Fun Weekend for Two

This weekend Kirstie slept over a friend's house so hubby and I decided to spoil ourselves a little bit. Something we really needed after a week of hard, but fulfilling work.
Our first stop was dinner at Hemel op aarde (or Heaven on Earth), one of our favorite local restaurants. It was rather quiet that Friday evening, but we didn't mind. The food was good and the company even better. We ordered a nice bottle of wine and enjoyed a lovely meal while discussing plans about the future and talking about all the little things husbands and wives talk about.
One of the plans made that evening, was to visit Haarlem the next day. We had been there just a few days earlier on an assignment but since it was work, we really didn't get much of a chance to wander around at our leisure. This time though, we felt like we had all the time in the world. The sun was shining, it wasn't as cold and there was even a market in the town square. I love markets so it was a real treat to be there on that day. We grabbed some croissants from one of the bakers and took our time checking out what was on offer.
After that, we walked through some of the shopping streets and came across a window where the book I collaborated on was being displayed. It gave me a little shot of joy. I'm secretly hoping this will be one of many!

Sinterklaas and Christmas are just weeks away, so there was somewhat of a festive atmosphere in the city. We didn't do any holiday shopping though, but after a lot of walking, we did grab a bite and a glass of wine at Grand Cafe Doria. Our hot meal of Dutch krokets filled with beef ragout and thick-cut fries was devoured outside, under heating lamps, of course!

After lunch, we checked out some museums. One of them, the Archeologisch Museum, was especially interesting. We marveled at the wide variety of fascinating artifacts gathered after excavations throughout the city. Prehistoric spearheads and coins, jewelry and clothing from the 15th century, tableware from the 17th century, a helmet left over from the Spanish Inquisition and even, get ready for this...a piece of human excrement!

It was a fun day out for both of us. We look forward to going back with Kirstie and showing her around the city. She's been there before, in fact many times, but only in diapers! Time to change that!