Happy Friend's Day!

click on the photo to see large

Today is one of those days  when I would love to be back home, in Argentina: it's 20 July - Friend's Day.

Día del Amigo or Friend's Day is a very important celebration in Argentina and Uruguay.
On 20 July 1969, the whole world united while watching the images of the first Moon landing achieved by the crew of Apollo 11 and "... for one priceless moment, in the whole history of Man, all the people on this Earth [were]truly one," as American President Richard Nixon said in his phone call to astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin moments after they stepped on the Moon for the first time.

In Argentina, a teacher called Enrique Febbraro, had a brilliant idea: he proposed that this day should be remembered in the future and celebrated as Friend's Day, because at that moment in history back in 1969, the entire world had been friends of the three astronauts that had landed on the Moon.
His proposal achieved even official recognition with a government decree (number 235/79)back in the year 1979, and today, it is one of the most popular celebrations in my country as well as in Uruguay.

click on the photo to see large

Friend's Day is not a holiday in Argentina, but it is an excuse for young and old to celebrate friendship. Normally, you start the day making and receiving phone calls from friends: those that are far away, and you haven't seen in a while, as well as those that live in the same city as you do. Another popular thing is to send emails, cards, flowers or sweets to your most dear friends. During the last couple of years, mobile phone networks have even experienced temporary breakdowns during this day!
In the evening, after work, people normally get together for the real celebration. Restaurants, discos, bars - they all offer special arrangements for this day and they normally take reservations well in advance. If you are just visiting or passing by on 20 July, don't bother to show up at a restaurant, because the chances are that you will not find one that can accommodate you without a reservation.


Merijelen and I, at the turn of the century (this century, of course) 
On this photo I am with my dear friend Maria Elena, or Merijelen as I like to call her, using a strong Spanish pronunciation of her anglicized name "Mary Ellen". You may ask why I bother to pronounce in Spanish an English name that was anyway Spanish to begin with. That is something Merijelen and I just do: we have developed our own language, in which we turn Spanish words and expressions into English or viceversa - just for fun.
Back in the day when we used to work together, we would share those special moments - like when we both used to make fake dates with Brad and George over the phone...

Photo source

... or charge money to each other in exchange for help. I would come to her and ask if she could find some book or tape for an exam I needed to have ready, and when I thanked her, she would always say "you're welcome, it's $10!"

We have been friends for a long time and I am pretty sure I owe her millions by now - in pesos, dollars, euros, rands... and every possible currency that exists out there in the world. My debt has increased and grown out of proportion with the passing of time. A couple of  tapes for the Cambridge exams, $50; helping me to prepare the auditorium for a workshop, $150; revising the timetables for the examiners and giving them a call, $200; being there in the good times, $500,000; during the hard times, $1,000,000..... and the list goes on. But I was hoping she would forgive that huge debt with this tribute to our friendship on this very special day:

HAPPY DAY, MY FRIEND! 

Thanks to the models for these photos: Nicole, Angela, Izan, Vero and her friends!

Spotted in the Netherlands

School is over!

Classes are over and the school year has come to an end. At this time of the year, all over The Netherlands you see this:


In the month of June, students all over the country start receiving the results of their final exams and soon, the streets become lined up with Dutch flags and school bags hanging from masts.
This means that a son or daughter of the house has passed his or her exams successfully and then, the family wants the neighbourhood to know about the good news. If you live in The Netherlands, I am sure you have seen this in your street or your neighbourhood around this time of the year.



But where does this tradition come from?

Before the custom of sending cards became widespread, people used to communicate news to their neighbours, family and relations by some kind of sign in the front of their houses. This was normally done to let people know that there was a newly-born baby, a birthday, a marriage or a death in the house.

Before the 1930s middle and higher education was only accessible for the elite, for those families that could afford to send their children off to school. It was around this decade of the 20th century when the tradition of hanging the flag outside the house started. If you were lucky enough or had money enough to send your children to school, and these succeeded in their studies, you certainly wanted the whole neighbourhood to know about it.

