Tough Day

We made it...the flight wasn't as rough as we thought, but I wasn't able to catch any shut eye. Seating was tight and to make matters worse we had three beligerent travelers sitting behind us that didn't help with the long travel time. Nicole and I trooped it out only to be met with a ridiculous long line for security while trying to make our connecting flight in London. However, Nicole stepped it up and got us in the preferred traveller line so we just made our connector to Amsterdam.

Our arrival in Amsterdam was seamless. We were joyfully met by my cousins Saskia, Jan Willem and my second cousin Carline. A lot of great conversation, jokes and memories as we shared a train ride into Amersfoort. Upon reaching our home for the next seven days, courtesy of Sas and Wim, we were greeted by the rest of the family - my aunts Vonnie, Tjilly, and Hedy; my cousin Ryan; some spouses Betty and Hans; and of course, one more second cousin Jasper. Again we spent a great time catching up on the past and sharing in some of our favorite snacks.

Aunt Vonnie made a run to the snack shop and picked up Kaas Souffle, Bitter Ballen, Croquetten, and Pataat met Mayonaisse. The kaas souffle was a lucious treat of dripping Dutch Gouda cheese encased in a crispy breadcrumb mixture. The first bite is a durable crunch followed by a sharp, oozing warm cheese. What a treat! The bitter ballen and croquettes are very similar. They are a well seasoned beef and parsley mixture that is cooked down to a meltingly soft consistency in a beef veloute sauce. It is then breaded and fried. The meat mixture is so rich and flavorful that we ate it with the perfect foil - a spicy mustard sauce. Finally, we topped it all off with french fries dipped in mayonnaise....it doesn't get much more Dutch than that.

We continued into the night, still without having slept for a night, but we were running on fun and laughter. We ran into a little speed bump later in the evening that I will share at a later time.