Mother in the Motherland -- Part 2

This past week included yet another visit from my mom, but this time she was also accompanied by my dad. Needless to say, there were plenty of adventures to be had throughout the whole country.

They arrived on market Saturday, so the first day was pretty much filled with Leiden love. Going to the market is always a must-do especially when we're lucky enough that it's sunny. We also did a boat tour of the city. It was definitely interesting to see Leiden from the perspective of the canals. We also got a decent ab workout since we had to duck every time we went under a low bridge. After that, dinner. I don't remember how delicious the food was, because I was a bit preoccupied having telepathic conversations with a husky sitting on the other side of the restaurant.

Sunday turned out to be an absolutely gorgeous day. The parents rented bikes and we rode out to the beach with Abi. It was a bit confusing getting there, since we didn't know exactly where we were going and we only had sign posts directing us. We did make it to the sea in the end, and enjoyed a snacky lunch on the beach. After frollicking in the waves a bit, we headed up the coast a bit farther through the dunes. There was so much sand that I thought I was in Michigan for a second. A well-deserved ice cream, and we were headed back to Leiden. The whole trip took about 5 hours, and we rode for 35 km (20 miles). My legs were exhausted, but my mind was happy because of all of the sun.

First time in the water!

On Monday, we did a quick trip to Wassenaar. Nothing too extraordinary really. But Tuesday was filled with deliciousness! We went to Amsterdam for an Indonesian dinner with one of my mom's colleagues and her husband. So much food! And it was all delicious. As always the chicken sate was among my favorites, along with the rendeng and the spekoek (spice cake). I went to sleep with a happy tummy that night.

Wednesday was the obligatory trip to The Hague. We all got the ever-delicious croquettes at my mom's favorite restaurant before heading to her uncle's house for some good ol' family time. The mixture of languages that was being spoken was a bit confusing since the switch between English and Dutch could and would happen at any second, but all in all everything was understood in the end. We got some dinner on the beach before heading back to Leiden.

Thursday was the 4th of July, so we had some patriotic waffles (per my request) for breakfast, and then headed to Amsterdam to get some more Dutch culture. With my mom's cousin, we went to the newly renovated Rijksmuseum and an exhibition in the Nieuwe Kerk on the inaugurations of the Dutch monarchs. The Rijksmuseum reminded me a bit of the Louvre due to the massive collection and slightly confusing layout. But the Dutch had a one-up on the French since they actually put plaques with information about the paintings on the wall. The exhibition in the Nieuwe Kerk was really cool. My favorite part was the video they had of King Willem-Alexander's inauguration with English subtitles! When I had seen the TV broadcast on April 30, I had a vague idea of what was going on, but it was nice to know what he was actually saying.

On Friday, the parents rented a car and we drove up to a tiny little town in the north called Giethoorn. In the center part of the city, no cars are allowed, so you either have to bike, walk, or boat around. There were a good number of tourists around, and all the houses were charming. There's no way to really describe it, so here, have a picture!

For the last day my parents were hear, we went to the market again, and walked around trying to find almshouses that were most definitely hiding from us. A low key day, but we were outside enough to enjoy the sun that finally decided to bring the Netherlands some summer.

Tomorrow, I head out for 2 weeks as I travel to Valencia, Barcelona, and London! My last big adventure before heading back to the States!