In the 60s secondary and higher education became also available to the working classes and therefore, more people started hanging the Dutch flag when their children successfully completed their studies. Because not everyone had a flag, it also became common to hang books or school bags too and later, these two habits merged into what we see today: flags sometimes with the inscription Geslaagd (successfully passed) written on them, school bags or books and other school items or even balloons hanging outside the house of a student who has passed his or her final exams.



Do you know of similar traditions for the end of the school year in other countries?

In Argentina, usually when you take (and pass) the last exam of your diploma at university, friends and family will be waiting for you outside the school. As you come out, you get a shower of eggs, flour, vinegar or anything that they happen to find in their kitchen cupboards before leaving the house. It is also customary to cut pieces of your clothes and even your hair!!!!!

Imagine...

... It isn't hard to do.

Good luck to the Netherlands in the World Cup Final!

(Though I confess that I won't be altogether disappointed if Spain wins - I am afer all, 75% Spanish although born in Argentina!)

Happy Birthday

Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía
Cathedral in the city of Córdoba, Argentina. Photo by Roberto Bowyer

For the last couple of weeks I have been planning to write a post about Córdoba, my hometown in Argentina. It is, I think, a long due tribute to the city where I was born and where I lived many years of my life.

It has been no easy task, though. What to tell, where to begin and most importantly, how to express how I feel about Córdoba?

After much thought and deliberation, false starts and drafts that ended up in the trash bin (cybernetically speaking, of course) I finally found the answer ... and it came with a little help from my friends, as the song goes.

How so?

I happen to have friends who are very talented photographers. Their photos are fantastic because they are all very technically and artistically skilled - they have the eye for it, as they say. But something else happens when they shoot photos of Córdoba: they put their soul into it as well; and when you look at their images you know that no matter where in the world they live now, they've left a piece of their heart behind in Córdoba - just like me.

Today, we are celebrating Córdoba's 437th birthday. On a day like today, 6th July 1573, the Spanish conquistador Don Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera, founded the city of Córdoba de la Nueva Andalucía on the margins of the river Suquía. The name of Córdoba was chosen as a tribute to the conquistador's wife, who had been born in the Spanish Córdoba.

This is how Claudia Gibson, Gustavo Alterio, Roberto Bowyer and humble me, say "Happy Birthday" to our city!

(You can click on each photo to view it large)

Claudia Gibson takes the best shots of the skies of Córdoba.

A view over the city by Gustavo Alterio.

Capuchinos Church and Buen Pastor cultural centre, by Gustavo Alterio.

La Cañada (channeled stream) by Roberto Bowyer.

The Cabildo, old Town Hall in the city centre, by Roberto Bowyer.

Santa Teresa's Church, built in 1628.

Ecipsa tower on Yrigoyen Av.

Happy Birthday, to our city!!

Our own Elfstedentocht: Stop # 2

Harlingen:
harbour town by the shores of the Wadden Sea

The harbour town of Harlingen, in the province of Friesland.

Last year I started a series I called Our own Elfstedentocht to show you the province of Friesland in the northern part of The Netherlands. The idea was to post pictures of the circuit we did during the summers of 2008 and 2009, visiting the eleven cities that take part in the Elfstedentocht, a speed ice-skating race held during the winter in the northern province.

The Town Hall in the city centre of Harlingen.

Our first stop was Leeuwarden, the capital of the province and I covered our visit to this city here. Our secound stop in the Elfstedentocht brought us to the city of Harlingen, the most important harbour in the province of Friesland, situated on the shores of the Wadden Sea.

The busy harbour by the Wadden Sea.

Now that summer has arrived and that we can finally enjoy longer and hopefully nicer,warmer days out in the open, Harlingen is an excellent option to either take a daytrip or to stay for the weekend.

A lighhouse in the harbour area of Harlingen.

