Parking names at Schiphol Amsterdam Airport: All things typically Dutch!

Several weeks ago I was in Schiphol Amsterdam Airport sending the Dutchman off and I parked the car at the Cheese (Kaas) parking area. I thought that the parking area names are a clever way of remembering where you parked your car instead of memorizing the row number or alphabet and which level you have left your car.

And I also like the fact that they have drawings to accompany the parking names. It just makes remembering easier!

I have been a victim of not remembering where I parked my car. This happened in Manila, Philippines moons and eons ago (think along 13-15 years ago). In SM Megamall (Ortigas branch) they have 2 parking areas that are located on each side of the massive shopping mall. It was closing time so I rushed back to the car only to find out that it was not there. I searched high and low and in every nook and cranny of the parking area. The car was not there. So I ran up and down the parking levels and I even harassed the poor security guards. The car was still nowhere in sight! You can just imagine the panic that went through my head: OMG, SOMEONE STOLE MY CAR???!!!

Well, it took me some time to I realise that I actually parked the car at the other side of the building. LOL.

Anyway, if SM Megamall would have adapted a similar parking name strategy such as Schiphol Amsterdam Airport, I would not have spent an hour looking for my car and almost having a heart attack.

Here are the parking names at the short parking (kort parkeren) in Schiphol Amsterdam Airport:

Tulip (Tulp)
Windmill (Windmolen)
Farmer’s Wife (Boerin)
Lighthouse (Vuurtoren)
Cow (Koe)
Wooden Shoes (Klompen)
Dike (Dijk)
Cheese (Kaas)
Drawbridge (Ophaalbrug)
Seagull (Meeuw)
Herring (Haring)
Willow (Wilg)

Visit Period: February 2012

Business lunch: Goat's Cheese Salad

This is the biggest goat’s cheese salad I have ever had...

The presentation of this goat’s cheese salad reminds me of Christmas.

I had lunch with an old colleague in Restaurant Paviljoen ‘t Reeuwijkse Hout a while back. We both had to meet halfway as he has a meeting in the west coast of the Netherlands while I in the south. We are both in field sales which means we are always on-the-road so finding a place is the only challenge we have. The Restaurant Paviljoen ‘t Reeuwijkse Hout was a good spot to meet as it is located near the A12 highway.

Helaas, the lunch meet has to be quick, but it’s always nice catching up with old colleagues again.

Visit Period: November 2011

Visting Carmel-by-the-Sea Village

If I have to be brutally honest about Carmel-by-the-Sea then I must say that I find this pretty village a vestige of a Disney movie set production.

In fact the place reminds me of the board game my family used to play in the weekends when I was a kid. We play the game until the wee hours in the morning—the Millionaires Game. Then there was Monopoly that followed as well. The Millionaires Game though was my favourite board game and I don’t know why Carmel-by-the-Sea helps remind me of it. Maybe because of the building structures?

Nevertheless, the village obviously stinks with money, with art galleries, real estate offices and all, this village is for sure the playground of the rich and the old. I don’t really find anything trendy and cool in the village, I was not even able to spot an outdoor cafe terrace? You can tell that I was so disappointed. I was really hankering for a glass of wine and some people watching, but oh well, it is not happening here.

Anyway, with that said, Dutchman and I didn’t stay longer. However, I managed to take some pictures of the charming shops and pretty houses.

Here is a trivia that you need to know about Carmel-by-the-Sea: Did you know that Clint Eastwood, the famous 80’s action actor was an ex-mayor of this town?

Travel Period: March 2011

Afternoon stop at the Raadhuisplein in Apeldoorn

Last month, Dutchman and I had some business to do in the east of the Netherlands, and after rounding it off we decided to drop by in Apeldoorn for some late afternoon drinks.

The Raadhuisplein in Apeldoorn Centrum, with the oude Raadhuis (old city hall) in the background and flanked by cafe restaurants on one side.

I often come here in Apeldoorn for work but not in the centrum. In fact I have been going to Apeldoorn for months without seeing the centrum until one day I was craving for ‘oliebol’ which is a typical Dutch pastry fondly eaten during the Christmas and New Years season. So after my meeting I drove to the centrum to look for an oliebolkraam and indeed I found one!

That was my first time to set foot in Apeldoorn centrum. Hunger or craving can set first times =)

Anyway, Dutchman and I parked the car under the old city hall of Apeldoorn located on Radhuisplein. The old city hall still looks elegant and pretty with the carillon in the tower.

The Radhuisplein on the other hand is a nice little square with café restaurants. When I saw the café restaurants with covered terraces I right away told the Dutchman that we are going to sit in one of the restaurants. We did, but first we went for a quick stroll around the city centre, afterwards, we retired at the Grand Café on Raadhuisplein for some afternoon drinks and a lumpia snack.


Visit Period: January 2012

Carmel-by-the-Sea Beach

Last year Dutchman and I went to California, USA. The original plan was a winter sport holiday in the European Alps but I sprained my arm and my physical therapist says I cannot ski, thus the alternative trip to the USA came into the drawing board.

One of our side trips in this holiday was Carmel-by-the-Sea. I have heard cool stories about it so I could not wait to go. It was a bit of a long drive from San Francisco which is our base, however, Dutchman loves driving in the USA. He actually hates cars and highways however the advantage of driving in the USA is that most highways are traffic-free. Well at least from a European-Netherlands standpoint where traffic can morph anytime and anywhere.

We first went to the beach, parked the car and went out for a walk. Weather was cold, fresh and the wind was blowing strong.

I have horrible-looking toes because of wearing high heels at a young age.

I was expecting a boulevard on the beach lined up with inviting outdoor café terraces, or even indoor restaurants with fantastic views to the beach.

