A Perfect Day, filled with Perfect Eats

Last Friday we had a very busy day, well, I did at the very least. It was probably the only summer day we are going to have this year in Amsterdam so I made sure to enjoy it, too bad the kids had to be in school!

I somewhat kid...it was 33C out, now we are back in the 50s and climbing into the 60s..we are supposed to have one more day this week where it reaches the 30s but it is supposed to thunderstorm all day. I love living here but the weather is really hard to deal with, but everywhere has a down side, right?! So, I will just go on and tell y'all about the most awesomest summer day ever!

Today I'm linking up with Jenn over at Peas and Crayons for What I Ate Wednesday.

Our day started with a lovely sunrise bike ride and picnic...

If you are curious, in the Netherlands to achieve this perfect sunrise...you must be awake at 4:45 to pack your picnic and be out the door by 5:05 to cycle to where you want to watch the sunrise at 5:20..on this day, now it is almost rising at 5:15.

Was so worth the early wake up to have some early morning eats with this girl in the calm morning light.

Our spread...Pofferjtes (I warmed them and put them in foil to keep them warm), banana, peanut butter, whipped cream, nutella, and strawberries.

It was delicious and such a tasty treat!

A view from behind the dune area.

After getting everyone off to work and school I said screw the nap and decided it was a great idea to bike 16km one way with my good friend and her 2 year old to a medieval castle that was built in the 1200's...Muiderslot. 

You can tell I am tired.

Along this route there were free roaming sheep! They belonged to farm as they were tagged, but they just grazed along the bike path and down near the water. It was so amazing. The path is only open from March to October.

We arrived at the castle and it was a gorgeous day to let my friends son run around.

I drank this awesome Lemonade from there tavern...

With the lemonade in the pink cup I also had a bottle of water and a boterham sandwich...which you would think has ham...no matter how many times I see this here I don't think it will ever sink in that "boterham" is just the tradition Dutch sandwich: butter (yes, like real butter), cheese, and this one also had lettuce and honey mustard. They are very good, don't knock 'em 'til ya try 'em!

This is a shot I think of the Ijslameer on our ride home, we rode over a giant huge bridge. Was so fun!

After that I raced home to pack our beach bag and meet the teenager. On my bike ride to her school I snacked on a nectarine. It was so delicious!

We were trying to smile through the heafty clouds we saw rolling in when we pulled in to the Haarlem train station which is two stops from the beach. The doors opened and it was very chilly.

...because it had started raining when we stepped off the train it wasn't easy to find a place that had seating...but we found a quiet place with a nice menu about a half mile from the train station, thank goodness it was only drizzling.

After this photo it started pouring and was lightening! ha!

This was after the heavens opened and the storm started to move away. The chairs are facing away from the water as they were trying to clean up and bring everything in. Here you can rent beach chairs by the hour or day.

The kiddo and I both decided on fish and chips because of the cooler, rainy weather. It was amazing.

This was our excited, yup we deserve some appletaart!

Mmmm...appeltaart and slagroom!

After dinner we went for a walk on the beach. We were doing our best to not be incredibly sad we didn't get to surf.

The sunset made it worth going out there even though we didn't get to play in the water...

...but we did...we weren't leaving without putting our feet in the North Sea. It was chilly, but actually warmer than the air outside! ha!

By the time all was said and done I'd drank a total of 5 of these bottles and could have gone for more! This bottle is one of my top travel essentials and I never go anywhere without it since it is self filtering.

I hope you enjoyed my eats with a little recap of our one summer day. To learn more about going to the beach in the Netherlands check out these posts: A day at the beach part 1, part 2, part 3.

Has summer arrived where you live? How do you remember to stay hydrated?

A Day at the Beach in Holland, Part 3

Now, as I told you about earlier in the week, you can go sunning at the beach with access to great chairs and food and you can do some great activities like surfing. Now, the reason my daughter hosted her surfing sleepover is because of two reasons:

1. She had a friend that had never surfed and wanted to and she knows her skills aren't that high that she could competently teach someone
2. She had a really hard time surfing the waves here as they require a different technique that she had not been taught and wanted to learn.

