The kids are off all week on Herfstvakantie and N is away again all week – this time in Barcelona, so I have been looking for fun things to do with the kids so avoid being stuck at home all week. I still have my Inburgering Dutch language course 3 x during the week, so we had to stay somewhat close, but after that we have been trying to fit in fun things to do.
We saw the movie Small Foot in Dutch at the Kinepolis and had lunch at Happy Italy. So cheap and yummy – kids want to go there again for sure. Oh and we all agree, we’re buying the movie (in English) when it comes out on DVD!
One day we went to Jump XL in Waalwijk for an hour-long jump. The kids had a great time and want to go back again soon. Some kids had three wristbands on which meant they jumped for 3 hours but for me that is crazy and way too long – one hour is plenty for our kids!! Perhaps with some more experience they might want to do a two-hour session but for now, one is plenty!
Halloween is not a big thing here like in the US and the bonfires in Ireland, but you still find a lot of stuff relating to it in the shops so maybe we will have some luck come Oct 31st. We still have some time, but I wanted fo find something to do along those lines during the break. Though with 26 degree weather these past few days we’ve been more thining about the beach than fall. Anyway, I did some searching on the internet and found a place about 20 minutes away from Den Bosch where we could carve pumpkins called Pompoenerie Best in Best.
Now it’s certainly not a full blown pumpkin patch like you find in America with tractor rides but it was quaint, a huge variety of gourds. Some pumpkins here are what we back home call squash ….on this site, this lady explains them all – it helped me. They do tag them whether they are edible or not so that is great!
I couldn’t resist buying some to take home to put on the dining room table and will put a few outside closer to Halloween. First the kid are given a drink, a yummy cupcake (even I had one with a cup of tea) and then are allowed to pick a pumpkin from a small selection near the front door). Then the fun of carving the pumpkin begins – and as with probably most kids – this is where it takes the longest time and the most mess and complaints.
We brought our own ziplock bag to bring home the seats – only to be told the the pumpkin we are carving is not an edible type. It looks just like the type I’e been eating for 44 years!!! – but I trusted this guy and decided to not take the seats. I did however, buy two “edible” pumkins to take-home. One which I will carve and roast the seeds and the other is to be used especially for the hachee dish which Soren tried and LOVED. I be you are like, hach what – hachee. Here is the info I found on Wiki.
Hachée is a traditional Dutch stew based on diced meat, fish or poultry, and vegetables. Hachee based on beef, onions and acid is a typical example of traditional Dutch cuisine. Clove and bay leaves are added to the thick gravy. It is usually served with potatoes or rice.
Here are some photos from the place – which is a farm, bar and part of their home. One thing for sure is that the staff (I suspect son, daughter and mother inside and father in the field) who were all so super friendly, informative and helpful. We left with a lovely assortment of what I call gourds for my table, two pumpkins to eat and two carved pumkins by two happy kids who are looking forward to Halloween – which we are still not sure what it will be like in our neighbourhood.
They pushed on and carved on and got these two masterpieces.
Update: I read online that if you put them in water and bleach they will last longer so that is what we did – let’s hope they last til Halloween without rotting like ours did a few years back.
Speaking of which – look at these photos – Soren looks like he could be a sister.
