Springtime Traditions

Troy and I are fond of traditions, large and small. One tradition we have developed since living here is that of visiting the Keukenhof gardens each spring. The first year, we went up for the day and enjoyed a spectacular outdoor display. Last year, we opted for a lovely picnic and cycle through the tulip fields, and then went on to spend Easter weekend in Amsterdam. The combo trip was so lovely last year that we decided to do it again this year!



Unlike last year, the weather this spring has been quite chilly. As such, all the flowers and trees were hugging themselves for warmth and keeping their little blooms tucked away until the sun decided to warm things up a little.



The grass was already quite green, and you could see the first few tiny leaves budding on the trees.



Despite the iffy weather and the just-blooming-displays, we still had fun wandering through the outdoor portion of the park. We both LOVED the sculptures this year, especially these sweet copper ones. (Now, if I just had €5000, I could put one of these in my mythical garden!)







Whereas in previous years the indoor displays were pretty much finished by the time of our visit, this year they were arguably the best part.







I wish there was a 'Smell This' option for a blog (well at least for good scents!). Suffice it to say that as pretty as the flowers were, and they were absolutely stunning, their heady scents took the whole experience to 11.

What the orchid pavilion lacked in scent, it more than made up for with sheer numbers, colors, and arrangements of exotic blooms.







After a very enjoyable visit, we left Keukenhof and drove up to Amsterdam. Easter services were lovely once again at the historic Christ Church. We made our ritual visit to the Cafe 'T Smalle, ate amazing Indonesian food at Kantjil & de Tijger, scored some great finds on a shopping excursion to Utrechtsestraat, and this year our friend Bill was in town, so we got to hang out with him a fair amount.







Admittedly, the weather decided not to cooperate -- it was pretty much cold and wet the entire time. But at least I got to show off my growing hat collection...



Keukenhof & Amsterdam Photo Album - Click Here

200 Years & Counting: The Gent Flower Show

Anybody who has ever lived in Colorado will inevitably have heard advertisements for the biggest rodeo of the summer, Cheyenne Frontier Days (located, as you might suspect, in the neighboring state of Wyoming). They describe it as being the "Granddaddy of 'Em All". Why would I bring that up in this particular post? Well, the Gent Flower Show could easily co-op this phrase for itself.

This incredible show first began over 200 years ago(!!!), and now features 4.5 hectares (±11 acres) of plantings traversed by 2 km of walking paths! (Here's a link to some more figures for those closet statisticians among you) It. Was. Enormous. And also beautiful, interesting, unusual, and overwhelming.

Several different friends mentioned the show to me, but ultimately I ended up going with two girls from my book club, Ana and Cat. We took the train to Gent (a quick 30 minute's ride from Brussels) and after a lovely lunch canal-side, we set off for the show.



The show was like a meeting of gardening, landscape architecture, horticulture, plant collecting, and art. There was everything from traditional plant displays to ideas for weddings and events, backyard and garden designs, plant sculptures, and rare and exotic flowers. We bought our tickets online, and we were glad we did because there were SO many people at this show. It only runs for one week, every five years, and apparently the entire country attends.



This is not the line to get in, but rather just the people on the walking path through the exhibition hall.



A particularly beautiful 'phalaenopsis' orchid. This is the type of orchid I grow, though obviously not as prolifically or perfectly as these.



Who knows what these actually are, but we thought they looked like miniature Christmas trees!



The Atomium, but made of flowers!!!



This was in the section of "tablescapes" for weddings and events. I liked the way the flower balls looked set against the crystal and silver.



This is a type of orchid called a 'paphiopedilum', and I thought they looked like spiders! I was scared of them.



This photo does NOT need to be rotated (check out the people at the lower left)! This was an installation where the trees are sideways. If you look at the right side of the photo, you can see the roots!



This was one of my favorite sections -- crazy tableaux made of fruits, vegetables, plants, and sculpted trees.



Everyone knows my obsession with old buildings and antiques, but you might not know how much I like modern design too. I LOVED the copper facing on the reflecting pool (the orange thing at my feet) and thought the bold red sculpture surrounding the tree would look pretty sweet in my mythical garden.

I could have taken about a million more photos, but between the crowd and the sheer size of the event, I got overwhelmed and gave up. It was such a fun, unusual day and a great kick-off for spring!

Gent Flower Show Photo Album - Click Here

Ladies Who Lunch

When we first moved to Brussels, one of the first tasks I threw myself into was that of making friends. We knew that for our move to be a good one we were going to need a support network. Being naturally outgoing and a wee bit on the chatty side, Troy ceded the primary friend-making responsibility to me. And, since I'm not currently working outside the home, it certainly didn't hurt that I have more time to devote to the issue than he. I'm not one to shirk my duties and within a few months, I luckily found my calendar full of coffee dates, book club meetings, French lessons, American Women's Club gatherings, museum visits, choir rehearsals, and of course lunches.

Troy is a wicked smart person and a very good husband, but he is not super great at listening. To be fair, when I'm involved there is a lot to listen to. At any rate, given his propensity for not really paying attention to all the details of which activity was happening when, I sort of developed a code word for whenever I was meeting up with a girlfriend to do something. If Troy would ask me what I had planned for the next day, instead of explaining I would just say 'Oh, I've got LWL'. The stereotype of the expat wife is being a Lady Who Lunches, and though the stereotype irks sometimes, I must confess that I rather enjoy the practice. At any rate, after a while of Troy hearing about all my LWLs one day he finally said 'Wow, that group sure meets a lot'. (Tee hee, he thought it was an association or an organized group!)

Perhaps you are wondering what a bona fide LWL gathering might look like yourself? Two weeks ago, I decided to host a St. Patrick's Day potluck chez nous and am happy to share one of the many recipes for a great LWL.



Take one table full of yummy food.



Add two cute babies.





Throw in a color-coordinated theme.



Add some good conversation.



Et voila! Food, friends, and fun.

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Simone and I are fortunate enough to see a lot of great concerts, but perhaps the best one we've seen was Rodrigo y Gabriela last November at the Ancienne Belgique in Brussels. If you're not familiar with rodgab, they are former thrash rockers who bored of that scene in Mexico, moved to Ireland, and starting using their guitars as percussion instruments.

If you want Simone to arrive early for something . . . tell her it is a general admission concert. She won't be late. To give you an idea of how close we were, that's Simone clapping on the left of the picture below . . .

Here are a few pics . . .

And one with Rodrigo using a bottle of Heineken as a guitar slide . . . it would have sounded better had he used Orval.

Here's a short video of each of them playing solos . . . not great quality, but you get the idea of a) how close we were and b) how they use their guitars for percussion . . . especially in the Gabriela clip.

Dublin

My work took me to Dublin last week for a conference, yes - during St. Paddy's Day, but because of the conference my free time was limited and I wasn't able to make it out for the parade; however, I did get to see some revelry in the streets of Dublin in the early evening hours of St. Paddy's Day.  This picture is in the Temple Bar . . .

I was also able to get to Johnnie Fox's Famous Pub after having missed it when Simone and I were in Ireland in 2008. If you ever find yourself in Dublin, then make time one evening to trek up the Dublin Mountains to Johnnie Fox's . . .

Amazing food and music . . .

And of course some Irish humor . . .

Here's a short clip of dance and music at the pub . . .