The real story is that I was actually craving for a glass of wine and some people watching if I may add, however, there was no eating or drinking establishment on sight on the beach. A disappointment I must say...

It was getting cold so I told Dutchman we will go check out the cute and supposedly European-inspired Carmel-by-the-Sea village and perhaps we can find somewhere a nice cafe to sit down for a drink. Well, that would be my next entry.

Travel Period: March 2011

Saucissons for lunch and some bad news

I just finished my ski lessons and here I am having lunch in Valmorel town centre while waiting for the Dutchman.

Local sauccisson, bread and red wine. I was tempted to order cheese but held off.

The owner of the restaurant was one of those rare chatty French men. Why rare? Because most French (especially outside Paris) will not speak English to you longer than a minute. He was a charming man who voluntarily sliced the dried sausage for me. Normally its the customer who does this, hence the knife that went with the board.

When Dutchman arrived I heard the bad news that he fell and hurt his arm. He was snowboarding on a narrow strip (which is a no-no for snowboarders as snowboarding requires wide angles) and because of the mist he could not see the slopes clearly. His snowboard got caught by a fence and he was slammed into it with his arm.

Which means, we could not ski in the afternoon together unless I go alone. I have skied alone before but I was not in the mood to leave a hurt Dutchman for the afternoon. This is the second accident for this trip! Goodness heavens.

Here is the entry to the first accident: Torch Hike in the Alps and the sleigh ride mishap

Dutchman not in the mood to eat but ordered a cup of hot chocolate instead. I am not a big fan of hot chocolates, well sometimes.

I guess for the rest of the afternoon the Dutchman would need some pampering and loving =)

Travel Period: January 2012

What the French eat

This isn’t about the celebrated French frog legs and snails. This is about food that most northern Europeans wince in horror. I know that the Dutch would. I have seen worse than this in Asia though. There, all sorts of horrifying dishes and animals and their parts that we thought could not be possibly eaten, are served, some even christened as local specialties or hailed by many as aphrodisiacs.

Anyway, Dutchman and I spent a leisurely free-from-skiing-and-snowboarding afternoon. We decided to check out the French supermarkets and we learned that the nearest Carrefour is just a short drive away. We drove down to Moutiers, a small mountain village in the valley of the French Alps.

Moutiers is a bit of a prosaic characterless place. I do not think I would quickly live here unless I come here for work and they pay me twice what I am currently earning. That is never going to happen I know.

While shopping at Carrefour I came upon the meat section and saw interesting packs of meatstuff in the fridge.

Langues d'Agneau or in other words LAMB TONGUE.

Cervelle Agneau and Cervelle de Porc or in other words LAMB and PIG BRAIN. This makes me go eeewwwww... the brain reminds me of Dr. Lecter in the Hannibal film with the unexpected dinner in the dining room scene.

Gras Double or in other words TRIPE -- the stomach linings of an animal.

Foie de Boeuf is BEEF LIVER which I like and Langue de Porc is PIG's TONGUE.

Now I wonder what typically French dishes these animal parts are made into? And the next question would be: Would you eat them?

The French undeniably has ways with gastronomy, otherwise they would not be famous about it. I am sure they can easily transform an animal brain into some haute cuisine served in a Michelin starred restaurant. Oui?

Carrefour in Moutiers.

Travel Period: January 2012

Skiing the slopes of Valmorel and meeting the courageous Mrs. CA in ski class

Skiing is not really my thing... but when we are in a relationship we have to compromise at times, and this is the case with this (and every) winter sport holiday. However, surprise, surprise, this winter I have somewhat enjoyed—for the very first time—skiing! I know, a big leap so far, I am happy and excited this is turning out very well. So I guess next winter I will be compromising a little less =)

What I love about Valmorel ski area, and this is the ‘Le Grand Domaine’, are the wide slopes. France is known for this and this is in fact what made us decide to stick to the French Alps, for now. It is a great place to practice skiing, at least for me who needs to work on the technique and my speed. Dutchman prefers the Austrian Alps actually while I am keen on trying the neighbouring mountains, the Italian Dolomites and the Swiss Alps, soon.

Our ski class: Moi with 3 Frenchies and 1 English woman, the courageous Mrs. CA on the left.

We are practicing here, skiing and jumping over mounds.

In the mornings I had my ski lesson for 3 hours while Dutchman discovers the area on his own. Later in the afternoon we ski and snowboard together.

My ski class was nice because all of us are on the same level. We all have several years of skiing experience in our belts and our main challenges are perfecting the technique and speed.

In the class I met Mrs. CA, an English woman who runs her own management training and consultancy business in the UK. We were partners in ski class and we could not stop talking the whole time, haha. She’s a bubbly entreprenurial type, very friendly with a cheery face on all the time, she always have something cool to tell. I am sure she can moonlight easily by hosting a talk show, haha.

Nevertheless, she told me that she had an accident 5 years ago in Valmorel and the week we are skiing was the anniversary. She showed me where the accident happened and how. She was hit on the wrong angle by a snowboarder at break-neck speed. And it happened on the slope that we ski on everyday, quite a painful and I guess horrifying reminder I guess.

She recollected that she was badly hurt during the accident, her bone sticking out and all. She was in shock. The agony, her operation and stay at the hospital and the whole experience in itself had her traumatised to bits for years. Until now she still suffers from the pain. She said that for this skiing week she is taking pain killers to help her go through the day. I can only stare at her with awe.

She said she never thought she could ski again. But, here she is now 5 years later... back and skiing on the very same slopes... even with the pain.

I immensely admire Mrs. CA’s courage. She is a woman of determination and example. Well done!


Here is moi skiing below and to see a video of me in skiing action, go here: Dutched Pinay in skiing action


Travel Period: January 2012