Jasmine first two days in Europe, we stayed with her great grandparents in Aalten, Netherlands. Along with meeting her great grandparents and she also met her uncles: Henk, Dick, Henno, Eelco & Mathijs; and her aunts: Rianne, Wilma, Sonny, Vivianne, and Stephanie. She was very fond of them.
The remaining time, we went with Papa to Leiden as that is where his work is located. (Papa works for The Venice Project.) While Papa is at work, Jasmine and Mama walked around town. We discovered many interesting things and places to go to in Leiden. For instance Jasmine and Mama discovered the city’s library. They have large sections devoted entirely to children’s: books, cds, dvds, and toys. (I guess we could have checkout some of the toys in the library if we have library card.) Aside from the library we also went to several museums, such as the museums of ethology, which currently has a program on the world’s food.
The trip was made better when Jasmine and Mama found non-smoking cafés and diners, toyshops, grocery stores (very important – to refill diaper supplies and etc), drug stores, and clothing stores.
We had so much fun exploring Leiden, and we even dared to venture to an adjacent city. We took a sneltrein (fast train) to Den Haag (The Hague) with a friend and went to the beach called Scheveningen. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a very long sandy beach, a pier, lighthouse, and an esplanade. It was a bit too cold for us to enjoy it fully. So, we look forward to going back to it during the summer.
Insofar, we like Leiden very much. And we can’t have gotten around so easily without the help from several friends. They provided us with maps, guidances, and lots of support.