September Summer and Grape Pie

Talk about extremes - this past July was the driest and hottest on record here in North Holland and August was one of the coolest and wettest. Now that September has rolled around the weather has settled into the “perfect” category with warm sunny days and crisp cool nights to usher in our favorite season. It’s a time for candles and wine, uncrowded beaches, fire pots on the terrace, and long walks in crunchy woods.



Friday evening we went over to our good friends Frank and Natasja for Tapas and catching up after their extended August holidays down in Spain. Frank and I also finally got to see the famous “Naked Cowboy”. The girls had made such a fuss about it when they saw him on Times Square in New York, but I have to say that I was a bit disappointed when I saw him in the movie. I always knew that Beth had a thing for Western PA machine shop kind of guys, but Natasja?

Saturday was a Renaissance Festival in central Haarlem. It was interesting to see this type of festival in a setting that was really here during the Renaissance. We had fun, but it just wasn’t what we’re used to for a Ren-Fest. I know that this will sound terrible - the real ugly American, but I like the Festivals back in the states better. The self contained villages that they’ve set up in PA or MD, the roasted turkey legs and beer, the jousting, and the shows are all much more festive than the real thing over here. Maybe we’ll try one of the bigger ones in France or Germany next year.

On Sunday we biked to the beach under perfect skies to soak up some sun. People were already disassembling their beach huts and covering them with tarps until the trucks come around to haul them back into storage. The beach bars will remain until early October, then they’ll be cleared out as well leaving the empty beaches for us locals and our dogs.

And Sunday evening was grilled salmon and grape pie on the back terrace with our good friend Esther. I made the salmon….Esther made the pie. It looks delicious, doesn’t it? When we all dug in, Beth and I looked up from our bowls, making subtle eye contact across the table and trying very hard to keep straight faces. Lucky for us, it was Esther who let out the first hardy “Oh my god!” with puckered lips and twisted neck. None of us have laughed that hard for a very, very, long time. Thanks Esther!