Gevangen Gehouden because of the Rain

A brief update:

Somehow, Ronan made it through a second naked baby yoga class without incident. I'm thinking about taking bets on how many classes I can go to before being asked to pay for a hardwood floor replacement.

You've seen the "Very cool, very modern" shower, but some of you have been asking for some more pictures of our "Home away from home." It was a rainy day today, so Ro and I were stuck indoors-- here are some pics of where we were held captive:

One thing did brighten my spirits on this rainy day: I learned that there is an official song for this year's Queen/King's Day. You can watch the video below; hang on til' 1:59, there is a super awesome rap. At 3:08 there is what some could refer to as a gang sign, but it will likely be the gesture I make in every photo I'm in on the 30th.

Next week, I'll post some pictures of the patio so you can see some beautiful tulips and flowers with some sunshine :)




  

Sokken, Pannenkoeken & Stroopwafels, Oh My!!

With the recent nice weather (and my junky new stroller), Ronan and I have been able to get out and explore. Each day, we go bike dodging (In your city, I believe you would call this activity “walking”) and find something to do. Last Thursday, our bike dodge took us to The Yoga Garden where I signed up for Baby Yoga classes. The class takes place in 2 parts: For the first half hour, the babies get a massage and the last hour goes to yoga practice. 

Ronan in Vondelpark

As I was getting my mat set up for the class, the yoga instructor told me to get Ronan completely naked for the half hour massage. I had to confirm, “You want this baby out of a diaper for an entire half hour?” To me, this had “bad news” written all over it, but I thought to myself, “When in Rome...” and had Ronan buck naked for the longest half hour of my life. Somehow, there were no Lululemon casualties that day, but I don’t think this luck will last another class. Next week, instead of bringing Ronan an extra pair of clothes, I think I’ll just bring some for myself.

Last Saturday, Francisco and I did some shopping! We went to the Waterlooplein Market to try and find a bike (Francisco ended up getting a bike elsewhere, but it was a really neat market if you are ever in Amsterdam) and strolled through The Flower Market. 

From there, I really wanted to check out “De 9 Straatjes” (9 streets of shopping) and had to literally drag Francisco there. He assured me there would be nothing there for him-- and then he saw it: A store that only sold dress socks for men (in every colour design and size you could possibly imagine). I’m pretty sure Francisco spent more money here than he did on the bike and decided we should go back the next day, just to make sure we didn’t miss any other stores!

This store didn't sock

On Sunday, as we were on our way to take a canal cruise, we stopped in at a restaurant for lunch. Just as we were about to order, the waiter informed us that no one besides him showed up for work and he would prefer it if we just ordered coffees (Note: While I complained about coffees in my last post, I should add that all coffees here are served with caramel waffles, which is amazing!). 

Having to leave the restaurant without eating turned out to be a blessing in disguise because we found a pancake house around the corner. Here, when you ordered your pancake, you got to choose absolutely anything you wanted it to be made with; I chose bananas and Francisco chose ham. They were delicious- Let’s adopt this, Canada (And the caramel waffles too)!

After lunch, as the boat ride began, I realized the captain had not gone over any safety policies or procedures. In order to get good pictures, people were standing, walking, running and pretty much hanging off of the boat. Instead of enjoying the great sights and views, I spent the first 15 minutes of the ride imagining where the life jackets might be kept and planning my own personal evacuation strategy. Luckily, we were only in two minor accidents: The captain overshot a canal wall and later, hit another boat. All in a day’s work, I guess.

Ronan failed his Canal Quiz

Yesterday, Ronan and I made our way to Vondelpark to meet a new 
friend that I made at the yoga class, Katharina. Katharina has a daughter named  Marlene who was born the day before Ronan. It was so cute because the two babies held hands throughout the yoga class (After they were both fully clothed, of course! Ronan is a distinguished gentleman). Katharina had wanted to show me a really neat cafe in the middle of the park, ‘t Blauwe Teehuise (The Blue Tea House) and suggested that I order a mint tea. It was delicious (and also came with a caramel waffle!!!)- This new drink will now replace coffee until I get home.

