So I began to write my last blogs for my trip right before leaving Roermond and coming back to canada but somehow deleted the first half of of my blog.. and then when getting home we were so busy and then when Nienke went home, school started and now its a year later to then so I figure I should probably finish, better late then never.
June Friday 28th 2013
So as I said, (I am going to be switching all this into past tense rather than present!) we finally got to go into the shops, we went it felt like everywhere in Roermond! Down all of the Alleys, into so many shops and I got quite a few things, as did Maartje. We also went to the Roermond Designer Outlet, which was pretty cool, though as to be expected they were all "designer clothes" so needless to say I didnt buy anything (though! I did go in my first Burberry ever, which with my Emma Watson obsession I had loved this line for a long time so it was rather exciting like pictures of me under the sign grinning like an idiot exciting) Something that we did buy, which was another first to check on the list was dutch fries.. aka the beginning of a very beautiful friendship. I had never had fries with mayo before but oh Holland <3 you made me fall in love! Good ol' Piet Friet :) this (AND STROOPWAFELS.... and paprika pringles ... and many other foods!) became my go to food. After eating the most wonderful and beloved euro fries we walked around that area of roermond a little more, past the cinema and an old fortress wall (you find history EVERYWHERE) Taking our time we meandered back to where we had parked our bikes and we (And I very warily, as I still was not confident on the bikes! Or on the bike lanes, surrounded by everyone who were all pro bikers since about the age of 4!!) rode our way home. Naturally I took about a hundred photos through out the day. Now just to flash back to the present really quick one of the things that I by far miss the most about this experience was my host family, who really are my second family now, and one thing that most definitely goes along with that is, my host mothers cooking!!! She was (is!) a wonderful cook, i can remember watching her put so much effort and detail into the things that we were about to eat, and every single thing tasted and smelled amazing! There are a couple of meals that stand out to me in particular; Pork chops wrapped in bacon with a boccini, tomato salad (aka right up my alley), chicken breast with fresh delicious mushrooms and mushroom sauce, and white Limburg asparagus and cheese sauce, and (while Nienke was at Nicolaas's house because she doesnt like rice) rice with again the freshest tastiest mushrooms... ahh i could go on and on about food!! But I'm getting off track
June Saturday 29th 2013
That morning I started another long and beautiful friendship that is between me and trains! I absolutely adore them, and Im not really sure why I just love putting in my head phones, sitting but the window and getting lost in my thoughts and the world flying by outside. So this very first train of many was heading to Maastricht, a very very beautiful and rather unique city that left a very good impression on me. When we got off the train it was raining abit and I have to say I love europe in the rain and sun... I really am trying to find something that I didnt like about it.. but its hard.. rose coloured glasses?? maybe ...but I really think not. To get to real city Maastricht you have to walk across this beautiful bridge that runs over the Maas river then you get to the older part of town (though really its all old...wonderfully wonderfully old). Nienke and I again walked around the city and naturally did a fair amount of shopping. One especially cool store we came upon was a Miffy store! I dont know if a lot of people watched that show about Miffy the white rabbit cartoon when they were young but I sure did! Well it turns out shes dutch and her real name is not miffy but Nijntje.. yes that's hard to say.. We walked a round some more had lunch and went to this really pretty park right in the middle of the city, and it finally was sunny!! shortly after we went back to the train (ahh trains <3 ) and went back home.
June Sunday 30th 2013
This day we went on a car trip, not far to this other town in Limburg (my province in the south) called Thorn. This town was really cool because almost all of the walls of the buildings in it wear painted white! we went to some cool art galleries ( all very expensive as art seems to be world wide!) and went to a little place for lunch. I was not super impressed with the food from that restaurant, hanneke's cooking was better :)
July Monday 1st 2013
CANADA DAY!!!! Felt really weird not being in Victoria at the parliament buildings but it was pretty cool to be where I was, representing my country. This typical monday of course was set aside for most dreaded work in this case doing my presentation for Rotary. Which I had not known that I had had to do before arriving. It appears only certain rotary clubs do it, the other girls who had presented had known and had theirs all prepared, but as for me I had the cram session on the monday. As it turned out my speech (which i was told my Nienke had to be on me and canada) was pretty decent! Different from the other girls but thats okay. That night though we did actually go out anyways! Not for dinner or anything. We drove to this town in Limburg again called Asselt, it was very cute and had a gorgeous little Chapel that Maartje, nienke and I got pictures in front of. We then went and got tea (my host father naturally got a cappuccino as always :) The place that we got tea had a very beautiful view. It was by water and something that made this night very special for me, was that I got to see my first European sunset that night. At my house you can see the sunset very frequently, but at my house in the Netherlands because everything is so flat everything always got in the way of the sun from the view of the house at least, and so far I had never been anywhere apart from the house at that time. It was beautiful and just one more thing that I get to metaphorically check off the list, my first European sunset, but not my last.
