Planning a secret birthday surprise for my husband @ezzy, I decided to take him to Rotterdam and visit his best buddy @exyle.
For those who don't already known, we met @exyle at the very first Steemfest last year and fast became very good friends in the “real” world ever since. A few months ago, @exyle and his lovely girlfriend @bkdbkd came to visit us in London and we ended up spending an amazing time together.
We had never been to Rotterdam, so really looked forward to checking out this beautiful city. Though meeting with @exyle and @bkdbkd will always be the main highlights of the trip!
The Flight
On Saturday, we had a very early start at 4am for a long drive to Luton Airport and catch our Easyjet flight at 8am. The temperature at the time was really cold but soon after, we had a very welcome surprise in the form of a giant rainbow right next to our orange plane!
The flight was actually just less than an hour. We arrived at Amsterdam Airport (otherwise known as Schiphol) and it was massive. There is a section of a real Dutch KLM plane on display at the airport for people to visit and take photos next too. How unique is that?
@exyle and @bkdbkd were kind enough to pick us and so, after eventually locating them at the other end of the airport, we all drove back to his hometown of Rotterdam. I still consider that a really sweet gesture from them both.
The weather in the Netherlands was more or less the same as London. Probably one or two degree less and quite windy. The drive into Rotterdam was pretty wonderful. I really enjoyed the scenery as we passed a large river, some lush fields and a couple of small farms, complete with little lambs. And of course, we came across the occasionally some windmill. Some the traditional type as well as the newer modern varieties. I was so happy that just after the awesome Steemfest 2, we were about to enjoy another fantastic short trip away.
Lunch at Hanos
@exyle took us to one of his favourite stores called Hanos and we had lunch there.
Hanos is a massive wholesale store which consists of two spacious floors with a very modernised appearance. They offer a wide range of fresh food and beverages, as well as all sorts of state-of-the-art homeware ranges. The variety and quality of their stuff are very impressive. They actually cater for restaurants so their merchandise is definitely top end.
We sat down at the quaint little restaurant area situated inside the store. It featured nice decor (actually designed from everything sold in-store) and was very pretty indeed. Full of festival spirit with Christmas being just around the corner after all, lol.
I opted for the pan fried sea bass and guess what @ezzy went for? Burger and chips, of course! I have to say the standard of food served here really hit the mark. Plus I was really hungry, lol. All in all, very delicious and satisfying.
Super Market Tour
After food, we made our way to the local super market to get some vegetable and fruits for tonight’s “Green Egg” barbecue party.
It was my first time ever seeing the "yellow" carrot and "purple" carrot. All my life, I had only ever known of the "orange" kind. This is definitely new to me!
@bkdbkd revealled to me an interesting fact that your everyday orange carrot was developed by Dutch growers in the 16th century to honour their Royal Family, the House of Orange. That was very interesting with the effects having such a global reach.
I also noticed that in Western Europe, most of the supermarkets have self-service automatic juicers. Such a simply way to make some genuine freshly squeezed juice in just under 15 seconds, then bottled and ready to take away with you. That is something I wish we had in London.
Green Egg Party
Arriving at @exyle’s place, it was so spacious and very homely! @bkdbkd even put up some little decorations for @ezzy’s birthday. How very thoughtful they are!
So after a brief rest, we began the night with an amazing barbecue, courtesy of @exyle.
I finally laid eyes on the famous “Green Egg”, lol. If you follow @exyle’s blog, you will know that he uses this fantastic device to cook food on an almost daily basis.
The Green Egg is a ceramic cooker encasing a charcoal-filled stove. Not unlike a normal barbecuing tool. But the food results and its versatile cooking options make it very popular despite the high price. It comes in various sizes but the one @exyle purchased is definitely the best one given his personal requirements..
@exyle was very exciting to show us how it works! He firstly lighted the charcoal and left the lid open for about ten minutes. As the caught fire, he closed the lid shut and waited. There is a temperature dial on the outside to indicate when you are "ready to rock". You can also adjust the air vents at the top and near the bottom to finetune the heat accordingly. After this step, everything seemed quite straight forward. Just add in the meat and vegetable. Most of the cooking is conducted with the lid down.
We loved the food from this awesome charcoal grill. It also helped that @exyle is such an excellent cook! The beef steak he made was simply out of this world. The surface layer was cooked with a high temperature so it was crispy and full of that smoky charcoal flavour. The inside was wonderfully juicy and tender. It is easily the best steak I ever had! Well done, @exyle!
Vegetables was well cooked too, with the garlic and butter seasoning. Absolutely delicious!
@exyle’s friend Ben also joined us (another member of the talented @blockbrothers) in the barbecue party. He was very friendly and we chatted away for hours. For the entire evening, we were drinking nice red wine and enjoying the amazing barbecue food, together with lots of laughter and good memorable times! What more could you ask for?
Close to midnight, @bkdbkd bought out a delicious red velvet birthday cake for my lovely husband @ezzy. He was absolutely thrilled though at the same time a little shy too, lol.
So a massive round of applause from myself and @ezzy for the amazing @exyle and @bkdbkd!! They had made @ezzy’s birthday very special in a way we never thought possible. How lucky we both are to have met and connected with these great people, thanks to the one and only Steemit!
Here's to ever-lasting friendships and a beautiful and prosperous future together!
