Weekend of epicness

I had a wonderful and busy 4-day weekend, starting with getting out in the sun on Friday and cycling to Katwijk, the first time I've biked to the beach in the time I've lived in Leiden. Before setting off, I got a photo of the trees blooming on my street.



At Katwijk, we glanced at the sea for a bit before heading south into the dunes between Katwijk and Scheveningen. Not before being told off though for climbing onto a bit of dune by a very Dutch guy who had a red, bulbous nose and who was wearing red trousers. He asked if we were Dutch and when we said no, he asked if we spoke German. We said no to that as well, so in the end he reprimanded us in Dutch and even did a bit of finger wagging.



The dunes were a bit difficult for unfit me and my one-gear city bike. There were hill-like things and a headwind that soon killed my legs. I did ok though, it wasn't so bad after awhile, but I still had to get back to Leiden and there was a long stretch where I was pedaling against the wind and that made it a very tiresome ride home.



Saturday M and I went to a large market in the Hague that I didn't even know about until a few weeks ago. It predominately attracts Turks and Moroccans, and even on the walk to the market, the neighborhoods felt like we were in another country. The market was appropriately bustling and overwhelming, with stalls with unique vegetables and fruit and spices and other food on offer.



On Monday evening, E treated us to a Mexican feast and K made his delicious margaritas. I got in some Coco cuddles as he unknowingly enters his last few days as sole cat of the house. It was a lovely evening to close out a brilliant weekend. Work today was indeed hard.