So as I said, (I am going to be switching all this into past tense rather than present!) we finally got to go into the shops, we went it felt like everywhere in Roermond! Down all of the Alleys, into so many shops and I got quite a few things, as did Maartje. We also went to the Roermond Designer Outlet, which was pretty cool, though as to be expected they were all "designer clothes" so needless to say I didnt buy anything (though! I did go in my first Burberry ever, which with my Emma Watson obsession I had loved this line for a long time so it was rather exciting like pictures of me under the sign grinning like an idiot exciting) Something that we did buy, which was another first to check on the list was dutch fries.. aka the beginning of a very beautiful friendship. I had never had fries with mayo before but oh Holland <3 you made me fall in love! Good ol' Piet Friet :) this (AND STROOPWAFELS.... and paprika pringles ... and many other foods!) became my go to food. After eating the most wonderful and beloved euro fries we walked around that area of roermond a little more, past the cinema and an old fortress wall (you find history EVERYWHERE) Taking our time we meandered back to where we had parked our bikes and we (And I very warily, as I still was not confident on the bikes! Or on the bike lanes, surrounded by everyone who were all pro bikers since about the age of 4!!) rode our way home. Naturally I took about a hundred photos through out the day. Now just to flash back to the present really quick one of the things that I by far miss the most about this experience was my host family, who really are my second family now, and one thing that most definitely goes along with that is, my host mothers cooking!!! She was (is!) a wonderful cook, i can remember watching her put so much effort and detail into the things that we were about to eat, and every single thing tasted and smelled amazing! There are a couple of meals that stand out to me in particular; Pork chops wrapped in bacon with a boccini, tomato salad (aka right up my alley), chicken breast with fresh delicious mushrooms and mushroom sauce, and white Limburg asparagus and cheese sauce, and (while Nienke was at Nicolaas's house because she doesnt like rice) rice with again the freshest tastiest mushrooms... ahh i could go on and on about food!! But I'm getting off track
June Saturday 29th 2013
That morning I started another long and beautiful friendship that is between me and trains! I absolutely adore them, and Im not really sure why I just love putting in my head phones, sitting but the window and getting lost in my thoughts and the world flying by outside. So this very first train of many was heading to Maastricht, a very very beautiful and rather unique city that left a very good impression on me. When we got off the train it was raining abit and I have to say I love europe in the rain and sun... I really am trying to find something that I didnt like about it.. but its hard.. rose coloured glasses?? maybe ...but I really think not. To get to real city Maastricht you have to walk across this beautiful bridge that runs over the Maas river then you get to the older part of town (though really its all old...wonderfully wonderfully old). Nienke and I again walked around the city and naturally did a fair amount of shopping. One especially cool store we came upon was a Miffy store! I dont know if a lot of people watched that show about Miffy the white rabbit cartoon when they were young but I sure did! Well it turns out shes dutch and her real name is not miffy but Nijntje.. yes that's hard to say.. We walked a round some more had lunch and went to this really pretty park right in the middle of the city, and it finally was sunny!! shortly after we went back to the train (ahh trains <3 ) and went back home.
June Sunday 30th 2013
This day we went on a car trip, not far to this other town in Limburg (my province in the south) called Thorn. This town was really cool because almost all of the walls of the buildings in it wear painted white! we went to some cool art galleries ( all very expensive as art seems to be world wide!) and went to a little place for lunch. I was not super impressed with the food from that restaurant, hanneke's cooking was better :)
July Monday 1st 2013
CANADA DAY!!!! Felt really weird not being in Victoria at the parliament buildings but it was pretty cool to be where I was, representing my country. This typical monday of course was set aside for most dreaded work in this case doing my presentation for Rotary. Which I had not known that I had had to do before arriving. It appears only certain rotary clubs do it, the other girls who had presented had known and had theirs all prepared, but as for me I had the cram session on the monday. As it turned out my speech (which i was told my Nienke had to be on me and canada) was pretty decent! Different from the other girls but thats okay. That night though we did actually go out anyways! Not for dinner or anything. We drove to this town in Limburg again called Asselt, it was very cute and had a gorgeous little Chapel that Maartje, nienke and I got pictures in front of. We then went and got tea (my host father naturally got a cappuccino as always :) The place that we got tea had a very beautiful view. It was by water and something that made this night very special for me, was that I got to see my first European sunset that night. At my house you can see the sunset very frequently, but at my house in the Netherlands because everything is so flat everything always got in the way of the sun from the view of the house at least, and so far I had never been anywhere apart from the house at that time. It was beautiful and just one more thing that I get to metaphorically check off the list, my first European sunset, but not my last.
No comments:
Post a Comment