Field Trip!

Happy Koninginnedag!

Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands

It's Queen's Day in the Netherlands on the same week we just have to be studying about them!!  Isn't that a wonderful coincidence!!  Now we got to celebrate a great new holiday!  April 30th is Queen Mother Juliana's birthday and is an annual public holiday in the Netherlands.  The current reigning Queen Beatrix continues the tradition in April (even though her birthday is in January) and the whole country has a grand outdoor party.  There are dances and concerts, flea markets called vrijmarkt, and feasts.  The official color of the Netherlands is orange, and like St. Patrick's Day in Ireland, there is orange food, orange clothes, orange drink, etc. etc.


The Dutch culture in San Francisco is apparently going strong because they had quite a rockin' little festival going on today in beautiful Golden Gate Park, in the shadow of a HUGE windmill!!! Does it get any better?  Oh, yeah it does :)  Check out the fun we had...

Food! Next pic shows one of each :)
There were lots of food booths selling cookies, cakes and candies also!








They were pretty yummy!

Games for the kids!!

Cheek Flags!

 

People actually wearing wooden shoes!

 

 
Dutch art masterpieces!  Here is my daughter as The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Johannes Vermeer

And also as the Queen! (The King looks like quite a catch!)

 

 

The windmill actually works!  And look at the size of the cheese!

 

 

There was a beer garden

and a real garden with GIANT CARROTS!

My son enjoyed the really big shoe :)

 

and my daughter won some really tiny ones at the games!

We had a blast and really felt like we had immersed ourselves in the Netherlands!  Once again I am so thankful that I started this blog because we are finding so many wonderful activities while learning about the wonderful world we share!! 

Oh yeah, the had a small vrijmarkt (flea market) and this is what the kids (and I) bought!  It's so AWESOME!!! 
I just wish we had it before we did Egypt week :)