On the outskirts of Amsterdam

One tomato garden and a shoulder later...

For our last two days in Amsterdam we stayed at the fine apartment of our friends, Olav and Xiangou. Do their names ring a bell? If you've read the Adventure to India blog then you're sure to hear a 'ding-a-ling.'

In the previous posting I said that our visit to Amsterdam is unlike most, this visit with Olav and Xiangou was icing on the cake! First things first, anyone who has ever doubted the kindness of the French should pay close attention. A young lass we met named Noa, is the sweetest, kindest French Bulldog I've ever met! Not that I've met many French Bulldogs in my life thus far, but they can't get too much better than her; imagine a dog with a permanent smile on her face, doesn't really bark, and looks up at you with sad little puppy dog eyes, specifically when you're eating an apple. She's a pup after my own heart! You just want to pet her, rub her tummy, and coo at her? Ah! So unbeareably cute!

Although Noa was a main attraction, there's more to tell believe it or not. Olav took us out for a bike ride around the outskirts of Amsterdam, to a beatutiful park, and to bustling markets with kind Suriname storekeepers who Navi charmed with her Hindi. We even saw a Netball game, which, as I just learned,  the Dutch are known for being the best in the world at playing.

Now, wait a minute, does something sound odd to you? After our lil excursion with the tandem bike at th beach, and the terror that trembled through my body during that event... can you believe I got on a bike and agreed to bike along cars, people, and other bikes?! (Just act amazed; it makes the story better.) It's amazing how a simple thing I did as a kid every summer, turns into an almost-but-not-quite catastrophe just 8 years later. I started out wobbly, and really couldn't stop my self very well, but luckily Olav switched my gigando bike for his more reasonably sized one .

After that, the day was splendid biking through the markets and streets, and taking a walk through the park. I managed to only bike into one tomato garden, which helped to successfully slowed me down before biking into traffic. :) (With this hopeful record, I've decided to take on professional cycling, meaning I'm the cyclist that is hired by the greedy, relentless cyclists who want me to take out the rest of the cyclists just by cycling in the race.) Um... try and say that 10 times fast.

That night the three of us ordered pizza and played Texas Hold'em, with Noa as the designated spectator. We had a sizable pool of 3 Euros, which believe it or not, I won. (Alright, you can get up off the floor now. It's not that much of a shock.) I think the Euros dropped behind the sofa anyway, lol, so that'll be a nice find for Olav and Xiangou.

The following day Olav, Xiangou, Navi, and I took a pleasant bike ride through a park to go kayaking in a man made lake... but oh no, this wasn't you're average man made lake, this baby required a map to show the various canals you could take, and the name of certain small ponds you could kayak through. There were places in this water where the surrounding trees were so dense, and the water so speckled with algae that I thought I was kayaking through the Amazon. Don't tell anyone, but one time I saw a branch slightly sticking out of the water, and I was so convinced that it looked like the eyes and nose of a crocodile that I promptly started paddling in the other direction. That's what pretending you're in the Amazon combined with images of horror movies and a healthy imagination can cause you to do while kayaking through a man made lake.

On our way home, despite my good track record for biking I almost ran into a couple who was peacefully walking on the path, but luckily instead of collapsing into them, I quite aggressively grasped on to the man's shoulder trying to keep my self upright on the bike. While losing control of my bike, I essentially “hit on” this man while he was walking with his honey. (Get it? Get it?)

I passed by the same couple again just a minute later, and tried to say thank you, and sorry for abruptly grasping onto his shoulder for dear life without asking... but.. they were too weirded out and avoided eye contact of any sort... oh well, his shoulder served me well as I managed not to fall.

After lounging in another park and chatting, we began our mission of putting Navi to work in the kitchen. Now, now (*hands up like a convicted criminal) she volunteered for this! Navi cooked a superb Indian dinner with channa masala, subji (vegetables), rice, and roti. It was a lekker (yummy in Dutch) way to end our visit.

A big thank you to Olav and Xiangou for showing us Amsterdam in a whole new light!