We started the month with a trip north to Rotterdam and Amsterdam, as a birthday celebration for G. Everything is so close, these trips are relatively easy. It actually boggles my mind when I consider the travel from coast to coast in the US, comparing the distances between countries in Western Europe.
On our first day, we spent train traveling from 10am to 3pm, changing trains three times (great small train station in Tournai) and had 9 stops on one leg of the journey. We learned that 1st class from Lille to Brussels was basically the same accommodation as 2nd class on the regional Belgium train system (SNCB). Investigating a faster return route on TGV, we discovered that with the different train systems (SNCB-Belgium; SNCF-France), it was impossible to exchange between the two. So, some lessons learned. On the last leg of the journey leaving Brussels to Rotterdam, it was interesting to note a change from French announcements to French, Dutch and English.
Getting in to Rotterdam, it was dark and raining. We checked in to the hotel, took a rest and went out to the famous Markthal, a market about a 20 minute walk from the hotel. It was multiple floors, with the main floor filled with a variety of restaurants. Chosing a Greek place for dinner, we shared a nice platter of Calamari, Shrimp, Lamb and Beef. I particularly liked a large tasty six inch diameter, inch thick grilled cheese circle they included. It was a nice walk at the end of the day and at the hotel, we spoke to a couple of Rotterdam natives, who recommended taking in an old historic area, while we were in town.
Old town was actually relatively new. Rotterdam was completely bombed out in 1940, in WWII, so not much of the architecture predates it.Ā All buildings are a sleek, square, brick style – but much more stylish than the US 60’s square moderns.Ā They were cute and reminded me of Scandinavian furniture in design. And this city is CLEAN.Ā There is a pride of home in the windows and doorsteps.Ā The windows, floor to ceiling, are mostly clear of curtains and offer a view of everyday life – a father feeding his youngster in a high chair, a teen at their desk on the computer, someone in the kitchen making a meal, halls with coats hanging on a row of pegs, with a lower row of pegs, holding kids coats and backpacks.Ā That would be a huge adjustment for me – I’d be putting up half curtains everywhere.Ā There is no graffiti.Ā Graffiti to me, makes where you live feel like the interior of a dumpster.Ā It’s one of the most distressing parts I find about cities.Ā Another irritation for me, are billboards. We are often bombarded with advertisements instead of being able to just enjoy the scenery. There are no billboardsĀ here. Not in France as well, although France does have graffiti.
Old town was an area along the canal, near the port – which is Europe’s largest port. The neat, square brick multi unit homes surround a beautiful park and school. It was nice to realize that their community is built around this and kids would be walking right to school, in the heart. There was, on the edge, a brick industrial warehouse area that had been repurposed. A great restaurant hall, an assortment of businesses and a lively Pinball museum, where an entrance fee then makes free playing available on their vast collection. Market or restaurant halls are popular here. The individual restaurants, housed in large open buildings, surround seating spaces and the food is all good, unlike fast food chains you typically find in food courts. It’s an efficient way to house multiple choices in a concentrated communal space.
That’s how I’d describe Rotterdam; Sleek, modern, clean and efficient with great transit. The modern architecture here is simply amazing. We stopped at the New York Hotel, which had once been the office building of the Holland America line. It was the entry and exit point for all the ships in the 19th and 20th century before flight overtook transportation. The building, a well kept beauty, also houses a bustling restaurant. They still had a cigarette machine; unheard of in the US. We thoroughly enjoyed walking through the city of Rotterdam.
From Rotterdam, it is only a 40 min ride to Amsterdam. It was drizzling when we left the train station and we had a 20 min walk to the hotel. The sidewalks were absolutely packed with people, as we made our way and about ten minutes in, it began to pour. G was marching resolutely forward and soon we were almost two blocks apart. He had the rolling bag which had my hat and the umbrellas. By the time we stepped into the lobby we were completely soaked. Checked in, changed out of our wet clothes and went down to the hotel sitting room, which had a wonderful little bar. After enjoying a gin and tonic made with Netherlands Nolet gin we were refortified and walked around the corner to a steak place for a great meal and de stressing.
