Going Dutch magazine

For those of you wondering how the editing job is going - my first issue was printed and mailed about a week ago. Here is a picture of the cover. Not bad, really. Unfortunately for me, the printer actually used the old cover (don't ask) for the mailing, so Members haven't yet seen the new year's image, but it was certainly not catastrophic (and the advertising was still right which is critical). I had the surplus issues recovered so that I can distribute the right book to prospective Members at our September Kick-Off meeting.

I'm well into working on the October issue now - but "ta da!" - here it is!

Cheers,

Leslie

A Family Visit

This past week we hosted some more guests, my sister-in-law Sarah and her husband Dave, and their two children, Catrin and Steffie. It was a great week all-in-all, with probably too much delicious food. We took them around our local neighborhood so they could experience a bit of our day-to-day life.

We had been saving some things for this visit - the first being Madurodam - which is "Holland in miniature." We also sent the adults into 'the Dam' for a day and Alex and I took the kids to Duinrell, the local attractiepark. It has been a looooooong time since either of us has been to an amusement park - which turned out to be amusing for the kids :) I got stung by a wasp that got caught in my shirtsleeve on one ride. The Aquaslide (video below) was my last ride of the day and when I reached the point of no turning back - I really wanted to turn back. The drop was very steep, and higher than was comfortable - but I toughed it out and spent nearly 30 minutes quivering with adrenalin.

We also took a ride to Delft, and visited Corpus, a "journey through the human body" in nearby Leiden.

In Delft we climbed the tower in the old church - but Sarah has a bit of trouble with confined spaces so we had to leave her about halfway up!

The trip included more than one trip to the Pannenkakenhuis, lots of Gouda cheese, a fair amount of ice cream and more than our fair share of beer. And a couple of naps.

Pictures do speak louder than words :)

Madurodam above







Duinrell below

Portugal - final entry

I think I've about covered it. This is just a film I compiled with some last bits and bobs.





:O)

Portugal Part 5 - To the End of the World

We did take a day-trip via a luxury coach bus to several places, including the central historical city of Silves, then to Lagos, up into the Monchique mountains to Foia, the highest elevation in all of Portugal, where we were invited to a wine tasting. On the way back down to the lower elevations we stopped for a traditional Portugese lunch, including the world-famous chicken Piri-Piri, salad, wonderful bread, wine and dessert.

We travelled further west to Sagres, home to the Capo de St. Vincent - also known as "The End of The World" as it is the western-most point in all of Europe. This was an eerie place because although everywhere we'd been it was nothing but blue sky and sunshine, the cape itself was covered in a misty cloud which reduced visibility to just a few feet and the temperature very cool. If you aren't careful you could easily step off a cliff which drops suddenly - about 300 feet.

On the way from the shore to the mountains, the landscape changes dramatically. We saw cork, walnut, cherry, locust beans (carob beans) and even eucalyptus trees. We learned a great deal about the history of Portugal and this region which was was very heavily influenced by the Muslims who lived there for about 600 years.

And a side note here that the tour guide for this trip was the best ever. He was a young Portugese gentleman, very proud and passionate about his country, and with an impressive knowlege of its history and culture. He seemed to know everything about everything and was able to communicate his knowledge to make absolutely everything interesting.

Portugal Part 4 - Vilamoura

During our stay, we visited the posh area of Vilamoura. I say this because the town (and actually not a town, but an area), built specifically for tourism, is essentially a haven for golfers and people with yachts and very fancy, expensive boats.

According to one of our favorite hotel staffers, Vilamoura was built only about 36 years ago by a rich dude who wanted to build a city. So he did. So Vilamoura doesn't have the interesting history of many of the other places we visited, but it is colorful and certainly someplace you want to visit if you are a golfer.

When one walks through central part of the area, a purpose-built marina surrounded by restaurants, shops and hotels, many of the pubs and shops have names related to its purpose - (19th Hole, Fairways, Par 3 - that kind of thing). There are also numerous shops that sell golf clothing and equipment. There are six golf courses in the immediate area. There is also evidence of who spends time in Vilamoura by the Bentleys, Mercs, Porsches and other such cars parked and driving in and around the area.


As we admired all of the exotic cars, we thought of my uncle Denis. The boats made us think that Ruth and Dean would be right at home here, and of course, my parents would be delighted to be golfing in these beautiful surroundings.

Side note: Sir Cliff Richard (a famous 60ish UK rock star known as "bachelor boy") spends a fair amount of time in Vilamoura, and we'd heard from others that he was there while we were in the area. Sir Richard owns a vineyard in Portugal and we did actually enjoy one of his wines at dinner one evening. It was reasonably good - and we did managed to finish the entire bottle :)

Portugal Part 3 - the Holiday Cat

As many of you have experienced, often there is a 'holiday cat' when you travel to warm and sunny locations.

This is Chicken, the holiday cat at the Falesia Hotel. Chicken was ill when we arrived, and some of the staff who were looking after Chicken wanted to take him to the vet, so they took up a collection and raised enough cash to get the cat some medical attention. Chicken had been unable to eat and was looking pretty poorly, but the vet was able to help him and within a couple of days he was looking healthy.