Taking the time to walk around the town can really be a pleasant surprise, for Harlingen has not lost the atmosphere of the olden days. Manyof the still beautiful old buildings in the historic city centre are reminders of the times when the town had very close commercial links with Great Britain, Norhern Germany and Scandinavia. Many of the warehouses you see around the city still bear names such as "England", "Poland", "Russia".

A street of Harlingen lined with old warehouses now restored and remodelled.


a pretty bridge crossing over one of the canals that traverse the city.

Maritime activities flourish here: the harbour is the home port of a huge fleet of charter vessels and hundreds of sailing and motor yatchts. Sitting on a terrace by the marina, you will be witness to the intense traffic of boats, big and small coming and going along the canals and sailing away into the Wadden Sea.

A boat entering the harbour in Harlingen.

A sailing boat in the Wadden Sea.

One of the canals that traverse the city.

From the ferry terminal in the harbour you can take one of the many boats that connect Harlingen with Vlieland and Terschelling, two of the islands on the Wadden Sea. On the website of the shipping company Doeksen you will find all the information you need to plan your boat trip to the islands, including day arrangements that include boat tickets, a rental bike or bus tickets to get around the island. You can choose the slow (2 hrs. to Terschelling) or the fast (45 min. to Terschelling) service, depending on your preferences or the time at your disposal and you can even take your bike or car on board!

The ferry just leaving the harbour, heading towards one of the islands on the Wadden Sea.

Another fun thing to do in Harlingen is to take a boat trip on the Regina Andrea, which will take you seal watching on the sandbanks of the Wadden Sea. The round trip takes about 2 hours and on board the guide will tell you all about the Wadden Sea and the seals, of course.

We spotted first a solitary seal basking in the sun.

Then we sighted dozens of groups of seals resting on the sandbanks in the Wadden Sea.

We have been now three times to this beautiful harbour city and I have to say, that I am looking forward to going back there again this summer. A good opportunity to visit Harlingen again will be during the main event of the year: Visserijdagen or Fishery Days, a festival that has been named the Carnival of the North. This year this event will be held between 25 and 28 August and will offer more than 70 different activities, like live music, handcrafts, dance, folklore, sports and of course, food. More information about the event can be found here (in Dutch).

Oh, I'm lovely and loyal - also beautiful, talented and awesome!

Don't worry - I haven't had anything strange for breakfast this morning and I haven't become insufferably arrogant, conceited and spoilt all of a sudden! It's only that I have received a very nice award:


It came from sweet Sandra, from the blog "Presépio con Vista para o Canal" who nominated me and six other loyal bloggers of hers and asked us to answer the following questions:

1- Why did you start your blog? Did you expect it to become popular?

I started this blog to share (I wasn't sure with whom yet) my experiences as an expat living in The Netherlands. I also wanted to have a place of my own where I could show the places I have been lucky to visit here in The Netherlands as well as in other countries in Europe. Finally, I started it to indulge my nostalgia for my country, Argentina; I wanted to write about it too - to let people know about its beauties, oddities, habits, people...

When I started blogging, I wasn't really thinking of becoming popular or attracting lots of followers either. In fact, I didn't know how blogging worked at all!!
I got inspiration from other blogs that I found interesting and that I had been reading form time to time, like Isabella's A Touch of Dutch or Anita's Greetings from Holland.


2- When exactly did you start your blog?

I actually started it on my birthday last year: 12 August 2009!

3- Who are some of your most loyal followers?

Here I am going to change the rule a bit. Many of the people that follow my blog are not expats and then those who are, have already been nominated or are not into the award exchange thing, so I will name some of my loyal followers, in no particular order. I think it will be a nice way of sharing with everyone some of the beautiful blogs that I like reading and have been following for some time:

JaPRA, from Just a Plane Ride Away - a Texan currently living in NL (The Hague) with her family but who will soon be moving to the UK where they'll continue their big expat experience!

Alison, from A Flamingo in Utrecht - also an American - who writes about her thoughts and experiences living in The Netherlands and who takes really good photos, especially of her city, Utrecht.

