TRAVEL AND LIFESTYLE DIARIES

Here’s the 2e Pinksterdag roadtrip on a grey and drizzly Monday -- We drove up to the north and visited a couple of villages. While I get the pictures ready, have a look first at the short videos we made. The man-made dijk (dike) highway connecting Enkhuizen (North Holland) and Lelystad (Flevoland). It takes approximately 30 minutes to crossover. We came from the Enkhuizen side. On the right is the Markermeer (Marker lake) and on the left is IJsselmeer (IJssel lake), both used to be part, a massive inlet, of the Waddenzee (Wadden sea). I love the music though - which became a hit only when Royal Club Tonic used the song for its TV commercial. The Nuon (energy company) modern windmills in the A6 highway in Flevoland. These windmills provide electricity to the Flevoland province. If the video gets boring, although I love the blue skies (almost 10PM on the watch when Dutchman took this), just listen to the cool background music - soothing and therapeutic.

After blogging weekly for Expatica early last year, which then turned into a monthly update, I am now blogging for them as a Guest Blogger, which is more like an every few month blog posting. Given the fact that I have my own busy yard to tend to, the schedule is just perfect. Expatica also have new expat bloggers in the Netherlands. You can read their stories by clicking on the Dutched Pinay logo below the chatbox. And my newest blog entry in Expatica is about the strange behavior of the Dutch and what they meant by fresh bread. To read the article, go here: Don’t freeze my bread! This is our frozen sliced bread inside the freezer. Come Monday is Pinksterdag (Pentecost), 2nd Pentecost Day that is, ergo no work. This weekend is another one of the long series of weekends here in Europe, albeit the last long weekend for us here in the Netherlands since the next holidays will be 25 and 26 December, Christmas Days. I think I have written a few times in this blog that religious holidays in ...

Dorp in Dutch means a village, a little town. The plural form is Dorpen. Yesterday Thursday was Hemelvaartsdag [Ascension Day] in the Netherlands which means -- No work. Frankly speaking, I do not understand why a non-believing country, well majority of the populace that is, still celebrate this religious occasion? Perhaps the reason why the Dutch are not willing (yet) to part ways from these superfluous religious holidays is because it would mean losing official public holidays ergo vacation days. Now, now, no one wants that, lol. Anyway, I thought yesterday will be another one of those sad, grey, and drizzly days that we have been experiencing in the last days but surprisingly the weather mood changed slightly after 3PM. We saw hope. We saw amazing grace working right before our very eyes. We saw rays of light creeping behind the somber clouds! Hallelujah, amen! Quickly, we settled ourselves inside the car, “Where are we going?” Dutchman asked. “I don’t know? Anywhere I guess? I just...

Two weeks ago before I got sober (read: sick) and when the weather was warm, dry, and sunny, Dutchman and I were at the Dutch sister in IJsselstein for dinner. The lekker menu on the table: Gourmet - something typically Dutch. Now, you’d think the Dutch gourmet has something to do with the finest food you can find in the Netherlands? Wrong. The long dining table set right outside the doors to the garden with the gourmet appliance in the middle. Me waiting for the gourmet! And that’s my 11-year old niece wearing my tiny black high-heel sandals – they had a laugh about it, they think I have the tiniest feet. Well, I always felt I need to wear high-heels in this country otherwise I would look like a midget. Okay, here’s what dictionary.com says about our new word for the day - Gourmet : Noun - a connoisseur of fine food and drink; epicure. Adjective - of or characteristic of a gourmet, esp. in involving or purporting to involve high-quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation:...

Have you been sick but still managed to drag your heroine self to work? Have you been on-the-road, out of the country, and unwell? Have you been stressed without others and even you knowing it, until someone who knows you better, in and out (your mother who else), tells you -- Quit the act, you are stressed! Have you been stressed and sick at the same time, you can’t simply distinguish which is which? Have you ever been told -- Do not be a perfectionist? Have you ever felt bad that summer is fast approaching and knowing that stepping into that sexy bikini would mean tragedy? Have you ever felt so much discomfort that you now notice the burgeoning layers of fat curls in your abdomen? Have you ever tried of dieting but just can’t control stuffing yourself? Have you ever been in a situation where you must be on diet not for vanity’s sake? Have you ever looked yourself honestly in the mirror and seeing how much you have aged, you don’t recognize yourself anymore? Have you ever thought 30’s...

Yesterday Saturday, when we went out to do our Saturday-scheduled shopping chore, we noticed that the side roads leading to Transwijk Park were closed and there were men standing dressed in orange vests. Hundreds of bikes were also parked along the side streets and a continuous flow of people, young, adult, and old, walking, biking, and even women pushing proms can be seen. “Wat is er aan de hand?” (What is going on?) “Ik heb geen idée.” (I have no idea) Dutchman replied looking out the window of the car and watching the busy street going to the park. Earlier that day in the morning, we saw helicopters passing through. We drove parallel to the park by Europalaan and heard thundering music playing. I told Dutchman we should check out the place after shopping. Foto of Bevrijdingsdag Festival in Park Transwijk in Utrecht. Took the picture from the internet. I think this was taken during the morning. We went there in the afternoon and obviously we didn’t bring our camera. It wa...

So I was in London a few days ago for work and could not help but take notice of these two quite striking advertisements: British Heart Foundation street ad near Earls Court in Kensington. England is trying to be healthy now. I can pretty much understand since more and more Brits are becoming fat, especially with the young generation. But seriously though, if you just look closely at the hard butt and the lean legs of this man on the advert, without glancing at the woman he is embracing with and of course his face, you would think this butt and legs belongs to a young stud! =) Grolsch Beer ad in Angel Tube near Islington. This ad is sort of a laugh, a twist, a play of words and theme, for the infamous Amsterdam’s “Red Light District” and Eindhoven’s “Philips Light Bulbs”. As you can see, Grolsch is a Dutch beer brand from Enschede. Dutchman however argues with my Philips theory and says I am just seeing things, lol. (By the way, Heineken, Grolsch, and Bavaria, all Dut...