Today is the first time we will have breakfast at Scheveningen's northern beach. As we make our way there, it is difficult to push Rihanna Gaga's stroller through the large amount of sand that has gathered on the concrete path. "Sandstorm?" I ask the waiter of Patagonia Beach Club, the first beach club of the Northern beach, who is sweeping the sand away. He laughs and then tells me that they have to do this every morning and adds: "imagine what it is like if there's really been a sandstorm!"
Indeed. Patagonia, beautiful as it looks, isn't our destination, though. Today, we have decided to visit one of the most visually striking beach clubs around here, Beachclub 57. While walking along the path that connects the beach clubs, it is impossible not to notice Beachclub 57: it it painted in an amazing kind of blue of an almost lavender-like quality, that immediately reminds one of southern France. In fact, the whole beach club just oozes the atmosphere of the French Riviera in the fifties, with its whitewashed furniture and waiters walking around in white polo shirts with the logo of the beach club on them. This creates a pleasant tranquil, exclusive atmosphere, that is, however, a bit disturbed by the black Coca Cola Zero parasols that are quite dissonant with the rest of the look.
Lying on the pink, beige and grey pillows facing the see, one quickly forgets these black monstrosities, though. Because the couches are positioned in such a way that a series of private niches is created, Beachclub 57 has a very cozy feeling to it, despite the fact that it is huge. Rihanna Gaga is initially a bit grumpy that I won't allow her to crawl on the floor (somehow, she always finds a cigarett butt or some other disgusting thing she immediately puts in her mouth, so I have decided against this), but pretty soon she seems to be enjoying herself.
This is not because of the music, which is a blend of pop ballads and old school r 'n b. It almost reminds me of terrible middle-of-the-road music station Sky Radio, but it is still pleasant enough together with the sand and sea on a sunny early Monday morning in May. Rihanna Gaga, however, couldn't care less than she does about this kind of music. In fact, 50s and 60s lounge music would be more suitable here, but I doubt whether she would prefer that. What really has her in a good mood, though, is the fact that the couch is perfect for practising standing upright, which she has developed a taste for over the past few weeks.
There is no set breakfast, so I decide to order bread with scrambled eggs and cheese for €7,50. Although that price seems a bit steep (which is at odds with the otherwise very reasonable price list), it is still okay value considering the huge portion that is served after a little while. The waiters are professional, quick and friendly - in fact, exactly what one would expect from a beach club that looks as smooth as this one does - and service is good.
At first, we are the only visitors, apart from a young family that sits down next to the playground at the edge of the beach club. I shortly consider moving over to where they are sitting: Rihanna Gaga would love to watch their two young children playing. However, the children are quite a bit older than she is and might not care much for her. Her day is made, however, when another family with a one year old daughter arrives. She immediately tries to get the attention of the girl running around the terrace, but is not really successful at first. She doesn't really care: only the sight of a young child running around is already a great source of amusement for her. She's always loved to watch other children play and run around. Maybe this is because she has gone to daycare since she was three months old, but I also think this is just her character. When she finally does get the girl's attention, she spends a good deal of the rest of the time waving enthusiastically at her, while I chat with the girl's father about all things concerning babies. He's amazed, looking at nine and a half months old Rihanna Gaga, how much his daughter (who is now twelve months) changed over the last three months. I know the feeling: whenever I look at younger babies, I always find it hard to imagine that my own baby was once like that.
We walk home over the boulevard, which by now has become quite busy with tourists and people on a day trip. May 5 is liberation day, a day off for many people, and the wonderful weather seems to have drawn many to the seaside. After a while, I hear a child shouting behind me. A little boy with a quasi mohawk, about four years old, comes running after us, crying: "I think the baby dropped this!" Indeed, it is one of Rihanna Gaga's shoes. She hates socks, which she immediatel pulls off whenever we put it on her. As a solution, we have started to put shoes on, but apparently she has now figured out how to get these off as well. I thank the sweet little boy and continue our walk. A few hours later, during a visit to the Keukenhof together with my girlfriend and a friend and her daughter, she again manages to get rid of one shoe: for good, this time, as it can't be found anywhere anymore.
Indeed. Patagonia, beautiful as it looks, isn't our destination, though. Today, we have decided to visit one of the most visually striking beach clubs around here, Beachclub 57. While walking along the path that connects the beach clubs, it is impossible not to notice Beachclub 57: it it painted in an amazing kind of blue of an almost lavender-like quality, that immediately reminds one of southern France. In fact, the whole beach club just oozes the atmosphere of the French Riviera in the fifties, with its whitewashed furniture and waiters walking around in white polo shirts with the logo of the beach club on them. This creates a pleasant tranquil, exclusive atmosphere, that is, however, a bit disturbed by the black Coca Cola Zero parasols that are quite dissonant with the rest of the look.
Lying on the pink, beige and grey pillows facing the see, one quickly forgets these black monstrosities, though. Because the couches are positioned in such a way that a series of private niches is created, Beachclub 57 has a very cozy feeling to it, despite the fact that it is huge. Rihanna Gaga is initially a bit grumpy that I won't allow her to crawl on the floor (somehow, she always finds a cigarett butt or some other disgusting thing she immediately puts in her mouth, so I have decided against this), but pretty soon she seems to be enjoying herself.
This is not because of the music, which is a blend of pop ballads and old school r 'n b. It almost reminds me of terrible middle-of-the-road music station Sky Radio, but it is still pleasant enough together with the sand and sea on a sunny early Monday morning in May. Rihanna Gaga, however, couldn't care less than she does about this kind of music. In fact, 50s and 60s lounge music would be more suitable here, but I doubt whether she would prefer that. What really has her in a good mood, though, is the fact that the couch is perfect for practising standing upright, which she has developed a taste for over the past few weeks.
At first, we are the only visitors, apart from a young family that sits down next to the playground at the edge of the beach club. I shortly consider moving over to where they are sitting: Rihanna Gaga would love to watch their two young children playing. However, the children are quite a bit older than she is and might not care much for her. Her day is made, however, when another family with a one year old daughter arrives. She immediately tries to get the attention of the girl running around the terrace, but is not really successful at first. She doesn't really care: only the sight of a young child running around is already a great source of amusement for her. She's always loved to watch other children play and run around. Maybe this is because she has gone to daycare since she was three months old, but I also think this is just her character. When she finally does get the girl's attention, she spends a good deal of the rest of the time waving enthusiastically at her, while I chat with the girl's father about all things concerning babies. He's amazed, looking at nine and a half months old Rihanna Gaga, how much his daughter (who is now twelve months) changed over the last three months. I know the feeling: whenever I look at younger babies, I always find it hard to imagine that my own baby was once like that.
We walk home over the boulevard, which by now has become quite busy with tourists and people on a day trip. May 5 is liberation day, a day off for many people, and the wonderful weather seems to have drawn many to the seaside. After a while, I hear a child shouting behind me. A little boy with a quasi mohawk, about four years old, comes running after us, crying: "I think the baby dropped this!" Indeed, it is one of Rihanna Gaga's shoes. She hates socks, which she immediatel pulls off whenever we put it on her. As a solution, we have started to put shoes on, but apparently she has now figured out how to get these off as well. I thank the sweet little boy and continue our walk. A few hours later, during a visit to the Keukenhof together with my girlfriend and a friend and her daughter, she again manages to get rid of one shoe: for good, this time, as it can't be found anywhere anymore.
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