De Tulpen

What a lovely day we've had.

I was quite excited so I dozed rather than slept last night. We had planned to get up early, but didn't manage as early as T had hoped! We were up at about 8:30am in the end. We had a little miscommunication. T normally lets me shower first as being a girl it takes me a lot longer than him to get ready. He went first this morning and then was chivvying me along whilst I was barely out of the starting gate! 

T's family home is so lovely. He shares a house in London, and his room is so tiny we can barely move around without bumping into each other. His room here is far more spacious, and all the floors are beautiful, smooth oak which feel lovely! I kept saying it makes me want to rip up my tiles and cover my floors in oak! He has a huge window, one that reminded me of chalets and shop windows, it was so large! But it had a lovely view and it obviously let lots of light in. 

He was ready before me, and told me to come to the garden as we were eating there. Once I was ready I found porridge, tea and fruit awaited me in the garden. It was sunny and cool, and we sat and chatted while we ate. It was beautiful. 

After breakfast, T's mum dropped us off at the station in their town. We had  a little wander and then got on the train from Zaandam to Amsterdam. The train had an upstairs and downstairs which was not what I expected. It only took about 10 minutes, which gave me time to take in the views.

Once we reached Amsterdam, we took the tram to T's sister's apartment. Both of the sisters recently acquired a pet bunny who I finally got to meet! I've been sent loads of pics and whatsapp videos, but I really wanted to meet him in person! 

We had a quick tour of the apartment and a play with the bunny, and by now it was getting on for 12pm. T, L and I walked through the flower market, several different squares and little parks as I was given the tour. We sampled lots of cheese in various cheese shops, and I bought some for my dad. I bought my mum a cake covered in chocolate from the chocolate shop, and a wooden tulip which I accidentally left in L's bag and forgot to bring home!

Bikes were everywhere! The canals were beautiful, and I took a lot of pictures. It was really hot and sunny as we walked. We each got Poffertjes (little pancakes) with icing sugar as a snack, and then walked to the restaurant where L works. We sat outside and had lunch. I didn't like mine (soup) which was a bit disappointing. We were sitting in direct sun and I knew I was burning. T kept trying to make me put on icky sun cream, but I kept telling him I never sit directly in the sun!

I began to feel rather tired, and we walked quite a long way back to the station. I turned my Fitbit on earlier in the day and discovered I had walked 10k! And in flip-flops no less ;-)

T had invited his friends over for a barbecue at 4pm, so the three of us headed back. After a quick freshen up and a look at the sunburn, we went downstairs to greet the guests. 

There were about 15 of us , plus Evi, T's friend's little girl who is almost two. She was so cute, and seemed to get along with T very well! His mum and dad grilled and cooked so much food, they clearly enjoyed entertaining. We sat and ate and chatted for hours in the sun, but I was a bit nervous and it was hard to just sit and smile as they all chatted away in Dutch! 

They were all lovely people, and it was good to meet them. By about 9;30pm, I felt really tired, and people started to leave. I went up and had a shower, and then said goodbye to L who was going back home as she had to work tomorrow. 

T, I and his parents sat and had a cup of tea and then I went up as I was tired. It was such a lovely day.