Today, we visit beach club Copacabana, which happens to be my favourite place in Scheveningen. Both Rihanna Gaga and I are tired. We're coming straight from the doctor, where we've been because Rihanna Gaga has been ill since last Monday. She's actually not really ill anymore and the doctor has sort of declared her healthy again, so we have something to celebrate - but the sleep deprivation of the last week is taking its toll.
This is the first of our Monday mornings on which the weather is not particularly good. There's strong winds blowing over Scheveningen beach and the sky is quite cloudy. One of the reasons why I liked the idea of moving to Scheveningen is that I like the atmosphere of seaside resorts outside the summer season - a quietness that is filled with echoes of the busy summer months, and the same sort of feeling one gets when looking at a play from backstage, or seeing the wrong side of a carpet. And today, Scheveningen really is the typical seaside resort out of season.
We're the only ones at the beach club, but the fireplaces are lit and we sit down on a couch next to one of them. Soon we forget our gloominess. Rihanna Gaga tremendously enjoys the music, a nice blend of organic and electronic dance music with a strong Brazilian vibe. From where we sit, we look out over the windy beach and the high waves. The sky, which was quite dark when we walked here, has settled for large, bright white clouds against a deep blue background - the kind of sky one finds on classic Dutch paintings. Two kitesurfers are taking advantage of the strong winds. No matter what time of the year, surfers and kitesurfers will almost always take to the water in Scheveningen and the stretch of beach to the left of Copacabana is a favourite with kitesurfers.
Although Copacabana does not have the in-your-face decoration, full of carved wood, buddha statues or bling, that can be found in many of the other beach clubs, it looks very good. The entire decor is executed in tones of yellow, orange, blue and brown, that blend almost naturally with the colours of the sea and the beach. The design of the building is remarkable as well: a large hall, crowned by wooden beams and big lamps made of woven reed baskets, with windows looking to all sides. It's difficult to imagine that this building is only temporary and will be taken apart again in October, to be stored until March.
For €9,90, Copacabana serves a gargantuan breakfast, with two thick slices of cornbread, salad, cheese, a croissant, jam and other things to put on one's bread, stir fried eggs and fresh orange juice. For €1,90 extra, the rosbif is replaced with a generous amount of smoked salmon. Besides the breakfast with salmon, I order an extra smoothie for Rihanna Gaga and a mint tea for myself. All of it arrives quickly and last week's problems are forgotten by the time we've worked our way through the tasty food.
The excellent value for money, as proven by this breakfast, is one of the reasons why I like Copacabana so much. But there are many more things to like, such as the incredibly friendly personel and the great cocktails. In fact, as far as I know, Copacabana serves the best pina colada in Scheveningen - but I have to admit that I have not tasted them all. For a moment I consider turning this breakfast project into a pina colada project and visit a beach club each week to sample their version of my favourite cocktail. I decide, however, to stick with breakfast - it seems more fitting for the Monday morning.
Rihanna Gaga is in a very good mood. The wide couch in front of the fireplace gives her lots of space to crawl around as much as she likes and she's particularly pleased with the colourful menu. She's recently discovered the fun of books and magazines and loves to leaf through them and the menu has her full attention for quite a while. Her mood gets even better when an elderly couple arrives, which gives her the opportunity to display her waving skills. She proceeds to do so for a long time. To her great satisfaction, the couple is very responsive and a good time was had by all.
All this is very demanding, of coursee. Within seconds after I've put her in her stroller upon leaving, she's fast asleep. I'm told that the salmon is on the house today, so that I only have to pay the regular price for the breakfast, which adds to what was already a very pleasant breakfast.
This is the first of our Monday mornings on which the weather is not particularly good. There's strong winds blowing over Scheveningen beach and the sky is quite cloudy. One of the reasons why I liked the idea of moving to Scheveningen is that I like the atmosphere of seaside resorts outside the summer season - a quietness that is filled with echoes of the busy summer months, and the same sort of feeling one gets when looking at a play from backstage, or seeing the wrong side of a carpet. And today, Scheveningen really is the typical seaside resort out of season.
We're the only ones at the beach club, but the fireplaces are lit and we sit down on a couch next to one of them. Soon we forget our gloominess. Rihanna Gaga tremendously enjoys the music, a nice blend of organic and electronic dance music with a strong Brazilian vibe. From where we sit, we look out over the windy beach and the high waves. The sky, which was quite dark when we walked here, has settled for large, bright white clouds against a deep blue background - the kind of sky one finds on classic Dutch paintings. Two kitesurfers are taking advantage of the strong winds. No matter what time of the year, surfers and kitesurfers will almost always take to the water in Scheveningen and the stretch of beach to the left of Copacabana is a favourite with kitesurfers.
Although Copacabana does not have the in-your-face decoration, full of carved wood, buddha statues or bling, that can be found in many of the other beach clubs, it looks very good. The entire decor is executed in tones of yellow, orange, blue and brown, that blend almost naturally with the colours of the sea and the beach. The design of the building is remarkable as well: a large hall, crowned by wooden beams and big lamps made of woven reed baskets, with windows looking to all sides. It's difficult to imagine that this building is only temporary and will be taken apart again in October, to be stored until March.
For €9,90, Copacabana serves a gargantuan breakfast, with two thick slices of cornbread, salad, cheese, a croissant, jam and other things to put on one's bread, stir fried eggs and fresh orange juice. For €1,90 extra, the rosbif is replaced with a generous amount of smoked salmon. Besides the breakfast with salmon, I order an extra smoothie for Rihanna Gaga and a mint tea for myself. All of it arrives quickly and last week's problems are forgotten by the time we've worked our way through the tasty food.
The excellent value for money, as proven by this breakfast, is one of the reasons why I like Copacabana so much. But there are many more things to like, such as the incredibly friendly personel and the great cocktails. In fact, as far as I know, Copacabana serves the best pina colada in Scheveningen - but I have to admit that I have not tasted them all. For a moment I consider turning this breakfast project into a pina colada project and visit a beach club each week to sample their version of my favourite cocktail. I decide, however, to stick with breakfast - it seems more fitting for the Monday morning.
Rihanna Gaga is in a very good mood. The wide couch in front of the fireplace gives her lots of space to crawl around as much as she likes and she's particularly pleased with the colourful menu. She's recently discovered the fun of books and magazines and loves to leaf through them and the menu has her full attention for quite a while. Her mood gets even better when an elderly couple arrives, which gives her the opportunity to display her waving skills. She proceeds to do so for a long time. To her great satisfaction, the couple is very responsive and a good time was had by all. All this is very demanding, of coursee. Within seconds after I've put her in her stroller upon leaving, she's fast asleep. I'm told that the salmon is on the house today, so that I only have to pay the regular price for the breakfast, which adds to what was already a very pleasant breakfast.
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