But, we had a relaxed start to the day here in the house, and when we left to head to the train station, we walked in a creative direction (like the wrong direction) and the 15 minute walk took us an hour. Ooops. So since it was stunning out weather wise, we decided to skip the museum and just go straight to the beach. [Both the museum in "den Haag" and the beach are on tram #1 from here. One is 30 minutes away and the other is 45 minutes away.]
By stunning weather I mean it was sunny - with not even a hint of a breeze. Just perfect Fall weather. We had a small snack at the train station after buying our chip cards (the chip card is a re-usable ticket for riding the tram). [There are trams and trains here. We rode the tram today.]
We got ourselves to the tram stop and waited. Tram #1 arrived. That was ours. People got off, and then other people got on. We waited our turn to get on, when we tried to, we must have looked like cartoon characters - Dan and I were trying to get onto the Tram with a stroller that was just way to wide to fit through the door. Bam! The door shut. But the tram didn't pull away so we pressed the button to re-open the doors. Okay, lets try again. With jack-rabbit speed we released Sara from the stoller and asked her to climb on the tram. Agh, the doors slammed shut again. We re-pressed the button to open the doors. Zip, quick, get Julia out of the Bob Stroller. Agh, the doors just slammed shut - I hope it doesn't drive off with Sara inside. Zip. Quick. Press the button to re-open the doors of the tram. I got on the tram holding Julia. THe doors slammed shut. I re-opened the doors a final time as Dan folded the stroller, flinging the bottle of cola we just bought, and he climbed up the trams steps to get inside. It was a royal mess. But we made it onto the tram, much to the entertainment of everyone around us.
The 45 minute ride was relaxing for me. I sat with Julia on a bench seat on the tram. We looked out the window and I cuddled her. Dan sat with Sara in seats that she choose - about 8 feet from Julia and I. Sara chatted the whole way: "is this our stop Papa? Why isn't this our stop. Where is that lady getting off? Why is that man sitting where that lady sat? Where do we get off Papa? What does that sign mean?" -- she was just a chatter bug supreme! He took video of her chattering, it was rather funny.
We hopped off at the beach. Got some pizza. And then we just enjoyed the beach. By that I mean that we walked 8 miles (Dan has a 'fit bit' that measures his walking). Oh, we strolled on the boardwalk, we enjoyed the pier, we had some ice cream, all the usual stuff. Sara is the one that walked up to the icecream stand and got the ice cream, "I'd like a big ice cream please, with sprinkles" and the lady handed her exactly that. (2 Euro). But then Sara saw a playground on the beach (it was a pirate ship theme) and she handed me her ice cream and RAN to the play ground at top speed. So I got most of the ice cream. Sara played her heart out and invited me to have a "shell party" with her (as usual). The playground was right there in the sand so all the kids loved it.
After that we did more walking - all the way to the end of the path. Then we got some fish from a little food shack (and some french fries slathered with sauce - that means mayonaise) and even Sara liked the fish (just like at the market, she loved the fish!). We walked along the dunes to get back - with was a pretty view - overlooking the beach, the water, the boardwalk, and I must say spending time at the beach is just so pure fun.
We took the tram back around 4-5 PM and gave both kids baths. Sara in the tub and Julia in the kitchen sink. Julia loved her bath - reaching out to play with the water stream as it came down from the faucet. She fit perfectly in the sink in the sitting up position, which made it easy for me to wash her hair and not have to hold her - the sink held her up! Dan did Sara's bath, and it sounded like that went okay but Sara doesn't like having water or soup in her eyes so I did hear a few requests for a towel to dry her face during the bath.
After bathtime we ate dinner - pasta, salads, and vegetables. Easy. We got them to bed around 7:30 and have been hanging out.
As I write this I can hear the town's bells chime. They sometimes do songs and sometimes they clang the time. The roses Dan bought me yesterday are opening up now. There are 3 dozzen of them, so it looks like a field of flowers!
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Quote of the day: At breakfast
Sara: "Papa, what are you doing?"
Papa: "I'm cutting the cheese."
Sara: "Papa, can I help you cut the cheese?"
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:) Lori
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