Aggie, from on what concept - a friend and Flickr lover like myself, with whom I've explored some of the most beautiful cities in The Netherlands! Her photos are the real deal - want to see for yourselves? Here's her extraordinary photoblog too.

Leti, from Diving into life below sea level - a fellow Argie blogger who -just like me- recently moved to The Netherlands for love! You will find her stories really sweet, funny and full of that renowned Latin flair!

buday, from immateur! Excellent, witty writing with a touch of humour - I just love her posts! (plus, she recently gave me the most ultra-modern looking gadget as a vitual present: an Air Multiplier Fan... thanks, buday - that was such a cool -wink! wink! present!)

For those of you who can read Portuguese (the blog has an online translator, too!), Vagamundos, from Crónicas de "um" Vagamundo - if you visit the blog and take a look at all the places they have been to, you will ask yourself: "is there a corner of the world that these guys have NOT been to?". Seriously!!

And for those of you who can read Spanish, Patricia and her blog Fotos y relatos de viajes - Viajando por mi país: ARGENTINA, another Argie friend of mine who is truly passionate about one of the most beautiful places on earth: Patagonia.

Thanks to all of these blogger friends (feel free to take up the challenge and answer the questions and nominate your loyal followers, if you want) and thanks to all of you out there for visiting my blog!

Best Portuguese hostess in the Netherlands!

Train station in Almere city.

A few days ago I received an invitation from a fellow blogger that I could not resist: a day out in Almere, a city at about 85 km from Zwolle. I had made a mental note to visit this part of the Netherlands many times, but somehow the opportunity to go there never presented itself.

Finally, this invitation came and with an extra bonus: I was to have a de luxe tourist guide. Have you guessed who it could be? Yes! Blogger Sandra, from Presépio con Vista para o Canal!

We met at the train station -Almere Centrum- and from there she took me to see the sights in the city. What a pleasant surprise Almere was! I found it very modern-looking - but then in a nice way!

Almere bus station.

Almere is quite a new city. It was built on reclaimed land -that is, the polder- in the also young province of Flevoland. The first inhabitants of Almere moved into their new houses in 1976 and today, the city has approximately 188.000 inhabitants making it the fifth largest city in The Netherlands.

Colourful megashop in the city centre.

While Sandra guided me through the shopping streets pointing at her favourite winkels (shops), we were at the same time busy talking, picking up where we left it the last time we had seen each other and shooting pictures all the time.

Shopping street in Almere city centre.

All the roads lead you to... the HEMA?

Modern achitecture is outstanding in Almere. Everywhere you find new trendy mega-blocks, leisure and shopping complexes, reflections, colours and originality of forms...

Blue and orange reflections in Almere city centre.

I couldn't resist taking this shot...

The Apollo hotel in Almere city centre.

Modern architecture in Almere.

More reflections - the Utopolis cinema complex.

For lunch, Sandra suggested a very nice eetcafé: (coffeehouse) "Bobbie Beer", where we had a delicious boerenomelet (omelette, farmer style) and rested for a while by the water.

Bobbie the Bear was waiting for us...

Then we took a long and relaxing walk in the Koningin Beatrixpark (Queen Beatrix Park) ...




I spotted this man sitting by himself next to a grafitti that reads enig, meaning "unique" or also "single" in Dutch:



And I also visited a historical site in Almere... a historic site in Almere? Well, yes: a place where a "baby" was born in a presépio ("Nativity stall" in Portuguese) Here I present to you ...the birthplace of Presépio con Vista para o Canal!

The canal that inspired Sandra to create her blog!

After spending a wonderful day with Sandra, talking a lot, walking around Almere, relaxing in the park and also practising a bit of Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and of course, English - it was finally time to head back to the station and say our good-byes. But not without first stopping for coffee and cake at Granny's. Delicious!!

Espresso and apple tart at Granny's. Photo taken by Sandra.

Muito obrigada, Sandra, for a lovely day! You are a wonderful hostess!