One of the better beach clubs to hang out when you have kids used to be Beachclub 57 at Scheveningen's northern beach. 57 was one of the most beautiful beach clubs, painted in a special kind of blue and with a mediterranean feel to it that seemed perfect for whiling away hot summer afternoons at the sea. It also had a large playground in the same whitewashed style as its furniture, a kind of chic kid's hangout that put much of the plastic crap of the other beach clubs to shame. However, 57 is no more. This summer, it has been replaced with Manta. From the outside, Manta distinghuishes itself immediately from 57 - where 57 was a striking kind of blue, Manta is a striking kind of soft green. Underwater green, one could say, befitting the name of the club. On the inside, however, not much has changed, although a kind of greenhouse has been added to the place. I am not sure how well-thought out the greenhouse is. On cold but sunny days, I can imagine it must be quite nice, but during hot summer days - such as today - it must be hell to work in the bar located inside of it.
Luckily, Manta also has a playground. Rihanna Gaga and me are not alone today, she's brought a friend from school. A girl that she's got good chemistry with, playing fantasy games about being sisters and living in a house on the beach. I read and enjoy the sun, while they play together.
Manta is not the first stop today. In the morning, we went to the Japanes garden of the Clingendael park together with my girlfriend, a strange Asian experience in the middle of a thoroughly Dutch landscape park. Now, we're having lunch at the beach and after that we will continue to the municipal museum of The Hague to participate in what is called 'family atelier' - the chance for children, along with their parents, to paint or otherwise be creative under the guidance of the museum staff.
I sit down on a large, wooden couch next to the playground. Rihanna Gaga and her friend immediately start climbing a wooden structure with slings and a slide. There's other kids there, but the girls do not really interact with them. They've found some plastic icecream cones, toys that are lying around and they start shouting: "Who wants some icecream?" Several people order icecream from them and they hand out sand icecreams to them.
When it is time to order, the girls take a chocolate milk and pancake each (5,50 per pancake), and I have a ginger tea (because they've run out of mint) and a shakshuka, a kind of Moroccan tajine omelette (8,-). When the drinks are brought, the girls have little time to drink - they need to get back to their icecream business. Then, unfortunately, Rihanna Gaga's friend has hurt her toe, so we need to get some band aid. We are handed a large blue one by one of the waitresses. Manta's personal is outstandingly friendly, something I already noticed when we ordered: the young men and women taking our orders and serving our drinks are all smiles and chatty. When we get back, our food is brought: two large pancakes for the girls and a deliciously smelling shakshuka for me, served with to slices of corn bread. It tastes nice too, although the description 'spicy' in the menu is a bit of an exaggeration: it has a nice mix of herbs, but they've gone very easy on the harissa (North African hot sauce). All in all, however, I'd say that the price and quality are well balanced at Manta.
It's been one and a half years since we've returned from Tunisia now, but Rihanna Gaga still prefers nutella on her pancakes - something that is hardly ever served in the Netherlands. Given the choice between syrup and powdered sugar, she choses the latter and her friend follows the example. Rihanna Gaga quickly finishes her pancake and asks for another one. I'm hesitant - I'm not sure she'll eat an entire second pancake and that would be a bit of a waste. Her friend, however, can't finish hers entirely, so Rihanna Gaga can have one third of that one. And that settles it.
We're all a bit drowsy. Despite it only being May, the weather is oppressively hot. I hardly have the energy to read and the girls seem a bit in an after lunch dip as well. They also run into a slightly aggressive boy who keeps lashing out at other kids in the playground. His parents half-heartedly correct them, but it is clear that their son hitting other children is not something they are terribly concerned about. Next to Manta, there is a strange empty space, before the next beach club: a bit of beach surrounded by a wooden fence that seems to belong to no one, although there are a few beach chairs of the same type as Manta has scattered around it. A middle aged man and woman have settled in this spot and are playing classic rock music quite loudly.
