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| Made it to Leiden! |
Bonjour! So I’m told that it has been quite some time since
I last contributed to the blog. So I’m told. Well, what can I tell
you, it’s been busy and as an artist and a writer if inspiration isn't there
then you can’t force greatness. But good news, I’ve found good subject
matter and finally have the creative juices flowing! And just like last
year I'm here to talk about Leiden.
What is Leiden? Well, Leiden as you recall is a cute little
town in the Netherlands that hosts a marathon race each May. Click here for Google map of the City. We discovered this town and race last year
and had such a wonderful time we decided that we would just have to
return. And return we did to do it all over and see if our first
impression was valid.
It was.
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| By one of the many canals |
A quick refresh in case you forgot and are too lazy to search this
very blog for the previous post. We both entered the half marathon for 2013 and
had already booked the weekend when we discovered a bun had been placed into
the proverbial oven. So I ran the half marathon last year while a fan
base of one cheered on and we discovered that Leiden was absolutely amazing,
beautiful, and fun.
Returning again in 2014 I entered the half marathon while Cleaver had
her sights set on the 10K race. The bun came out of the oven in a dish called
Joséphine and now we were three making the trip. We also again rented an
apartment for the weekend which is our new favorite accommodation when
traveling. Especially with a 5 month
old, the added space and comforts of home are a necessity.
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| View from the Burcht van Leiden Castle |
Arriving on Friday afternoon, instantly our memory of last year and
initial impressions were validated. The canals, brick streets, and
restaurants were all there just as we remembered. And as a bonus, this
year the weather was absolutely gorgeous sitting around 22 (we do things in Celsius
here) and sunny all weekend.
First order of business, a drink by the canal just down the street
from our house.
We also discovered a food website related to Leiden called
Leidenfoodie.com which was a great resource for the weekend. The catch
now with Miss JoJo Bean of course is that eating out is not always easy or fun,
so take away dinner has become the needed norm. First night sushi.
Amazingly good for a random spot. And there is day 1.
Waking up Saturday were two key items on the agenda. The
Saturday market and the race packet pick up. The Saturday market in
particular is fabulous as they have all kinds of fruits, vegetables, Gouda
cheese of course, this great dip place we discovered, and Kibbling
stands. Kibbling is basically Dutch fried white fish with a sort of
tartar sauce. All so good, too bad you have to behave with the race on
the following day.
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| Yes, you get a beer when you finish. Very Dutch |
We also discovered this year (thanks internet!) that there is an
old castle on top of a hill right in the middle of town with a fairly decent
view, though I hear it’s much better in winter when the tree leaves do not
block the view. Literally, that is what I heard someone say when we were
there so let’s just go with it.
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| Our little cheerleader waiting for Mommy |
Saturday was a quiet night with the race upcoming on Sunday
morning, so take away that night was gyros. Giant chicken gyros made by
sweaty Greek guys with knuckle hair. It’s delicious, just trust me.
Sunday race day. My race started at 10:30 for the half
marathon, Cleaver had decided to change to the 5K given some initial running
pain, which combined with the unusual heat wave was a very smart
decision. So she was starting at 1:30 which meant perfect timing for me
to finish cheered on this time by a party of two, then I could take JoJo Bean
and Cleaver could go to run her race.
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| Good run Cleaver! |
The event is a very pretty run through the Dutch countryside and
back into town past the canals and little villages along the way. There
were a lot of runners and it is a bit crowded but very well organized and a
tremendous amount of fun once again. Both of us completed our races, felt
good while running and celebrated at the end with some cheese, dip, Dutch beer,
and great weather.
Oh, and was great to have a new little
cheerleader supporting us both along the way!
Every year in Chantilly there is the famous Prix de Diane horse race and it’s quite the event. We had friends who went last year and had such a great time that they gathered a bunch of us to go back again this year. The horse track is in Chantilly on these beautiful grounds with a chateau in the background. You purchase a ticket and sit on a grassy area next to the track and picnic all day. Oh and everyone gets all dressed up with hats too which makes it even more fun. We had a group of about 10 of us (including Robin and Dave who happened to be back in Paris visiting!) that all headed to Chantilly for some picnicking in the sun while watching the horse races. It’s only about 25 minutes by train from Paris so not bad at all. Well in theory not bad but when there is a train strike in France it makes it a little more difficult (thanks France). It was touch and go there for a second but we made it to Chantilly and had such a great day.
