Happy Holidays!

My first post since my return in Holland! :-) I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! I definitely had! Since a week I am at my parents' in Holland for the Christmas Holidays. The week before going back to Holland was quite busy, final assignments for IED needed to be handed in, the last Christmas shopping for my family and of course saying goodbye (for two weeks ;-)) to my friends.

Then the moment arrived, on thursday the 20th of December I flew to Amsterdam. I really looked forward to this moment! Although I love Barcelona and still enjoy my time there, I was very excited having 2 weeks off spending time with my family and friends! As a surprise, my dear dad was waiting for me at the airport to drive me back home. And as you can imagine, it is so good to be back home! :-)

So good to see all my friends and family! I really appreciate so many small usual things; sleeping in my own bed, having my own shower, the good Dutch food, drinking tea with my best friends, enjoying a piece of homemade apple pie, the cold, rainy weather and therefore sitting in front of the fireplace... the things I defintely didn't do in Barcelona!

Especially for my return, my mom made this amazing apple pie (below), I love that one! Even better with whipped cream on top of it!

Famous mom's apple pie with whipped cream

My favourite Dutch dinner: 'boerenkool'

Christmas Dinner with my family in Amsterdam

Sisters in Amsterdam

The first evening in Holland I ate my favourite Dutch dinner: 'Boerenkool', a hotchpot made of potatoes and cabbage. Although I ate at many delicious places in Barcelona, nothing beats a plate of Boerenkool. It is usual to eat it together with smoked sausage, mustard, pickles and Amsterdam onions.

On friday I went to the hairdresser for a new look! A lot shorter and blonde, what do you think :-)? On Saturday my sister and her boyfriend came to my parents' house for some pre-christmas-dinners. On Sunday my brother also came home; we had an amazing weekend together with the 6 of us!

Actually from Saturday until the second day of Christmas, we had many dinners ;-). As you might have noticed, I really love cooking and in particular for others. So I had a great time in the kitchen, cooking together with my dad for my family!

Since my return in Holland, we had a lot of rain, something I definitely haven't missed in Barcelona! On the other hand it was quite lovely and cosy weather to just sit inside with a hot choc! Besides, I watched one of my favourite classic Christmas movies: Home Alone. Do you also have your favourite Christmas movie?

We spent the first day of Christmas together with one side of the family. They visited us in Almelo (at my parents' house); since we don't see them that often, it was very special! We cooked, ate, drank, talked and of course, laughed at lot!

After a full breakfast on the second day of Christmas, we visited the other side of the family in Amsterdam. We had a very cosy evening together in their beautiful canal-house. It was so good to see my family again! The dinner was delicious, we all enjoyed it! Besides, I really love Amsterdam; the atmosphere, especially during Christmas is amazing!

Well, it is obvious that me and my family ate too much ;-). I think you agree with me, right? How did you spent the Christmas days? Also with a lot of family, presents and food? For those who still have holidays, ENJOY!

Xx Marloes.