Culture
One thing that struck me about the city was, it felt like I was in a different country. The hotel we stayed in was situated on a hill. A hill! Who would have thought there actually is a place like it in the FLAT Netherlands. Add to that the forest-like surrounding that we don't get to enjoy in Rotterdam. There were lots of green and birds were twittering outside our hotel room. It was a haven.
The Golden Tulip hotel is modern with a rustic appeal. They don't have swipe cards for keys, to start with. And, is it a European thing to not have an air conditioner in hotel rooms or am I just used to them in my tropical homeland where air conditioner (at the very least a fan) is a necessity as a heater in the west? It's not very comfortable to sleep in a closed room in a 28-degree room temperature and no ventilation because opening a window welcomes an army of mosquitoes and insects that I, in no circumstance, have no intention to welcome. So I do miss the luxury of an air conditioner as I think all hotels should have, but I guess that's a European thing.
I learned that Nijmegen is the oldest city in the Netherlands. It might have been mentioned by my teacher in my Dutch integration course three years ago but I don't remember if he did. So it's good to learn/re-learn some things once in a while.
We walked through...
de Waalkade..
het Valkhof..
de Grotemarkt ..
and many terrasen where a majority of young people hang. It was fun watching them "kids" being all preppy with their popped up designer PINK shirt collars, curly hair and huge sunnies which was a preferred fashion style by the guys. The girls who looked like they just started high school were typical in their skimpy skirts and tight-hugging tops, and a couple of them wore the same clothes and hairdos. Do they really do that nowadays? Similar outfits from head to toe? I realized later that it's a city of students. No wonder!
Shopping
Something I like about going to another city is checking out stores that are not in Rotterdam. They're mostly the quaint shops in small streets that I'm always eager to discover. They seem like they're hidden in purpose and only the real seeker finds them. The parents gave us freedom to roam around the city on our own for a few hours so we went to home & gift shops, children's store, and bead shops. (I could really get lost in those shops and stay there for hours. Mike was ever so patient.) I got a couple of beads and some little thingies for my future swaps.
We drove to Arnhem for a two-hour shopping on Friday morning and I was so happy we decided to go there. We walked aimlessly around the city and were lucky to find shops that I love and been looking for. Mike saw this side street with an antique store sign that I didn't want to go to at first because I wasn't in the mood for antique window shopping, but the store across it proved to be a star. It got me all wide-eyed and open-mouthed with matching palpitations and serious blushing. I almost screamed when I looked at Mike while mouthing THEY HAVE GREEN GATE!!!!! I tugged at his arms, hugging it would be more appropriate, because I couldn't contain the joy that he pointed me to that direction. It may sound silly but it was a really happy moment. We love that city and we're planning to go back there sometime in the summer.
Drinking & Dining
I would be lying if I say that I didn't enjoy the whole weekend of not worrying about what meals to cook. But we kind of had enough, you know. We miss home-cooked meals and choosing food not on the menu. Mike, who LOVES meat, swore off steak after eating it twice in a row for dinner. It seems like all we did was eat and drink, but I'm not complaining! We were celebrating the good life. 35 years of marriage is a milestone!
We ate our first dinner at the cafe on the corner of the Grotemarkt across from H&M. Forgot the name, well actually, I didn't pay much attention because I was starving but their food was heerlijk and we sat outside in the sun. It was gezellig. The calamares we had for starters was quite good. The only downside is the fries they served in one medium bowl. That serving is good for two but not for four hungry adults. Jammer.
Cafe-Brasserie Vlaams Arsenal - Good food, affordable price, great service, cool and modern ambiance. Their Belgian fries were so good, we ordered a second cone.
Gallische Eetcafe - Good food, okay price, not so much with the ambience and though the service was fast, the waitresses were not so friendly. Their Obelix steak was really good! The chocolatix was also yum.
To DO
We watched Cassandra's Dream in this small theater near the Belgian resto we dined at. First time I stepped into a theater with a capacity of only 25. The movie was okay, not something I'm used to but it was quite entertaining. I'm not so sure if I really like it or not but it was an experience.
There are a couple of museums in the area. Ma and Monique went to the African Museum 20 minutes walk away from the hotel on Sunday. We didn't really feel like going so Mike and I spent the whole afternoon playing table tennis that wiped us out that evening. Mike said I was a fanatic after I won 9 sets out of 10. But he beat me in Chinese poker afterwards. To each his own!
Photos can be found here.
Posted in Out & About, Family | Comments (5)
Jess at May 15 2008 | 02:27 |
| Looks like you had a nice time in Nijmegen and with great weather! We'll be in Holland soon so of course it will get cooler and cloudy/rainy again :-/ The food you ate looks so lekker. I'm prepping my stomach for frites hehe.   Yeah, we really had great weather. It rained today but it's still pretty warm.Bram patat! Hey, maybe we can meet up when you get here. Only when you have the time, of course. It's no biggie. But it'd be nice to see you! Where are you guys staying? |
odette at May 15 2008 | 03:23 |
| wow, the sights and tastes of your vacation are all fabulous! the pictures are all beautiful too! Thanks! It really was a fab weekend. Lekker geshopt, gewandeld en gegeten! :) |
SleepyJane at May 15 2008 | 09:16 |
| It sounds like a dream! :) The dessert obviously caught my eye! I'm glad you guys had a great weekend and thanks for sharing the pictures with us. You will love the dessert! I just wasn't big on the amaretto that was under the ice cream and whipped cream but it was yummy! |
Mama at May 16 2008 | 07:19 |
| You really had enjoyed your vacation. I missed our time together baya...kanus-a na sad kaya, of course with Ian unta. Nindot inyong mga pix, dili man ka nagtambok, murag nagamay ka gani...oi lipay sya hehehehe. Luv and miss you. Hugs I enjoyed it too though I must say it is different from ours. Lahi ra gyud kung kuyog tang tanan. Nitambok ko as in mas tambok than the last time you saw me. Maayo lang ang pagtago sa sinina. Hahaha. Miss you too. LOVE!!! |
J. at May 18 2008 | 09:15 |
| Hi Gracey! I INHALED these pics and I took a vacation with you through them. :) Thanks for sharing! I especially loved the food pics and felt myself getting fat just looking at 'em! And yet another coincidence - you're Cebuano too? I'm half. Mom's Ilonggo (originally from La Carlota), Dad's Cebuano (from Dumaguete.) |
