A getaway to a place where Orange rules

To celebrate my one-month-living-in-Paris anniversary, I decided to take a short trip and get out of town. Now, isn't she a weird person, everyone thinks. Why would anyone who's still new to Paris want to get out of town and visit other places? Well, alright, so here's the official answer: it's another one of those no-classes-Friday-and-Monday-what-do-you-do-with-all-the-time sort of long weekend. I've let two of those slip by without doing much, well, not doing much outside of Paris, that is.  If you want to know the other "unofficial" reason, which warrants a whole new post in and of itself, send me an email.
(click on post title for more)
So I looked online and booked a roundtrip ticket on this:

and took a very smooth and comfy three-and-a-half hour ride

...and, by the way, if it was your first time taking a train in France, don't ever forget to validate your tickets before boarding the train - they're not really explicit about this, much like most things in France where you either have to be a local to know, or learn the hard way, but do remember to have your tickets stamped by this machine just before you board for each leg of the trip

I don't have any pictures of the vast countryside, rolling hills or quaint little French villages that we would have passed by - I was sound asleep and when I woke up, I found myself here

....in the land of windmills - although I've only seen a real one so far, not counting all those tiny refrigerator magnets at the souvenir stores, of course.
It was extremely hot when I arrived and I was nauseated, probably from the heat and dehydration. I wished I could do this

Despite the heat, I wasn't going to spend the time in my hotel room and miss all that the city has to offer!

the entire city is surrounded by water

and canals. Truly picturesque.

The city is truly international, and by that I mean English - good English -  is spoken everywhere. I discovered, much to my delight, that air conditioning is "in" here! The a/c in my hotel room works so well that it felt like I was stepping into winter when I got back last night! All the stores here have a/c, including fast food eateries

which is probably not a good thing altogether because shopping in stores then becomes so pleasurable and there's no urgent sense to just get what you need and leave!

I'm loving this place......everything's in my favorite color!!

.....even the pastries!

the city is high on World Cup fever......

.....and everything orange, of course

Well, I think Gouda cheese is more on the yellow side. What do you reckon?

I took some time to explore the narow alleys and off-the-beaten path canals

the people here have a very laid-back and carefree spirit about them.....

They are also advanced and ahead of time. Do you know that:

but their Amaryllises are already blooming?! 

I had an authentic Indonesian meal last evening - actually it was more than a meal, it was a feast! Indonesia was once ruled by the Dutch but now the cuisine dominates the food scene in this city 

I know what you're all thinking - such a glutton! Indonesian Rijsttafel or rice table and they weren't kidding about the table part; they do really fill the entire table with food!  I was shocked by the amount but tried to sampled a little bit of everything that was laid before me. It was good, but quite different compared to the Indonesian food I've tried back in Asia. A refreshing and much-needed change from butter and food cooked with butter, nonetheless!

After the feast, I wanted very much to just do this....... 

.....but thank goodness, I had to walk back to the hotel. More to come.....