Indian Summer

What's the antidote for weeks of dwindling daylight, pouring rain, chilling winds, minor illnesses affecting every body part and every "body" in the household???  We found our restoration during a long, summery October weekend in Rome!   Sunshine, gelato, hot breezes, gelato, stunning historic sites, and more gelato.  And there was the pizza, pasta & the cappuccino too.  A few highlights below...

View of Coliseum and Roman Forum from Victor Emmanuel II Monument

Do you think Rose found evidence of the first QR code?  These are mosaic tiled floors in the ruins of Ostia Antica, a once thriving Port town outside of Rome that has structures from several hundred years before Christ.  This stretch is the market where mosaics usually indicate what each shop sold.  Perhaps Rose found the Apple store...

Guess where we are in the picture below...  This is, I'm quite sure, not the usual photo at this particular site.  Hint: Rose really wanted to walk around a country in one day (actually it took only 45 minutes)...

Rose & Frans enjoying the sun on their backs near sunset at Ostia Lido.

In front of Constantine's Arch

Below - we enjoyed a little Roman style.  What seems big in Rome?

1) the "Man Purse"  ; and 2) stylish street signs

The Pantheon, the best preserved architecture from Ancient Rome, and simply cool with its large Occulus in the middle of it's amazingly constructed concrete dome, was a favorite of the family both inside and out.

Bring on the wind, rain, and the time change - we're ready now!

Assimilating kids...

 Everyone asks, "How are Frans & Rose settling in?"  I will let the pictures speak for themselves... with a few captions of course.

Frans has been to sailing camp twice.  I love this shot because he manages to stay dry - not sure how his partner feels!

Here is Frans hot-dogging on a day without much wind... perhaps he should sit down before he ends up as above.

Rose enjoys herself in the stable "bug."

1st day of school -  Rose wasn't quite ready to let go, but she's done very well.  If you look closely, you'll see Frans in the red t-shirt in the background, blending in.  As you can see, there is less grass on the playground in the Netherlands!

Rose commuting to school

Traffic gets busy as you get near the school!

A class trip to the Prinsenhof, home of William of Orange, leader of the Dutch revolt against the Spanish in the 1500s. 

Rose played Balthasar, the assassin of William of Orange, complete with a fake pistol.  The Dutch do not sugar coat any aspect of history and after her class trip, Rose spared no details when describing how Balthasar was tortured!

Frans goes native, riding with Renze pedaling and Douwe chases from behind.

WADLOPEN in Friesland.  Frans poses in front of the dike (those are sheep grazing in the background).  On the other side of the dike is the North Sea at low tide.  We went "wadlopen" which translates as "mud flat hiking".  Essentially, these are big stretches of land you can hike at low tide only (with a guide).  We were hoping to see seals, but we did not.  The day was beautiful, however, and it's not often that you are up to your thighs in mud and cold water!  Strangely, Rose opted out of this several hour hike.



Rose gets ready for a swim meet!  She did a good job.


Frans tried out rowing on one of the many canals in Delft.

Frans, Renze, Douwe, and Rose on the ferry to Loevestein, a castle in Gelderland where we celebrated Ans' 70th birthday.  The background of this photo shows perfectly how Holland is a mix of old (the old windmill, now replaced by newer sleeker versions) & new - as seen by the construction cranes and modern buildings, everywhere.

From the top of the castle - addressing their subjects...

So, the evidence is in.  My Dutch-American children seem to have no problem fitting into either country.  Now if I could do the same, we'd be all set.  The kids are embarrassed about my bad Dutch.  So am I.  Luckily, the highly educated Dutch are happy to speak English early and often!