Maybe it is time to go. The girls, however, haven't forgotten that I promised them icecreams. "I'll go and ask the waiter!" Rihanna Gaga announces, to my surprise. Before, she could be decidedly timid, not enjoying talking to strangers at all. Something has definitely changed since we moved to our new house. There's several single men and women living around the courtyard next to our house, and Rihanna Gaga has learned to chat to people not belonging to her immediate family. This apparently pays off in social interaction with other people as well. Confidently, she walks up to the waiter and tells him she wants some icecream. "Shall I get you a rocket," the waiter asks and, catching my eye, checks with me for confirmation. I nod when Rihanna Gaga says "yes please" and he's off to get the girls their icecream.
While the girls are busy eating their rockets, dropping them in the sand and washing them in the toilet sink, I pay for our lunch. Then, it's time to escape the heat for a nice, airconditioned musuem.
Manta is not the first stop today. In the morning, we went to the Japanes garden of the Clingendael park together with my girlfriend, a strange Asian experience in the middle of a thoroughly Dutch landscape park. Now, we're having lunch at the beach and after that we will continue to the municipal museum of The Hague to participate in what is called 'family atelier' - the chance for children, along with their parents, to paint or otherwise be creative under the guidance of the museum staff.
I sit down on a large, wooden couch next to the playground. Rihanna Gaga and her friend immediately start climbing a wooden structure with slings and a slide. There's other kids there, but the girls do not really interact with them. They've found some plastic icecream cones, toys that are lying around and they start shouting: "Who wants some icecream?" Several people order icecream from them and they hand out sand icecreams to them.
When it is time to order, the girls take a chocolate milk and pancake each (5,50 per pancake), and I have a ginger tea (because they've run out of mint) and a shakshuka, a kind of Moroccan tajine omelette (8,-). When the drinks are brought, the girls have little time to drink - they need to get back to their icecream business. Then, unfortunately, Rihanna Gaga's friend has hurt her toe, so we need to get some band aid. We are handed a large blue one by one of the waitresses. Manta's personal is outstandingly friendly, something I already noticed when we ordered: the young men and women taking our orders and serving our drinks are all smiles and chatty. When we get back, our food is brought: two large pancakes for the girls and a deliciously smelling shakshuka for me, served with to slices of corn bread. It tastes nice too, although the description 'spicy' in the menu is a bit of an exaggeration: it has a nice mix of herbs, but they've gone very easy on the harissa (North African hot sauce). All in all, however, I'd say that the price and quality are well balanced at Manta.
It's been one and a half years since we've returned from Tunisia now, but Rihanna Gaga still prefers nutella on her pancakes - something that is hardly ever served in the Netherlands. Given the choice between syrup and powdered sugar, she choses the latter and her friend follows the example. Rihanna Gaga quickly finishes her pancake and asks for another one. I'm hesitant - I'm not sure she'll eat an entire second pancake and that would be a bit of a waste. Her friend, however, can't finish hers entirely, so Rihanna Gaga can have one third of that one. And that settles it.
We're all a bit drowsy. Despite it only being May, the weather is oppressively hot. I hardly have the energy to read and the girls seem a bit in an after lunch dip as well. They also run into a slightly aggressive boy who keeps lashing out at other kids in the playground. His parents half-heartedly correct them, but it is clear that their son hitting other children is not something they are terribly concerned about. Next to Manta, there is a strange empty space, before the next beach club: a bit of beach surrounded by a wooden fence that seems to belong to no one, although there are a few beach chairs of the same type as Manta has scattered around it. A middle aged man and woman have settled in this spot and are playing classic rock music quite loudly.
Maybe it is time to go. The girls, however, haven't forgotten that I promised them icecreams. "I'll go and ask the waiter!" Rihanna Gaga announces, to my surprise. Before, she could be decidedly timid, not enjoying talking to strangers at all. Something has definitely changed since we moved to our new house. There's several single men and women living around the courtyard next to our house, and Rihanna Gaga has learned to chat to people not belonging to her immediate family. This apparently pays off in social interaction with other people as well. Confidently, she walks up to the waiter and tells him she wants some icecream. "Shall I get you a rocket," the waiter asks and, catching my eye, checks with me for confirmation. I nod when Rihanna Gaga says "yes please" and he's off to get the girls their icecream.
While the girls are busy eating their rockets, dropping them in the sand and washing them in the toilet sink, I pay for our lunch. Then, it's time to escape the heat for a nice, airconditioned musuem.
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