La Cantina

 The southern beaches! We haven't been here a lot yet, but now we're cycling the other direction than we normally do to go to La Cantina, the first of a long row of beach clubs located in these more quiet stretches of sand, hidden behind the dunes. The weather is amazing: suddenly, it's spring. The sky is clear blue and the temperature is very pleasant. La Cantina is an exact copy of its surroundings, painted in the pale yellow of the sand, and the light blue of the sea and the sky. Inside, white dominates, but the same yellow and blue are also present, as well as lots of flowers, Buddha statues and - somewhat randomly - large black and white pictures of rock legends who died at 27 (Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin).

Despite the lovely weather, Billie Stormzy is adamant about sitting inside. Not surprisingly, we're the only ones. A waiter comes to our table, and I ask for the menu - I don't need to study it long, as it's got a set breakfast on it that looks excellent (€12,50). I also order a pancake for Billie Stormzy (€8,-). Billie Stormzy is in a cheerful mood, all cuddles and laughs and jokes. My head is spinning - I came down with a severe flu last week and am still feeling decidedly bad, with a headache, a running nose, sour throat and aching muscles and joints. To make things worse, I was on the phone with helpdesks throughout most of the morning, to solve a problem with an airplane ticket I recently bought. It's not clear whether things are actually solved, but Billie Stormzy being so upbeat helps me to forget my woes for now. 

When the food is brought, Billie Sormzy is bouncing up and down with excitement. He wants powdered sugar on his large pancake, and eats it in its entirity within the blink of an eye. My breakfast is wholesome - in a way, nothing special, with yoghurt and muesli, a croissant, a small bread roll with raisins, two slices of bread, scrambled eggs, a slice of cheese and bits of fruit, but nicely put together, and it all tastes great. It comes with fresh orange juice and coffee, but I've replaced the latter with a cup of black tea. After finishing his pancake, Billie Stormzy moves on to my breakfast, asking for the olives - there aren't any, they are grapes, but those he wants as well. He has some scrambled eggs, too, and large chunks of the croissant on which I've put jam.  

We're the only ones sitting inside, but outside on the terraces it's surprisingly busy given that this is a regular weekday. On the sound system, soul music is playing, but very quietly.  Suddenly, Billie Stormzy points to the window: "There's the lighthouse!" he shouts, and indeed, from here you can just see one of the two small lighthouses guarding the entrance to the Scheveningen harbour, beyond the beach and the waves. When I've finished my breakfast, the waiter comes to collect the plates and cutlery. "Can we pay, please," Billie Stormzy says as if he is totally in control of the proceedings. The waiter smiles and tells him he'll get bill. "By card!" Billie Stormzy adds. "Very well," the waiter replies, "I'll get the card scanner too" . Soon afterwards his colleague arrives, and after I've told her to round the price up as a tip, she holds out the scanner. Billie Stormzy expertly pays and we get ready to leave. 

Also on Breakfast at the Beach: Jump back in time to when I visited this place with Rihanna Gaga in 2014