So, after a super fun sleepover, and some discussion as it was cloudy and cold the day we went. The other girls mom was worried that the sea would be too rough and the waves too high. I assured her that if it were looking bad they would cancel the lesson so we would go and just see what happens..she was happy with that and the waves honestly were perfect for learning that day. There were plenty to catch and they had some speed behind them so once you caught one you could keep going a bit!

We started out with a little lunch. Trying to decide what to get....the friend speaks a bit more Dutch than us and we learned that day that "kaas" is cheese...

Then I had this amazing latte...sitting out enjoying it and watching the waves was so relaxing.

After, we walked down to sign in for our surf lesson. It was incredibly windy, but like I had predicted that was perfect for surfing.

First wave surf school is located at an Australian themed beach club. All the instructors are super nice and really knowledgeable. They all speak fantastic English as well ;)

I mean look at that flag whipping in the wind, I cannot even begin to explain how windy it was that day....

Poor kids could not keep their hair out of their face!

Finally the lesson started though, they start with teaching how to get on the board, a little about maneuvering in the waves, and then how to pop up. The technique they taught was slightly different from what my kiddo learned in Hawaii and that is because of how the waves break this particular technique is a bit more efficient.

They took everyone out and they had to carry their own boards. They actually had them carry them in teams of two since it was so windy. They were all losing control of the boards.

The waves don't get very big here...and these were actually "good" according to the guys at the school and I have to admit, they are the biggest waves we had seen here so far. They break fast so you never really ride a wave all the way in...eventually the wave just ends and you can just lay back down and get ready for the next...

You repeat this a lot...it is really exhausting. When the kiddo came in her cheeks were all flushed and pink...

A two hour lesson will do that to ya!

Yeah, you heard me two hours for their age...best deal on the beach. Don't go anywhere else.

Oh yeah, and kite surfing is big here too...hoping to get the husband to try that out with me ;)

After a while another mom and I got really cold and tired of walking up and down the beach so we went and enjoyed some girl time up at the beach club.

A bailey's and coffee was a necessity to get warm again!

These were three super fun trips to the beach and when the winter weather comes in I will remember each and every one of them fondly!

What is the best beach you've ever visited?

A Day at the Beach in Holland, Part 2

Now, as I told you in Part 1 just going to the beach and laying out is a lot of fun, but having stuff to do is even more fun! My kiddo loves to surf. Back when we were in Hawaii she took a lesson and had a great time and had been begging to go again....so, we took a family day to the beach!

Has nothing to do with our trip but gave us all a good laugh...the Putz Bus!

(...and yes, in good fun when we were leaving for the day the people were going back to the bus and they were all 70+! hahaha)

We go to a great place called The Spot and they rent all kinds of beach sports equipment at a reasonable rate.

Obviously she rented a long board and a wetsuit...

The wetsuit was a must she said. Not only are these able to keep the majority of your body from getting stung by jelly fish (which there were a lot in the are at the time), but it keeps you very warm and able to enjoy yourself.

There are tons of people out there without a wetsuit...they apparently did not grow up in Florida!

Seems like the wave aren't very good right...

Well, the waves are different here...

Even when they are "high" they aren't really high...must be location...but you have to learn to surf differently.

Going...

Going....

Gone! hahaha

But, back at it!

She was exhausted...

But stayed out there for two solid hours.

Toward the end she was figuring out how to work the surf...

Dad went to watch...

While I used his extra clothes as a pillow....

He's engrossed, really....

...and I'm still chillin'....

I love this one because he is just watching her watch the surf....hoping for one more set.

Talking about how much fun she had.

This one was hurry up, Mom, I'm hungry!

At the spot for some lunch! ...service was quick and easy. 

They channel the Aloha spirit...they must have known we were missing Hawaii.

After this we headed over to Aquamundo it is near some cabin rentals and has a swimming pool/wave pool and water slides...I didn't take any photos but it is a blast!

We then took a walk...

....and came across a place that cooks food over an open bar-b-que...The Safari Club. They didn't have an extensive menu and no pulled pork or anything crazy like that, but they did have good, smokey flavored food!

We got some bitterballen because ya just have to....

Mmmm...smoked ribs and fries...these were amazing!

This is one of the better burger's I have had since moving here....probably because it was cooked over the open flame.

Nothing like a beautiful sunset to end a day on the North Sea.

What is your favorite beach activity?

Stay tuned for Part 3 on Saturday!