Holland Week one

Holland week one
We flew out from Rome airport with a little a touch of sadness that our Italian adventure had finished so quickly but also with excitement and anticipation that soon we will be seeing family in Holland and that another adventure would begin. Paul Jan my cousin greeted us at the airport and it was so great to see him again, it has been almost 4 years since our last meeting and as it is with all families and good friends we quickly picked up from where we last had contact. From the airport it was short drive to his fabulous apartment in Amsterdam where his lovely wife Roya was waiting with a much-needed cup of tea after our three-hour journey from Rome. Living near Paul Jan in an equally impressive apartment is another cousin Gijs, who I have not seen since we both were small children. He is about ten years younger then me and it was great to meet him as adult and I look forward to improving our relationship in the future.
That night together with Paul Jan we enjoyed a fantastic meal at their favourite restaurant which is a mix of Turkish, Iranian and Middle Eastern cuisine. After eating Italian for two weeks it was great to enjoy food with different spices and flavours. The food was delicious and this restaurant was packed with cool people and had eccelectic décor with shimmering lights. It was very funky.
The next day we made the 1 hour drive to Den Helder, which is the small country town on the north tip of Holland where my father grew up. This is where a lot of my family history and heritage comes from and it was a very teary and emotional meeting my Aunty Tinni who we will be staying with while we are here in Holland. She is a lovely grandmother to Paul Jan and Roya’s kids, Melarine and Ziba and she has a very generous and warm heart with a very special and age less spirit. My Aunties house is near the coast and was built over 300 years ago by Napoleon’s soldiers. She has a beautiful view over looking paddocks with horses and cows and breaking up the farm aspect is a large red light house that warns passing ships of the land near.
We arranged our holiday plan to be in Holland to help celebrate the third birthday of Ziba, Paul and Roya’s daughter. The day was a lot fun, first waking up early to see Ziba’s excitement as she woke up to see the house full of decorations and a beautiful cake with three candles and then to see the joy of her opening her presents and playing with her new toys. The day was a wonderful success meeting Reietje, Gijs and Rudi’s mum and the close friends of Paul and Roya, they are all such lovely and warm people. It was also great to meet for the first time Gijs’s brother Rudi another cousin and his girlfriend Carol who made this awesome soup for the party of which I had about seven bowls. Spicy just how I like it.
Rudi showed us his father’s workshop where the lovely works of art are created. Rudi together with Gijs are carrying on their fathers work after his untimely passing last year. I look forward to seeing all of my uncle’s Rudi’s achievements in the near future. He was a well-respected artist who was even one of the Queen of Holland’s favourite artists.
Dillon and Taylor have met a boy named Thomas who is their own age and have become good friends, he is a sweet boy and the kids like him a lot. They have played in the garden throwing the ball and on the swings and have also played cards and even the Dutch version monopoly.
Staying in Den Helder has been so relaxing, we have gone for walks, relaxed in the garden and enjoyed the good life. There was travelling fair in town where the kids were able to go on all the wild rides and Paul Jan and I won some fluffy toys in the shooting gallery. Trudi loves the country life and has enjoyed being able to feed the animals and pick flowers in the garden.Paul and Roya are building a great house next to Tini and it should be finished soon.