This weekend, we will be busy preparing (by this, I mean buying lots of orange stuff) for Queen's Day, which is on April 30th. This already festive day will be extra special this year because Queen Beatrix is passing the crown on to her son, Willem-Alexander. There hasn't been a King here since 1890! I don't exactly know what we're in for, but I hear children turn into buskers, the streets turn into markets and barbecues are shared with strangers. Will post pictures next week!

Welkom! (“Welcome” in Dutch- Most translations are not this easy).

I decided I’d start a blog so everyone can see updated pictures and videos of Ronan while we are in Amsterdam. I also thought a blog would help me retain my friends when I get home (I won’t have to force you to sit down and look at my pictures/hear my stories and when I try it, you can just say, “Oh, I’ve already read about that one!”) So, here we go...

Ronan straight up
chillin' in the Lounge

The flight over was amazing- I am in love with KLM (A Dutch airline). Since we arrived at the airport so early, we bought tickets to sit in the KLM lounge. Margaret Atwood was flying to Paris the same day and also decided to make herself comfortable in the lounge. Francisco was thrilled because he got to make Margaret a coffee when she wasn’t quite sure how to work the machine, and she was thrilled because he warned her to stay away from the crazy-obsessed English teacher (This is me). The airline gave us 4 seats in a row to better accommodate Ronan, they allowed us on with 10lbs more than we were allowed, they had amazing food and the flight attendants were so friendly- I’ve already bought my stocks with the company.

Things continued to run smoothly (No line ups at customs, our bags were the first ones out and there was a taxi waiting for us outside of the airport) until we arrived at the apartment. We could not get the keys and were stuck outside at 7AM when nothing was open....with 4 giant suitcases....in the     rain....with a starving Ronan. It was AWESOME.

We eventually got in and absolutely love the place. Below is a video of Francisco’s favourite room in the house (If he doesn’t get on the plane home with me, I’ll know where to find him). I’m a fan of the private rooftop patio and Ronan seems to like the giant couch for napping.   

I’ve spent the last week getting myself set up (Buying a blow dryer and straightener were first on my “to do” list), trying to translate Dutch words, buying a couple things for Ronan, grocery shopping and touring around. Our apartment is at the top of a huge flight of stairs, so I had to buy a smaller, uglier and slightly broken stroller (but it is one that I can easily carry (or throw) up and down stairs while holding Ronan). 

Grocery shopping is pretty hilarious- if it is not an incredibly obvious item, I have no idea what I’m buying. For example, “Zigeunergehaktschnitzel” in Dutch translates to “Minced Gypsy Schnitzel” in English. Guess what is "Snelfiltermaling" is? Something to do with coffee that can be filtered...I think. You try buy a piece of chicken! I did get an Albert Heijn Bonus Card, so at least I’m getting reward points.

The Royal Palace

Westerkerk Tower

On Saturday morning, Sirkuu, a really nice lady we've met, drove me around Amsterdam. She pointed out all of the major sites and Queen Beatrix was reopening the Rijksmuseum during our drive, so there was quite a lot of excitement in the city. 

 

Francisco, Ronan and I also took a 3 hour walking tour of the city. If you happen to be in Amsterdam, I highly recommend it: Amsterdam Walking Tour. The tour covered the major attractions, museums, Dutch art, and gave a great history of the city. 

The Anne Frank
Museum

We also learned that aside from obvious crimes, there are  2 things the authorities here take very seriously: "Wilde Plassen" which translates to, "Wild Peeing" (Thank God we have Ronan in diapers) and the other is insulting royalty. What I found interesting is that it sounds like if you'd like to break a "not so serious" rule, you just have to ask yourself 3 questions: 

A House Boat

1. Am I hurting anybody? 

2. Am I being discreet? 

3. Are my actions profitable for the city?

If your answers are ‘No,’ ‘Yes’ and ‘Yes,’ then you're good- The rule breakage will be tolerated! Sounds like KLM was following this public policy as they checked us in to our flight!

Believe it or not,
Ronan seemed more
interested in eating
than the actual
tour.

 

At the end of the tour, the sun was shining and the patios were calling our names. So far, I'm really digging this laid back city. Over the past week, I've seen some great sights, tasted amazing cheese and chocolate, found a really cool market and delicious bakery. I'm still having trouble finding a light beer and a regular coffee (They laugh when I ask for this, but my search will continue).