Merry Christmas ! We haven’t done many in Europe in our lifetimes so to not wake up to white roads, snowmen and kids sledding through the streets was a bit disappointing. I blame all those American movies growing up for this outward sigh. Anyway, much like when I realised Santa was a figment of my brainwashed kids brain, I got over this relatively fast.
Ash and I headed for a walk into De Pijp and settled into breakfast at Locals and some backgammon. We shared a pancake stack with fresh berries and sipped on our hot coffees. Surprisingly for Christmas it was really busy. The queue had formed out of nowhere and people were patiently waiting for a seat regardless of where one became available. I was so used to being in a house where Christmas very rarely left the vicinity of our property so to see so many people eating out at restaurants or coffee bars meant two things. One, the Dutch don’t really make a huge deal out of Christmas or the Christmas spirit. Two, there are a lot of tourists here without families and to congregate at these coffee shops brings that sense of togetherness and gives them comfort.
After getting ready for Christmas lunch we walked over to Jonts and Cait who were hosting us for the day. They were hosting the same 8 from yesterday as well as Robyn and Gareth. Robs had been in Amsterdam for a while and was friendly with Jonts and Cait while Gareth had recently only moved over from SA with a backpack and his English bulldog Steve. Oh, I mustn’t forget about Steve. That takes Christmas lunch to 11 sorry. Steve was very responsive to all of Gareth’s requests and knew when it was time to chill, be around us, sit away from the food and not beg or just sleep. I was surprised as I hadn’t been around many English bulldogs and hadn’t seen this obedient side to them. He did let out a couple rippers post lunch for us to enjoy … there’s the English spirit!
We chatted around a harvest table of chilli Biltong, droewors, Dutch mature cheese, olives, dips and crackers while they finished off their mains preparation in the kitchen.
For mains it was a classic Christmas roast. We had turkey, stuffing, roasted potatoes, some beans and stem sides, roast gammon and a beautiful sweet, yet tangy mustard that Cait had whipped up. Couple this all with some red wine, Christmas crackers and a bunch of expat Saffas and you get one very lekker joll.
After a delicious meal, and once the plates had been cleared, we started a game of dirty Santa. Everyone had had a “rough” budget of €25 and was tasked with buying a unisex gift for the day. Given the relatively low budget I was very impressed with the gifts that were being opened and the high quality steals that Ash and I both made towards the end of the game. We ended with some Ottolenghi sushi plates as well as a pair of spiral shaped candles and a citrus printed kitchen apron from Dille & Kamile. We were all like little kids opening gifts on Christmas Day. Energy levels were heightened.
We resorted back to the lounge chairs and couches (and don’t forget the Netflix fireplace) for some chats and dessert. An assortment of chocolate, ice cream, sticky toffee pudding and malva pudding. When the food coma kicked in, the crowd slowly thinned. Kelly was driving Warren, Josie and Bryn back to The Hague. Robs also left in the evening while the rest of us stayed and Jonty, Gareth and I turned our attention to the infamous Captain Morgan. Before we knew it it was 1am and the bottle of Spiced Gold was as empty as the surface below the Christmas tree. And with that realisation (and the fact that I was a little tipsy for the walk) we called an Uber and thanked Jonts and Cait again for an awesome day. Played out your boots guys 👢.
KEEP RIGHT PASS LEFT 
this is now my new favourite bookmarked website :❤️
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