The Amsterdam Journals - Part Three

There were 4 German guys at breakfast this morning, probably between the ages of 19 and 22. What astonished me was the amount they all ate. 5 slices of toast, 2 eggs and copious amounts of bacon...EACH! Then there's me - a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. Rather petite in comparison huh?!

So today we trotted off to Auntie Tini's - i say trotted, but actually it was tram, followed by train, followed by bus. I can honestly say i'm very experienced in the Dutch public transport system now - and my, it's far better than ours. Arrived at Tini's block of flats - all looks the same as i remembered and she greeted us at the door. On arrival we had a little almond cake and a cup of tea. This was followed by another few cups of tea, and some more Dutch delicacies. After this, we went for a long walk behind the town of Bussum and into the woods. Very warm and sunny today - rather nice. Returned to Tini's - drank another cup of tea (must have been a whole pot by now, surely) and chatted about the Dutch family, whilst being given several heirlooms. I was given a very expensive looking bracelet, dating back to the 18th Century or something, and one of Auntie Tini's favourite pieces of artwork, given to her by a friend in Mexico - "Folk Art". Something i'll treasure for years, i'm sure. My mother was given some shoes she couldnt fit her feet into, and a rather hideous sleeveless blue raincoat. Enough said!

After this the three of us caught the bus into Laren and went to the 'Pannekoken' house which i have been to several times before on my travels to Holland and remember fondly. I think we came here with Jan and Papa at some point, so i spent a lot of time reminising over my much loved Grandfather. We sat at a nice table, had some freshly squeezed orange juice (because Auntie Tini insists on eating/drinking fruit before each meal) and had an interesting collection of pancakes. Tini had bacon, apple and raisin. I had bacon, tomato and cheese, and my mum had half the tuna population on hers, accompanied by a few onions and mushrooms. Weird. Despite feeling incredibly full, Tini was adamant we should have pudding, so we shared an 'Oud Laren' - ice cream with hazelnuts and coffee liqeur. I made the mistake of thinking the liqeur might have been fudge sauce...it gives quite a kick! After feeling rather perky we got back on the bus, said farewell and 'Tot Zeins' to Tini and carried on to the station. Turned on my phone to find a text from Adam saying 'Bonjour Madame!' Haha..bless :)

Arrived back in Amsterdam where it had begun to rain, pounded the streets battling our way through piles of tourists (and following behind a very fat American boy with his pile of chips) back to the hotel. Threw myself up the stairs, and onto my bed. I then went in the shower, which for some unknown reason seemed far more powerful than yesterday -so much so, that i actually had fears of drowning whilst being pinned against the wall by this torrential waterfall. Managed to survive and came out looking like a drowned rat, lay on my bed resting my stomach yet contemplating what to consume at tomorrow's breakfast...

Farewell and Goed Nacht!
Love to you all x