Wednesday, November 19th
Harrod's is in the middle with the flags.
That evening, we got decked out and went with our friends to the opening of a great new musical called Imagine This. The plot revolved around the experience of a theatre troupe in a Warsaw ghetto during WWII. One purpose of the musical is as a means to perpetuate the stories from the Holocaust so that the story is told since there are fewer and fewer survivors every year. To illustrate how this story affected people, at the end of the musical more than half of the audience was in tears. We went to the party afterwards and had a chance to speak with several cast members and others who had been a part. All of them told us how much it had meant to them to have been part of such a production and how the economic success was secondary. One actress told me that the personal growth she experienced was worth more than any acclaim she could derive from its success.
Madeline with the lead, Peter Polycarpou
The next morning, we had a delicious English breakfast that included out-of-the-oven chocolate croissants. We went with our friends to Paul, a French cafe (also found in many European airports) for a post-brekkie coffee and then we returned to Amsterdam. Dan went to the Rijksmuseum for a special exhibition that featured a jewel-encrusted skull. I stayed home to catch up on some reading. The girls were at the daycare (aka creche) for the day, so we relaxed before picking them up.
The market was indeed large and indoors, but not under a single roof. Everything was sold within and there were particular sections selling like items, such as antiques, furniture, fruits & vegetables, party & seasonal decor, Middle Eastern goods, Chinese products, and manicure services. There was also a great variety of food. We went in without needing anything and ended up being quite restrained. We walked out with only a disposable roasting pan for the Thanksgiving turkey, sweet potatos and a meter of Turkish bread.
the prep
American football!
the guests
the delish brunch
Out shopping, I bought a new bike lock. I got a bike about two weeks ago, but it was cut down from the pole where I had left it and brought to a bike impound. According to police, the poles should have displayed a sign that said 'No bike parking.' There was no sign and there had been another bike attached to that pole.
Sunday, November 30th
After they had their fill, and I finished my coffee, we headed out to the Christmas market. It was in St. Catherine's Square and a huge carousel was at the entry. Of course this sparked Liliane's interest. The market was medium-sized (this is a guess since I cannot yet compare), with a good variety of wares. It is kind of like a craft fair that lasts for a month, so the stands in which the merchants are in are permanent, with rooves, electricity and heat. They all had A-frame-type fronts with scenes of falling snow painted on.
Cowboys are generally associated with western Canada
tariflette - stages of cooking
We walked back to town and made a pilgrimage to one of Brussels' most famous sights, the Mannekin Pis.
schedule of outfits for the Mannekin
at La Grande Place
The blue posts emitted cool electronic music.
We went to a small, nearby market and when we returned to the Grande Place, our friend Karyn was waiting for us. We then went to dinner at a place called Cafe Leffe which serves Leffe beer. We feasted on a signature Belgian dish, garlic and white-wine moules frites (mussels with freedom fries). After dinner, we dropped Karyn near a tram stop and headed home. It was a great day!
Entrusting the girls to their loyal carers, we flew to London for an overnight. We arrived in London without issue and immediately made way to our hotel, the Claverley. We were given a great little room with a terrace and a view of the side of Harrod's. After settling in, we met some good friends. We squeezed a bit in to the afternoon - sightsaw Buckingham Palace, Parliament, Big Ben, Whitehall, and Trafalgar Square. Even though it's been over ten years since I've spent more than a layover there, I was surprised by how well I remembered where things were in relation to another. We took in pints at what we believed to be an authentic (ratty carpet, beautiful hardwood) pub and also got some shopping in.
Harrod's is in the middle with the flags.
That evening, we got decked out and went with our friends to the opening of a great new musical called Imagine This. The plot revolved around the experience of a theatre troupe in a Warsaw ghetto during WWII. One purpose of the musical is as a means to perpetuate the stories from the Holocaust so that the story is told since there are fewer and fewer survivors every year. To illustrate how this story affected people, at the end of the musical more than half of the audience was in tears. We went to the party afterwards and had a chance to speak with several cast members and others who had been a part. All of them told us how much it had meant to them to have been part of such a production and how the economic success was secondary. One actress told me that the personal growth she experienced was worth more than any acclaim she could derive from its success.
Madeline with the lead, Peter Polycarpou The next morning, we had a delicious English breakfast that included out-of-the-oven chocolate croissants. We went with our friends to Paul, a French cafe (also found in many European airports) for a post-brekkie coffee and then we returned to Amsterdam. Dan went to the Rijksmuseum for a special exhibition that featured a jewel-encrusted skull. I stayed home to catch up on some reading. The girls were at the daycare (aka creche) for the day, so we relaxed before picking them up.
Sunday, November 23rd
We had originally planned to go to Lille, France, this weekend for its Christmas Market, but were deterred by the incredibly capricious and cold weather that hit our region. The 2oth in Amsterdam saw (a few times over!) rain, snow, hail, sleet, wind, lightning, thunder, and, of course the blinding sunshine. Since this limited outings to the indoors, we headed to De Bazaar, the self-proclaimed largest indoor market in Europe.
