Saturday lemonade

Bright and early Saturday morning, Marlon and I set off for the Vondelpark to join a beginners' running group that I had signed us up for. I was thrilled at the prospect of meeting new people and making running, a rather detested activity of mine, more fun and exciting. Having roughly sketched out a route on 9292ov and Google Maps, I thought we were set.

But no. It was not to be. My excitement turned into horror as I realized the route we had taken was one. Big. Circle. A circle that led back to our neighborhood. Yep, we got lost. Hopelessly lost. And there was no way we could figure out a new route and make it to Vondelpark in time. 

"Let's just go home, eat popcorn, and watch a movie," suggested Marlon, in an attempt to cheer me up. (Prime example of the kind of activity that has gotten us into this shape.) So we hopped on Tram 24 back to our house... until I realized it was the same tram that takes me to Albert Cuypmarkt every week. Marlon, who loves markets, food and cooking, had never been there, so... "Why don't we take this tram all the way to the market?" He thought it was a great idea. Go me!

So we spent Saturday morning walking around the market, and it felt like the best thing ever. Half of Amsterdam seemed to agree, judging from all the Saturday shoppers milling about in the sunshine. No mall zombies here—everything looked and felt so alive, and both our moods were instantly transformed. Marlon was overjoyed to finally find the butcher, and bought pork chops and a whole lamb shoulder to roast that weekend. (It's the first time we've had red meat at home since we moved!)

Aside from the food stalls, Albert Cuypmarkt also has a few furniture and lighting stores. I usually ignore these stores when I go on my weekly market runs, because it would just be more fun to have Marlon around. We finally got to go into some of them, and found...

... a low, comfy gray armchair that's exactly the kind of thing I want for the living room...

... a small sparkly chandelier that would look nice in the bedroom...

... and beautiful silver filigree lamps that we could picture in the hallway or living room. Pero surprise! We didn't buy anything. Canvassing muna. I feel like such an adult when I can resist a strong impulse to buy!

Marlon indulged me in a little window shopping while he sat outside... kinda like this gigantic terrier (how's that for a segue?). It was exactly like a normal terrier except it was about the size of an Akita. I've never seen those before.

We stopped for appeltarts (a.k.a. good ol' apple pie) and cappuccinos at a corner cafe called Flamingo. Across the street was another cafe with a huge crowd—not because it was any better, but because the sun was shining there. "I bet all the people move over here after lunch, when the sun shifts position," I remarked, a guess confirmed by the barista.

Before we hopped back on the tram home, Marlon bought me an armful of pink carnations (which you've seen in a previous post). "Lemons into lemonade," he remarked on our way home. "What a way to turn this morning around."