So, today we got out of the house early after eating breakfast here (fruit, yogurt, eggs, toast/jam). It was overcast, but not projected to be rainy. We knew there was a market today, but didn't know the details. Thus we went to the tourist information center to ask and sure enough the market was in the area where the flower market was the other day. [It wasn't in the market square, but in a side street.] So we walked over there - no stroller. Sara walked right up to the waffel stand and said "one please" and we got a "stoop waffle" - different than the Belgian waffle - these are thin waffles, served with goo in between two of the thin waffles. Fresh and hot they are tasty. 1.25 Euro - and they are pretty big too. One is enough to share for all three of us.
Dan did all of the shopping at the market. I was with Sara, which means I kept her safe from being hit by a bicycle flying past, other market shoppers, and so forth. She is so energetic that it takes full time attention to answer her questions and ensure her safety. But it is fun. Her newest thing is she has learned the symbol for "no" (the circle with the line through it), so she'll say "no smoking" or "no dogs" or "no food" when she sees the symbol. She doesn't know what "smoking" is - but we pointed a man out today who was smoking and she didn't really understand it.
So Dan got 2 quarts of strawberries, some pork cutlets, some salad stuff, 2 avocados, a rack of lamb, some bread, and two kinds of nuts from the stand that sold nuts. When we were leaving the nut stand, the guy asked us where we were from. When we said Virginia, the man sort of joked that the peanuts we just bought were from Virginia. That was a bit funny. But, we do have the best peanuts so if they are from there that is actually kind of cool! It is just funny to come all the way here to have nuts from our own State.
We came back here to drop all our market stuff off. [This house is remarkably central.] And while we were here we bounced back and forth on whether to eat here or go out for food. We decided to go out, and went to a place that is prized by locals. Oh, it was the best! I had a hamburger, which may not sound exciting, but it was the first such sort of food I've had on the whole trip! And it had cheese (only a bit of cheese), bacon (very salty bacon), pickles, greens, tomatoes, etc on it. I must say it was good. Dan had a prize winning sandwich, that was very deserving of prizes. It was very very very thinly sliced roast beef - I mean almost so thin you could see through it - and on a fresh bun with all sorts of tasty stuff. You may not think that a hamburger and a sandwich is an exciting lunch, but it sure was! We ate outside on the front patio so we could watch the world go by and enjoy the canal. There is a canal everywhere here, just lazy water hanging out along the nifty buildings - drifting under foot bridges and reflecting the trees that grow along side it. The foot bridges are adorable, arching over the canal so sweetly - they look like they belong in paintings.
During lunch we realized Julia had decorated her outfit with poo, so I came back here to change her and give her a fresh outfit. We are that close to everything, that it was easy just to come back here - even during lunch! (Lunch is very relaxed and not a quick thing, so being gone for 10 minutes is no big deal.) Julia is in 9 month clothing now (she is 7 months) - and even the 9 month clothes are starting to be to short for her.
After lunch we did a self guided walking tour we bought from the tourist information center. It lead us around town, telling us history and other tid-bits. We enjoyed it. We didn't finish all of it, since it started to sprinkle rain and we decided to stop for a warm apple tart and coffee. Okay. You haven't had an apple tart/pie 'till you've had it here in the Netherlands/Holland. You think USA has good apple pie? We do, but man-oh-man, the stuff they have here is even better. The "crust" isn't really crust, it is this amazing tasty crunchy tarty like stuff. And it is high! The apple tarts are like 5-6 inches off the plate! We had one to share (and with one fork, Dan/Sara/I were all snatching that fork out of each other's hands) and I had a tomato soup too. Dan had a beer. We had all this in a leafy square covered with cafe tables and loaded with happy people. The trees shielded us from any rain (which had stopped anyway) and we just watched people as we enjoyed. Watching people here means watching some walkers, but mostly people on bikes whizzing by. And they aren't on bikes for "fun" they are basic transportation here - with people carrying huge loads in baskets on the front and sides of their bikes - and often 2 kids too! It is just how they get around - no cars - just bikes!
We did more strolling, saw the old East gate (the only gate still standing in Delft - it is from 1600 or something), did more walking, more fun stuff, and ended up in the market square by the "New Church" and had ice cream. It was a two scooper, and Sara had her little hand on it the whole time. She shares ice cream, but only if she gets to hold it. I can't imagine where she gets her love of ice cream from.
Back here for dinner, Dan made the pork cutlets, salad, and pasta. I was busy with Julia while he cooked and Sara played with the toys the owners provided for her. It is fun to hang out here - it is as if we are locals - hearing the church bells happily chiming music while we eat our dinner on this long wooden table. I looked out of the window during dinner and can see people strolling along the canal, and it is so cute.
Tomorrow we plan to go to the Botanical Garden so we'll see about that. I'm getting some good sleep at night. Julia sometimes lets me sleep for 4 hours at a time! Oh, 4 hours of continuous sleep feels like a dream. I feel so rested after that! And then sometimes I get 4 more too! I wake up in the morning feeling chipper! Sara wakes up right at 8:30. So our typical day is 8:30 - 7:30 with the kids. A full day for sure.
We had stopped Julia's food - only went back to all milk. The baby food wasn't agreeing with her. But I want to be sure she gets enough iron so we gave her some food with fortified oatmeal mixed in (I brought it from home).
Julia is having a mini-wake up, so I"m going up stairs to check on her now.
:) Lori
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