the red tulip.

don't blame me, i didn't name it. but nonetheless, the red tulip is what the owner has decided to name the apartment in which we are staying for the next 3 weeks. of course the professional photos in the link above are better, but they don't really show you how big the place is. it's very big. 

this little window juts out into the street, so you can stand right above all the people passing by. it rules. 

the office nook, where ryan plays poker, and where we eat. 

the kitchen counter. the owner was contacted by a japanese film crew who want to feature the apartment in a travel spot. so he gave us some free wine since they'll be coming into film. nice. 

the kitchen. it looks very small, but there is a lot of space hidden in there. 

the bedroom. 

the place comes with a trumpet, so i'm prolly going to learn how to play. 

looks like a regular cabinet....

but actually a freezer!

looks like a cabinet...

it's actually a dishwasher, and lazy susan. and that middle part is the oven/microwave. 

close up on the stove. nice. but you have to light the middle burner by yourself, so ryan does that. that's spaghetti sauce in a wok. it works, i promise. 

little fridge

looks like a very narrow pantry, but...

it slides out, and it's quite respectable. the tub has built in spa jets, and a shower head. but the best part? there's a washer/dryer. and when i put the slash there, you might not realize that i mean the washer and dryer are in the same machine. so you put in your load, and 3 hours later it's clean and dry and ready to fold and put away. amazing. i love this, because i am the queen of forgetting laundry's in the washer and having it go mildew-y. ewww. 

here's the view, NO BIG DEAL:

you can see four bridges and four canals from the front window. we have turned the couch around so we can see out. the television's in dutch anyway, and people are far more fascinating. 

i want to get a rowboat and use it as a primary method of transportation. when i move here, i mean. 

we're going to rent bikes, and try them for the whole 3 weeks. i think practice will make us perfect. gulp. it's like baptism by fire, only without helmets. 

that's the window where everyone can see you from the street. i like to wave to the tour boats going by in front. then they think, "oh, that dutch girl is so nice!" so don't tell them the truth. 

the other side view. 

one REALLY fun thing to do in this apartment is to take pictures of the people taking pictures of this apartment. you'll see in the next post. cheers!

SA (scone-aholics anonymous)

hello. my name is susanne, and i am a scone-a holic. 

(yes, i ate these in the same day. not at the same time.) 

can i be honest? it's not even the scones, so much as the unfairly delicious clotted cream. ryan followed the link above, and told me clotted cream is worse for you than pure butter. now he tells me. 

so i'm trying to cut back. yesterday at breakfast, i didnt even order a scone. but ryan did. and he doesn't care for clotted cream, even if it comes for free with your scone. 

ryan is an enabler. raisin bread is AMAZING with that stuff....

last day as vagabounds (for now...)

this morning we had to change hotels, into the one we'd originally booked, for when we were still planning to be in copenhagen. but it's the last trip before we move into the apartment for 3 weeks, so we can deal. 

after we checked in, we went to lunch. ryan had, of course:

and then he ordered a pizza. don't ask me why; he hates cheese, and at best tolerates pizza. he didn't like it. i wouldn't let that stop you from ordering...

i had tortellini, which was good, especially because it came with:

that is a container of freshly grated parm. you can have as much as you want. heh heh heh...

it was cold and rainy out, so we stopped for a latte and some tea. look at this tea bag:

it's just a tube of tea with tiny holes in the side. and it works!

see? rainy. wet. 

i had to do it, but it was cold. can you see my tights? they're from holland. 

i'm making my kids dress like this. 

my kind of dinnerware. 

and ryan's. i don't see why he is the white sheep, and i am the black, but there you are. 

we went to turkish food for dinner. this was the ceiling. 

and this was my turkish beer. 

pizza and a red pepper feta mousse thing. 

basket of fried, cheesy pastry and falafel. ohmygod. 

bread. 

my chicken kabob. i should have stuck with my instincts, and ordered something else, but we're going to come back anyway. it was good, though. 

ryan's veal ribs. he says the baby cow is even more delicious. 

dessert. that's not whipped cream, it's turkish cotton candy. amazing. 

tomorrow the apartment, and then the blogging takes on a different form...