Cousins Connected

Julie: Today was all about visiting with cousins. Greetje, Marianne (Greetje's sister), and Kirsten (Greetje's daughter) came from den Haag to spend the day in Delft with us. We had such a wonderful visit, which I will let Jake explain. What I will say is that the Zoutendijks are caring, genuine, loving people. There is no awkwardness or feeling of not measuring up. It was easy to be open and honest with them. It really was a lovely day getting to know them.

After we walked the cousins back to the train station, we went back to the market square and visited a couple of shops. One was aDelft ware shop, and the man who owns it hand paints most of what he sells. He was painting a vase with a windmill on one side and tulips on the other. We then went next door to the cheese shop, where only Gouda cheese is sold. We bought a couple of different kinds, and had cheese, grapes, and crackers for dinner.

Jake:  As you Julie stated in last paragraph, we visited with more family today in Delft.  We did not travel far or see anything exciting, but we sat and visited for the majority of the day.  We had great coffee at an open restaurant that faced the inner square full of people shopping, eating, taking pictures, and enjoying the second day of Easter.

As Julie, also stated, it was a great day to meet family.  It was a feeling as if we lived here in Holland all along.  We sat in a local brewpub called Kobus Kuch, where food and beer were a specialty.  I mentioned the little plaza tucked in to the city of Delft previously, and this was in the plaza or square.

The four women had goat cheese with fresh, brown bread with either tomatoes (Julie) or pecans and apple syrup.  I ate an open faced pastrami with a fried egg on top.  Every bite, though simple, was delicious, and I chased it down with a tall glass of Wit beer.
Julie: what I found interesting about how they serve hot tea is they bring a glass of hot water and a variety box of teas.

Jake: It was an emotional day, because I never thought we would get the chance to meet with family.  Julie did well.  I will take days like this over killing my feet, power walking through the city.

I do have to mention this eclectic cafe we had breakfast at a couple days ago.  It would be what we, in America, would call a 'dive'.  In the front of the cafe were tables enveloped by the odd, old collections of kitchen ware, cupboards, and lamps vibrant of color.  We sat in the back of the cafe.  It was a greenhouse with parrots in cages, foliage, and the same collection of kitchen ware.  Julie ordered a taart with a fluffy cream cheese topped with a succulent cherry sauce, complete with a coffee and speculoos (coffee cookie).  I was a little more adventurous and ordered an appeltaart with fresh apples and raisins with a dutch crumb topping with a side of fresh whipped cream.  I washed that down with a fresh orange juice and a double espresso.

We ended the day with having the cousins, and me, record ourselves singing Happy Birthday, in Dutch, to my dad, whose birthday is today.