#Staarmaan

The Wedding!  It was finally here after almost a year of anticipation.  The girls were all dressed to the nines (and that includes the big and the little) and the men looked very dapper in their suits (again, both big and little).  As we were part of the wedding party, we needed to be ready just a bit earlier than the other guests as we had pictures to take with the bride beforehand.  Off to the Waldorf for some champagne, private time with the bride and getting our own quick family snapshots.

 B and his brother and our families.  We haven't seen each other in 6 years so we made the most of it.

That train though!  We had to wait for the rain to pass outside so the bride set up inside for some photos.

The rain let up!

We dodged the raindrops to get into the church where I ran into the groom!

We lined these guys up and sent them down the aisle...

And this is the only photo I have of them coming down the aisle as I was rushing to my seat...

We had great seats as we could see the bride and groom from the front.

First Kiss!  And then we were ready to party!

Rehearsing...

The day before the wedding and once again we had an early wake-up call as we had to be at the church for rehearsal before heading to a spectacular luncheon thrown by the groom's parents.  There isn't much to say about either other than the church was incredibly gorgeous, the food supremely tasty and the company unbeatable.  A great way to relax before tomorrow's big day.

Ready to learn their parts.

Pre-rehearsal selfies with the cousins.  I had to jump in.

Oh does she love these two (the bride and groom)

The tables were exquisitely set with flowers and delft china.

See what I mean about the great company?!

One quick snap with Stinkerbell as the kids had their own table and entertainment in another room.  Love those thoughtful touches!  And they made a bunch of crafts but this may be my favorite...

Cocktails and Cousins

After a day of touring all over the Netherlands (post here), we had just enough time to get back to the hotel, doll ourselves up and grab our Uber over to the next party.  It was an evening spent getting to know lots of new people, but also reconnecting with old friends.   Definitely a lot of fun was had by all, especially the younger cousins who spent their time chasing the waiters to see what they had on their trays...

Trying salmon caviar on a deviled egg.  The verdict - see the last photo.

The next generation of cousins.

The cutest photo bombers ever!

Passing the time (the party really was more of an adult thing).

The original Haarlem

About a 15-minute train ride outside of the city of Amsterdam, Haarlem is the center of tulip bulb growing for all of Holland (and may be the largest producer in the world but I could not find definitive proof, just hearsay).  We were not there to see the Tulips, as it is out of season anyway, but rather to see the sites.

Haarlem has a long and storied history, which I will not bore you with here, but I can give you the highlights.  Founded in 1245, burned to the ground in 1328, rebuilt,  burned in 1347 and again in 1351.  Then black death killed over half of the citizens in 1381.  It recovered and by the mid-1400s had a thriving textile and beer trade.  In 1572 the Spanish seized the city, and despite holding them off for 7 months, Haarlem fell.  Another great fire in 1576 (you would think they would have learned to use something other than wood to build) left a large portion of the city in ruins.  1577 marks the start of Haarlems Golden Age which lasted until the mid-1800s when things shifted towards Amsterdam, and the town became more of a bedroom community.  Today, the city is mostly families that commute to Amsterdam for work but enjoy the quiet life outside of the big city.

Fun fact:  Harlem, NY was originally a Dutch settlement founded in 1658 and originally spelled Haarlem.

Fun fact 2:  The story of the boy who saved the city by sticking his finger in the dyke is originally known as "The Hero of Haarlem."

We spent the day leisurely.  Wandering the streets and entering places we felt like seeing.  The weather turned on us, and we had to dodge a lot of raindrops in the afternoon, but we didn't mind as it gave us an excuse to sit down and drink some beer and do some window shopping.

The front of the Grote Markt (The Large Market)

Sint Bavokerk the central Roman Catholic Church in Haarlem.

This organ was played by Mozart himself.

The choir room which was built in 1370.

Where they used to put dogs that misbehaved in church.  We put Stinkerbell there when she was running around.

The Ten Boom Museum.  Similar to the Anne Frank house in that it is where a Christian Family hid a Jewish family during the war, we did not tour but have heard it is incredible.  Just make sure to get there early for the tour (about an hour ahead) as they only take 20 people each time and you can't reserve ahead.

Lunch was in a church converted to a brewery.  So many beers to choose from!

But of course, you can find Dog Beer in a beer town!  We thought of getting some for Dulce but didn't think it would make it home.

Haarlem was undoubtedly fun and new, but the rain finally chased us back to Amsterdam where we met up with family that was arriving into town for the wedding.  The festivities all started in the morning after all...