After a good night's rest, we ate a wonderful breakfast complete with champagne, breads, Nutella, eggs, bacon, cheeses, fruits, prosciutto, and coffee, of course. We then met our Maastrict hosts Roel and Carla. We went with them to the Dominicaner Church, a centuries-old church that is now a bookstore. Just beautiful! We didn't have much time to shop, but he said we'll be returning. We had lunch at the Hotel Beaumont and got a sampling of many things that I don't know the names of. We all even ate the duck paté :-)
After lunch we went back to the hotel to meet our host families. Heather and I are with Jane and the boys are with Teun and Anneke. Dick is with Friso and Ilona and their 2-year-old son, Philip. Jane, Heather, and I all drove out to a large US cemetery for the men killed in WWII. Very beautiful place. We also saw our first windmill. Dick played some bocce ball with Friso and Ilona, and the boys explored the area and walked past Andre Rieu's house (he lives like a block away). We all had dinner tonight at Teun and Anneke's home --- all 11 of us. It was a great time with great food. We had mushrooms with anchovies, a risotto salad with prosciutto (I think), and a delicious apricot sorbet with macadamia nuts for starters. Main was lamb, potatoes, and a vegetable ratatouille. Then a good variety of cheeses and bread. Dessert brought strawberries with ice cream and a wafer cookie, and delicious chocolate stars. Apparently they read that I really like chocolate. Most excellent. So much more wine followed us through the whole meal --- Roel brought several bottles from his own cellar and made good choices :-) Oh, before I forget, Herman was once the director of a chain of stores similar to our Target stores before he retired, and Roel was director of a chain of stores similar to a high-end women's clothing store and a store similar to Von Maur, He also owns a company that sells coffee filters to many countries including the US. I'd say. Teun is a retired architect, Jane is principal at a 750-student secondary school, and Friso is in charge of a company that produces steel for use in building things such as earth movers and large equipment. His wife is a lawyer at DSM, a company that employees about 25K people. These people are very well connected! And great to talk to (PS: If anyone from the Netherlands is reading this and sees a mistake, feel free to let me know ;-)
So tomorrow we start at 9 with Heather and I going to see some ruins with Jane. The boys are going on a run with Friso to Belgium (it's about 8K away, not too far). Germany is about 20 minutes away, if that. We're in a hilly part of the country, but it's very pretty. Lunch is at a former monastery, and the afternoon will be a boat tour if it doesn't rain.
Fun facts: Most of the houses have large front windows and they like to leave the curtains open. My room is on the third floor, up a tight winding staircase. It takes two of us to get the bags up here, but I have a great view of a fort in the distance and of the backyard gardens below. Most homes are connected like this, some are older (Jane's is from the 1930s) and built up, not out. Not always handicapped accessible! Toilets are immaculately clean everywhere we go. You could mix drinks in them. Brushes, those stick-on things in the bowl, and bowl cleaner are available almost in each bathroom. Oh, and water isn't always given. Us big water drinkers are finding you have to ask for water, unless you're content with wine and coffee.
Photos: I had an uncanny feeling I was being watched as I slept . . . .
2. Bike rack in Maastrict
3. Wear your flag!
4. Streets of Maastrict.
5. David and Kevin celebrating Queen's Day
6. Jen celebrates with chocolate at dinner
7. Dominicaner Church bookstore
8. Dick, Heather, Herman, and Lia during Queen's Day
11. Outside of bookstore
12. Streets of Maastrict
13. Lunch at the Beaumont
12. American cemetary
13. Windmill!
14. Chocolate stars for dinner :-)
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