQing in the rain!

Again this weekend I was reminded that in Holland you cannot plan a BBQ in advance. Yet we did so; we invited friends and family over for my boyfriend's and his brother's birthdays. We had been checking the weather forecasts for a week, worrying well in advance that there was not even a hint of sun forecast for last weekend.

We were positive about it and decided to put a cover up in the garden to hold away any rain. Saturday morning we tried to put this cover up but it was impossible to hold still. The wind was just pulling on the material as if it was a boat's sail. After a few trials we gave up and just covered the BBQ area. By this time the grey skies had started pouring down with buckets of water. The boys were completely soaked. I was at the time watching securely from the dry inside. It was decided that the birthday boys were going to do the cooking outside, while everyone enjoys the party from the inside.

The BBQ was in the end a great success. The masses were fed and everyone seemed happy. It's sad that every weekend seems to bring along bad weather, however this will not stop us from enjoying our summer!

[Image Source: Toon Pool]

Gay Pride BBQ

The Amsterdam Gay price is the annual gay festival celebrated in Amsterdam which happens in the first weekend of August. The event has been organised for 15 years and each year there are more activities than the year before. The highlight of the weekend is the boat parade along the canals, as well as several street parties on Friday evening.. What's crazy about this event that most boats in the parade have themed boats, which range from the expected to the very unexpected themes. It's kind of a mini-carnival meets a mini-Queen's day.

Unluckily this year the weather was horrible and even though the festivities continued there were less people around the streets.  A friend of mine had planned a bbq on his rooftop from where we would have been able to view the busy canals. However the plans had to be modified due to the incessent rain; the bbq was still held on a covered balcony. The other guests and us were all tucked in cosily in the living room.  It was a great afternoon, catching up with some of my friends who I see less often now that I don't live in the neighbourhood. I also got to talk with other people, some who are new to the Netherlands. What impressed me was that a few of the guests who had never met my boyfriend swore that he didn't look Dutch, or from other nothern European countries. Some even thought he was Maltese! It was hilarious since to me he really has a typical Dutch physical appereance. I guess it's easy to think he was foreign seeing that there were only 3-4 Dutch people in the apartment of 30 foreigners!

Saturday also marked the annual Dance Valley festival. Last year I went to the festival and had a blast dancing to music during a nice warm summer day. Rain though ruins some (or most in my opinion) of the greatness of the festival since most stages are on the outside. The few indoor tents cannot hold all the people, so they will be too full to enjoy them either. So all in all  I didn't regret that I wasn't in the valley this year! It surely was a mud-fest! On the train back home we did see some people returning back from the festival and they were indeed completely covered in mud!

The photos are all from previous years since I didn't have my camera with me last weekend!


[Images Source: Your Personal City Guide, Zimbio]