Lisse 7/5/11 8:00
Oh, my. Yesterday was a good day. It really had nothing to do with it being the 4th of July, though I suppose there is some poetic something in that. We left Leimuiden just before 9am and headed off for a “lengthy” 15k (that’s 9 miles in 2½ hours) trip to Lisse where the Keukenhof Gardens are a major attraction in April and May. Very pretty little town, as almost all Dutch towns are. Got through all three lift bridges tailing a convoy of other boats so we didn’t have to think too hard about how to deal with requesting the bridges to open. Only had to dodge one ferry. Everything easy as could be: windmills along the side of the canal, cows grazing a few feet away as we went by, just lovely, peaceful, serene ---- right up till the moment when we were waiting to dock in Lisse. Hmmmmm…. Talk to Bill. The big triumph for the day was getting to a grocery store and buying disposable diapers! ---Say, what????? We’ve got a bit of water and oil still in the bilge that I really didn’t want to “just live with” and I decided the most efficient way to rid ourselves of it was to mop it up with disposable diapers. Works a charm!!
Lovely little marina here in Lisse. It’s a local boating club that has a few extra berths around the perimeter for passing boats to tie up to for a few days. Water and electric included. No WiFi though, which may become a priority with us at some stage. We really need a reliable – and readily available – source of weather information. Next, probably on to Haarlem in a day or three, depending on the weather. Wind calmed a bit yesterday, making the exit from Leimuiden easier; it’s nearly non-existent right now, but that never holds for long. Last we heard, rain for tomorrow. So, we’ll see. Tot ziens. PS -- And Carolyn, there’s even a brindle and white whippet living a few boats down from us!
Haarlem 7/7/11 12:00
Well, we made it to Haarlem. And when we docked, we provided the locals with their lunchtime entertainment. While finishing up with the lines, a nice Australian couple on bikes pulled up, took a look at the US flag, and we were off and running with our first boating friendship. They have a 19m barge Lena just down the canal and have been here for a while with visiting kids. Lots of good information. Like, if we stay a week we get two days free. OK with us! That comes to under €50 for a week’s accomodations in the center of Haarlem, an old Dutch lift bridge (which we just passed under) just off our port stern (isn’t that nautical?), St Bavo Kerk and the Saturday market (yes!!, I’ve been waiting to finally hit a real market!!!) just over the other side of the canal, and carillons chiming the quarter hour. Gee, life sure is tough. For this, I guess I can put up with the locals laughing at our docking efforts and be quite happy about it. Tomorrow is internet day. Will try to get this posted with a few photos and a few e-mails answered.
View from our "Back Door"
16:25 Now I feel like we’ve finally gotten here. We walked into the center of town this afternoon, sat in a 14th century (give or take) city square, had a biertje and bitterballen, and just watched. The first two weeks, we’ve been so busy getting the boat ready, learning how to handle her, getting everything ready. It didn’t feel a whole lot different than just living day-to-day at home. This did. Wonderful.
Haarlem 7/8/2011 20:07
Oh, my, Adam, eat your heart out. We just got back from an early dinner, mostly because it's Friday and we didn't want to miss out because we'd neglected to make reservations. Jill and Ian, the Aussies on the barge Lena, had recommended a restaurant in the city center. Babbels. Oh, my. Was that good. See: www.babbels-haarlem.nl. We are going to remember this for a good long while. Meals here in the Netherlands are large enough that we don't intend to eat out too often, but this was exceptional. We both ended up with mini mussel steamer pots baked with the food inside. Bill had seafood in a cream sauce with a hint of crusty cheese on top, I had chicken livers with mushrooms, spring onions, etc., in a madiera sauce. Each was cooked just to the point of perfection and not a second longer. The side dishes were simple but exceptional as well, but we were so intent on the main course we probably didn't do them justice.
Haarlem 7/8/2011 20:07
Oh, my, Adam, eat your heart out. We just got back from an early dinner, mostly because it's Friday and we didn't want to miss out because we'd neglected to make reservations. Jill and Ian, the Aussies on the barge Lena, had recommended a restaurant in the city center. Babbels. Oh, my. Was that good. See: www.babbels-haarlem.nl. We are going to remember this for a good long while. Meals here in the Netherlands are large enough that we don't intend to eat out too often, but this was exceptional. We both ended up with mini mussel steamer pots baked with the food inside. Bill had seafood in a cream sauce with a hint of crusty cheese on top, I had chicken livers with mushrooms, spring onions, etc., in a madiera sauce. Each was cooked just to the point of perfection and not a second longer. The side dishes were simple but exceptional as well, but we were so intent on the main course we probably didn't do them justice.
Ma, I can't help but think that the old Garmin shortwave of yours would be of some use for getting weather information, yeah?
ReplyDeleteps: found some of that French mustard you like (glass jar, plastic lid) in a market in London. Overpaid 2 GBP for it. It survived the trip home and is in our fridge RIGHT NOW. Thanks for the tip!
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