Colorful Leiden Boat Parade...

 Many boats had a theme such as fairy tales...

 ...gay pride...

 ...famous people...

...and emojis. Can’t help but wonder if this young girl was flattered or insulted that she was chosen to be the poop emoji at the front of the boat?

After they have completed the route, most of the boats tie up to party together, which always makes for more photo ops. 

Leiden Boat Parade...

Jimmy was in the UK for some meetings and to help Veronica move her stuff into storage for the summer, so he wasn’t able to join me for the Leiden Boat Parade. Ashley, an American hasher doing her Master’s at Leiden University, was happy to join me in experiencing this annual event.

We sat in our usual spot that allows the added enjoyment of seeing how the boats pass under a low bridge. This clown car clearly did a great job...

...getting their robot to duck.

And these Vikings did a fine job of making sure their mast and horns didn’t get stuck.

It’s not everyday that you see an actual car used as a boat.

A Heineken boat was giving away free beers, but passed us up. 

Another boat got a special delivery of Heineken from the bridge.

Viktor & Rolf 25th Anniversary Exhibition...

Just by chance, I happened to see a flyer at Vessel 11 for the Viktor & Rolf 25th Anniversary Exhibition at the Kunstal. Nine years earlier, Darlene had accompanied me to an exhibition of these Dutch designers’ work, so it was fitting that we would go to this retrospective together.

On special loan was the wedding gown that Viktor & Rolf designed in 2004 for Princess Mabel’s marriage to Dutch Prince Friso.

Most of the exhibit was much more radical and clearly less wearable...

...although much of their work is called “wearable art.” 

 This piece is literally wearable art with the frame included.

It was a fun way for me and Darlene to spend some time together.

Darlene Visits...

I was thrilled to be able to spend some time with Darlene and Mike when they visited Holland for a few days on their way to a river cruise in Portugal. I spent time with the both of them in The Hague and in Wassenaar...

...and then Darlene and I spent an afternoon in Rotterdam on our own while Mike visited with some ex-colleagues. 

We stopped to watch an amazing musician playing the new piano in Rotterdam Centraal.

We walked through the Markt Hall and then had lunch on an outside deck on Vessel 11.

Eventually we made our way to the Kunsthal to see a fashion exhibit. It was interesting to see the finished mural that I saw being painted on my previous visit to the museum.

A Fox in the Park?

As silly as this sounds, at first glance I thought somehow I’d managed to capture a shot of a fox when I finally saw this image months later (embarrassing to admit, but it’s normal for me to be about three months behind in editing my photos).

It was a beautiful day so I brought my camera along when Ashlynn joined Kati and me for a walk through our local park as a diversion from all her crazy studying for her A-Level exams. 

World Championship of Sand Sculpting...

Each summer sculptures are displayed on the Lange Voorhout in The Hague. For the first time, the city hosted the World Championship of Sand Sculpting, which is held every three years. Eight international artists worked from June 4–12 to complete their large sculptures before the judging; the completed works were then displayed until mid-August.

This particular sculpture was extra intriguing because of the bullet in the middle of the strategically placed hole.

 This one looked very different from every angle.

 I thought this was the most beautiful.

 This geisha came in second place.

At first glance I was surprised that The Flying Steamroller won first place, but on closer inspection I saw how an optical illusion made it look like it was floating above the sand. Technically, only sand is allowed as material, but the British artist made a good argument that mirror is made of glass which is made of sand.

On our walk back to Den Haag Centraal we came across this temporary beach hut built in front of the Royal Theatre to celebrate the current show. Of course, we couldn’t resist climbing up the rickety stairs to enjoy a drink from the terrace.

A Rocky Horror Engagement Party...

When Skye had us over for dinner to meet his finance Amir, somehow we ended up talking about how fun it would be to have a Rocky Horror Picture Show party. Next thing we knew, he was discussing dates and costume ideas with us. As you can see, he took the part of Frank-N-Furter very seriously. 

Amir, on the other hand, didn’t take it seriously as he merely wore a wig and a hat. It was hard to call him a party pooper though as he cooked most of the food; there was a huge assortment and everything was really delicious.

Hashers don’t need much of an excuse to wear a costume, but with the exception of a few ladies, the non-hashers didn’t dress up.

Jimmy thought about just wearing a pair of tighty-whities so he could be Brad or a bra and slip to be Janet, but ended up borrowing this crazy wig and wore a party dress instead.

Skye enjoyed starring in photos on his rooftop terrace, while Amir opted out.

After dinner, we crammed into the living room and watched the movie complete with dancing to The Time Warp.