Elbully Tapasbar & Grill

Close to the Pier, a large plastic statue of a bull on its roof, and a rather nondescript terrace, Elbully never really seemed an obvious choice to visit. So much so that, after having visited nearly all beach  clubs on the Scheveningen beach, we've never been here before. It must be said: it has certainly got the Spanish vibe well integrated in its interior: its wooden walls, covered in Spanish parephernalia, give the beach club a feel of a cozy Spanish restaurant. Outside, the tables are painted yellow and red, but beyond that, the Spanish feel is sort of gone, there. As it is on the stereo, where a string of middle of the road hits is playing, seemingly randomly.

It's Wednesday afternoon. Rihanna Gaga is going to school on Mondays nowadays, as well as on Tuesdays and Fridays. We still keep her with us on Wednesdays and Thursdays, since she's not particularly fond of school yet - she still cries in the morning when we leave her there. As with everything that has to do with raising children, everbody is suddenly an expert, and I have colleagues advising me to bring her to school every day because she will apparently sooner integrate if we do so. However, that doesn't feel like the right solution for now.

And anyway, when would we have our brunches then? I prefer them to have them on weekdays, because I believe that it's on a Monday morning that a restaurant shows its true colours and if Mondays are not available, I'd prefer any other weekday. In a year, it won't be up to us to choose anymore: after children turn five years old, they have to go to school every day. So maybe it is a good thing to enjoy it while it lasts. So here we are, it's a lovely sunny afternoon in late September. Although Rihanna Gaga hasn't gone to school today, we pass by her school before we head to the beach, to pick up a classmate of her and his mother who are joining us today. Before that, we went to the city to do some shopping: I took Rihanna Gaga to the Zara to buy some clothes, because she hasn't enough trousers and I also wanted to give her some clothes that have a bit of a sharper edge than the rather frilly dresses that she gets from her grandmothers (who take care of most of her wardrobe). She picked a shirt with a skull on it and another with dinosaurs, so that mission was certainly accomplished.

We sit down at a table outside and check out the promising menu: lots of tapas and other good looking Spanish specialities. Unfortunately, when I order a tapas menu for two persons, the waiter tells me rather bluntly that the tapas - which are not only announced on the menu, but also advertised at the entrance on the boulevard - are not available because they are closing in a week time. Basically, only two or three sandwiches can be picked. I consider telling him it's better to let customers know this beforehand, so that they can revise their choice, but decide to let it go. I order a sandwich with shrimps and salmon, while the mother of Rihanna Gaga's friend takes a ham-cheese sandwich.

Meanwhile, Rihanna Gaga and her friend are clearly in different states of mind. Not having gone to school today, Rihanna Gaga is active and ready to play. Her friend, however, needs some time to unwind and no matter how she tries to convince him to come with her to the beach, he prefers to sit around at the table. When he gets up to look around for a bit, he is rather shocked to find that half of the table is not fitted correctly and falls off. We put the plank back in place and turn the table around so that he can lean on it instead. It seems the end of season is really approaching for this beach club.

Food is brought and the sandwiches are as bland as the music that is being played. Mine lacks any salmon except one or two flakes that feel out of place among the abundance of shrimps. It doesn't matter to Rihanna Gaga and her friend, with whom I share a fair amount of shrimps. Then, the children finally decide to go to the beach while we parents chat for a while. It's nice that today has such an easy pace. My girlfriend is in Palestine for work this week and although I don't mind taking care of my daughter, I do find that it's slightly more demanding to take care of a child on your own. It's very much a strict routine of waking up, bringing Rihanna Gaga to school, travel to work, make sure I do the necessary shopping during my lunchbreak, pick up Rihanna Gaga from her after-school, dinner, cleaning up, preparing for the next day. There's little time for myself this way.

The children have found a pile of garbage - plastic cups, dead plants and cigarette buts - under the sand and are now busy digging a hole to put all of the garbage back under the sand. I make a mental note that they need to wash their hands before we leave, but apart from that, I decide to just let it go. Cleanliness kills fun - and they are certainly having fun. The sandwich has left me a bit hungry and after a while, I order a cheesecake that comes with icecream and tell the children to come and eat it with me - but  first we need to wash their hands, I tell them. We do so and then we share the cheesecake and icecream. The little boy has already visited us a few days ago, and the week before that, we took Rihanna Gaga to visit him, so they're quite used to each other.

Despite the nice weather, it's quiet at Elbully's terrace. The children are bored with playing with the garbage and keep coming back to ask me to join them. I tell them I will do so when my tea is finished, but they clearly have lost patience. I pay and then we walk to the sea, where they will take off their trousers to run around in the water