The next day, we started early – met a bus tour at 8am. We really arenāt formal, tour-going people, but it was the only way to get to the outer villages without renting a car.
Tour guide was a charming guy who lost track of his stories and thread of points – hampered by his poor English vocabulary, where he was struggling to find the proper terminology. Six hours was too long, the commentary disjointed and tiring. I have to admit that I’m really not all that fond of large groups of people. Some were annoying and disregarding instructions such as ‘be kind to the locals and stay to one side of the road to allow passage’ which was ignored completely as they walked 5 abreast, completely blocking said passages. Some would talk to their companions during the commentary, making it hard to hear, some rattling noisy bags while snacking. Iām just not too patient with people in large groups. But I managed not to hit or bite anyone, which I personally feel is a major accomplishment.
The first town, Zaanse Schans, had several windmills, which with their invention became their industrial revolution. They made 900 ships a year with the windmill lumber mills. With the increased grain output and several other items made possible with this faster processing, it spurred a huge trade economy. Coupled with the ships and canals, this made them a major trade hub.
The second town, Edam, gave us a cheese lecture, although they did not actually make cheese there. Next was a demonstration of clog making on a machine, by an elderly gentleman who stated that he was one of 27 people in the country who could still make them by hand adding that he was also one of ten who still has all of their fingers. The wood ones, made of Poplar or Willow, are still worn today by farmers and gardeners as they stay dry and warm in their major wet conditions. The proper fit is to allow a fingers space behind the heel since they wear thick wool socks with them. Historically the people would have two pair – one plain pair for every day and one decorative pair for church. Grooms would spend months making a carved pair for their betrothed to wear on the wedding day.
The third stop, Volendam, a harbor town, was our opportunity to have lunch, where we opted for a shrimp ‘taco’ of sorts, nestled in a thick, folded bread. The harbor was quite picturesque but contained mostly souvenir shops in between all of the restaurants.
The last stop was basically for just 10 minutes to point out a line on a sign that recorded at that spot, the height of the biggest sea breach which occurred in 1953, referred to as “Watersnoodramp”. This event, memorialized by the country each year, involved a breach of dikes in 67 locations from conditions created by a spring tide and a northwesterly storm. It resulted in the estimated deaths of 1,835 people, 30,000 livestock, the loss of 47,300 buildings and with a final cost of 1 billion Dutch guilders. Unfortunately we were only able to discover the significance of the event and it’s total devastation by searching on the internet after the tour, After the signage stop, it was back on bus, back to town. Expected more information than we did get on the tour although we did get some interesting tidbits such as an impromptu demonstration on price haggling (hand slaps until an agreed price nets a final hand shake). We learned about the steps in the Netherlands history, in developing a land below sea level and the unescapable water erosion. Theyāve adjusted brilliantly but itās clear you have to embrace the constant presence of water. Exhausted, we returned to the hotel and folded rather quickly after dinner.
We fell in love with the Netherlands. The landscape is unchanged from the classic Dutch paintings – long green serene stretches, dotted by windmills, topped with beautiful sky. As I said, no graffiti, but in a conversation with locals, learned apparently that although it’s against the law, strictly enforced and quickly cleaned up – that is just in the city. As one travels further from the center, there are less police to pounce on taggers, so it is prevalent there. But basically, no billboards, graffiti (in town) and where bicycles vastly outnumber cars. Itās a refreshing lifestyle. Oh and you do have to adjust to walking through occasional wafts of the scent of pot. On one walk, I was surprised by an unexpected series of large, un-curtained, garden level windows labeled with the names of the scantily clad women who were reclining behind the glass, on a variety of furniture pieces. Didnāt see that one coming. And didn’t see any of the same type of windows with scantily clad men, which I deemed was a shame as well as vastly unfair.
