Holiday Report Part 3 - The Foodie Edition

Today's post brings you the good, the bad, and the, well, unexpected food experiences from our holiday.

The Good

Thankfully there were lots of contenders for the best food experience of the holiday.

What could beat apples picked fresh from the tree.

Maybe ice-cream or fresh squeezed frozen orange juice on a hot day.

Or eating in one of Holland's fine restaurants (even if you have to share your chocolate with Daddy).

The Bad

When I was a child living in Canada, one of the highlights of our trips into 'town' was to stop at 'Smitty's Family Restaurant' - pancakes for breakfast, or fries and grilled cheese for lunch. No matter what time of day, it was a delight.

So when I realised we would be driving through the same town on our holidays, we arranged to stop for lunch - yep, Smitty's was still there. How fun - revisiting part of my childhood with my own child.

I should have known to be concerned when the waitress told Paul that he couldn't have boiled eggs in his salad, because she had just taken them out of the fridge and, "Well, they didn't look that good".

Unfortunately (or fortunately) the only photo of this experience is Bradley desperately figuring out if the window would be a viable escape route.

The Unexpected

Another childhood memory revisted. As you may or may not know, there is a strong tradition in the Netherlands of eating salted herring by the seaside. Paul had partaken in this tradition as a child, and so naturally he was keen to do so again.

Now, in his memory, this delicacy was a thin strip of raw fish cured with salt, eaten in a couple of bites. In reality, he was handed an almost-intact fish that could have fed a whole family (ok, so I exaggerate slightly, but it was bigger than expected).

I must say, I was impressed with his effort, and he proclaimed it to be "Not bad". But I somehow suspect that his tradition will not be one that we will be continuing now that we are home.

Travelling with a Fabric Addict - Holiday Report Part 2

Have I told you I like to sew?

A little selection of snaps from our holiday:

Lots for the boys...

Cheery cottons, cozy cords, and cuddly flannels...

Birds (and, oddly enough, elephants)...

And some yummy European sewing mags...

It's a little scary, because this isn't actually all there is. Some bonded suede and chunky knits are still coming.

I think I'm going to be busy.

Travelling with a Toddler - Holiday Report Part 1

I have an apology to make.

Back when I first expressed my concern about travelling with a small child, the lovely Kate reassured me that it would all be sunshine and lollipops.

I called her delusional, which may have been a little unfair.

Maybe I had been reading too much of Kitschy Coo's blog, with stories like this one, or this one (sorry Amanda, but you really did set the benchmark for horror travel-with-children). But I expected hours and hours of Bradley running around the plane, naked and screaming.

We even tried to stow him away in our suitcase. But while he was happy with the arrangement, we eventually realised it wouldn't work. Besides, I needed the space for all the fabric I was going to buy.

Anyway, as it turned out, Kate was right. He did charm the pants off everyone on the plane, before happily exploring for a while. This was after he woke up from a sleep that started before we'd even hit cruising altitude.

"What a wonderful child!" I hear you cry.

"What amazing parents you must be" you proclaim.

So, before I get too smug, I should actually confess.

We cheated.

You see, after much chanting and praying to Ursula, the Patron Saint of Upgrades, we managed to get into business class. With the only spare seat on the plane between us.

So yes, at the tender age of 22 months, our child has had his first business class trip.

Which meant it wasn't really travelling. More like a long day lazing around in a lounge chair, watching telly and being brought all the food and drinks as you like (ok, so it's starting to sound just like a typical day at home for Bradley!!).

Of course, not all our flights were so luxurious. But all up, we were very lucky, and hopefully our boy continues to foster a love of travel and adventure.

Stay tuned... and be warned! We'll be back over the next week with more stories and photos of our time away!

We took HOW MANY photos???!!!

Ok, I know you're all hanging out to see just some of the thousands of photos we took on our holiday, but I'm afraid you'll have to wait just a little bit longer while we sort out the 'best of the best' (unless you really want to be subjected to 46 different pictures of Bradley throwing rocks into the water... the magic of digital!).

But in the meantime, I thought I'd just share just one sewing-related highlight.

Now, normally I don't venture too far into sheds. But my father tempted me into his workshop with the promise of being able to use a sewing machine, and I was not disappointed.

This beauty is a Singer Treadle Machine from about 1911, and I must say I am totally hooked on the idea of finding one for myself. While it's not as quick and easy as a modern machine, it sews beautifully, and it's actually a great way of learning how machines work - threading it, playing with the tension, you really get to know what's happening.

And this particular machine had a bonus - which I'm sure those of you with a keen eye would have noticed.

Yep, my trusty Dad has hooked up an electric motor to it! And being more of a pragmatist than a purist, I think it's a damn fine idea!

It's all Dutch to me...

When I logged on to blogger this morning, it came up in Dutch.

I think that this may have been a sign that it's time to go home.

One more day and two more nights, we will be winging our way back to Melbourne via Munich and Bangkok. A total of 23 hours on the road (well, hopefully in the air and in airports).

Apologies for the naked post, but we won't be uploading any new photos from our camera until we return, and all the photos on my phone could have been taken anywhere! But we do promise to subject you to a whole week's worth of blogposts full of holiday snapshots, so consider yourself warned!

Signing off from Holland,
MoederKip