Canadian Thanksgiving & A Tour of Amsterdam

Saturday, October 13th

Thanksgiving Tree

I celebrated my first Canadian Thanksgiving, in Holland, naturally. We invited members of Claire's family over to share our Thanksgiving feast. In preparations, the boys made a "Thanksgivng Tree," where throughout the week, all of us hung leaves with what we're thankful for written on them. I also spent time that week riding around on my bicycle to do some grocery shopping. On Tuesday, I went across town to order a turkey from the butcher (something that I'm surprised they trusted a vegetarian to do). On Thursday I spent around $100 at the market and various shops buying spices, vegetables, spreads, cheeses, and whatever else could fit into the bicycle's pannier bags. Friday night and Saturday afternoon - more shopping and preparing the food. I took on mashed potatoes, stuffing, and the primary steps in making a pumpkin pie (buying, gutting, and pureeing the pumpkin). Alex took on the challenge of cooking the turkey in a roasting pan which we didn't have, with a thermometer which we didn't have, and an oven, which we didn't really have, but in the end, I heard rave reviews at dinner. He also finished making the pumpkin pie, while Claire spent hours perfecting cranberry sauce, roasted root vegetables, a dish of brussels sprouts with gruyere cheese, and an elegant arrangement of appetizers.

 

 

Sunday, October 14th

I put the "t" in "I amsterdam"

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation from Claire's cousins to join them for a full day of exploring Amsterdam and dinner. They thought that it would be a welcomed opportunity for me to hang out with people older than 6 and younger than 40. Brothers Tycho & Tashi met me at the Amsterdam Centraal train station, and from there took me on a walking tour of Amsterdam. We chatted over coffee in a cafe that was once a hotel for sailors, but had to close due to a flea infestation. From there we wondered quietly through hidden gardens in convents, stopped for croquettes and fries at a snack shop, checked out Rembrandt paintings at Rijks Museum, and made it back to Tashi's flat for dinner, where more cousins and friends joined us. After dinner and dessert, they put in a movie O Brother, Where Art Thou? Unfortunately, I had to leave half way through the movie so that I could make the hour and half journey back to Delft at a reasonable hour. The entire day left me wondering if the situation were reversed, would I or any other American be so willing to host their cousin's nanny with the same amount of zealous generosity as Claire's cousins.

Thank you, Tashi, Tycho, Bob, Toom, Bo, & Gabbi for a wonderful dinner!

Bob, who is Thai, made me a special dish of Thai noodels and shrimp