We enjoyed tasting the local cuisine which, considering the climate, is not surprisingly based mostly on hearty meat and vegetable dishes. We tried Stamppot, a dish of potatoes mashed with root vegetables and pieces of pork, which was delicious. We didn’t get a chance to try their famous pea soup, Erwtensoep, which was a shame or their pickled Herring. It’ll have to wait for another trip. Stroopwafels (a two layered waffle cookie) and Patat (Dutch fries) were abundant. Interestingly too, the fries were also called Patatje Oorlog, or ‘fries at war’ because they were served with a wide variety of sauces; mayonnaise, ketchup, curry and peanut sauce. Oh and of course we were forced by nature to sample their wide variety of very tasty beers. š
The next day we got on a hop-on-hop-off boat cruise, with the option of getting on the hop-on-hop-off bus. The recorded commentary kept us apprised of the buildings we passed, which again, were architecturally beautiful. We disembarked to see the Albert Cuyp market and get a bite to eat.
Also, note the bicycle garages in the photos below. So many bikes! Passed a film shoot on a side street as well. Thanks to our GPS, which insisted we were walking in the correct direction, we got completely turned around and missed the window to move onto the hop-on-hop-off bus. Another long day of walking in a beautiful city before turning in. No complaints there.
Our last night in Amsterdam, we went to a restaurant, Cafe de Klos, that was recommended. No reservations taken, so we waited at least an hour to sit at the bar. Well worth it – we had steak and ribs.
Returning home to Lille, happy and tired, it was dismaying to wake up the next morning with colds. We had to cancel our tutor lessons with Annabelle and in the course of recovery, we also couldnāt make two Opera House performances. A week into our colds, I woke up with streptococcus, which anyone who has had it knows is extremely painful and was faced with a dilemma. I had a Lille doctor, nice but was not comfortable going to. We’d not known anyone last year when we visited the local doctors we picked from a list of English speaking physicians in Lille. They seemed out of date and their command of English was not great either. We do have a Paris doctor who is up to date (uses a computer!) and has our complete confidence. Was I going to try to train to Paris to avoid receiving care in Lille from someone I wasn’t happy with? G tried getting on the internet with a nurse chat room. It became clear that the US would not prescribe the antibiotic to a French pharmacy.
As we were grappling with the issue, I texted Fabrice, our landlord, on the outside chance he could recommend a local doctor. Fabulous Fabrice to the rescue! Not only did he recommend three doctors, he called each one to see if they could take me right away. In ten minutes, I was sitting in the waiting room and in 30 minutes, I was on my way back to the apartment with an antibiotic prescription in hand. Living next to a pharmacy does come in handy. I asked the doctor if they would take me on as a regular patient, which they agreed to and it was a relief to have one, now locally, that I trusted. Within the hour, I was tucked in bed, a cup of chicken broth in hand (thank you G!) and soon slid gratefully into the sheets, sleeping a good amount of the day away. Grateful seems far too inadequate a word for how I felt.
By now we were approaching the last week of November and as always it seems, shocked that the month has zipped by. A year ago, on the 18th, our furniture was being delivered through the window. It just boggles our minds. The holiday season is in the cold, crisp air and the Christmas Market is being constructed on the squares. Feeling back to normal (G says that word is debatable for me!), I felt like dusting off our holiday cookie and bread recipes.
After recovering, on the second day we were out on a walk we got a text from Laurent, whom we’ve gotten to know over the year, inviting us to join him for dinner. It was SO exciting!! It was the very first time anyone invited us, anywhere. We’d fallen in with a group at Arthurās birthday party earlier in the year, which thrilled us, although it was more happenstance. Laurent actually contacted us and it felt wonderful. We met him after work and metro’d to his neighborhood, still in Lille. A lovely neighborhood called St. Maurice, we stopped at a small cosy restaurant for a wonderful evening. The food at Les Sales Gosses was so good (the carbonnade was melt in your mouth delicious) as we enjoyed each others company over a couple of beers.
