The Birthday Party

Saturday, the 23rd, was the day after Dan's birthday. We started off by going to the Albert Cuypmarkt, which is Amsterdam's largest general market. I had read that about 20,000 people visit it on weekdays and to double that number for weekends. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised to find it rather uncrowded when we arrived there on Saturday morning at 10AM. Besides general market fare for sale, images that remain with me include tens of mannequin legs sporting all types of leggings and some X-rated garden gnomes. The only thing we bought were some olives for the party. We had hoped to eat Flemish French Fries, which are said to be the best, but the stand still hadn't opened by the time we left. I will definitely return, especially if the weather is as nice as it was on Saturday!

That evening, we put out a spread for Dan's party. It was small, but very gezellig. The guests were friends from work and our neighbors. A Dutch birthday party tradition is to put chairs into a circle. I ended up placing them along the walls, across from each other, since there only would have been room for a very exclusive circle, which would undermine the idea. I made Rice Krispie treats which came out a little differently than back home. The marshmallows were only available in pink and white mixed together. As a result, the treats were pink. They tasted a tad different - I couldn't figure out if they were just a little sweeter or if they tasted a little like strawberries. The cake we served was chocolate with chocolate whipped cream and raspberry filling. It was delicious! I tried to spell out "34" with the candles...