Naturel

Naturel has a very English beach look and feel to it. It's all whitewashed furniture, with books on bookshelves and elegantly arched beams. There's lots of plants around, small trees in pots and lush flowers hanging from the ceiling. The atmosphere is laid back - Naturel clearly wants to present itself as a place you come to get away from it all. Outside, there's large king sized beds for sun worshippers and lots of small secluded nooks and crannies where you can sit down to read a bit, or just enjoy the view on the beach and, beyond that, the sea. In the background, old rock and roll songs from the fifties are playing.

That secluded feeling is fitting, considering Naturel's location: quite a distance away from where most of the beach clubs on the Northern beach are. After cycling to the far end of the northern beach, Rihanna Gaga and I still needed to walk for a considerable bit to get here. Rihanna Gaga, however, didn't complain. She was busy looking for shells in the sand - she has a specific preference for the really tiny ones - and dropping drops of water on the sand from a little bottle that she's carrying. She's being a little scientist, fascinated by how the drops create a little speck of mud, that she can then move over the dry sand. Although the day started out cloudy, and there are still lots of clouds in the sky, it is now mostly sunny - and will remain so during our stay on the beach. There's a few sunbathers in the buff around, as Natural is located on the nudist beach - and among its house rules is a strict prohibition on entering the beach club naked.

When we arrive at Naturel, we sit down on one of the large beds. Rihanna Gaga curls up and closes her eyes, telling me it's nice and comfy. I lie down next to her and we cuddle. Today is a very special day: her first day at school. Because she's still getting used to going to school, she's only been there in the morning. When we brought her, she seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the noise and children and parents, but there was one thing to look forward to: one of her best friends is also at this school and she made sure she kept the place next to her free for that friend. When we returned to pick her up at noon, she was still holding the hand of that friend very tightly. She seems, however, to have enjoyed her ours spent at school: on our way here, she told me what the teacher did and what games they played. And when I ask her if she's looking forward to going back tomorrow, she nods - although it is clear she still needs to get used to it all. To be honest, I was a bit overwhelmed when I had to leave her there as well. I'm not sure why - after all, she's been going to daycare since she was three months old - but I was a bit teary-eyed, lump in throat and all that.

The friendly young waitress takes our order. I take a Naturel burger (€9,50) and for Rihanna Gaga I order a sandwich with sweet potato-hummus with a boiled egg (€7,50). Beside that, I take a tea and Rihanna Gaga has an apple juice. However, after the food is brought by a cheerful surfer dude, Rihanna Gaga contents herself with the bread roll from my burger and the boiled egg, leaving the rest to me. While I eat, she lies down again, chilling and munching on my bread roll. Then, she plays with some toys that we brought along: a rubber ducky, mouse and fish that she sends on a series of adventures, including building a house and going to an island together. Around us, a few regulars are lounging in swimming trousers and bikines, including the guy who earlier brought our food, who is tapping away on a laptop while working on his tan.

The food is good: the burger is especially tasty, albeit a bit small considering the price, and the sweet potato-hummus is an interesting dish, that I am sure Rihanna Gaga would really enjoy if she weren't so stubbornly set on refusing to eat it. Then, she tells me she really wants to go and build a sandcastle. I agree, but first we need to pay. The rest of our afternoon will be spend digging in the sand.