We were fascinated with an up coming trip that Laurent was planning to India and the poor guy got peppered with a ton of questions. At one point the chef came out and joined us – a shy man with a quick wit. I teased him that his cooking was so fabulous that I would marry him – except my husband might not be happy at the idea. He replied that his wife wouldn’t be thrilled either. Then to our hilarity suggested that the next time I should come back alone to the restaurant and we would discuss it further. G quipped, “You know, I’m sitting right here” and we laughed even harder. It was a fun time and we returned to the metro, after thanking Laurent for a terrific evening.
In getting ready to bake, the first on my list was a thank you package for Fabrice. He is a self admitted picky eater but I planned to barrage him with enough cookies that he would surely be able to find a favorite. Gathering and then pairing down the list of items I would make, I quickly realized that our kitchen still didn’t have any mixing bowls, since we don’t bake or regularly make large quantities of things. Off to the big market for bowls and ingredients, it just felt great to be in good health again. We found different decorative boxes to stack in a tower for delivery. There is something cathartic about creating dishes in the kitchen, no matter the time of year.
I’ve yet to get a good grasp on using chocolates here, in baking. The Halloween spiders I made with melted chocolate, would melt if not eaten straight from the refrigerator – vastly different from my US cooking where they did not need refrigeration to stay solid. Here I was attempting a small batch of fudge, which would not solidify. So, to adjust, I moved to creating small truffles, rolled in chopped nuts. I put those in one of the boxes for Fabrice and the other boxes held cream cheese walnut shortbread cookies, spritz butter cookies, Brazilian coffee cookies, Pfeffernuse, a coffee date pecan bread and lastly a pumpkin pecan bread pudding. As we were closing and tying up the boxes, it was obvious that the truffles were not holding their shape either.
OK, I can do this, I can adjust. My 90 year old friend from Oakland has told me that age is all about learning to adjust to changing circumstances. Fine. I beat-in whiskey to the bowel and decided to call it a homemade hot fudge sauce for ice cream. That version went to Flo and our building neighbors. It’s still tasty, even if it isn’t gourmand. And if they don’t read our blog, they’ll never know.
After delivering the boxes to everyone, we strolled through the Christmas Market which had opened, soaking up the atmosphere. It was Thanksgiving and having learned turkeys donāt show up in the stores until Christmas, we opted to eat out at a restaurant we’d not tried before, called AndrĆ© Brasserie. Since we were eating around 4:30, the place was empty but for one elderly lady. People wonāt arrive until 8:00 for dinner.
We were served by a delightful waiter named Dominic and had a wonderful meal of rack of lamb and a pork hock in sauerkraut, accompanied by a nice bottle of a Portuguese red wine. We even took coffee and dessert after, which we rarely do and tried a Baba Rhum. We’d not had it before and will tell you that it isn’t for the faint hearted. It was similar to a pound cake – which size made us grateful that we’d opted to share it. Then Dominic split it in half in front of us and poured a rum ‘sauce’ on top. It was SO soaked with rum that it was, well, damn flammable to be honest. If the wine didn’t do us in, the Baba Rhum made us glad we weren’t driving. Utterly satiated, we sauntered home and melted into bed.
One of the strangest sights for us this year was to see the fog in Lille. This is the first weāve seen it here, surprisingly, but it was eerily beautiful and quiet. Our photos donāt capture the feel, but it was really nice.
The last days of November, we went out along the shops and passed by our own āred light districtā here in Lille, or so G was trying to convince me of.
We picked up a small fresh wreath to adorn our front door. When we returned, one of our building neighbors had left a bag with a note thanking us for the holiday cookies. The note went on to say that she didn’t bake but she’d made a small gift to thank us. In the bag was a small framed card, sparkly with the word “Merry” and a fun little bird. After I put some decorations on the wreath, I hung the framed card dangling on it and now our front door is holiday ready!!
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