The market was indeed large and indoors, but not under a single roof. Everything was sold within and there were particular sections selling like items, such as antiques, furniture, fruits & vegetables, party & seasonal decor, Middle Eastern goods, Chinese products, and manicure services. There was also a great variety of food. We went in without needing anything and ended up being quite restrained. We walked out with only a disposable roasting pan for the Thanksgiving turkey, sweet potatos and a meter of Turkish bread.
Thanksgiving, Thursday, November 27th
My friend from school CM and I decided to make Thanksgiving happen, so we invited a bunch of people from class over. I spent Wednesday evening prepping my sidedishes and listening to NPR, which was quite relaxing. I got up early Thursday to pick up the turkey from Hanos which I had ordered 10 days prior (it was imported from France). CM came over later in the day and took charge with the turkey. Another friend arrived early and helped out immensely with the other dishes and general getting-ready. At 6:30 our guests started to trickle in and soon everyone was eating appetizers, drinking wine, and watching American football on the North American Sports Network. CM knows turkey, so it came out perfectly roasted at about 7:30. By about 8:30, the 16 adults were seated and ready to eat. All the guests brought food and drinks that made everything planning-wise easier.
the prep
American football!We served turkey, endives, Brussels sprouts, apple-mushroom stuffing, garlic-nutmeg mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, sweet potato casserole, honeyed root vegetable, cranberry sauce, clementine-vanilla cranberry sauce. For dessert we had apple pie, cherry pie, gourmet chocolate mousse cake, two pumpkin pies, and vanilla ice cream.
the guestsSaturday, November 29th
Our dear friend Jody flew in for some business in the Hague. Her fiance (also a dear friend) King who lives in Rotterdam picked her up at the airport and brought her to us. We walked over to the Albert Cuypmarkt to go shopping and for Turkish brunch at a place called Bazaar. We'd wanted to see how it compared to the Turkish brunch we had months ago at Theatrecafe Mozaik. It was difficult to compare since what was served was different. However, both were delicious. Luckily, there was a kids' corner in Bazaar with toys and Nickelodeon, so the girls, who were antsy at the table, took advantage of it.
the delish brunchOut shopping, I bought a new bike lock. I got a bike about two weeks ago, but it was cut down from the pole where I had left it and brought to a bike impound. According to police, the poles should have displayed a sign that said 'No bike parking.' There was no sign and there had been another bike attached to that pole.
Also outside, who did we run into but Sinterklaas! Liliane was thrilled, though possibly more thrilled with the prospect of the pepernoten that the Piets were handing out! In the picture on the right, the Piet wearing blue and black cranking out music.
Sunday, November 30th
As mentioned above, we had planned to go to Lille, France, the previous weekend but were thwarted by the weather. We decided to compensate for it by going to Brussels, which is a two-hour drive from here. We got there in two hours, but spent an additional hour looking for a parking space. We walked in to town to the Grande Place, which was smaller than I had remembered. The girls had been really good, so when we stopped at McDonald's for a to-go coffee, we easily cracked to let them play in the playland there.
After they had their fill, and I finished my coffee, we headed out to the Christmas market. It was in St. Catherine's Square and a huge carousel was at the entry. Of course this sparked Liliane's interest. The market was medium-sized (this is a guess since I cannot yet compare), with a good variety of wares. It is kind of like a craft fair that lasts for a month, so the stands in which the merchants are in are permanent, with rooves, electricity and heat. They all had A-frame-type fronts with scenes of falling snow painted on.
Many of the merchants were selling hot, mulled wine. There was a large ice-skating rink. Our first stop was at an Argentinian stand for an empanada. I almost cracked and got an alfajor, but decided to stave it off and have chocolate later. There was a huge Ferris wheel set up and old-fashioned candy for sale. We kept walking till we hit a booth selling hot kriek (a cherry flavored Belgian beer), which was delicious. We saw a Quebecois cowboy selling hot sauces and other novelties. We picked up a few gifts. There was another carousel, so Liliane's wish came true. It was really cool because all of the vessels would go up and down pretty high. The rocket actually went through the top of the carousel. Afterwards, we got Liliane some corn-on-the-cob and we got some tartiflette!
Cowboys are generally associated with western Canada
tariflette - stages of cookingWe walked back to town and made a pilgrimage to one of Brussels' most famous sights, the Mannekin Pis.
schedule of outfits for the MannekinWe then wended our way back to the Grande Place, where Dan got some truffles from Neuhaus.
at La Grande Place
The blue posts emitted cool electronic music.We went to a small, nearby market and when we returned to the Grande Place, our friend Karyn was waiting for us. We then went to dinner at a place called Cafe Leffe which serves Leffe beer. We feasted on a signature Belgian dish, garlic and white-wine moules frites (mussels with freedom fries). After dinner, we dropped Karyn near a tram stop and headed home. It was a great day!
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