Chicken seemed a nice enough cat - but I'm still leary of the orphan cats at these places as I'm a bit paranoid about what disease they might carry, so I didn't ever pet him (who, by the way, would wander up to tables by the pool hoping to get some scraps - and chased away by one of the entertainment staff, Rachel, who thought they should have just put the old, mangy cat down.)

Anyway, this is Chicken.

A Taste of Edinburgh

Haggis with neeps and tatties...may not look fab, but it is quite yummy!

This past weekend we travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland for a too-short trip. We were welcomed very warmly by a friend of mine who was a terrific host who showed us around his fair city. He also managed to get us tickets to the Military Tattoo (sold out for months in advance) on the Saturday evening. August is the time for the Edinburgh Festival and the Fringe comedy festival so the city is bustling with activity. The restaurants and shops are all bustling with tourists, and there are street performers on every corner, as well as thousands of comics and other entertainers performing in every venue you can imagine.

I won't go into all the detail here, but if you're interested in knowing more, visit http://www.edfringe.com/ and http://www.eif.co.uk/about-festival/about-festival.html

Scotland is famous for a many things, among them its whiskeys and its haggis - which we, of course, were obligated to sample.

We had a delicious meal at a traditional Scottish restaurant - where I tasted my first haggis (in a springroll appetizer) which was delicious! I also had Cranachan, a traditional Scottish desert - also lovely.

So on to the first of several whiskey bars we went...and several hours and whiskeys later, we found ourselves walking back to our hotel at 2:30 a.m.! What a night. And what a morning after...ouch. I can't say I'll be drinking a lot of whiskey now, but our trip would not have been complete without this experience.

Now, about that haggis. Haggis is a traditional Scottish dish - and although I recalled seeing a piece within a documentary some time ago about what it is and how it is made, I thought it best not to think about this. I must admit, it was delicious and savoury. I had it for dinner again, with the traditional "neeps and tatties" (turnip and potatoes) and I really enjoyed it. It is also often served with a whiskey sauce or with a "dram" of Scotch whiskey.

We did manage to get in a comedy act - an interesting and funny history of swearing. Yes, it was a bit rude, but well-researched and quite hilarious.

The Military Tattoo was SpecTACULAR. The Edinburgh Castle is the backdrop for this amazing event. Spectators and performers are from all over the world (this year includes a group from the US - Southeast Missouri State University - shown here strutting their stuff. They did me proud!) and we were thoroughly entertained for two hours. I tried to capture some of this on video but this was tough and because I wanted to enjoy the show rather than see it though the viewfinder on my camera I gave up trying. My particular favorite aside from the Scottish Military, was the Royal Guard from Norway (the 2nd video of the Tattoo below - and a link to a better video here http://hk.youtube.com/watch?v=xSpkN3IGEX0&feature=related). Anyway, if you have the chance, go see the Tattoo - it is well worth it!

A weekend is simply too short for Edinburgh, and we plan to return next summer and plan to see loads of comedy acts, climb up the side of the hill to the castle (which seems to appear out of nowhere when you enter the city). We were very fortunate to have a castle view from our hotel window (on Princes Street directly across the street from Nelson's Monument).

An interesting sidenote. As you probably know, the pound is the official currentcy of the United Kingdom, and Scotland uses the pound as its currency - but you may not know that they actually print their own pound notes (which are pretty difficult to use outside of Scotland - particularly in London - not because they aren't legal tender*, but because they're from the Bank of Scotland and get pretty closely examined by shop clerks receiving them from a patron). Ask a Londoner about using these notes some time. Last night I was watching a famous comedian who actually incorporated this concept into his act and the timing was perfect and his comments 'spot on' and quite hilarious.

*Note that no paper money is legal tender in Scotland, even that issued by the Bank of England, which is legal tender in England and Wales. Scottish notes are not legal tender in England, although they are accepted as if they are). You can see an image of one of these notes here http://www.banknotes.com/sq351.htm.

The first film below is a quick view of our trip, with some clips of the Military Tattoo following.

Enjoy!

Portugal Part 2A - I'll let these speak for themselves

Portugal Part 2

The Falesia Hotel is a great place with a beautiful pool - but we naturally wanted to spend some time at the beach as well. Although one can walk to the beach from the hotel, it is a bit of a hike, so most times we took the bus that frequently runs to and from the beach from the hotel.
The beaches really speak for themselves - just gorgeous. One can rent umbrellas and chairs, as well as buy goods from passing vendors - from donuts and jewelry, to a massage (granted - neither of us was tempted to pay a strange man wandering up and down the beach offering this service :) We enjoyed watching people involved in sailing, parasailing and other water sports, building sand sculptures, playing with their children, and sunbathing. The water was cold but not too much so. As with everywhere else in the Algarve, the beaches were also very colorful.

As fair-skinned as we both are, we used a fair amount of sunscreen. We'd brought two bottles with us, and still had to purchase another before the trip was over. We both got a bit of color, but were very careful, so no painful burns with the all-too-familiar night chills and sweats. As a result, by the time we'd been back for a day, there was no evidence that we'd been in the sun for two solid weeks!

Part 3 of Portugal includes more Piri Piri, a trip to the mountains, the towns of Silves and Lagos, and a place known as "The End of the World" - which is the Capo de St. Vincent. Stay tuned :o)