herring, hurricane and vertigo

A strange combo, I know. Let me explain.

Herring
I think I have done a good job in introducing Tod and Tessa to a variety of unique Dutch foods. We added healthy herring to the list,  dutch pancakes with brie and bacon, broodje kroket and frikandel (basically unhealthy processed meat in the category of fast food). Our time in the Netherlands have come to an end. We had a wonderful Saturday with my dear relatives aunt Ans, cousins Ingrid, Anita and Ron, and my nephew and niece Robert and Danielle. Thank you for playing so much with Tessa, she also had a blast visiting you!

Hurricane Newton
While we were in the Netherlands, we learned that hurricane Newton hit southern Baja and moved on over toward San Carlos/Guaymas, where Bliss is stored on the hard. Very sadly 2 lives aboard a shrimp boat were lost, and 3 are still missing. This area is considered relatively hurricane safe, but as proof by the pictures below, there are no guarantees what mother nature has up her sleeve.  Thanks to Marion and Theo of s/v Marionetto for keeping us updated and sending a picture of Bliss. Still 6 weeks to go till hurricane season is over, let's keep fingers crossed.

Vertigo
I have heard that Como is a gorgeous town, but so far I haven't seen much of it. We all spent our 2nd day in Como in the hospital, as Tod said " we are having some nice family time". Short version is that I started to experience vertigo during my last days in the Netherlands, and after 5 days of symptoms off and on, and playing our own doctor, it was time for some medical advise and reassurance. Tod's basic Italian helped us out, as English was hardly spoken. Nine hours later, multiple tests, CT scan and seeing 3 specialists, we were ready to call it a day, and asked for the bill. The total sum was $0.00. Yes, you read that correctly, welcome to socialized medicine.  Slowly on the mend, so lets bring on the amazing food and gelatos.

Tod loving his raw herring with onions

bak fiets, or cargo bike, we have seen quite a few of them

bikes, bikes everywhere and outside cafes in the summer in
den Bosch, Netherlands

unique water art in Den Bosch

" a home without books
is like a body without a soul"

 I love how cities like Den Bosch are biking and pedestrian friendly, no cars
in center, and these are the walking distances and times to various attractions

super baby sitter Sterre, daughter of my high school friend Jeannine

feels like nothing has changed after almost 38 yrs,
ok, we are a bit older

super niece Danielle, who together with Robert, played with Tessa for hours

super nephew Robert, and notice the 'pepernoten'

dry storage in San Carlos, Bliss was here last year
photo by Marion van der Pol

some unlucky boats, photo by Marion van der Pol

Bliss survived fine, photo by Marion van der Pol

view from our large balcony, our apartment is this floor,
we are in the hills, 10 min walk from lake Como

our steep and super narrow driveway, i think there is less
than 1/2 feet left on each side when Tod drives up