我计划了一个秘密惊喜给先生@ezzy，就是带他去鹿特丹拜访他的好朋友@exyle并共度生日。
看我帖子的朋友可能会记得，我们是在去年第一届Steemfest上认识@exyle的，并成为了现实世界里的好朋友，呵呵。几个月前，@exyle和他可爱的女朋友@bkdbkd来伦敦看我们，我们一起度过了非常美好的时光。
我们从来没有去过鹿特丹，所以很期待看看这个美丽的城市， 但与@exyle和@bkdbkd的相聚将会是这次行程的亮点！
周六早上我们4点钟就开车去市外的Luton机场赶8点的Easyjet航班。清晨的气温比较低， 有点儿冷，但我们惊喜地发现了一道巨大的彩虹出现在我们的橙色飞机旁边，真美！
不到一个小时的飞行时间，我们就抵达了阿姆斯特丹机场。机场里面非常大，还展出了荷兰皇家航空的一架真飞机的一部分，供游客参观以及拍照，蛮特别的。
@exyle和@bkdbkd专程来阿姆斯特丹机场接我们，再开一个小时车程返回鹿特丹。他们真热情！
荷兰的天气其实和伦敦差不多，可能也就低一两度的样子但风很大。一路上，我们经过一条大河，郁郁葱葱的田地和几个小农场以及小羊羔，风景很美！偶尔我看到远处具荷兰特色的风车，有传统的类型，也有比较新的现代版。刚刚结束了Steemfest 2，没想到我们四个这么快又可以相聚了，真开心！
哈诺斯午餐
@exyle带我们去了他最喜欢的商店哈诺斯吃午餐。
哈诺斯是一家大型的批发商店，外观很具现代感。商店很大，有两层。 他们提供各种各样的新鲜食品和饮料，以及各种各样的家庭用品系列。产品的品种和质量还不错，据说他们还供应很多品牌餐馆。
我们在餐厅坐下，里面布置得小巧精致，处处散发着浓浓的节日气氛，毕竟圣诞节就快到了，呵呵。
我点了煎鲈鱼，猜猜@zzy点了什么？ 当然是汉堡和薯条咯，哈哈！ 我不得不说，这里的食物水平相当不错。同时我也挺饿的，呵呵。 总而言之，这顿吃得我很满意。
逛超市
午餐过后，我们就前往当地的超级市场，为今晚的烧烤晚宴准备一些蔬菜和水果。
这是我有生以来第一次看到“黄色”胡萝卜和“紫色”胡萝卜。我从来以为萝卜都是橙色的！ 又长知识了，呵呵！
@bkdbkd告诉我一个有趣的故事，那就是其实我们日常吃的橙萝卜是在16世纪由荷兰种植者开发的，用以纪念他们的皇室家族。从这引起了全球性的效应，还真不简单哦。
我还注意到在西欧国家，大多数超市都有自助型的自动榨汁机。 很简单的操作，不到15秒的时间，你就能制作出新鲜果汁，装瓶并随时带走，真方便。我好希望伦敦的超市也有这样的设备。
烧烤派对
我们终于来到@ exyle的家了！房子靠河边，宽敞明亮，温馨舒适。@ bkdbkd甚至还在家里布置了为@ ezzy过生日的装饰，想得真周到！
大家都稍作休息以后，我们就开始了准备@exyle提议的烧烤晚宴了。
我终于看到了这个“闻名 ”的绿蛋碳烤炉了，哈哈。如果你有关注@ exyle的帖子，你就会知道他几乎每天都用这个绿蛋碳烤炉来烹饪食物。
绿蛋是装有炭火炉的陶瓷炊具，和普通烧烤炉不一样。这个碳烤炉价格不菲，但由于它的多功能选项以及烧烤出来的美食，还是很受大家欢迎。
@exyle非常兴奋地向我们展示这个碳烤炉的操作。他首先点燃了木炭，并将盖子打开约十分钟。当火慢慢燃烧起来，他关上了盖子再等了几分钟。绿蛋盖子上有一个温度表盘，用于指示炉里的温度。此外，还可以通过顶部和底部附近的通风孔来相应地调整热量。之后的程序就很简单了，加入肉和蔬菜。大部分的烹饪都是关上盖子以后完成的。
这个绿蛋碳烤炉还真不错，我太怀念火炭烧烤的香味了。@exyle是一个很棒的厨师，他做的牛扒真是一流。由于高温炭烧，牛排表层稍稍焦脆，充满了烟熏炭火的味道，内层鲜嫩多汁，这是我吃过最好的牛扒！@exyle，太棒了！
烤蔬菜也做得不错，浓浓的大蒜和黄油味，好吃！
@ exyle的朋友Ben也参加了我们的派对（他也是@blockbrothers的成员之一）。 Ben很友好也很善谈，我们聊了好几个小时，呵呵。整个晚上，我们享受这美味的烧烤肉，喝着红酒，度过了欢乐以及难忘的一个夜晚！
接近午夜的时候，@ bkdbkd端来了专门为@ezzy定做的红丝绒蛋糕，让@ezzy 好感动哦！
@exyle和@bkdbkd让@ ezzy度过了一个非常特别的生日，我们真的好开心好感动。我从来没有想到在Steemit 平台上结识的朋友能发展现实生活里成志同道合的知己，这个经历真的很梦幻也很美妙！真心感谢Steemit平台给我们大家这个机会去认识更多世界各地的朋友们。
希望我们的友谊能天长地久！
