Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Less Exciting Update

Hello All,
The past two weekends we've stayed in Maastricht (at "home") due to school work (papers and group projects on the go) and to save up money for our next big trip: Spain!  We leave tomorrow evening to go to Barcelona for 5 days and then we'll meet up with Jeff in the south of Spain for the next 5 days.  Tomorrow will be a long day as we have to get up at 6:30am to catch the train to Eindhoven (about 1 hr north of Maastricht) to file our papers for our European visa.  We hope everything goes smoothly, as we've had a lot of issues so far with bureaucracy and getting tossed around from person to person on the phone between the Town Hall and the Embassy.
Despite staying in Maastricht for the last two weeks, we do have a few highlights to report:
1 - We were able to successfully Skype with Oma and Opa in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario!  They were quite excited to "see" us over video and be able to have a telephone call over the internet.  They are getting quite technologically savvy in their 8th decade.  We feel it shows their love and dedication to their first married grandchild; to learn the internet just to stay in touch with us while we're in Holland makes us feel truly loved and cherished.  (Even if they have learned how to use a computer and the internet for some other purpose, we still like to be egocentric and think they learned it for us.)
2 - Lauren and Keith Hubley have booked their tickets to travel with us for 3 weeks in May after I return from India.  Get ready for "Willowblock" hits Europe! (FYI: Lauren is my BFF and she married Keith, a guy I totally approve of and who gets along with Ron way too well, 5 weeks after Ron and I got hitched.  They also happen to be our next door neighbours in Oakville and, along with Eva Nussey, make up the only members of the "Willowblock" that are not Enns'.  Nicole and Jamie McAuley are honourary members of the "Willowblock" as they are house-sitting for us while we're away.)
3 - We've visited the market on both Wednesdays and Fridays that we've been home in Maastricht.  We always get some fresh produce, look around at the breads and baked goods, and usually end up with a bouquet of tulips.
4 - Speaking of tulips, spring has sprung here and we are starting to see signs of foliage.  In the words of Papa Vic: "BUD ALERT!!"  (This is what my dad would yell at least a dozen times on our annual March family road trips to Florida at the first sight  - and many subsequent sightings - of buds or greenery on trees.)  We pass a bunch of yellow tulips that are starting to bloom on our bike ride home from school.  We've also seen pansies in residential gardens and the greenhouses are picking up.
5 - Valentines Day has come and gone since we last blogged.  With the exception of last year (because I bought Ron awesome John Mayer concert tickets happening to be playing February 14th), I've never celebrated Valentines Day.  I've always subscribed to the mentality that it would mean so much more to me if the man I love did something special for me on February 15th, "just because", rather than on February 14th when everyone else is doing it because Hallmark told them to.  Needless to say, we didn't do anything special on February 14th, but 3 days later Ron surprised me by arranging a date night and ending it by giving me concert tickets for Katy Perry in Amsterdam in the middle of March.  Katy Perry is the "pump me up" music I've recently been listening to on my runs.  (Although it gets darker here earlier and winter consists of seemingly endless days of rain, the weather has been great for running! - an activity Ron and I are both getting back into.)
Well, I guess that's about it for now.  Below are the picture of our eccentric apartment that many people have been asking for!  Stay tuned for our adventure in Spain!
Love,
R&R
 LOVE having a big bathtub
 Bedroom - note purple bedspread (with pink sheets; alternate set is lime green bedspread with orange sheets); also note the red door to the left
 Sink #1 - in the bedroom "getting ready" area
 Another corner of our bedroom; shadows on the wall are from a light fixture (see below)
 Crazy bedroom light fixture of aviator sunglasses
 Alternate view
 View of the bedroom from the "sink" side of the room; note red door that is green on the other side
 Kitchen
 Kitchen table 
 Kitchen table with prep area to the right (note: our dishwasher - far right - is bigger than our fridge - left)
 Our inherited microwave
 Sink #2 is the kitchen
 View from the kitchen down the hall

 Bathroom part 1 (including sink #3 and purple grout behind white and blue tiles)
 Bathroom part 1 light fixture
 Unoccupied bathtub
 Rainhead shower across from bathtub
 Rainhead shower with mirror
 Sink #4 is in bathroom part 2 (bathtub to the left)
 Reverse view from previous; view from the bathroom to the kitchen
 light fixture in bathroom part 2
 light fixture in bathroom part 2
 Light fixture in living room
 Sitting area in living room
 Alternate living room view (with sink #5)
 Living room couches
 Living room view with our tiny t.v.
Tiny t.v. and Ron studying hard

1 comment:

  1. LOVE THE APARTMENT SO MUCH.... VERY COOL♥
    love the unique character and the beautiful airy feel of the living room (the windows are fantastic) and the sinks... (well that's just strange) Jeff who ???
    Can't wait for your next post
    ♥ A.K.

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