Cannons and Ice-Cream

It was a long weekend here in the Netherlands last weekend and the weather has been absolutely gorgeous lately. It's definitely summer, the days are hot and sunny and the sun doesn't set until after 10pm! Dennis and I had three different outings over the three days; on Saturday we went to his parents for a barbecue, on Sunday we went to one of the "hides" and had a walk in the Oostvaardersplassen (I wrote about it previously here), and on Monday we visited the old fort town of Naarden and then Laren for ice-cream!

Our walk in the Oostvaardersplassen wasn't too long. The only unfortunate thing about this gorgeous weather is that our only mode of transportation at the moment is on the motorbike. If you're riding a motorbike you need to wear protective clothing such as jeans, boots and leather jacket; all of which make you sweat even when it isn't nearly 30 degrees! And then when you get where you're going you have to lug around your jacket, gloves and helmet so we weren't really dressed for a big hike.  We did get some fresh air and an occasional cool breeze though, which was lovely.

Didn't see as much wildlife as the other times we've been, only some birds, a dragonfly and these huge fish!

Monday was just as hot, but we had a plan to visit one of the best ice-cream parlours in the country afterwards to cool down! But first we visited Naarden, a town that has been built within a Spanish star fort, complete with fortified walls and a moat!

You can't really see the star shape when you're standing in it, but have a look here to see an aerial photo of it. The town within the walls is very pretty, full of trees and greenery, cobbled streets and historical buildings such as the gothic St. Vitus Church which was built in the 14th and 15th centuries.

The weather had people out on the water in droves, some in little boats and some on barges actually built from some scaffolding with a motor attached!

There's also a museum, the Fortress Museum. We didn't go in but we did see them re-enacting the traditional firing of the cannons outside. I was surprised by how long it takes to fire one of those things!

We rode through the town and stopped to take some photos of the Fortress Gate before our next destination.

As you can see, it's a very pretty, historic little town. We then rode to the town of Laren, which is very close by and also a very affluent area. I swear we were riding down Millionaire's Row at one point, there were so many huge, beautiful mansions set within gated grounds! Apparently Laren is one of the most affluent areas of the Netherlands (duh) and is well known for being an art colony in the late 20th century. I was also surprised by how many of these HUGE houses had thatched roofs. Obviously some thatchers are still getting enough trade to live very comfortably!

Laren is also home to IJssalon de Hoop, an ice-cream parlour that has been there since 1898, makes all their own ice-cream and is regularly in the top-ten ice-cream parlours in the country! You can tell how popular it is by the line out the door and to the road. Dennis said that wasn't even very busy and often the line extends to the other side of the road!

They have over 40 handmade flavours including dairy/lactose-free and sugar-free varieties for people with dietary requirements. They also have a special flavour of the day that changes regularly and their prices are very reasonable compared to some ice-cream parlours I've visited.

Dennis and I both got a BIG container, with five different flavours packed in! I had Grandma's Cake (was kind of weird, but did taste a bit like a lemon-butter cake), coconut, strawberry, raspberry and stracciatella. It was delicious. Although next time I might get a smaller serving, my eyes may have been a little bit bigger than my belly (which is saying something)!

As we left I saw an older man and lady sitting outside with an old dog, each with an ice-cream in a cone. And by that I mean they had bought three ice-cream cones and the dog had a whole one to himself that she was holding for him to eat! It was rather cute.

All in all it was a very enjoyable day! If you'd like to have a look at the IJssalon de Hoop's website (in case you're ever in the area, you should definitely visit!) then click here.  Until next week!

Throwback Thursday 5 - Bath and Stonehenge

As promised, here is the second instalment of the post begun last week, in which I travel to the town of Bath and the Heritage site of Stonehenge!

After lunch we got back on the coach and drove to Bath. We only managed to see the famous Royal Crescent through the bus window unfortunately, as we had a lot to see and only one day to see it in!

The town of Bath is, of course, most famous for the Roman Baths from which it takes its name.  Originally called Aquae Sulis (the waters of Sulis), the Romans built the town in A.D 60 and it became very popular as a spa town during the Georgian era. The Georgians were responsible for the beautiful architecture seen in the Royal Circle and the town was made a World Heritage Site in 1987.

As you can see, on a lovely summer's day it is a very popular tourist attraction! Our tour included entrance into the famous Roman Baths themselves, which were very interesting, with displays about the history and culture that grew up around the hot springs.

The waters were said to have amazing healing properties and you can even have a cup of it to try yourself. I had fallen down the stairs the night before and had a very sore foot so I thought I'd give it a try. Apparently it contains 42 minerals but I don't recommend it, the water is warm and tastes really gross! I didn't notice any miraculous healing on my foot either.

After our visit we had some free time so Robyn and I got an ice-cream each and wandered around the town for a while.

The gardens and parks are beautiful and with the gorgeous sun and the flowers blooming it was just lovely to sit in the park next to the river and relax for a bit.

Does anyone else recognize this garden display featuring characters from a cartoon strip called "The Herbs"? I remember having a book when I was a child with some of the comics in it, so was surprised and pleased to see the characters created in foliage here!

Then it was back to the bus for our final destination! We had a lovely view from a hill overlooking the town of Bath as we said our farewells:

But then it was on to that most famous and most mysterious landmark: Stonehenge!

One of the wonders of the world and the best-known prehistoric monument in Europe, I have always wanted to visit these standing stones that I have read about in so many different works of fiction and fact: and I finally did! 

You can't go in amongst the stones as they are roped off to protect them, but it was still pretty amazing to actually see them up close and in real life!  There are many different theories about who built them and why, but nobody knows for sure yet.  

I thought it was kind of cool that a big army helicopter flew by while we were there too! As we were leaving the site there was some of the type of rock that Stonehenge is made from that you can touch, to make up for not being able to touch the actual site I guess. I wonder what it is about humans and having to touch stuff?

And that was the end of our day of touring! By the time we got back to London we were very tired. The company we went with was Evans Evans Sightseeing Tours and they were very good. It was a very large bus-load of people so if you want a more intimate group you might wish to use another operator. However, the price was good compared to some other companies and our guide was very knowledgeable and entertaining and treated everyone as if we were his special friend.

The only thing I regret was not having enough time to visit the Jane Austen centre in Bath, but perhaps another time I'll be able to return.

For more information on the town of Bath you can look at the tourism website here.

The Stonehenge English Heritage site can also be found here.

Also, thank you again to Robyn who was the photographer for all the images on this blog!

Stay tuned for more blog posts soon!