Dank u wel, Netherlands!

I'm sitting on the couch watching Tim and Daniel prepare dinner, which means trying to figure out a way to cook all the food that we have left in our kitchen so we're not throwing out a whole bunch of food tomorrow morning when we leave.

In this vain, I also am expecting quite a bit of late-night munching in a few hours...and I'm eying that jar of nutella on the shelf with anticipation...

These past two weeks here in the Netherlands have been pretty fantastic.  It's great being stationary here at Rabbit Hill, and also being nestled in the middle of the woods.  (We're set up in houses with kitchens/furnishings and commute to all of our performances, which is easy because the Netherlands is small and we're centrally located.  To get an idea of the setting, check out this post with pictures from a recent run.)

We put bird seed outside our living room and I snapped a picture of this jay.

Having kitchens also means that we get to cook!  Understand that one of the downsides of being in Barrage is that you spend all of your time eating at restaurants.  You may think, "Wow, that sounds great!  You never have to prepare anything!"  And you'd be right: that's definitely a plus of the situation.  But, constantly eating out gets really old, really quickly...especially when the only option is Bob's Restaurant in Podunk, USA.

So, in fine Rabbit Hill tradition, I prepared my mom's famous soup last week for a giant dinner in our house!  It was significantly easier this time around because I knew exactly what to look for when I went to the store (shopping for a specific recipe in a foreign supermarket is harder than you'd think!). 

Two pots on the stove and my "Barley Beats" playlist on the laptop!

Another bonus of being here in the Netherlands is spending time in Amsterdam and going to the Concertgebouw!  The Concertgebouw is one of the most venerated concert halls in Europe (the equivalent of Carnegie Hall in the US), and also is home to the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, which Gramophone Magazine named the top symphony orchestra in the world in 2008.  Last January we went to the Concertgebouw to hear the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, which was unbelievable.  But this time, we actually got to hear THE Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra!  And, not only did we hear the RCO play in the Concertgebouw, but we also got to hear them play standard orchestra repertoire (Brahms' Tragic Overture, Strauss' Don Juan, and Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel)!  For non-musicians, the significance of this is that, for example, the first page of Don Juan is basically the orchestra audition piece for violinists--so to hear one of the finest orchestras in the world play this music is a really special experience.  Plus, they played Prokofiev's 3rd Piano Concerto with Yuja Wang (she's only a few weeks older than me...yikes), who was superbly brilliant--if she's ever performing near you, definitely make an effort to see her.  By far the best orchestra concert I've ever heard.  The RCO is mind-blowingly incredible.

Walking through Amsterdam.

I was particularly excited to see Fall colors on trees...because we don't really get those in Mesa.

The Concertgebouw!

This picture is absurd...especially because the red-eye correction made me and Daniel look more possessed...but it's the only group photo we have from the Concertgebouw.

The conductor's (Daniele Gatti) baton broke in the final phrase of Till Eulenspiegel--the upper half flew into the orchestra, so he tossed the grip behind him into the crowd.  Hiddy, who was sitting in the 2nd row, caught it.  Proof that orchestra concerts can be just as exciting as sporting events!

This morning, on our final day off, Charlie and I prepared a massive breakfast of pannenkoeken (Dutch pancakes), which we had yet to do since arriving a few weeks ago.  

Charlie, mid-flip.

Syrup, powdered sugar, nutella, and bananas.  Breakfast food doesn't really get anymore delicious.

Thank you, Netherlands--it's been great, as usual!  See you again in January!

And now, I should go finish packing and eating the food in our kitchen.  5:00 AM is going to come really, really quickly...

Italian Vacation: Rubik's Cube

After Iain and I spent 6 hours walking around Florence, we both needed a break.  So, we headed back to the room to relax before going out for dinner.

While in the room, I decided to take a crack at Iain's Rubik's Cube.  You see, while at Iain's house the day before, I had noticed a small collection of the cubes on his shelf.  Naturally, I inquired as to whether or not he had completed them.  Turns out he had.

Also, it turns out that Iain can finish a Rubik's Cube in a minute and a half...

So, we brought a cube with us because Iain wanted to teach me how to do it.  After making some progress, Iain came over to show me how to finish it...and came up with a ridiculous idea.

Take 1:

Take 2:

Italian Vacation: Florence

Though Iain and I stayed in Florence for four nights (I'd thoroughly recommend our bed and breakfast!), we only spent one evening and one full day checking out Florence itself.  I had been previously in 2008 with Barrage (and Iain had been a few times as well), so we used our room as a base for day trips that we took elsewhere in Italy. 

Because we only had a very limited amount of time, however, we made sure to include things neither of us had seen!  (Florence is, after all, filled with all sorts of things to do and see.)  When we arrived on Friday night, we had pizza at Pizzeria Vico del Carmine.  I have no idea why the rating for this place on Google has only 3 stars: it was the best pizza I've had in Florence, the second best I've had in Italy, and Iain, who is Italian, agreed that it was stellar.  We went to one of the top rated pizza restaurants the following night (one where they have pictures of the famous people who have eaten there), and it was not nearly as good...so then we returned to Vico del Carmine the third night, and were once again blown away.  If you make it Florence, make sure to include this pizzeria.

The view along the Arno River as we headed into Florence.

The front of the Basilica di Santa Maria at night.

The Duomo.

Ponte Vecchio at night.

The following day, we made time to go visit the David at the Galleria dell'Accademia, because I'm pretty sure it's one of the most inspirational things you could ever see.  We also went to the Archaeological Museum, which we initially thought was a great bargain at only €2 a person...until we got inside and spent the first 3-4 minutes walking down hallways with nothing in them.  After wondering, "Is there anything in this museum?" we arrived at the back portion, which was filled with all sorts of unlabeled things.  However, the €2 was definitely worth something we saw toward the very end in the Egyptian collection: a decayed mummy that had been removed from its sarcophagus.  Portions of wrapping had disintegrated to reveal some of the bones underneath.  Utterly fascinating.

We spent our afternoon at the immaculately maintained Boboli Gardens:

Palazzo Pitti--home of the Medicis in Florence, and also of the Boboli Gardens.

Poseidon.

Behind the Boboli Gardens.

Just west of the Boboli Gardens.

Looking out at Florence from the Boboli Gardens.

And, to finish this post, I'll leave you with this absurd picture from the Boboli Gardens:

...really?!  Why was this sculpture necessary?!